The first things most fiction writers put their minds to dreaming up are characters and plot. But who the characters are and what things in their past brought them to the point where this particular story begins is Backstory. This is where the foundation and some of the major supports for your novel, novella, or short story are put in place. It is definitely where your characters developed their personalities, picked up their likes and dislikes, and achieved the various specialties they might require to survive the story or go further in achieving in this story.
The story you have in mind is the next step in their lives, isn’t it?
Backstory isn’t the blueprint – that’s the plot – but it is the footers, pipes, wiring, and where the concrete gets poured.
If something didn’t begin in the backstory, then it can’t influence or affect…or effect…what goes into the plot or make the characters the people they are on page one.
Backstory is the element that is frequently overlooked as a necessary building block, but it is an extremely important building block. You might call it the cornerstone upon which a story begins to grow.
So let’s see what you need and begin work on the backstory for your novel, novella, or short story.
The story you have in mind is the next step in their lives, isn’t it?
Backstory isn’t the blueprint – that’s the plot – but it is the footers, pipes, wiring, and where the concrete gets poured.
If something didn’t begin in the backstory, then it can’t influence or affect…or effect…what goes into the plot or make the characters the people they are on page one.
Backstory is the element that is frequently overlooked as a necessary building block, but it is an extremely important building block. You might call it the cornerstone upon which a story begins to grow.
So let’s see what you need and begin work on the backstory for your novel, novella, or short story.
