Children's Story Writing Diploma
Module 8 : How to Use Backstory Without Being Boring
Duration: Approx 80 minutes
Listen to the Module
In this chapter, about how to use backstory, we will cover the following topics in more detail:
- The definition of backstory
- Why backstory is important in children's literature
- What happens when backstory is employed incorrectly
- When to use backstory and when to avoid it
- Some ways to incorporate backstory effectively
- How your use of backstory will differ depending on the age of your readers
8.1 What is Backstory?
Backstory is a word that describes the events that occur before the point at which your book starts. It is the history of your characters and settings; the who, what, when, where, and how before your narrative begins. Importantly, it is the events that compose the backstory that have brought your characters to the point they are at when the plot begins. Given how crucial these events are to understanding the present situation in the book, you would think that it would be a good idea to fill the reader in on the history of the characters before you start with the proper action, however, doing this is likely to lead to your young readers shutting your book within a minute. Read on to discover how to use backstory effectively, without being boring.
8.2 The Importance of Backstory
Every story has a backstory, so it stands to reason that every book will have one too. There are a few cases where the backstory is barely revealed - take Ernest Hemingway's work, for example - but these are few and far between and are of a type of literature that is not really relevant to your goal of writing a children's book.
Backstory is important for many reasons. Here are some of the more significant ones:
To aid necessary understanding of the plot
As you will see later, a lot of back story that we think is necessary really is not. However, some backstory is necessary in nearly all books in order for the plot to make sense. Judging what is necessary and what is not can be a tricky business, though. Write your first draft without worrying too much about this.
When finished you can go through and take note of where you have introduced backstory.
To make the characters exist outside of the novel
In order for a book to be successful the reader must get the impression that the characters have the emotional and physical completeness of a real person. Without this, the book will seem two dimensional and unengaging. Although the reader does not need to know where your character was born, the toys she liked to play with at 5 years old, that she fell in the pool and now has a fear of water, that she likes to wear her hair in a plait, that she eats custard creams in a specific way, and that her dad used to call her 'poppykins', some of this might be helpful so the reader can think of her as a real person. The incident in the pool could even be a catalyst for moving the plot along; think creatively about how to create a balance between action and characterisation, and when possible, do them both simultaneously.
To strengthen the reader's emotional connection with the characters
Empathy is key when it comes to sustaining a reader's attention. The way we induce empathy in the reader is to reveal the underlying reasons for their emotional state; in this way a reader can understand a character. Without understanding, there can be no empathy, and without empathy your reader will not find themselves invested in the outcome of the book.
To create motive
Although inherent to the first point in this list, it is important enough to warrant a separate mention. The protagonist must have a motive for moving forward in the plot, and backstory is crucial in providing and explaining this.
8.3 What Happens When Backstory is Employed Incorrectly?
Used badly, backstory can be a complete nightmare. Have you ever read a book which has a good storyline but which every now and then launches into a lengthy passage, sometimes pages long, that recounts in eye-watering detail the circumstances that have led to this point? Chances are, if you are tenacious, you might plough through these. More likely you will skip them and head for the action. In a worst case scenario, you will throw the book down, frustrated that you cannot enjoy the story because of the author's insistence that you understand every small incident in the run-up to the main story.
8.4 When to Use Backstory and When to Avoid It
Correct timing when introducing backstory is vital; begin your book with a long passage of uninteresting exposition about the minutiae of you character's past, and you have lost your reader already. Although you may have spent hours outlining their likes and dislikes, their foibles and history, these can serve the purpose of the character becoming real in your mind, so you can transmit them as a believable person; the reader does not need to hear all this.
Similarly, if you have created an amazing fantasy world, complete with belief system, flora and fauna, well done. It will give your book depth and a sense of realism when you write about your universe, however, the reader does not need a categorisation of the root vegetables that grow there and when they can be harvested.
Instead, you should drop certain elements of your backstory into the book as you write, some to give a richer realisation of the setting and characters and some to create tension. Backstory can be a great way of building suspense as the novel progresses; there could be some secret in the protagonists past that the reader is desperate to find out, or a locked door that they are dying to open. Use an initial 'hook' to draw attention to this subject of curiosity, and draw the reader on throughout the book by dropping morsels of information to keep them interested. In this way, backstory becomes a compelling tool to engage the reader in the action, rather than something that has to be forced into the writing without them noticing.
8.5 Ways of Incorporating Backstory
Flashbacks
Backstory, by its very nature, looks to the past. When you have spent hours crafting a plot that has an exciting pace and forges forward, carrying the reader along with it, the decision to interrupt the narrative thread and move in the opposite direction must not be taken lightly.
That being said, done well, flashbacks lend a realism and sense of authenticity to the backstory. As the reader, we are fully transported to the origin of a character's behaviour, or the catalyst in the chain of events that lead to the beginning of the book, immersing us in the book, past and present. Make sure that the scene you are flashing back to is worthy of an interruption of the narrative flow though, and do not make it too lengthy. This device is seldom used in books for younger children (perhaps under 7 years old) as it can be confusing. If you do use it, ensure that the reader does not become disoriented by the time travel.
