On Backstory: Part 3

I was yammering on about backstory this week, which was kind of fun, actually. (See Part 1 here and Part 2 here.) It’s much more fun than cleaning the house and all those other things I’ve been meaning to do. I realized afterwards that I should probably toss out some examples on what I think are some stellar displays of weaving in a character’s backstory. These examples are a form of ‘telling’, yes, but it is done in such a simple and straight forward way that it does not slow down the story, is a nice little tidbit where we need it/want it in the story and it gives the reader more than one might realize at first glance.
Here are two examples that I like:

“It didn’t spill over so that he could relax, and instead he grew angry at his mother for crashing her car, at the doctors for not saving her, at his father for being his father, at himself for drinking, at Ming for being scared.” (From Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures by Vincent Lamb. Fitzgerald is a pre-med student and Ming is his love interest. She has rejected him, and he is getting drunk.)

A bit on what is important here. The orange bit, to me, says why he wants to become a doctor. It speaks to his motivations as a character and where he is mentally and physically as well as speaks to an event that has shaped his life and continues to shape it. Lamb could have gone on for a few paragraphs about Fitzgerald’s motivations and how his mother’s death affected him and that he aspires to be that doctor who doesn’t let moms die, etc, etc. Or, he could have done like he did. Simple. To the point. And for me, so much more effective.

The second example is trickier to show. It is from Meg Cabot’s Size 14 Is Not Fat Either. It is a sequel to Size 12 is Not Fat and it covers a lot of ground in the first 2-3 pages in terms of catching new readers up on who this Heather Wells person is. Yet, it is still entertaining for those readers who are already familiar with Heather Wells and what she stands for. In the second paragraph we are already discovering that she is a musician when she is getting a coffee on the way to work. She slips it in with comments referring to the barista and back to herself like so: “I bet he plays the guitar. I bet he stays up way too late at night, strumming, the way I do.” And later in the paragraph: “No time to shower before work, because he was up so late practicing. Just like me.” So, by having the main character comparing herself to another character, we learn a lot about her. A few paragraphs later we learn that she is a former popstar, she is overweight, she has a new job, she doubts her song writing talents, and on and on. But the important thing here is that we discover this all in an entertaining way that pulls us deeper into the story, gets us feeling those same emotions as Heather and keeps tugging that story forward. We are so interested in finding out if this cute 20-something barista is going to ask her out (he did check her out after all), that we breeze right past all these backstory tidbits, right up to the burn at the end of the scene. Ouch! That rejection totally stung!

In a nutshell: brilliant.

Mystery Shopping to Make Me a Better Writer

Yes, that’s what I said. I am mystery shopping as a way to make me a better writer. (Because having two paying jobs isn’t enough to keep me insanely overloaded that I am doing some mystery shopping as well.) Shhh! Don’t blow my cover.

The irony is that I HATE to shop and I am not always the most observant gal on the block. Only recently did I realize that 99.9% of the female population plucks their eyebrows. I’m serious. I didn’t even notice my front teeth are slightly at a tilt until my mother mentioned it to me–last year.

So why the heck am I mystery shopping? Well, I can’t resist a challenge. I am always looking for new adventures. Plus, I am such a reluctant shopper and get so easily turned off shopping, stores, over-eager/apathetic employees and the way they make me feel that I ROCK at getting that whole shopping experience vibe thing companies are looking for in their mystery shoppers.

But what it all really comes down to is that I am intuitive and I don’t always see those details. Yet, every time I have a mystery shopping job, I am given a little lesson in observation before I go out. I am given a list of things to look for. And so, when I am out, it is like I am flexing that muscle and collecting sensory details that I normally overlook.

And guess where I am putting all those little observed details like gum wrappers on the floor, eye rolls, and homemade retail signs? That’s right, I’m putting them in my writer’s arsenal.

On Backstory: Part 2

Yesterday I yammered on about when to leave backstory in and when to leave it out and what questions to ask yourself if you are in doubt about what to do with that danged backstory. Today, I’m going to yammer on a bit more, but this time a bit more specifically in regards to character layers and history.

First of all: A character’s past is important.

