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.

Writing a First Draft in Two Weeks: Part 3

How am I doing in my online class and its imposed challenge of writing a first draft in two weeks? (280 double-spaced pages.) Well, it’s going.

Sorta.

Speaking of Crazy Goals…

I’ve done an awful lot in the past two weeks, except make the 280 page mark. I am pleased to announce that I am over the 200 page threshold, but with the midnight Sunday deadline approaching faster than Easter, let’s just say, hitting 280 ain’t gonna happen. I mean, sure, I’m open to miracles. But the fact of the matter is, I’m not going to drop absolutely everything in order to accomplish this goal. In fact, writing 77 pages in the next 30.5 hours would pretty much ensure I would break a whole lot of other goals. Such as my goal of being a reasonable person, my goal of keeping my family happy and fed–heck, even hanging out with my family, my goal of getting through laundry before the work week commences once again, my goal of being a non-negligent mother, etc, etc. Plus, I’m pretty sure the cat I’m sitting would get a bit pissy if I just ran into the house, flung food at her, and hurried off again. (Same goes for my family, actually.)

There is something to be said for making unreasonable attempts, such as writing 280 pages in two weeks while trying to retain a semblance of real life (and not get fired or divorced or visited by family services). There is also something to be said for making goals and doing your best to get close to them. For example, if I hadn’t tried to reach this goal, I would still only have notes as to where I wanted to go with this story idea.

So what have I learned? I can squeeze in a little writing time every day if I make it a priority. And heck, it’s still a pile of fun! (Plus, if I write up to 9:13 in the morning, I can eek into work just in the nick of time. Whew!)

The next crazy goal? To revise this puppy in two weeks–that’s the second half of the class. I wonder if it matters that it is only 207 pages long and incomplete. Hmm…

The Unexpected (In Writing)

The biggest thrills… when do you get the biggest thrills as a writer? As a reader? As a movie watcher? What really makes you dive in that extra  little bit? Pay attention just a little bit more?

For me, it is the unexpected. I was watching The Hangover the other night (Loved it! Don’t watch the trailer if you haven’t seen as it gives away some of the unexpected. Doh!) and found myself getting right into it. What was it that sucked me in? The unexpected. Yes, it drove me a bit crazy in the beginning that these guys had had a huge room wrecker of a bachelor party and couldn’t remember a thing from the night before. But what truly made this story great was the unexpected. It was one big unexpected event after another. It was unexpected for the characters and unexpected for the viewer. Yet, it was all still believable. Tiger in the hotel bathroom–unexpected. Believable? Actually, yes!

The joy of discovering something unexpected is the same when I read. I think one of the reasons I loved The Flying Troutmans and The Glass Castle was the unexpectedness of events and character reactions. Yet, it all fit and that made it believable.

When I am writing, it is the same thing. I’m trucking along, putting it down and then ‘whoa!’ a character just got arrested. ‘Whoa!’ a character just revealed an 18 month long affair. It is invigorating and exciting. It surprises me and makes me pay attention. (This is actually how we humans are programmed–a change in patterns is surprising, which in turn, gets our interest. Survival instincts kick in and we assess that change for danger or reward.) Most times, the surprises that my muse presents are like little treats for the brain.

However, when seeking to add an unexpected twist in our writing, we need to ensure that this unexpected element will stay within character and fit the story. If we sensationalize for the sake of throwing our readers off balance, we may get their attention, but we’ll also leave them with empty, meaningless surprise and no message. And that’s no fun.

Has something unexpected caught you off guard and grabbed your attention lately?

Fleshing Out the Skeleton

Last week was a decent week of writing. I got the first draft done on my work in progress. Although, in reality, it is more of a skeleton than a true first draft. Somehow, I reached ‘the end’ at 30,000 words when usually my first draft ends up at around 110,000 words and I have to go back and tighten like crazy. However, this story has demanded to be written in a different way, with only the bones showing up to be put down in the first draft. Therefore, I must now go back and flesh it all out. I need to add tendons, then layer in some muscle. Then fat and flesh as well as a few veins. I think a lot of the story’s arteries are already in there, even though I only have a skeleton!

