Category Archives: Backstory
After The First Five Pages
Noah Lukeman’s The First Five Pages alerted novelists to the need to create an intriguing opening. But the truth is, writers need to keep readers interested beyond that first scene. After the initial intrigue, what will keep them turning pages? Continue reading
Filed under Backstory, Characters, Story
Curiosity Versus Confusion
Some time ago I read an article in the Writer’s Digest by Steve Almond in which he stated what he considers to be the writers Hippocratic oath: “Never confuse the reader.” Initially this seems to clash with much advice about … Continue reading
Filed under Backstory, Writing Rules
The Ins And Outs Of Backstory, Part 4
In the previous three parts to this short series, I’ve discussed the importance of making backstory a natural, organic part of the story; two techniques to use suggested by Hallie Ephron in her Writer’s Digest article “6 Ways To Layer … Continue reading
Filed under Backstory
The Ins And Outs Of Backstory, Part 3
Learning to handle backstory correctly is vital. Some agents and editors talk about it as the element that shows an author is either a competent professional or still in the “learning” stage. Consequently, I’d like to take a closer look … Continue reading
Filed under Backstory, Dialogue, Internal Monologue
The Ins And Outs Of Backstory, Part 2
As we established in part one of this short series, backstory should be used sparingly, sprinkled throughout the novel, but rarely included in the opening. Super agent and writing instructor Donald Maass explains: Backstory is the bane of virtually all … Continue reading
The Ins And Outs Of Backstory, Part 1
A recent Writer’s Digest article, “Building Backstory” by Larry Brooks, stated that a novelist should show only ten percent of his character’s backstory — the “iceberg principle” he called it. Suspense author and writing instructor Brandilyn Collins holds herself to … Continue reading
Filed under Backstory