You can either refer to a scene briefly in the past, writing a paragraph or two that begins with a cue like 'Last summer, they had ridden their bikes all the way to the river…'; or you can write an entire short chapter, in the simple past tense, or even in the present tense. This second option gives you the advantage of being able to write something under your chapter heading like 'Two Years Earlier', or a specific date if the reader is aware of the current date you are writing in. Make sure you label the following chapter 'Present Time' or something similar so the reader knows you have returned to the main plot.
Dialogue
Dialogue is a useful way of revealing snippets of information here and there, in a way that minimises narrative voice and avoids boring the reader. Care must be taken not to simply transpose great chunks of backstory into dialogue format, as this may ruin your careful construction of your character and will also bore the reader. Make sure that the revelations sound natural and arise from the situation at hand, rather than just being stuck on to the end of something a character says.
You can also include internal monologue, where the reader can hear what the character is thinking without them saying it. You can use this in third person perspective, not just the first person.
It might look something like this:
'If you'd like, you could come over to my house and read the dictionary later,' Davey's teacher said, smiling. 'Sure, uh, maybe,' Davey replied. When hell freezes over.
Narrative voice
You can give a certain amount of information through the narrative voice in your book and the suitability of this will depend on the point of view you employ. If you are using the third person omniscient perspective, for example, your narrative voice will have access to any and all information that you wish to disclose; be careful with this though, as even omniscient narration should leave some things unsaid for tension to develop. However, if you are using a more limited viewpoint, like the first person, the amount of backstory that the narrator will have access to will be limited to the past of the person who is speaking, or something that they know about. If you have a crucial piece of information that the reader needs to know, but would take a lot or arduous manipulation to convey through dialogue or action, it is sometimes more effective and less distracting to simply use the narrator's voice to concisely impart it.
Action and reaction
A lot of backstory can be revealed without being stated explicitly. The characters likes and dislikes, as well as their traits, are part of their backstory, and you can disclose these simply through their actions, and the way that they react to things and people around them.
8.6 How to Vary Your Use of Backstory for Different Readerships
Although the amount of backstory you reveal in a 70,000 word book for young adults will be significantly less than in a 7,000 first chapter book, the first chapter book should still have a solid backstory. Those writing for older children must be more subtle in their introduction of backstory, where authors of shorter works must convey the history of the novel in a more condensed format; each has its own challenges.
8.7 Backstory Exercises
Estimated Time: 1 hour+
- Take each character in your book. Look at your character studies. Are you missing something? Make sure you have covered these elements of their past:
What is their race?
- Are they wealthy?
- How many siblings do they have?
- Do they have any special talents?
- Are they religious? Why?
- Do their parents get on well or argue a lot?
- Level of education
- I.
Q. - E.
Q. (Like I.
Q. but for emotional intelligence) - Are they healthy? Have any illnesses or disabilities?
- What romantic experience have they had?
- Appearance
- Do they have any annoying or endearing habits?
- Do they have any fears or phobias? What caused these to come about?
- Do they have any political views?
- What do they dislike in other people?
- What do they admire in other people?
- What might they get upset about?
- What might they get excited about?
- Try writing the backstory for an object in the room you are sitting in now. What has it seen, smelt, heard, felt, or even tasted? What would it say if it could speak?
- Write a backstory for a setting that you love.
- Take each character in your book and write a chronological list of the main events in their past. Highlight the ones that you have/are planning to include in your book, and note beside each of these the reason why you want to include this element of their past. Is each inclusion justified? Why?
In Summary
Backstory is a word to describe the events that occur before the book starts and that lead to the reason your characters are in the situation described in the opening scene.
It is also the history of the characters and settings you include. It is important as it creates a depth and realism to the book, drawing the readers in, as well as providing a logical cause for the action. There are many ways you can incorporate backstory, including narrative voice, flashbacks and dialogue. You must be careful how much you include and cater to your readers' ages in order to keep the book interesting.
Learning Topics
- What is it about writing children's books that appeals to you?
- Clearing up the myth that writing for kids is easier than writing for adults
- Some other common misconceptions about writing books for children
- What does writing a children's book actually entail?