However, it is most important to the author. If the author knows all the ins and outs about this character and what has made them who and what they are today, as well as how they react to conflict, then they will be able to convey that to the reader in very subtle ways. Yes, I am saying that if the author knows what makes that character tick, they will fill in backstory for their reader in ways that aren’t explicitly said/written. Because the author knows this character, they will be able to transmit those tidbits in a way that does not slow down the story, but enhances it. The reader will be able to make those natural, intuitive leaps about the characters from the trail of crumbs provided by the author.

What are some ways that we, as writers, can convey who our characters are without all those pages of backstory? How can we add in those layers? Here are a few questions to get you going:

-Religion. Do they have one? Do they believe in God? What does religion look like to them? How does it make them feel?

-Socio-economics. What is their education level? How do they feel about education? Are they a life-long learner? How educated were their parents? How much money do they make? How much did their parents make? Lifestyle–then and now. What are their money beliefs?

-Ethnicity/Culture.  What is their ethnic background? Do they act like they are Canadian? Irish? Italian? Middle Eastern? How does it affect them? How does it not affect them? How does it affect the way they speak? Relate to others? Relate to family? Expect in their relationships? How does it set them apart? How does it make them part of a group?

Getting more specific…

-What do they look like? How do they feel about their appearance?

-What are their hobbies?

-What is their most embarrassing moment?

-Who/What/When/Where/Why of their first kiss.

-What is the worst moment of their life?

-What are they most afraid of?

-What are their idiosyncrasies?

-What about them most surprises their friends?

-What is their worst habit?

-What does their home look like?

-How do they dress/present themselves?

-How do they walk?

-What are their manners like?

-What do they value?

All of these things can be shown in little tidbits here and there in the story which will lead the reader to conclusions about the character, adding layers, depth, and even backstory. For example, if the character shies away from being touched by men the reader is going to read into that and make assumptions about the character’s background without you having to go into flashbacks or info dumps. (An info dump is when the author brings the story to an abrupt halt and basically says, ‘Okay reader. You need this information before you read any further.’ Then they proceed to dump everything the reader will need in order to understand what is going on or what is to follow.) As well, details such as whether the character slips an armful of hemp bracelets onto her wrist or one delicate diamond and gold bangle will also tell us a lot about the character. Tidbit by tidbit, it all adds up to the whole.

If you feel that you need backstory in order to help separate your characters, take another look at the list above and use those questions as jumping off points to deepen your characters. The more little tidbits you slip in about a character, the more you will set your characters apart from each other (making them even more real) and requiring less backstory to help differentiate them.

Naturally, when it comes to layers and depth, some characters are going to be deeper and more layered than others. The main character should be the most layered and deep. (Unless they are some sort of illustration on the shallowness of a certain type.) The secondary characters (all those in supporting roles) should also be layered and multi-dimensional, however they don’t need to be created to the same level as the main character. You only have so much time in a novel, right? And, as sad as it is to say, some minor, fringe characters are going to remain fairly one-dimensional as you can’t bombard the reader with every character’s story, needs, desires, history, etc..

The takeaway: Your readers will fill in the gaps based on what you have left in your character crumb trail. Have faith that they can and will do it, and leave as much backstory in small clues as you can.

Now, having said all that… there are rules and there are rule breakers. Sometimes, the most beautiful and original work is one big broken rule. So, do what is right for your story, but remember, almost always, less backstory is needed than we think.

On Backstory: Part 1

Here’s how I see it: It is important for the reader to understand your main character enough that they are able to identify and empathize (which is stronger than just sympathizing) with the character. They need to at least understand enough about where that character is coming from in order to want to read about them. This is what leads us to use (and abuse) backstory and telling.

Like a real person, characters need layers and history. But like real people, we don’t want to see all of those layers and history the first instant we meet them. However, there are times when we pause, look at our new friend, and realize we need a piece of information to understand where they are coming from or what they are talking about. So, we ask them a question about themselves. They reply, we have that knowledge gap filled, and we continue on.

