Writing Character Backstory

One of the key elements of successful character development is knowing your character’s backstory, even though character development in writing is spoken of often instead. One of my favorite things about my favorite authors is that they know their stories and characters inside and out. You can ask them questions about their characters that are not answered in the books, and they don’t even have to think about it before answering. That’s a great sign that the author knows the character’s entire backstory, even if it’s not all written into the story.

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What is Backstory? 

Backstory is the history and background information about a character (or even a place/world) that gives the reader insight into how and why characters behave or react in a certain way. If you think about it, every single person you know has a backstory that ultimately defines who they are individually. You can’t possibly know the entire history behind every person you know, but you get a glimpse of that history each time that person does, says, or reacts to something. It takes skill to show this in writing without directly telling readers every detail of a character’s life before the story begins. 

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Importance of Developing a Strong Backstory:

Even if you don’t give readers the full rundown of a character’s past, it is important for YOU as the writer to know all those details. A significant portion of your character’s backstory is for your eyes only; it won’t be written into your story. 

Think of it like an iceberg. What the reader sees from the character’s backstory is the tip of the iceberg. It’s there, noticeable, and maybe a little scary and rough and daunting, but it’s just the surface. Under the water is the base of the iceberg. It’s bigger, fuller, and deeper and is the grounds on which the tip was grown. It’s the bulk of the backstory, or the groundwork that helped develop the pieces the reader sees. 

Though it may not all be shared, this helps you, as the author, write a believable, reliable character. Plus, when you get to a spot in your story and must ask yourself, “What would this character do or say in this situation?”, knowing their past experiences will make this easier to answer and write. Being aware of the backstory will allow you to write your character consistently as well. 

Knowing your character’s backstory is not only key to knowing your character; it’s vital to the progression of your story as well. For your story to move forward and for your character to grow, you need to know where they come from and where they started. 

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Tips for Developing a Great Backstory: 

I became obsessed with writing characters back in high school. I had an English teacher give us a “character information” sheet to fill out about the character we were developing. It asked us to describe the character’s looks, name their parents, talk about their friends, explain any scars or birthmarks, etc. 

Once we filled out this form of around 100 questions, we were told to take a few of those answers and write a paragraph or two about them. It sparked so much creativity and helped me as a writer fall in love, or even love to hate, some of my characters. This is where I still start when I write new characters, and the following tips are ones to consider as you develop your backstories: 

• Create a timeline of your character’s life leading up to the story. Where were they born? Who are their parents? What was their childhood like? 

• Pinpoint moments on this timeline that were pivotal and potentially life-changing to this character. Write a few paragraphs about those moments to investigate them deeper and notice how they may affect the character in your story’s timeline. 

• Avoid info dumping. Less is more in most cases. Backstory moments should be included only as they are triggered by something that is currently going on in the story. 

• Decide how you want to include backstory information. Snippets of backstory can be written as a flashback, dialogue, direct narrative, summary, or even recollection. How you choose to include the backstory moments should be consistent and relevant to the character’s current situation. 

I firmly believe that creating a timeline for your character is the most effective tool you can use for developing backstory. Anytime I have writer’s block with my current project, and I’m not sure how to continue the story, I’ll go back to my character timeline and write a short story about a moment on that timeline. Also, anytime I get to a point in my story where I ask myself, “Why did she just do that?”, I look back on my character’s timeline and pinpoint an event or situation from her past that could have caused her to act that way. 

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About the Author:

Nichole is a PNW native and an aspiring author and editor. She loves all things nerdy and spends too much time planning her next comic con trips. She is a full-time stay-at-home mom of four and a full-time college student at Washington State University. When she isn’t reading or writing, she enjoys spending her free time outdoors with her kids and dog.