Some of the biggest challenges for many fiction writers include: where to start, how much background to provide, and where to fit the background information in.
I personally think these three challenges are tied together and can be resolved together. For example:
Where to start? Whenever possible, don’t start with background information. It tends to sound really dry as the opening to a story. The opening is where you want to hook your reader. For most stories, you want to jump right into the story’s action, and perhaps the character’s conflict, so your readers feel compelled to read on.
How much background to provide? This is absolutely a matter of opinion and circumstance. If you are writing a longer story with many interwoven characters and lives, you may need quite a bit of background to support your story line. But fit it into the story where it will be the most impactful.
Where to fit the background information in? Unless it’s critical for launching the story, it’s often best to weave it into the action of the story so it integrates with what readers really want, which is for stuff to happen. Of course you have more leeway with a novel, and can devote multiple consecutive paragraphs to background information once your story is underway. For a shorter story, go as minimal as possible on the background information. (In fact, when you’re editing the story, keep an eye open for unnecessary background information that you can extract to make the story zip along faster.)
I am going to admit that this has always been a weak area for me. I personally love the background and history of characters, and I want to tell it all. But I also realize that I may as well throw cold water on the reader! I’ve had to really work at the discipline to not start my stories with all the stuff I think you may need to know before I really tell you the story.
So, here are a few techniques I’d like to share that I think can work pretty well:
Write it, then set it aside and judiciously sprinkle it in later
It’s important for you to know the background, but it probably isn’t important to tell your readers straight off that Harald is Chester’s second cousin and is twice divorced and has two kids in Portland Maine and two in Boston. It’s more important that you share something about Harald (preferably through action or dialog) that shows us who is. Maybe he walks into the barber shop twirling his moustache, tips his hat, and flips a quarter into the fish tank. Much better. Later you can mention Chester and the two wives and four kids, because then it will seem interesting once we know him.
Leave it out all together
You may just not need it. If Brenda is divorcing Sam and somehow secretly wants custody of one child but not the other, we need to know why she wants that. We probably don’t need to know where she grew up, so you can just leave that out. But we may need to know what happened between Brenda and Sam that led to the divorce, and if it’s somehow related to this despicable choice of hers to pick one child over the other.
Spice it up
Sometimes it’s just fine to start out with some background information, especially if it’s really spicy and fairly brief. Interesting, character-forming, well-told background description can be fun to read and can set the stage for the story.
Here’s a little example I made up for this post that is hopefully spicy enough that you become interested and want to read more.
Aunt Suzie was the unfortunate misfit child in a family of sports stars. Suzie only wanted to compete in chess competitions. Of course, that is how she met Uncle Pete, who was the grandmaster of the Kansas City Chess Club at the time. But it never would have happened if Suzie’s brother Ralph, the star quarterback of Kansas City High School, hadn’t picked a fight with the Science Olympiad teacher.
The idea behind opening the story with this background information is that it’s just enough to give readers a flavor of what’s to come. In this case, what I have in mind is a wild romp of a story in which there are a number of intriguing characters and odd relationships, and starting out with action or dialog might not set the stage effectively. For the very next paragraph, however, I would get someone talking or doing something absolutely riveting.
In his book Writing Tools, 10th Anniversary Edition, Roy Peter Clark spends a chapter talking about the difference between a report and story. “A report sounds like this: The school board will meet Thursday to discuss the new desegregation plan. A story sounds like this: Wanda Mitchell shook her fist at the school board chairman, tears streaming down her face.”
Too much background information, particularly if it is delivered early on, will make your story sound like a report. But showing your reader what your characters are all about, through interesting action and dialog, will grip your readers and make them want to follow wherever your story takes them.
Where are you in your writing journey? Whether you are a new or experienced writer, I would love to hear from you about how you incorporate your characters’ background information into your stories.
Thank you for reading!