When we are writing, it is good to do the same thing. If we give our readers too much information and backstory about a character, we are likely to bore them, overload their circuits, and basically kill the flow of our story. When we are determining how much backstory to give our reader, we get to ask ourselves a million (and one) questions as we write and edit our scenes. Some of those questions might look like this:

–Is it essential for the reader to know this right now? If so, why? And how much does the reader need right now? Will they be able to understand this scene and the character’s motivations if I leave it out?–The beauty of this question is that sometimes you reach the end of your story and find that you never needed to put it in! (More on this in tomorrow’s post.) If the reader doesn’t need it, leave it out–even if you think it is beautiful.

Remember: when it comes to backstory, be hard on yourself. Ask those tough questions and don’t rest until you are able to give yourself a specific answer. (This is where a critique partner or blind reader can really help you out–ask them these questions as they read, or leave out the backstory and see if they come back scratching their head.)

–Does it move the story forward? How?

–Has this tidbit been already been touched upon/alluded to in the story? If yes, it can probably be taken out.

For example: The story opens with a girl volunteering at the Humane Society, going out of her way to help people when they come in to look at animals. She takes extra care with any injured animals and as she leaves, she empties her change into the donation jar. She gets home and a girl guide/scout comes to the door selling cookies. She buys ten boxes and gives them to people at work the next day.

In the example above, I have shown that this character is a generous and caring person. I don’t need to stop the story and its events to ‘tell’ the reader about it. So, I probably don’t need a flashback to show why she is so generous. I probably don’t need a lot of backstory to explain her generosity. And I probably don’t need to show her generosity from another character’s POV (unless it is to show that they all think she is a saintly pain in the ass). I’ve got it covered. Give your reader the credit they deserve to put two and two together. If you’ve shown it, 99.8% of the time you don’t need to tell it too.

However, if there is something about her generosity that I want to show and I can’t… then I might need to pull out that backstory arsenal and give the reader more on this saint. For example, maybe I need to show that she was once really poor and it was only the generosity of others that helped her through. But, before I do that, I need to ask: Why MUST the reader know this NOW? Is this to deepen her as a character or is it so they will understand why she panics when she loses her job and her apartment all in one day? In both cases, I might be able to parlay this information/backstory to the reader in one sentence or by dropping references or hints here and there for them to add up.

When it comes to backstory, if you can’t answer the ‘MUST my reader know this NOW’ with a simple YES!, it means it isn’t needed. It’s that simple.

More on character backstory tomorrow!

Shut UP!

That’s right, I said, “Shut UP!” Yes, I know, I may have damaged some holding-on-by-a-hair-self-esteems out there by saying that. But sometimes it needs to be said.

Specifically, it needs to be said to that nasty little gremlin that sits on your shoulder telling you that you can’t do it. That little guy who wheezes in your ear, sharing not-so-sweet nothings like, “That’s an adverb, followed by too many adjectives, you twobit writer.” and “That makes no sense. Do you even know who this character is? You must SHOW their motivation.” and “That paragraph is too long.” and “A comma doesn’t go there.” and “Spelled that wrong.” and “Get a thesaurus, you’ve used that word three time. Who do you think you are. Trying to write? Ha! Ha! You don’t even have a good, polysyllabic vocabulary. Any ESL person could walk off the street with a better story and better writing. Just give up already, you are wasting your time.”

Whew! That’s some nasty stuff.

So, what do you do? What can you do? And you have to do something because that nasty little gremlin will smother your muse in vile tar in five seconds flat, leaving you sobbing on your keyboard.

First, you have to write. You have to show that gremlin who’s boss–and that would be you, the writer.

Second, if it is a long list of ‘rules’ you need to remember in order to be a ‘good’ writer that is getting you down, then the solution is easy. Write. Write, write, write, until it all becomes second nature. (Maybe focus on one thing at a time though–we don’t want any heads to explode as brains are very hard to clean off the upholstery.)

