Writing a backstory is part of character building task. Your character was not come to existence when your story begins. He or she has a long and complex personal history that goes back into deep sands of time. He also has an early life, with many traumas and triumphs, disasters and decisions. Your character’s past is called backstory, and it is critical for building real characters. In this post we discus the importance of backstory, how to write this for your characters, and how to avoid stereotypes.
Building a backstory is a fundamental part of creating characters that feel real and relatable. Your character's story doesn't begin on page one; they have lived a whole life before the plot of your novel begins, with personal experiences, struggles, victories, and defining moments. This is what we call a backstory. A well-crafted backstory not only shapes your character’s personality, choices, and motivations but also informs how they react to events in your story.
In this post, we'll explore why backstory is crucial, how to write a captivating backstory for your characters, and how to avoid common pitfalls like stereotyping.
A character's past is the foundation of who they are when they walk onto the page. It defines their fears, desires, strengths, and weaknesses. However, backstory is not just a simple recounting of events—it gives depth to characters and allows readers to understand them on a more human level. Backstory creates emotional resonance, making your characters complex and relatable.
Why Backstory Matters for the Author
As a writer, understanding your character’s history is critical. Without this knowledge, it becomes difficult to predict how your character will behave in various situations. What are their motivations? Why do they act the way they do? These answers lie in their past.
You don’t need to know your character’s entire backstory from the outset. Some writers develop it organically as they go, letting characters reveal themselves through the writing process. Others prefer to map out a detailed backstory before they begin. Both approaches work, but eventually, you need a clear understanding of who your character is to ensure consistency and depth in your story.
Authors who write “by the seat of their pants” (often referred to as pantsers) may discover the backstory as they write. They get to know their characters gradually, through dialogue, actions, and conflicts. By the time they reach the end of the novel, they have a complete picture of the character’s past, which often necessitates rewriting earlier parts of the story.
In contrast, plotters and outliners prefer to flesh out a character’s backstory before starting to write. This might involve creating detailed character profiles, interviewing the character, or brainstorming significant past events that shape who they are. Both methods have merit, and it's up to you to choose what works best for your process.
Why Backstory Matters Less to the Reader
While understanding backstory is essential for the author, it’s a different story for the reader. Readers are primarily interested in what’s happening right now, in the present events of the story. They don’t need, or often want, an info-dump about your character’s past. Instead, they crave a story filled with tension, drama, and unfolding action.
However, strategically revealing small pieces of backstory can enhance the current plot, giving readers insight into why a character behaves the way they do. The key is to avoid overwhelming readers with too much too soon. As the story progresses, the reader will naturally become curious about your characters. That’s when you can offer small glimpses into their past—just enough to keep the reader intrigued.
Backstory is like seasoning; sprinkle it throughout your novel in small, digestible pieces. This will create intrigue and depth without bogging down the pace of the story. A useful rule of thumb is to know about ten times more backstory than you actually tell the reader. This ensures your characters feel fully fleshed out without flooding the narrative with unnecessary exposition.
You can develop a backstory at any stage of writing. Whether you’re an outliner or a discovery writer, consider these key elements when crafting a backstory:
Character’s Physical Description:
Physical traits are the first thing readers often notice about a character, but they can also be tied to their history. Scars, tattoos, or even posture might hint at important events in their past. Think about how your character's appearance reflects their experiences. For example, a character with a limp may have been injured in a pivotal event that still affects them emotionally as well as physically.
Birth and Early Childhood:
Where and how your character was born, their family dynamics, and early influences shape their worldview. Consider their relationship with their parents or guardians. Did they have a happy childhood, or were they forced to grow up too fast? These foundational years can be critical in forming the core of who they are.
Adolescence and Teen Years:
Adolescence is a time of change and discovery. What events during these years left a lasting impact on your character? Did they have mentors, or were they left to figure out the world on their own? Think about defining moments during these years, such as a first love, personal failure, or exposure to injustice.
Adulthood (if applicable):
If your character is an adult when your story begins, their backstory will include career choices, relationships, and major life events. What challenges have they faced? What successes and failures have shaped their perspective? These experiences will impact how they approach the events of the novel.
Interviewing Your Character:
One effective way to get to know your character is to conduct a mock interview with them. Ask them about their goals, fears, and memories. How do they view their past? This exercise can reveal hidden aspects of their personality and help you better understand what drives them.
One of the challenges in building a backstory is ensuring that your characters are fully realized individuals, not clichés or stereotypes. Every character belongs to certain groups, whether based on gender, nationality, ethnicity, or belief systems. To avoid reducing characters to stereotypes, do your research and ensure their traits are nuanced and unique.
Research Diverse Experiences:
When writing characters from backgrounds different from your own, research is crucial. Read first-person accounts, watch documentaries, or engage with people from those groups to understand the rich complexity of their experiences. Avoid making assumptions or relying on oversimplified portrayals.
Create Contradictions:
Real people are full of contradictions, and so should your characters be. A character might belong to a certain group but defy common expectations in some ways. For example, a character could be a tough, no-nonsense police officer who also loves knitting or poetry. These contradictions make characters feel multi-dimensional.
Consider Individual Motivations:
Avoid defining characters solely by the groups they belong to. Every individual has personal motivations that stem from their unique experiences, not just their background. Focus on what makes your character stand out within their cultural or social group.
A well-crafted backstory can elevate your characters from flat to fully fleshed-out individuals, enriching your narrative. While you as the author need to know your characters’ histories, your readers only need small glimpses to understand and connect with them. With careful crafting and attention to detail, you can write backstories that add depth, without falling into the traps of stereotypes or info-dumps.