Revealing a character’s backstory without overwhelming readers takes skill. A balance of telling, showing, and hinting allows readers to piece together the character’s history over time. Holding back on the reveal provides tension, as you keep your readers wondering what made the characters who they are and what happened to their world to make it what it is until the reveal. Weaving in backstory through a mixture of narrative, dialogue, memory, and flashbacks is more enjoyable for the reader than bringing them up to speed all at once.
4 Ways of Revealing Backstory
- Narrative
- Dialogue
- Memory
- Flashback
- Narrative – Telling the reader.
There’s nothing wrong with the narrator telling the reader what has happened before the story
begins, but doing so in small bits at a time is best. Keep it short, a sentence or two at a time, and
shift back to the current storyline.
Ex.
When Sal was eleven, a doctor told him he wouldn’t grow anymore. At age thirty-two, he’s stuck
at 4’10”, a small man with big dreams. He jumped up onto the lowest step of the trolley with his
briefcase holding the plans for his latest invention. - Dialogue – What the characters say to each other.
Dialogue is a great way to reveal things to your reader. Having characters discuss the past or ask
questions is a natural way to show what has happened and adds another layer to the story.
Ex.
Andrew bent over and shook Sal’s hand. “I didn’t expect you to be so …”
“Short? I’ve been four, ten since I was eleven. Twenty-one years. I promise you, my dreams are
bigger than I am.” He pulled the schematics from his briefcase. “I brought you my new
invention.” - Memory – Recalling past events through the character while in the present.
Using the character’s memory keeps the reader in the present while learning about the
character’s past. This is not a flashback. The difference between a flashback and a memory is that flashbacks are actually scenes from the past, whereas memories are quick and stay in the present. Ex. Andrew bent over and shook Sal’s hand. “I didn’t expect you to be so …” “Short.” His gaze dropped to the floor. Although it had been twenty-one years ago, he could still remember what the doctor said. “You won’t get any taller. You’ll never grow up.” It was almost like a terminal diagnosis. Nothing could have convinced him he would have such big dreams, but only stand at four, ten. He straightened. “I’ve got something I want to show you. It’s a new invention.”
- Flashback – Revisiting as if it’s happening now.
With flashbacks, we go back in time and replay events. We need to set it up similarly to the
memory, but then we switch timeframes for the whole scene.
When we want the scene to end, something needs to bring the character back to the present.
Ex.
Andrew bent over and shook Sal’s hand. “I didn’t expect you to be so …”
“Short? I’ve been four, ten since I was eleven. Although it had been twenty-one years ago, Sal
remembered the day in exquisite detail.
Sitting on the table in a green paper gown, his father nervously bounced his leg in the chair next
to him. A graying doctor in a white coat put his clipboard on the desk and turned the stool to face
them.
“I’m afraid it’s bad news.” He took a deep breath. “Sal, your growth plates have stopped moving.
There’s no more room for them to grow.”
Sal stilled and stared at the doctor.
“You won’t get any taller,” he said, tilting his head. “You’ll never grow up.”
Tears escaped Sal’s eyes, and his dad jumped up. He put his arms around him and hugged him
tight.
“It’s going to be ok. You can still do whatever you want in life.”
Sal held on but shook his head. “I can’t play basketball. I can’t be a firefighter. I won’t ever get
to ride the Daemon Sled.”
“Sal! Sal!”
Sal flinched and looked up.
“You ok?”
“Yeah. I’m fine.” He pulled the schematics from his briefcase. “I brought you my new
invention.”
“A man with big dreams. I like that.”
All of these are great ways to inform your reader of your character’s backstories. Mixing them
together and keeping them short will encourage your reader to keep going because you are only
giving them bits of information at a time.
Revealing small pieces leads to more or unanswered questions. And the more questions your
reader has, the more likely they are to keep reading.
Let’s mix it up.
At thirty-two, Sal was stuck at four, ten—a small man with big dreams. He jumped up onto the
lowest step of the trolley with his briefcase holding the plans for his latest invention. (Narrative)
A trip on the trolley always made him feel nostalgic, but the one he took today went past his old
home. (Narrative) When he saw the blue house with white shutters, he recalled playing on the
front porch with his model fire engine, making truck noises, shouting commands to the little
firemen. (Memory)
It all went by too quickly, his childhood and the trolly ride. He arrived at his stop and hopped off.
He strode to the tallest glass and metal building in the city. The doorman tipped his hat and
waved him through.
He stepped up to the front desk, which came up to his chest (Narrative), and said, “I’m here to
see Andrew Speck. I have an appointment at ten.” (Dialogue)
The man behind the counter lifted his head up, then down to meet Sal’s eyes. “Ah, yes. Name.”
“Sal Jackson. We’re old friends, but I have something important to show him today.”
“Sal Jackson,” the receptionist leaning forward a bit. Probably gawking at all of Sal’s four-ten
body. (Narrative)
“Yep. You’re right here. Go on up. I’ll let him know you’re short—I mean, you’ll be there
shortly.” The man flushed.
“Right,” Sal said and headed to the elevator. Although it had been twenty-one years ago, he
could still remember what the doctor said. “You won’t get any taller. You’ll never grow up.” It
was almost like a terminal diagnosis. Nothing could have convinced him he would have such big
dreams, but only stand at four, ten.
When he stepped onto the twentieth floor, Andrew was there to meet him.
“Welcome to Speck, Inc.” Andrew bent over and shook Sal’s hand. “I didn’t expect you to be so
…”
“Short.” His gaze dropped to the floor, and he was back in the doctor’s office, sitting on the table
in a green paper gown, his father nervously bouncing his leg in the chair next to him. (Setup for
Flashback)
A graying doctor in a white coat put the clipboard on the desk and turned the stool to face them.
“I’m afraid it’s bad news.” He took a deep breath. “Sal, your growth plates have stopped moving.
There’s no more room for them to grow.”
Sal stilled and stared at the doctor.
“You won’t get any taller,” he said, tilting his head. “You’ll never grow up.”
Tears escaped Sal’s eyes, and his dad jumped up. He put his arms around him and hugged him
tight.
“It’s going to be ok. You can still do whatever you want in life.”
Sal held on but shook his head. “I can’t play basketball. I can’t be a firefighter. I won’t ever get
to ride the Daemon Sled.”
“Sal! Sal!”
Sal flinched and looked up.
“You ok?”
“Yeah. I’m fine.” He pulled the schematics from his briefcase. “I brought you my new
invention.”
Weaving in backstory takes some practice. And yes, it means creating scenes which are longer,
but the reader will enjoy the mixture more than just being told the backstory. They get time to
process the information you give them, and it’s done in a more exciting way.
When done extremely well, they may not even notice they’re being given backstory!
Remember, the key is to strike a balance between revealing through narrative, dialogue,
memories, and flashbacks. Using a combination of these techniques, you can create a rich and
intriguing character backstory that unfolds naturally in your story.
About the author
Kristin is an internationally renowned professional editor, specializing in developmental, line,
and copy editing of speculative fiction.
She’s edited over seventy manuscripts, including two bestsellers. Many of her clients are authors
who self-publish or submit to agents and publishers. Kristin is a contracted editor for Brooke
Warner Coaching, LLC., She Writes Press, Greenleaf Book Group, as well as the editorial
service companies—Book Butchers and The Literary Consultancy. At Literary Wanderlust, a
traditional publisher, she held the position of assistant editor.