Third, write. Yeah, I’m kind of serious about this one. Don’t let the bastards get you down. Even if you have to type ‘This sucks. I know it sucks, but I’m going to keep writing until something good comes up. I’m going to sit here and keep typing even if my internal editor won’t SHUT UP! I won’t let anything distract me. I won’t get up until I have ten pages down. Even if they suck and it is the same sentence repeated 243 times. All I know is that there is this girl who has a problem with the Elm tree in her front yard and she ends up falling in love with the man across the street while trying to deal with the Elm.’ And just keep going until something happens. It will. Your brain will get tired, your gremlin will get lulled to sleep and things will take a turn and begin to happen. Be aware that it might not happen on day one or page one. Know and be okay with the fact that some of it is going to be garbage, but if you keep writing eventually you will run out of garbage. Sometimes it is by paragraph 3, sometimes it is page 56. Just write it down. You can always edit it later, recycling items, landfilling others, polishing hidden gems, etc, but if you don’t have it down… what have you got?

“It says here, “Calvin and Hobbes shows bad influences to little ones. No one can be that bad.”

Fourth, if your gremlin doesn’t have a day job, is a bit of an insomniac, and is always on snoopervision no matter what you do, distract him. Turn on music–new stuff might keep him busy. Talk radio so he isn’t lonely. Or the TV so he picks up useful tidbits he can feed to your subconscious to be placed here and there in your story.

Fifth, if your gremlin is really harping on one thing, let him out on someone else’s work. Now, be careful! You don’t want to rip someone else apart and leave them crying on their keyboard. Be kind! But if you are working on sensory details and your internal editor/gremlin is going nutso on you, read someone else’s work and make notes. What works? What doesn’t? How can you use what works in your own writing? Give yourself a challenge and ONLY focus on improving that one thing.

Sixth, don’t be afraid to play. Really. And let your Gremlin play, too. He’s bored. He’s there, use him. Turn him into your internal drive to always improve. But remember, when he gets to be too much, tell him to, “Shut UP!” And be firm. Spank him if necessary. (I won’t call social services, I promise.)

Seventh, if ALL else fails, get him a little bit tipsy–unless he’s a nasty drunk, in which case, bribe him with chocolate, ice cream, coffee, or whatever floats his sensory boat.

There will always be something to learn or work on when it comes to writing, that’s what’s so amazing about it. Go forth and play and don’t forget those two golden words: SHUT UP!

Good luck young grasshoppers. And whatever you do, keep your gremlin dry.

P.S. If you have handy gremlin elimination tips, feel free to share them in the comments section.

Advice From Literary Agent Kevan Lyon

Last night, I moderated a live online chat over at AgentQuery Connect with literary agent Kevan Lyon of the Marsal Lyon Literary Agency in California. It was a full house with many new faces and Kevan answered around 30 questions in that short hour. In case you missed the chat, I will share a few tidbits, insights and advice from Kevan Lyon.

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On being located on the West Coast (instead of New York):

*Kevan mentions that West Coast agents often work longer hours as they start early in the day in order to be available to those working on the East coast. She says working in the Pacific timezone also works well for writers who are in other parts of the world. Plus, Eastern editors tend to start later in the day and work later–matching the West Coast workday. In today’s world where the majority of business is done electronically, it matters less and less where agents are physically located. (Especially when they are like Kevan and are willing to hop a plane to New York as needed.)

On e-books, and debuts in trade paperback (instead of hardcover):

*”I see the shift to trade paper as a positive for new authors — with a lower price point there is less reluctance on the part of readers to take a chance on a new reader. The $25+ hardcover price can be a difficult hurdle in this market, partic for a new author. On the e-book side I see those sales as primarily incremental. There is the potential to introduce your work to a whole new market of readers that may not have otherwise been exposed to your book. I encourage my authors to promote their availability on e-books to ensure they are casting a wide net.”

On female/male protagonists:

* “Generally there needs to be a female protagonist somewhere in the story. The majority of readers are women! I prefer a female main character, but will certainly consider a story that has male protagonists — try to include a woman tho!”

On word count:

* Yes, 200,000 words will make an agent skeptical. However, if the writing is uber intriguing, they may consider it. But remember, reading that many pages is a massive time commitment. On the flip side, if you are writing a story you want published in its own volume, try and get over the 60,000 word hump. (We’re talking about novels and adult non-fiction, here.)

