Backstory Blues...

[AyJay]

I'm not sure if this belongs under writer's block, but I'm having a major problem with my WIP's backstory. It's driving me nuts! This isn't an issue of how to incorporate the backstory without infodumping, I just can't work out in my own head some of the plot points that led my MC to the situation that he's in. Just an eensy-weensy problem for the reader, right?

I'll explain a bit. This is a young adult fantasy where the MC is unraveling a mystery as part of his journey. He's going through a religious festival, which is supposed to be an auspicious rite of passage, but it actually has an evil purpose that is up to him to reveal. Thus, the backstory gradually gets presented in the novel as the MC figures things out. I can handle the pacing and writing all of the action, but I keep losing confidence in what I imagined was a solid backstory. I've been writing it all out as notes but just can't seem to hit it right. I expect that the best advice is to take a break from it for awhile, but I'm so frustrated I had to vent. Anyone else been in this situation?

[Birol]

Have you considered writing and seeing if the thoughts gel in your head as you go? It can always be fixed in rewrite. Maybe brainstorm with notecards or in a notebook?

[Cassiopeia]

I agree with Birol's post. Just write your story. Let it flow out of you and then try re-organizing it.

[AyJay]

Thanks for the suggestions. I've actually been ebbing and flowing for quite a long time in writing this novel (3 years - eek!). I thought I had a good draft about six months ago, then got some feedback, re-read for myself and went yeck! The challenge for me is that so much of the story relies on what happened in the past, and I weaved a backstory that's such a knot I can't untie it! The story sets up a series of prequels, a la Star Wars, so I keep worrying how this one affects the other ones in my head, some partially written already.

[TheIT]

Perhaps try writing out some of the past events as their own stories with different characters. For example, take your rite of passage festival and work through some time in the past where the rite went through with its intended effects. The backstory for my fantasy universe is complicated, too, and I've been using the SF/F challenges for this sort of brainstorming.

Also, consider what's important for this story to succeed. If the past events haven't been written yet, they can change to accomodate what this story needs.

Good luck!

[tehuti88]

I knew where I wanted to get in my current serial, but there were a few key points niggling at me regarding HOW to get there. I finally had to just stop writing and go and think it over really hard. I looked at all the various things that COULD happen in the plot, weighed them against each other, and tried to foresee how they would work out if I chose them, that is, if they would lead to the outcome I wished for. It was like picking which way to go in a maze; sometimes you have to back up and go another way instead. Finally when I got them all untangled and figured out I went inside and THEN typed up the notes (so I wouldn't lose it all).

I know it sounds so simple it's stupid, but maybe all you need to do is set the story aside, and go and just seriously mull it over some? To mix my metaphors, it's impossible to keep knitting when the yarn is in a hopeless knot; you might just need to take the time to untangle it more.

The challenge for me is that so much of the story relies on what happened in the past, and I weaved a backstory that's such a knot I can't untie it! The story sets up a series of prequels, a la Star Wars, so I keep worrying how this one affects the other ones in my head, some partially written already.

EXACTLY! (My WIP is one of a set of labyrinthine serials too, and I have to keep careful track of exactly what is going on. I got so lost after not doing so that I had to stop all work on the story for over a year to go back and take notes just to untangle it all!)

[cethklein]

Have you considered writing and seeing if the thoughts gel in your head as you go? It can always be fixed in rewrite. Maybe brainstorm with notecards or in a notebook?

This. I find backstory comes while writing. Another thing that works for me is to remove myself from the main story and actually write a backstory (in my head or on paper) as if it were its own novel.

But remember, backstory facts about a character should only be divulged where they are called for. so don't worry if the backstory has holes in it as only you will know that.

[Feathers]

I just can't work out in my own head some of the plot points that led my MC to the situation that he's in

The challenge for me is that so much of the story relies on what happened in the past, and I weaved a backstory that's such a knot I can't untie it! The story sets up a series of prequels, a la Star Wars, so I keep worrying how this one affects the other ones in my head, some partially written already.

Not sure that I understand what you're actually struggling with. Are you saying that the backstory is so complex and interwoven, that you're not sure what actually happened, based on all the prequels you have planned? Or how all the events you have planned would work together for this story?

Right now I'm working on a story that has alternate realities as WELL as time loops (same periods of time repeated over and over, unbeknownst to the people living those loops) My main character actually becomes the antagonist later on and in a different reality, and the antagonist is trying to save himself from his past, but also trying to fulfill it, and the MC is trying to thwart the antag but doesn't know it will actually destroy the MC........it gets super complicated. Even worse, it's a trilogy, although each book is sort of a prequel, considering the fact that it's all about time-loops.

To keep it all straight, I do some basic outlining. I made a bullet-list of everything I knew or planned or needed, with question marks beside problem events or things that didn't match up. Having it all out on paper helps enormously.

Then I created a simple timeline with Stick-It notes, wrote events onto the notes, and pasted them where I thought they might fall on the timeline. Because I had multiple POV characters, I gave them each a timeline of their own, one on top of the other so I could compare and contrast. This showed me what I had and what I didn't. Whenever things developed, I could go back to that and shuffle around my notes to fit in the new events.

