Seven Deadly Sins of Backstory
1 THE INFO DUMP
Loading your character’s entire history in the first few pages of your book is a guaranteed way to turn
off readers AND editors. Readers don’t need to know everything, and they don’t need to know it all at
the same time. Sprinkle relevant nuggets of information throughout the story. Remember the old
adage: Storytelling is the art of withholding information.
2 INADEQUATE BACKSTORY DEVELOPMENT
If you don’t spend any time developing who your character was before the first page, you won’t be able
to determine who he/she becomes by the last page. Backstory = Motivation. What is really driving your
character?
3 IRRELEVANT TO THE STORY
If the death of your character’s childhood dog has nothing to do with her motivation or character arc,
there’s no reason to bring it up. Irrelevant backstory confuses readers.
4 OVERLY COMPLICATED BACKSTORY
Heroes with a tragic past are common and popular, but if your character has TOO MUCH tragedy in his
past, readers will get confused. Keep it simple. Pick ONE THING to be the central driving force in his life.
5 REVEALED IN THE WRONG PLACE
Knowing when to finally reveal a bit of backstory is one of the hardest parts about crafting a novel.
Reveal too early, and you destroy tension. Reveal too late, and you leave readers guessing about a
character’s actions and/or motivations. Backstory matters because of its impact on the character and
the story. Figure out the impact, and that will help you know where to reveal it.
6 LONG FLASHBACKS
You have one job as a writer: Keep readers in the story. Flashbacks, even well-written ones, pull readers
out of the story. If a past event is absolutely critical to the story and cannot be revealed any way except
in a full scene, then consider a prologue.
©Louise Knott Ahern
Capital City Writers Association
May 2016
7 CLUNKY OR UNREALISTIC REVELATIONS
Don’t cheat with how/why your character reveals backstory. Clunky or unrealistic revelations will always
turn off readers and make them say, “Huh?” Two most common examples:
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Susan saw a dog, and it suddenly made her remember that time when she was kidnapped as a
child. Really? Not unless that has been a repressed memory and the sound of the dog barking
suddenly reminded her of the guard dog in her kidnapper’s house.
“Hey, remember that time you were kidnapped? Let’s talk about that again.” It’s surprising how
often writers attempt to inject backstory through conversations between two characters who
would never have to remind each other of the details of a shared experience.
***BONUS***
FIVE KEY QUESTIONS FOR BACKSTORY DEVELOPMENT
1. What is the worst thing that happened to your character in her life before page one? Why was it
the worst, and how did it shape who your character is at the start of the book?
2. What is the biggest secret your character is keeping? What would happen if she revealed it?
3. What is the Big Lie your character believes about life (or love, justice, faith, etc.) at the beginning
of the book? What would it take for her to see it as a lie?
4. What is your character’s greatest fear at the beginning of the book? Why? What would most
directly force her to face and/or overcome that fear?
5. Who in your character’s life had the greatest influence on her? Why? In what way did that
person influence your character?
©Louise Knott Ahern
Capital City Writers Association
May 2016