On writing: backstory

[StillStunned]

One of the basic problems of storytelling is where to put the background information. You know, the stuff that happens before the story begins. Or at least before the inciting event, if you hold to the theory that all the background is just as much part of the story as the actual tale of the events.

Some of the possibilities that are generally considered risky, if not outright bad:

The infodump. Starting your story with three pages of backstory, about the characters, their lives, their likes and dislikes, their past loves and sorrows. Or, in certain genres, the world, its history, its geography and of course its peoples, their lives, their likes and dislikes, their past loves and sorrows.

Skipping the infodump to start the tale and introduce the characters, and then on page starting a sentence with "As you know...", and proceeding to take a steaming infodump all over the reader's engagement.

Writing and publishing a separate story containing the worldbuilding, characters' backstories, body measurements and a list of celebrities they might be compared with. And telling your readers to read if first before they commence with the tale.

Anyway, so much for the bad. How about the good? Do you drip the information in and hope you get the balance right? Do you risk omitting something that might be important later on, or holding back information that forces the reader to rethink how they view the setting or the characters? Do you try to work in short infodumps or "As you know" sections and hope you've built enough credit with your readers that they'll stick with you?

Or do you just present the setting and characters as they are and let the reader figure it out? If you don't provide any backstory, after all, there's less to distract the reader from the actual tale. Can the story stand by itself, as a snapshot with a blurry background?

Share what you usually do. Or what experiments you've tried, and which you thought worked better than others. Are there any others authors who seem to do it effortlessly, and others where you can hear it clunking like a pair of shoes in the washing machine?

 

[HordHolm]

I try to weave backstory into the ongoing events. Sometimes I'll present backstory as character memory, or as mentions in dialogue, although such an approach runs the risk of being 'too much' if overused.

 

[EmilyMiller]

<broken record>Infodumps aren’t inherently awful. Boring ones that read like a history book are. There are ways to dump info that remains engaging to the reader and aids the story. And then there are ways to do neither. Skill is the key.</broken record>

 

[TheLobster]

Share what you usually do.

My goto technique, if I'm not sure there's going to be a better opportunity to drop larger chunks of backstory, is to start the tale with a scene of 'light' action that's interwoven with bits and pieces of backstory narration.

The scene is often simple and admittedly cliche. Examples include a character arriving at the airport; MC walking through a mall and looking for a gift for their SO; a character waiting for someone they're supposed to have coffee/dinner with and doing some people watching in the meantime. And yes, since we're talking about erotica, masturbation is also a good kind of 'light' action.

The overall effect, or at least one I'm aiming for, is similar to the second half of credits sequence in a movie. You can already see something's happening, but there are still the splashes of less important credits that try to capture your attention. In many speculative fiction movies, there's also the initial establishing shot of a city/spaceship/planet/colony/etc. that's accompanied by a few lines of introductory text that explain the fictional world and its history; those are basically the cinematic version of this technique of interwoven exposition.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

Exposition, flashback, frame story...

I have used them all, and all in different ways when they are called for to explain the "how or why" better than the present situation does on its own.

I think that is the key: Can the narrative and dialogue remaining in the present provide readers with enough of the context for why things are as they are, or how they got to where they are? If not, the using one of the proven techniques to weave the backstory into the tale is critical.

 

[yano2mch]

Exposition, flashback, frame story...

A good way to recap a what, who, or why a decision is being made. Animes also have a good idea of using a dream sequence of a past event, which ties into the current event going on too. Started watching 7 deadly sins, and Vaans (fox of greed or something) had a dream sequence of how he became immortal, ending when he fell out of bed. Then adds more of it with him remembering the tree spirit/fae which activates Necropolis the place they were seeking.

Infodumps aren’t inherently awful. Boring ones that read like a history book are.

And giant walls of text. But yes. Unless a lot of overhead is required for something to make sense, i'd avoid it.

 

[anthrodisiac]

I do my best to make sure my backstory is doing work beyond just nifty factoid about person X.

It can advance the plot, shed light on a character, provide context for their interaction or actions, demonstrate the interpersonal connection between characters, ground context, or add depth to a character. But backstory for the sake of just throwing in random stuff doesn't do much good to the reader. Who cares if the MC caught 5 fish on one fishing trip, and 6 on the next. Unless the story revolves around them catching fish, or trying to beat that record of 6, there's no point for it.

One of my pet peeves about backstory is people think that the reader needs all that information up front. So they frontload the story with backstory, which eats into the hookiness of those first few critical paragraphs (especially when the reader hasn't paid for the story, they're much more inclined to dip out if they aren't interested pretty quickly).

