How much do you need to know about your character?

[Erica]

Authors hear a lot about not including too much backstory in their novels, and this is good advice. But just because your readers don't need to know all the details about your character's past doesn't mean you don't need to know it. Check out the Ink Deep blog this week for more information about packing your character's emotional baggage.

http://www.inkdeepediting.com/#!How-t...

[Solomon]

Erica wrote: "Authors hear a lot about not including too much backstory in their novels, and this is good advice. But just because your readers don't need to know all the details about your character's past does..."

Agreed! In my writing I spend a great deal of time creating my characters' back stories, even if it is never revealed to the reader. This is the only really way to bring characters to life. Knowing what they've been through will help you understand how they will react to a situation you put them in.

[Erica]

Exactly! Your readers need to know your character's motivation and it's hard to supply that if you don't know what led your character there.

Do you do your backstory creation before you begin writing or as you go along?

[Sheila]

Excellent advice, Erica!

I have noticed that beginning writers may use their first draft as a place to develop the backstory, which I think is fine if subsequent drafts trim it to show just what the reader needs to see.

I think it's hard for authors to trim that stuff, sometimes, though, because they've spent so much time creating the world and its players, it feels like abandoning them to leave so much on the cutting room floor.

How do you counsel writers about what to keep and what to cut?

Sheila

[Erica]

It is incredibly hard for authors to cut the backstory. And understandably so! They've worked hard creating it and it has usually been integral to their understanding of their character and the plot. But too much backstory (or even the right amount but given at the wrong time) can really slow down the pacing of a novel and leave readers confused about what's important and what isn't, so it is worth the pain of going under the scalpel.

When I am editing a manuscript, I recommend cutting any backstory that does not provide the reader with something vital to their understanding of the plot or the reasons why a character behaves the way they do. It has to explain something to the reader that they need to know. Conversely, sometimes the author decides that the backstory IS necessary, but they realize that they failed to make the connection for the reader in the plot. In that case, the backstory may stay, but something else in the story may be expanded to connect it to the plot.

Thanks for the comment, Sheila!

Erica

[Sheila]

That latter is a good point, Erica.

Sometimes when I ask authors to look at things like backstory I think they assume I'm suggesting a cut.

But what I really mean is take a look and see if the backstory is serving its purpose and serving it well. It's okay if the answer is yes!

Sheila