What I’m going to be doing in my next draft is layering in character motivations, making connections between my characters as well as ensuring they all have their own little plot arcs and conflicts. (Just the major guys get plot arcs though.)

Here are some questions I will be asking myself as I plan out the next attack:

* What does this character want? What stands in their way? What helps them?

* How does this character’s desires get in the way or help other characters with what they want?

* What kind of relationship between character X and character Y will result in the most interesting events, the most conflict, or the most conflict resolution? i.e. How will these secondary characters cause things to happen in the story?

* How can minor characters assist in developing plot points to help further the story question? How can these character’s help reveal the story’s theme or emotional message?

I’ve got some big questions for the next round of story layering and some major brainstorming to do. Now if I can just find a few hours of head space, I’ll be set.

Do you need quiet time to brainstorm? Or are interruptions okay?

Is Your Protagonist on the Last Page?

Last night at book club, a member said, “I always read the first chapter, then the last page.” We all gasped, of course, and leaned a little further away from her. She explained, “I want to make sure the protagonist is still around at the end of the story. I’ve been burned a few times. I don’t have the time to invest in a book where the protagonist isn’t still around in the end.”

It makes sense, actually. One of the biggest complaints about Michael Ondaatje’s Divisadero in my other book club was the fact that we were introduced to a group of characters and their conflicts early on in the story and then ‘blam,’ we’re off on other adventures and some of those conflicts were left unresolved. Those characters were not on the last page, so to speak.

So the question is, what do you think? Do you have your protagonist on the last page? If not, what are your reasons?

In case you are curious, my protagonist is always on the last page of all my stories. Right there, tied up with a nice little bow and her happy Disney-ending rainbow. (Only, not quite that cheesy, as I don’t want to make my readers barf all over the book.)

All the more reason not to make your reader barf.

When Characters Do Bad Things

I was peacefully writing away yesterday afternoon.

La, la, la.

That was me. I began a new chapter with a new character. He carefully slipped out of the house in the morning, being extra careful not to wake his wife who didn’t need to get up for a few more hours. Off he went to work, the ever-so safety conscious employee. All day he works alongside his longtime buddy. Then he shocks me. As he is driving away from the plant, he drives downtown and meets his buddy’s wife for a long-standing affair! They even have a hotel room booked for every Wednesday from 3:30 to 5:30. I was shocked. So shocked I almost stopped writing. Seriously. My fingers paused. My brain leapt scrambled against the brick wall it had been flung against and my jaw dropped.

I stuttered. I blinked. I couldn’t believe it. Sure, in the past my characters have done some pretty zany stuff. But they have never, NEVER done anything that I would disapprove of. And this guy did. I created a cheater and I didn’t know. I’m really quite choked at him. Why would he do this? He’s a good guy with good relationships. Or, at least, so I thought.

I had to stop writing. I left him at the hotel room door. It was hard writing about this as it came so out of left field. The character will stay. The affair will stay. And I will get over it.

What surprised me the most was maybe not his affair, but how shocked I was. I started jumping on what was flowing from my fingers onto the screen. I was getting in the way when I was in the groove and the right, honest words were hitting the page.

I honour the groove, and yet, my brain was stuttering at my fingers, so I had to quit. I was afraid I was going to spoil it. That I was going to get in the way of the story.

Has that ever happened to you? Have your characters shocked you so thoroughly you had to put down the story and compose yourself?

I’ve Come a Long Way, Baby

I’m pasting old blog posts from 2 years ago into WordPress and all I gotta say is, I’ve come a long way. I read over some of those posts and I want to edit them! I want to clean up the writing, add hyphens, rearrange sentences and a lot more. I’m not though. They need to remain as a reminder of where I’ve come from. I sure have gotten a lot more serious and ‘about the business’ in my posts though–holy smokes!

One of my first posts surprised me. I forgot what a noob (newbie) I was when it came to the humongous world of writing. I had not a clue. I owe a huge thank you to all those literary agents blogging their little hearts out as well as the community over at AgentQuery. Those two things have been huge in helping me get to where I am today–a better writer who has her head in the game (and knows which room the game happens to located as well).