What I like to do is make sure it's tied into something. Or to use it to slow the action or provide a sense of introspection during calmer moments. Backstory tends to be chill, so introducing it in high tension/action sequences is an absolute vibe killer. It's why it's best to provide backstory when there isn't a lot else going on, so the reader can focus on the backstory without butting too much into the current scene and derailing things.

 

[Stanfield2025]

There's an author who did a massive infodump backstory that took more than one page. And it interrupted the climactic scene before switching back to the climactic scene. Yet that particular chapter received high praise. Stuff like that is hard, but not impossible, to get right.

But I don't do massive infodumps. The way I did backstory in my story, the way that I stand by, was to make it part of the twist. Hints of it were put in the beginning of the story, then the hints increased over time. I dripped the information through conversations and songs within the story. Then the relevant parts of the backstory are revealed through a confession by the characters (This method was inspired by a novel known as Primitive War, which I highly recommend). And that confession drives the plot forward. Some readers may like it, some may not. Some may get it, some may not.

The story, in many ways, is about the consequences of the backstory of the characters.

 

[BeechLeaf]

I think I treat it like any other colouring: small amounts to build up the scene and the character.

She was nervous about meeting new people in this sort of situation - She had been in this sort of situation before and not known what to do. One positions it as her psychology, the other slips in a bit of backstory.

This was the familiar room above the public library with its high windows spilling light across the floor - This was the room above the public library where she had posed for them. One phrasing (hint: past perfect tense) slips in a bit of backstory.

I'm building up a set of interconnected standalone stories, so I'm having to do this nodding to past episodes more and more.

 

[Rob_Royale]

I've tried to blend the info dump in with an opening conversation, where at least one MC is introduced. Like a widow is lonely and in need of companionship. The info dump/backstory is woven into the conversation while she is having lunch with her daughter.

Annie looked across her French dip and fries at her mother, who'd been uncharacteristically quiet that afternoon. She admired the way her mother's light brown hair had given way to a glossy pale gray in a way that many women were paying stylists to do. "Okay, Mom. Spill it. What's bothering you? Guy troubles?"

Sadie narrowed her eyes and frowned. "You know perfectly well that I haven't been out with a man since your father passed." When her daughter smiled slyly, Sadie sighed with frustration.

"So, about that? It's been what? Almost two years? When are you going to get back out there?" Sadie was about to reply when her daughter continued. "You're fifty-two. You're attractive, keep yourself in good shape and you're post-menopausal." She glanced at her mother's prodigious bosom. "Not to mention, you've got those major league yabos."

 

[Euphony]

Or do you just present the setting and characters as they are and let the reader figure it out? If you don't provide any backstory, after all, there's less to distract the reader from the actual tale. Can the story stand by itself, as a snapshot with a blurry background?

With the caveat that just about anything creative is inherently nebulous to a degree (which is one of its best attributes) trying to nuts and bolts the thing can lead to a weird uncanny valley feeling where you did the thing but it's just... off.

One of the greatest inspirations for me are musicians. And the moments where I've been bowled over the most are when an artist has birthed a cultural touchstone yet isn't precious about it, it's meaning, narrative, what have you. They relinquish control of a thing and let it be what it will be. The most epic examples are where the artist (outside of blatant capitalism) go with the flow of wherever the cultural river takes there thing and not only don't "correct" the audience (the artist did create the thing whole cloth and could be said to be authoritative and the "final word" if they were so dickish.) but embrace and go along with it because that's what the thing is well beyond whatever notion its creator had at conception.

It's easy to fall into not trusting the audience enough. Narrative is hard. Describing the subtleties of the human condition is even more so. And I like to think a lot of the creatives here have something they want to voice, commiserate with, or just see more of in the world and are desperate enough for it to pour their time, effort, energies, and heart into a piece to make it so. Having so much of yourself invested in it but it not landing quite right stings.

I try to keep in mind that a creative thing, even being a singular object/text/whatever, is separate experiences. The creator has their own. The listener/reader consumer has their own personal one to match. And then there's even the wide collective culturally or historically as background to events, etc.

We are too precious. I likely more than most. Give yourself and your audience some grace to figure out your things for themselves. And, importantly too, realize your ideas, your "experiential goal" for you audience doesn't need to be met to a T for the thing to matter greatly.

If it makes an impact in peoples human experience, than it matters. Culture can get exasperating sometimes like we have to have a similar collective experience or gatekeeping is not only in play but a must to justify one's own experience.

If creatives FAR more talented than I'll ever be can release their children into the universe without expectation or criticism of alternate interpretations from their original message, who the F am I to say I know better?

Trust works best as a two way street.

(I wanna say it was a Thom Yorke interview that drove this point home for me but there are plenty of similar from artists of every shape, size, color, and medium to be found.)

