Topic 27 Backstory

BACKSTORY

Greetings, 
Lately, just about every article popping up in my e-mail these days pertains to backstory and how important it is to the tale you're writing. But what is backstory? And is it as important as so many people seem to be stressing? 

According to Wikipedia, "...backstory is a set of events invented for a plot, presented as preceding and leading up to that plot." For example the history of the main character. Sometimes the backstory is presented in a prologue. But, from what I've seen with the books I've recently read, many authors are doing away with prologue and are inserting their backstory in the first pages of the tale instead.

Editors and agents alike judge a book by the first page. Is the story drawing them in right off the bat? What's going on with the protagonist? If they don't see what they're looking for, the story gets set aside.

Ray Rhamey, who writes FLOG A PRO for Writer Unboxed, loves having his readers vote on whether the  first page of a bestselling author would be enough for the reader to want more. He doesn't reveal who the author is until after we've voted. I hate to say it, but many beginnings of well-known authors in Rhamey's presentation didn't convince me to want to read more. Luckily, Rhamey agreed with me. A very high percentage of the various author's first pages didn't give you a clue about the protagonist at all. They were just describing other people around them, the scenery, etc.   

Today, I'll use books from my bookshelf in demonstrating whether backstory has been introduced right away. The copyrights of these books range from 1969 to 2012.

1. A Nun in the Closet by Dorothy Gilman. The first sentence of the prologue--"At the Abbey of St. Tabitha the sisters met to discuss gravely which of the seventeen among them should leave the abbey and go out into the world..."  Six pages later, in Chapter 1, we finally learn about the personal background of the two nuns selected to leave the Abbey, Sister John and Sister Hyacinthe.

2. Tracks by Louise Erdrich. First two sentences of the first chapter--"We started dying before the snow, and like the snow, we continued to fall. It was surprising there were so many of us left to
die. " We find out what the Indian's been through in the fourth paragraph of Chapter 1.

3. Mutant Message Down Under by Marlo Morgan. First three sentences of Chapter 1--"It seems there should have been some warning, but I felt none. Events were already in motion. The group of predators sat, miles away, awaiting their prey." Paragraphs six and seven in chapter 1 delve into the main character's story.

4. Nano by Robin Cook. First sentence from the prologue--"The cyclist decided to go for a relaxing ride--the real training would resume on Tuesday, after he underwent more medical tests." Right away we are given background on the cyclist. Paragraphs that follow fill us in more. But Pia Grazdani's story, the main character in Nano, isn't present until Chapter 1.

5. Deep South by Nevada Barr. First chapter. "The rambler's headlights caught a scrap of paper nailed to a tree, a handwritten sign: REPENT. Darkness swallowed it..."  Paragraph 3 and 8 give Anna Pigeon's background.

6. A Case of Need by Michael Crichton. Beginning of Chapter 1--"ALL HEART SURGEONS ARE BASTARDS, and Conway is no exception." Right after the first sentence, Crichton tells us Conway sweeps into the room angry and what he does whenever he's mad and what his face looks like in that situation. The third paragraph tells us  about Conway's work, etc.   

We all know how important it is to have a great first sentence or two to grab the reader's attention. I've even covered that topic in a previous blog. But as far as the character's background story, I like to weave information about the main character throughout the story and not give it all away in the beginning. How about you? Please feel free to share and comment regarding today's blog. 

Until Next Time
This is Marlene Chabot
Mystery Author