Obviously, that was my fix, so doing the exact same thing may not help you. However, I would suggest the timeline method. The visual cue can be soooo helpful when dealing with confusing backstories, and sticky notes are great, because you can shuffle them around, without having to organize them every five seconds.

Hope that helps

-Feathers

[AyJay]

Wow Feathers. What you're working on sounds a lot more complicated than my WIP. I could never keep all of those details straight! Thanks for the suggestions. I've been outlining, and re-outlining and writing out the backstory in a bare bones form. Post-its may be the next step.

I do prefer for the backstory to come through naturally, but since some of the events that are important to my novel happened way before my MC was in the picture, they don't just come to me as I develop that character.

I really appreciate everyone's comments and suggestions above. I'm curious about CethKlein's statement that there can be holes in the backstory that the reader doesn't have to know about. Maybe it's a matter of how big the hole is?

I decided the revise my WIP so that it is entirely from the MC's perspective (3rd person), because I felt that the other characters weren't pulling their weight to move the story forward. So now I have the hero's perspective but not the villain's. So one of my backstory "issues" is how to portray the villain as a multi-dimensional character. He's a sociopathic priest but there's a reason he's turned against humanity. I guess that ultimately readers will let me know if I've gotten it right. I don't want the story to come across as a simple good vs. evil battle. There are some opportunities for the hero to find out things about the villain that made him that way. But I'm trying to be sparing in my side storylines since I have a tendency to tell too much and drag the story down.

[maestrowork]

Try to set the actual ms. aside and start on a new file/page, and start typing about the backstories, things about your characters, etc. etc. Free style. Stream of consciousness. Whatever that comes to your mind.

I know, I'm one of those writers who try to work everything out in my head, but sometimes there's just too much. I find myself having to put my thoughts on paper (or in a computer file) to sort through all the stuff: the backgrounds, the interconnections, the relationships, the character sketches, etc. I also use a tool called Personal Brain to string everything together. It's a pretty good tool to lay out all these interconnected thoughts.

But just get it all out. And it will be a work in progress. As you continue with your main ms., you can refer to that and change things. But at least you'll have someone tangible, and not just a tangle in your mind.

[c2ckim]

try introducing another charactor that seems to be following your MC around the festival. He could hold a piece of the puzzle the MC needs to figure things out. or he could be instrumental in keeping the MC on the path he needs to be on.

[Feathers]

I really appreciate everyone's comments and suggestions above. I'm curious about CethKlein's statement that there can be holes in the backstory that the reader doesn't have to know about. Maybe it's a matter of how big the hole is?

I decided the revise my WIP so that it is entirely from the MC's perspective (3rd person), because I felt that the other characters weren't pulling their weight to move the story forward. So now I have the hero's perspective but not the villain's. So one of my backstory "issues" is how to portray the villain as a multi-dimensional character. He's a sociopathic priest but there's a reason he's turned against humanity. I guess that ultimately readers will let me know if I've gotten it right. I don't want the story to come across as a simple good vs. evil battle. There are some opportunities for the hero to find out things about the villain that made him that way. But I'm trying to be sparing in my side storylines since I have a tendency to tell too much and drag the story down.

Complicated is my signature ;)....I can't seem to write a book unless I get it all knotted up, first. But about your quote: lately, I've noticed that my backstory works better if I leave holes in unexpected places. Instead of showing the epiphany scenes that "explain" my present events, I show flashbacks that lead up/allude to the epiphany scene. It really deepens my character and keeps from dumbing their motives down to one past event. Instead, it expands their motives, sort of giving a broader-life scope.

So about holes in the character's past, I would leave out the things that explain your character, and show the puzzle pieces that help readers figure out your character. Leave gaps for the things that are too obvious.

-Feathers

one crucial thing about revealing backstory is to show people things they didn't expect.

[dirtsider]

How about writing a separate short story focusing on the festival/ritual itself? Sort of picking it up out of the story and looking at it from all sides?

Another suggestion is to take the one scene and asking yourself questions about it. Such as what is the origins of said ritual? Why is it important to that society? How long has this ritual/festival been taking place? So on and so forth.

I also like the suggestion someone else had - write the scene from another character's point of view - watch the MC from someone else's POV.

[Telstar]

I think you should stop and brainstorm. When you think the backstory is solid and will work, write the rest.

[Nicholas T]

In my experience as a reader, there's nothing inherently wrong with backstory. Oh, I know we all trust the wisdom of "show, don't tell" and want to avoid boring agents/editors/audiences with ridiculous chunks of exposition, but I've found that exposition is quite enjoyable if it is presented organically. Often, a lot of long-form fiction derives its depth from the sense of history it creates.

In other words, backstory isn't info-dumping if you tell it as that second half of the word, story. There should be something at stake in it. If anything holds backstory back, it's that we already know how it ends. So how the characters got where they are now had better be interesting.

Where to place it is another matter... it's always, always easier said than done, isn't it?