 

[MK_Whimsy]

I'm realizing now I'm all over the place when it comes to backstories. Sometimes I write very little, other times more. It really depends on the story and how relevant the backstory is to what I'm trying to do. Usually though, I like any backstory I include to actively augment the fantasy scenario I'm writing about in some way and not be too superfluous.

In some stories I like to keep the backstory unclear and only drop vague hints about it. A lot of my straitjacket bondage stories are like this. Usually in cases like these I want to focus intensely on the fantasy scenario I'm describing to the exclusion of all else, resembling a sort of sensory deprivation experience. This means that treating the backstory like a vague, distant memory actually fits well with the overall theme I'm going for anyway.

In other cases, I'll write a little more. In Scale Servicing, introducing the MC as a technician seemed relevant (in a humorous way) to what he ends up doing in the story, not to mention the story's title. Likewise, I decided on a profession and backstory for the unlucky(?) MC in The Minotaur's Underling, mainly because I thought it was a way to introduce the idea that he brought his situation on himself, if not unwittingly.

I had some more thorough character backstory in Sphinx and Mouse, thinking it was helpful in covering some of the MC's personality traits and motivations in a way that mattered later in the story. I'll admit this one might be bordering a little bit more on the "infodumping" side of things though!

But it doesn't look like I have one singular approach in any case.

 

[dirk2024]

Do you drip the information in and hope you get the balance right?

This would be me. Lately, I've been starting my stories diving right into the action and adding details later. I do wonder if I am including enough back story, but then my writing world is contemporary, so I don't need to do much in the way of world building.

 

[anthrodisiac]

I'm realizing now I'm all over the place when it comes to backstories. Sometimes I write very little, other times more. It really depends on the story and how relevant the backstory is to what I'm trying to do. Usually though, I like any backstory I include to actively augment the fantasy scenario I'm writing about in some way and not be too superfluous.

In some stories I like to keep the backstory unclear and only drop vague hints about it. A lot of my straitjacket bondage stories are like this. Usually in cases like these I want to focus intensely on the fantasy scenario I'm describing to the exclusion of all else, resembling a sort of sensory deprivation experience. This means that treating the backstory like a vague, distant memory actually fits well with the overall theme I'm going for anyway.

In other cases, I'll write a little more. In Scale Servicing, introducing the MC as a technician seemed relevant (in a humorous way) to what he ends up doing in the story, not to mention the story's title. Likewise, I decided on a profession and backstory for the unlucky(?) MC in The Minotaur's Underling, mainly because I thought it was a way to introduce the idea that he brought his situation on himself, if not unwittingly.

I had some more thorough character backstory in Sphinx and Mouse, thinking it was helpful in covering some of the MC's personality traits and motivations in a way that mattered later in the story. I'll admit this one might be bordering a little bit more on the "infodumping" side of things though!

But it doesn't look like I have one singular approach in any case.

This is a fabulous point. Not all stories need the same amount of backstory, nor should the backstory always be introduced in the same way. There are a wide variety of techniques for doing backstory, and a wide range in need for said backstory. Approaching different stories with the same technique is like trying to jam a square peg into a round hole. Sometimes it'll fit, but othertimes it won't, and you're left really forcing it, or shaving off bits, or breaking it, in order to fit a style that doesn't — much like a minotaur — behoove* your story.

*This has been another edition of Anthy's torturing every aspect of a sentence and logic for a rather lackluster pun.

 

[TheLobster]

*This has been another edition of Anthy's torturing every aspect of a sentence and logic for a rather lackluster pun.

Quite a stretch for a pun indeed, though a commendable attempt nonetheless. Here, let me show you how a professional approaches punning:

Not all stories need the same amount of backstory, nor should the backstory always be introduced in the same way.

*clears throat*

Why yes, that makes perfect sense. Many would say, for example, that you should only care about backstory if you’re writing in Anal.

 

[AG31]

Some stories grab my attention because of the total absence of back story. Who is this person? How did they get in this situation? These become part of the mystery. Eventually, of course, the answers are revealed.

 

[anthrodisiac]

Quite a stretch for a pun indeed, though a commendable attempt nonetheless. Here, let me show you how a professional approaches punning:

I'll take a "commendable attempt."

Quite a stretch for a pun indeed, though a commendable attempt nonetheless. Here, let me show you how a professional approaches punning:


*clears throat*

Why yes, that makes perfect sense. Many would say, for example, that you should only care about backstory if you’re writing in Anal.

*golf clap*

 

[TheWritingGroup]

<broken record>Infodumps aren’t inherently awful. Boring ones that read like a history book are. There are ways to dump info that remains engaging to the reader and aids the story. And then there are ways to do neither. Skill is the key.</broken record>

I want to defend nonfiction here. History books are not automatically or even often boring. It's entirely up to the skill and intent of the author. Read some Barbara Tuchman if you don't believe me.

