Writing Backstory

What is backstory?

We all know it when we see it: the long, boring stretches explaining what happened before the exciting part.

Backstory doesn't have to be boring. Or long. 

According to the dictionary, backstory is "the history or background created for a fictional character."

Just like this ancient rock, backstory has an interesting story to tell. It can explain "how" or "why?" 

Why does your character hate his best friend? Why did he move from Arizona to San Francisco? Why did he adopt a Rottweiler when he's allergic to dog fur?

The trick with backstory is to avoid "info dumps." Those are the long, boring stretches we want to skip. 

Instead we want to weave in backstory in small bits. 

Here's a great example from Cynthia Kadohata's novel Kira-Kira, when the main character, Katie, describes her Uncle Katsuhisa. 

My uncle was exactly one inch taller than my father. But his stomach was soft. [Here comes the backstory.] We knew this because we hit him in it once the year before, and he yelped in pain and threatened to spank us. We got sent to bed without supper because my parents said hitting someone was the worst thing you could do. Stealing was second, and lying was third. [End of backstory.]

Before I was twelve, I would have committed all three of those crimes.

In 3 sentences of backstory, we learn something about this family. Lying is bad. Stealing is worse. Hitting is the very worst, and that's what Katie and her sister, Lynn, did to their uncle. We also learn about Katie: she's going to commit all 3 of these "crimes."

In your own stories, watch how you weave in backstory. 

Do you see big blocks of explaining? Is it absolutely necessary? Can you tell some in dialogue? Or can you weave in 2 or 3 sentences and then get the reader back to the present?

Happy Spring!

Spring arrived this week! 

I can tell it's spring even if I close my eyes and put a clothespin on my nose. That's because I can HEAR the sounds of spring.

Today I heard 

• a duck quacking in the pond 

• a redwing blackbird tweeting (without a smartphone)

• a woodpecker knocking on a tree

• a bee buzzing near my ear 

• a hummingbird fluttering its wings

• a willow rustling its leaves

• a squirrel chattering with itself 

• and a leaf blower causing a ruckus (oh, well)

What sounds can YOU hear?

Go outside and listen. Over and under the sounds of cars, sirens, and leaf blowers, what noises and sounds tell you it's spring? 

In your notebook, make a list as I did above. The list is almost like a poem, isn't it? 

Our 5 senses are an important tool for us writers. Plus listening is fun--you may discover something when you stop and "hear" the roses. 

I haven't heard a peep from them yet, but you never know! Wonderful things happen in spring. 

Punctuation!?!

Punctuation: a big yawn, right?

But have you ever heard that punctuation saves lives? Compare the following two sentences:

"Let's eat Grandpa."
"Let's eat, Grandpa."

The only thing saving Grandpa's life is a comma! 

So far I've used a colon, comma, question mark, quotation marks, apostrophe, period, and exclamation point.

I just used seven types of punctuation in a short passage of writing; there must be something to this punctuation thing, right? (And I just added a semicolon! And another exclamation point!)

Punctuation wasn't invented to drive us crazy. Using correct punctuation makes our writing clear. 

Here's a story with goofy punctuation. See if you can find all 24 mistakes. The correct punctuation is down below in blue. 

Mr, Grumpys' Bad Day. 

Mr, Grumpy woke up in a bad mood' He burned his toast? spilled his coffee! and took a shower with his clothes on:

Not only that" He missed the bus and was late for work; 

After lunch his boss said; ?Where is your sales report?" Mr, Grumpy replied; "My dog ate it.'

Mr. Grumpy was fired:

At home, the dog brought his slippers? His mom cooked his dinner; Best of all' he checked the newspaper? he had the winning lottery number" He was a millionaire,

!Mr. Grumpy had a good day after all;

Mr. Grumpy's Bad Day

Mr. Grumpy woke up in a bad mood. He burned his toast, spilled his coffee, and took a shower with his clothes on.

Not only that. He missed the bus and was late for work.

After lunch his boss said, "Where is your sales report?" Mr. Grumpy replied, "My dog ate it."

Mr. Grumpy got fired.

At home, the dog brought his slippers. His mom cooked his dinner. Best of all, he checked the newspaper; he had the winning lottery number. He was a millionaire.

Mr. Grumpy had a good day after all! (A period is OK here, too.)

I hope punctuation doesn't make you grumpy. Let's all keep Grandpa alive! 

A Bench: An Invitation to Write

An empty bench is like a door. A bench invites us to sit on it, just as a door invites us to open it.

Who or what could sit down on this bench? Someone--or something--that wants to tell a story.

Here are some story starters. Try these first lines, and see where the bench takes you. 

• The man hobbled to the bench carrying his bag of money.

• The cat jumped onto the bench, but the boy had disappeared. 

• Four hundred years ago, a famous robber had sat on this bench.

• The bench was built of magical stone made to resemble wood.

• The bench waited. It was 2015. Only three years, two months, and five days until…

Have fun using your bench to start a new story! 

Taking a 5-Minute Break from Writing

I think the words, "Let's take a break," are some of the loveliest in the English language. 

A break can mean having fun, eating a snack, or renewing our energy.

It can also mean seeing our stories in a new way.

A friend mentioned a writing exercise she did with a group. Write for a certain amount of time--say, 15 minutes. Then take a break for 5 minutes, walking around and not consciously thinking about your story, novel, essay, or poem. Then go back to your writing. 

She guarantees that you'll go back to it with an insight. 

I love this exercise. Often we think that writing involves work, work, work. But we can also be working while we seem to be doing nothing. A part of our brain is still thinking about our story, even if we're not aware of it. That 5-minute break can give our brain time to "churn."

This is an especially great exercise to do if you're stuck. 

Try the 5-minute break. And if someone asks why you're not writing, you can honestly answer, "I am!"