3 Tips To Write a Better Backstory
A backstory is a comprehensive overview of a character’s history that extends beyond the story in which the character appears. Backstories help the reader understand character motivation and key plot points. It is a great tool for developing relatable, realistic, and well-rounded characters for your novel or book. A backstory will influence everything that happens in your story from the plot events to your character’s motivations to your ability to manage the theme of your book.
If you’re an aspiring writer, learning how to write good backstories is an important exercise that will help you create fuller characters and here are three tips to help you write a better backstory.
Three Tips To Help You Write A Better Backstory
- Draw Inspiration From Real Life Moments: Writing a backstory can be difficult which is why drawing inspiration from real-life moments can be helpful. Read biographies and memoirs of historical figures and celebrities to understand the important moments that were the highlights of their life journey. Listen to your friends and your loved ones and learn how they share their stories. This will make your story more authentic and genuine and would give your readers a sense of belonging. Drawing character backstory from your own life and people you know, or reading about the back-formation of famous public figures, will help you to create characters who are anchored in a believable sense of history.
- Make Sure Backstory Details Are Relevant: Focus on the backstory that directly informs the plot points and conflicts that your character experiences in the main story. Backstory heavy narration can be boring so it is important to make sure it is engaging and interesting in itself.
- Identify the purpose of a backstory in your story. Start by asking yourself, “Why am I writing a backstory for this character?” “What purpose will the backstory serve in my main story?” Consider how the backstory will deepen your character and strengthen your narrative. Identify what you want the backstory to do in your main story. This will help you start the backstory with purpose and intent.
Did you find these tips helpful? Let us know in the comments section.