Background Information

Zipotes said:

My story is more character driven, written in first person. It is essential to the book to know the MC's feelings and brief history.
But, in the first chapter I'm dumping too much info at once...brief history, introducing major players, her feelings, etc.
Both my readers really like the book but said there wasn't enough action in the first chapter.
How do you give all the necessary background info without overwhelming the reader?
I was thinking to add it in chunks in the first few chapters instead of all at the beginning. Maybe give secondary character info as they are introduced, etc.

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Some books do not give out key character information until near the end. IMHO you can judge someone by their acts and deeds rather than by a description of them or their backstory. Make it all come out naturally and you'll give yourself and hopefully your readers even greater pleasure.

I think it adds something to the story when you don't know all the background information right away, or at all. I think if you're trying to figure out a way to get it all in, you're probably cluttering it up too much. Just write it and let the background info fit in naturally where it needs to go. I think putting too much into the first chapter turns a lot of people off because they feel like they're reading a text book or a biography or something. If nothing but background info is going on in the first chapter, I usually get bored and either skip it or forget the book. I love to read, but I need something to interest me before I'm going to put hours into it.

Zipotes said:

I was thinking to add it in chunks in the first few chapters instead of all at the beginning. Maybe give secondary character info as they are introduced, etc.

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Yes-- in fact, small chunks would be best. Your readers don't really NEED to know nearly as much you likely think they do.

A line here or there, one that implies more than it states outright. Don't waste your time telling the backstory when you can focus on the present action. Let the character's actions NOW show how their past affects them.

Read other 1st person books to see how those writers did it.

Books by Dick Francis, Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, Carole Nelson Douglas's Irene Adler and Midnight Louie mysteries, and Mary Stewart's (The Gabrielle Hounds, My Brother Michael, This Rough Magic, etc.) books have all helped me figure out how to do first in a good way.

Read these writers not just for pleasure, but to figure out how THEY did it.

Hit the library. There's no need to reinvent the wheel when you've got some expert engineers to show you how its done.

A good writer always reads way more than he or she writes!

Reveal character THROUGH action (actions and reactions). It's call showing (rather than telling).

Let the readers get to know your mc the same way we get to know anyone we meet in real life for the first time. Do we get all their background and history up front? No. And unless there is something about a person that makes us want to know them better -- some intriguing circumstances or trait or physical characteristic -- we'll likely never know their history. Those who do intrigue us enough to want to know more (which is who your mc should be) will reveal other things about themselves over time, through talk, actions, environment, etc. It's like peeling an onion. Reveal things one layer at a time.

Beth

It's always a good idea to write out the backstory for your characters, because you need to know it in order to write them as three-dimensional people. That said, it shouldn't be included as its own piece in the front of the story. I agree with the others here who have said it should go in in small pieces.

As a way to help yourself know what to divulge and when, use the current action as a guide and try to think of the pieces of backstory that are optimally relevant and various points. When your character lays eyes on something or someone for the first time, what does it remind them of and more importantly, what kind of specific emotional response does that evoke? You can do something like this in 1-5 words and bring in the sense of a backstory without laying out the backstory itself. Your reader will then perceive the dimension in your character while still retaining curiosity about what exactly made them react that way. That curiosity will help them to continue turning pages.

If your first scene is filled with fast action, try to keep the extra words to a minimum. A person won't sit and muse about an abusive mother while a sword is coming at their head! But at the same time, more contemplative moments, or first-impression moments, will present themselves. Consider each of these an opportunity, and you'll find critical elements of your backstory slipping in almost effortlessly (at least from the reader's point of view, which is the whole point!).

Good luck!

Back stories and information are like butter. They're better spread.

Zipotes said:

How do you give all the necessary background info without overwhelming the reader?

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Ask yourself whether the reader can understand each of the character's current motivations, actions, and reactions without knowing any additional background. If so, skip the background.

Otherwise, give the smallest bit of background that will help the reader understand the character's next action. Slip those bits of relevant and necessary background into the character's thoughts or dialogue, or sometimes (when relevant) into other characters' words and actions.

To give background that motivates not just the character's next actions, but the character as a whole, have something happen that would trigger a strong memory in the character. Then you have a paragraph or two or three (or maybe a whole scene) to explore the relevant background.

Greg Ilies does this superbly in Blood Memory. The MC visits her childhood home for the first time in fifteen years. Upon arriving, she sees the dogwood tree in front of the house, which triggers her memory of the night she found her father dead of a gunshot wound beneath that tree.

The more interesting the backstory is on its own, the more space you can devote to it. Richard North Patterson's Caroline Masters is a great example. Part one sets up a tense situation in the present day, and hints at a mysterious secret. Part two is the story of that secret, and (this is crucial) the back story is very interesting on its own. Then part three returns to the present day to resolve the current story, which we understand better because of the backstory. Patterson did this story-within-a-story technique very well in a number of his middle books. In his latest three books (Exile, The Race, and Eclipse) he gives lots of backstory earlier, and I find it far less motivated and less interesting.

Dale

Say a lot with a little, where you can. Find quick, telling details that will give readers a LOT of info about your character in relatively brief space, where you can.

For instance, you could have him walking past a liquor store and note that his feet still want to turn that way on the sidewalk, even though he hasn't been in there for five years. Without any other detail, we would know a lot about that guy: He's given up the booze; he probably used to have a drinking problem; he's lived in this city and neighborhood for several years; he's not wealthy enough to go to an upscale wine store or have high-end alcoholic beverages delivered to him.

I don't know if that particular example applies, of course, but that's the kind of thing that could go a long way.