Learning Topics
- Physical items you will need to start writing a book
- Managing your time efficiently
- Personal skills you need to succeed as a children’s writer
- Skills you can develop in order to write children’s literature
Learning Topics
- How to use other children's books in order to write your own
- A look at some famous picture books aimed at younger readers
- Excellent examples of first chapter books
- Books aimed at teenagers and young adults
Learning Topics
- The importance of writing for a particular age group
- How to choose an age group
- The most common age groupings used by publishers
- The various points of view you can use to narrate your book
Learning Topics
- The importance of the first page and first line
- Examples of some great first lines in existing children's books
- What you can do to make your first page stand out
- What not to do in a first page
Learning Topics
- Why creating good characters is important
- How to get ideas for characters
- How characters will differ depending on your target age range
- The qualities a character needs to be real and engaging
Learning Topics
- A definition of plot and why it is important
- How to come up with plot ideas
- The traditional plot structure
- How to develop your plot ideas
Learning Topics
- The definition of backstory
- Why backstory is important in children's literature
- What happens when backstory is employed incorrectly
- When to use backstory and when to avoid it
Learning Topics
- Why dialogue is important
- The uses of dialogue
- How to make your dialogue realistic
- How to make your dialogue engaging
Learning Topics
- The problems that a writer will face
- How to improve self-esteem and banish your critical inner voice
- How to achieve your writing goals
- How to overcome writer's block
Learning Topics
- Why writing exercises are useful
- Some writing exercises for different aspects of writing
- Some writing exercises to prompt your writing if you need ideas
- How blogging might help you as an emerging writer
Learning Topics
- The power of illustration
- The differing nature of illustration for different formats and age ranges
- How to submit a picture book for publication to a conventional publishing house
- How to choose and work with an illustrator
Learning Topics
- The importance of perfecting your manuscript before you submit it
- How conventional publishing and self-publishing compare
- The process of getting your book published by a publishing house
- Whether you need a literary agent
Module 1: A Course on How to Write Children's Books
Around 2.2 billion a year is spent on books in uk of which a fifth goes on childrens books.
Module 12 : Illustrating your Story and Working with Illustrators
storyboard
Society of Children's Book Authors and Illustrators and childrensillustrators.com
Module 2 : What you will need to Write Children's Literature in regards to Tools and Personal Skills
This chapter take a look at what tools and skills you need to possess in order to become a successful children's writer, and will cover the following important points:
- Physical items you will need to start writing a book
- Managing your time efficiently
- Personal skills you need to succeed as a children's writer
- Skills you can develop in order to write children's literature
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2.1 What is in a Writer's Toolbox?
Many writers keep a pen and pad by their bedside for those middle-of-the-night plot revelations, which are hopefully legible enough to make sense of the following morning.
2.2 How to Find the Time to Write
It is a good idea to have a regular time slot each day when you plan to write.
decide how much or how little time you have to write and make a promise to yourself that you will spend that set time writing every day
2.3 The Importance of Good Spelling and Grammar
Spelling mistakes can easily be checked with a word processing software, and some grammar mistakes can be picked up too.
2.4 Personal Skills You Should Have as a Writer
Apart from motivation, determination and patience you also need a lot of self-belief and confidence in your work
It is important to understand that you will have bad days and down days when you do not feel like carrying on. How you deal with those emotions will determine whether or not you will end up making it as a children's author. Letting the self-doubt and negativity eat you away will lead to a shelf full of half-finished stories. However, having self-belief will keep you going despite all the bad days, and having confidence will give you the courage to finish those stories and get them sent out to publishers.
2.5 Skills You Can Develop Further to Enhance Your Writing
Instead of snubbing criticism you should embrace it and learn from it.
In Summary
There are not many physical things a writer needs to start writing. All that is really required is something to write on and something to write with; however a computer or laptop is the most common tool for writers to use nowadays.
When it comes to personality a writer must have the right attitude in order to appreciate the learning process and not get dejected by criticism and rejection. Another really important quality is self-motivation, as writers need a lot of this to carry on writing, rewriting, and rewriting again every day when they sit down to work.
If motivation will get a writer sitting on a chair and writing, then determination will get their story finished, and self-belief and confidence will get their manuscript edited numerous times and sent off to numerous publishers.
There are many skills and qualities a children's writer needs but luckily many of them can be developed, improved upon and learnt so it really means that writing is something that anyone can do.
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Worksheets
Module 4: Selecting an Age Group Point of View: Who's Telling the Story
Module 5 : How to Get Started From Getting the First page Spot-on to Creating the Perfect Setting
Module PDF's
Module 1: A Course on How to Write Children's Books
Module 2 : What you will need to Write Children's Literature in regards to Tools and Personal Skills
Module 3 : Learn from the Best: Great Examples of What Other Children's Writers do Well
Module 4: Selecting an Age Group Point of View: Who's Telling the Story
Module 5 : How to Get Started From Getting the First page Spot-on to Creating the Perfect Setting
Module 6 : How to Build a Good Children's Book Character
Module 7 : How to Plan a Perfect Plot
Module 8 : How to Use Backstory Without Being Boring
Module 9 : How to Write Dialogue that makes your Story Flow
Module 10 : Advice on Improving Confidence and Sense of Purpose
Module 11 : Practical Writing Exercises
Module 12 : Illustrating your Story and Working with Illustrators
Module 13 : How to Deal with Publishers and Selling your Stories