On historicals:

* “European history — from King Henry’s time period forward to Victorian times — it is fairly UK centric, but France is also popular. If you are writing straight women’s fiction/historical they generally prefer a well known historical figure to be included in the story.” She also likes books done in the Civil war era, but cautions that other periods can  be tough to sell.

On YA (young adult novels):

* Male protagonists are fine (even though the majority of YA readers are female). Protagonists should be in about the 15-19 age range. A little romance in your YA is welcome, but any genre is okay as long as you have a good hook.

On series:

* Sell the first book, first. Then worry about getting the rest of your series on a bookshelf.

On writing in multiple genres:

* She feels that is a positive thing and would not turn down a writer because of it. (This was where I began professing my love in the middle of the chat!)

On being a young (high school age) writer seeking literary agent representation:

* “If the query is well written and the plot intriguing I will take a look. It is not necessarily something I would suggest you stress [referring to your age], but it is worth mentioning — there are marketing benefits sometimes for the publisher.”

On query writing:

* “Make sure you capture the essence of your plot in a succinct and descriptive way — you need to distinguish your story in the query — we read many queries at one sitting generally.”

* Comparing to other titles and pinpointing your market in your query: “The market is probably most key in my view for non-fiction. In fiction you need to tell a wonderful story. I don’t really need you to tell me the target market in your fiction query. But I do want you to be clear on what your plot and story line is for comparison to other titles it can be helpful for fiction, so that I get an idea of the narrative style or voice, but not absolutely key.”

Additional hints:

* Don’t call her ‘Mr. Lyon.’

* She prefers e-queries.

* Don’t tell her why she would be a perfect match, tell her what your story is about.

* If she asks for a short synopsis, she feels that 3-5 double spaced pages is fine.

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If you would like to meet Kevan or her partner Jill Marsal at a conference or workshop, check out their Facebook fan page. And if you would like to query Kevan, find out more about their submission guidelines here.

Book Review: Zen and the Art of Writing

Book Review for Zen and the Art of Writing
By Ray Bradbury

Broken into essays on writing that spans over 19 years, this book is a gem of inspiration and passion. You can tell Bradbury loved to write. Truly. As in, leave a rip-roaring time to hurry home and put a story to paper. Zen and the Art of Writing covers subjects from feeding and keeping a muse, finding inspiration, using life in your stories, how the brain stores things for later, and of course, never giving up. The man gathered an impression rejection pile in his time. If you are looking for a little inspiration, the first few essays in this book are sure to do the trick.

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Good Links: December Edition

Was Santa Claus good to you this year? He was very good to me. I must have been a very good girl. Okay, this is sounding a bit off to me.

<clears throat>

Moving on… I haven’t spent as much time on the Internet this month as I have in the past, but I still managed to find some great writing sites and links to pass on for December.

Writing:

Details make the character. Good details make a character memorable and bad details that don’t fit… well, yikes! Read the full article over on Behler Blog.

From Roz Morris’ Nail Your Novel blog the post on making the reader care about the message from December 9th is quite good. It has great tips on how to make the reader care about the message your scene is trying to convey.

Are you blocked? Stumped? Frozen with indecision? Don’t know what to write next? Mind blank? Try Women On Writing’s Beating Writer’s Block tips.

Querying:

Ulysses shares a most excellent query critique from The Rejectionist.

J. Martin weighs in on how to write a perfect(ly dreadful) query. Funny. You’ll actually find yourself picking up some good how-not-to tips.

Networking:

7 Ways to Create a Professional Twitter Presence. Good tips for the beginner. I’m not down with posting your phone number though. Unless, of course, your Twitter account is for a separate business. (What I’m saying: Don’t post your home number, but do post a business number if appropriate.)

Tips on how not to commit social networking suicide from PR guru Sasha Muradali. This should be a must-read for anyone thinking about using online social networking.

Fun:

Liana Brooks reposted my quiz on whether you are a book slut. As it turns out, I am also a plot whore as per Liana’s quiz. Cool beans. Are you?

Ten Gifts to Give a Writer by Margaret Atwood as well as commenters suggestions as well. Who knew she had a blog? It’s for her new book. Cool.