Bogged Down With Backstory

      I have always had a hard time when a book spends the first 3-5 chapters telling us everything about the protagonists past before the story actually gets going. Does that mean backstory isn't important? Definitely not! Backstory informs the actions of the characters in the narrative. It is why one character reacts to an event one way and another has a different reaction altogether. The writer needs to know the backstory of his characters.

     Learning the backstory of your characters can happen several ways.   Some writers spend hours creating the past life of the characters, sometimes writing pages of backstory. Will the writer use it? Maybe. Other writers discover their characters backstory as it becomes relevant in the story they are creating. The important thing is to understand when and how to use it.

   Prologue, memories, flashbacks and bits and pieces can all convey backstory. Remember the reader only needs enough information to become engaged in your characters. 

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