 

[EmilyMiller]

I want to defend nonfiction here. History books are not automatically or even often boring. It's entirely up to the skill and intent of the author. Read some Barbara Tuchman if you don't believe me.

Yeah - my bad, should have said as boring as some of the history books I had to read at school

 

[AStrangeDesire]

Very timely, I'm currently (trying) to write my first SciFi story. So, backstory here is a lot more involved than in the other stuff I've published (MC / T/I).

Since it's set on Earth, and just brings in some Lovecraftian / The Laundry Files type baddies, I'm not doing any backstory at the start, but am planning to rely on a new character showing up, i.e. the bad-ass secret government type, to help explain to the characters why they experienced what they did. And that, only because the MMC gains powers and the agent realizes she has to bring him up to speed.

Previously I've tried to bring in the backstory slowly, dripping little bits as they matter, at time purposely not revealing key information at the beginning so it can bring a few things into focus once it happens. But I feel this one needs 'chunky bits' of backstory to help the reader understand the universe things play in.

As always, closely watching this thread

 

[anthrodisiac]

Very timely, I'm currently (trying) to write my first SciFi story. So, backstory here is a lot more involved than in the other stuff I've published (MC / T/I).

Since it's set on Earth, and just brings in some Lovecraftian / The Laundry Files type baddies, I'm not doing any backstory at the start, but am planning to rely on a new character showing up, i.e. the bad-ass secret government type, to help explain to the characters why they experienced what they did. And that, only because the MMC gains powers and the agent realizes she has to bring him up to speed.

Previously I've tried to bring in the backstory slowly, dripping little bits as they matter, at time purposely not revealing key information at the beginning so it can bring a few things into focus once it happens. But I feel this one needs 'chunky bits' of backstory to help the reader understand the universe things play in.

As always, closely watching this thread

SF&F is a lot more tolerant toward backstory and lore dumps, especially in worlds/universes that aren't ours, because the shape of those worlds has bearing on the story, and honestly, it's fun to play with the flavor of the universe. SF&F readers really appreciate good worldbuilding, because of the extra texture it adds so it's not just generic space opera or magic world. You have a lot more leniency in chunks of info here, feel free to play into that.

 

[anthrodisiac]

A writing thread on lore and worldbuilding could be fun once this one dies down

 

[ChuckWolf]

Ideally, I try to weave background info throughout the beginning of the story and assume the reader can piece things together.

That said, I have an upcoming story that spends a lot of the beginning on world building. My hope is that the world building is interesting enough (which deals with all details of the main character getting a job in the sex industry) that the readers are OK with it.

Once the world-building (which includes unique physical descriptions for all the female characters) is done, the story moves at a quick pace.

 

[Mastered_again]

Yeah - my bad, should have said as boring as some of the history books I had to read at school

I've read both boring and engaging history books too. Same is true of info dump backstory. Some are obviously checking boxes for the physical attributes of the MFC, less frequently for the MMC. Either way, I'm clicking back.

In my current work, the backstreet about the MFC and MMC (a troubled couple) via the dialog between the supporting female and male characters, another couple and respective best friends of the leads.

In what I hope is snappy dialog, I covered the main couple's troubles succinctly. Without that, the overall story makes no sense.

All without references to linear measurements or cup size.

 

[Husky_Embrace]

You can obviously make anything work with enough skill, but I'm a firm believer in the spreading of information throughout the story. Establish the bare minimum, add in a few more details if you dare, and then just keep adding to it as the story progresses.

A person is who they were, who they are, and who they are going to be. A backstory can thus be happening right now.

In the last story I started I used a movie approach. We see a day in the protagonist's life. We establish a pattern in the now, knowing this has evolved over time. And one thing is clear, she's afraid of the ocean. It comes back again and again, establishing the main protagonist as well as providing a hook for the reader. Why is she afraid of the ocean? I'm planning to keep it a bit vague at the end of the day, but expect audiences are smart. They can see the shape of things. A world only works if the reader can build it in their head, and nothing helps more than their active involvement. That is also how you put in more than was written down.

Then we just continue feeding the backstory. Sometimes you devote a paragraph to it, sometimes it's only evident from an action they take, or don't take. You build it up along with the character or the world in general.

One thing in this last story I'm writing is that I imagine it being long ago at this group of islands where fishing is the norm. Low technology, superstition everywhere, the works. I've not come out and say it. Because in truth, it could be modern times as well. It's something they can colour in themselves, as again, a reader is both intelligent and needs to be involved.