In my last article I talked about how the careless inclusion of backstory information can ruin the presentation of otherwise compelling characters.  This month is about strategies through which you can convey a character’s background without those problems.  Best of all, while poor application of backstory undermines your story, careful presentation of backstory can actually enhance your story.  Here are four ways to use backstory effectively:

Use it to raise questions.

A major issue with backstory is that it often answers too many questions about your characters, too soon. A much better strategy is to use unexplained backstory to raise questions instead.  Imagine if your opening scene showed your character going through airport security with a locked metal briefcase.  The security people require her to open it. She does, revealing a dozen souvenir spoons, the kind you get at tourist traps with illustrations of places you’ve been, all nestled securely in a protective foam lining.  You inevitably raise a question in the reader’s mind: Why are these spoons so special to her? more...

The other day I found myself thinking about the Chinese finger trap.   For those of you out of the know – it’s that woven, hollow tube into which we insert our pointer fingers at either end, pull to get out, and find ourselves stuck.  If we keep pulling, we stay trapped, but if we relax and stop trying to escape, the thing loses its grip.

I like this toy because it reflects how both real feeling trapped can be, and that being trapped is always a product of struggling against.  So any time we hold thoughts in opposition to something, - a person, an event, or a condition – our stance creates the tension that produces this trapped “reality” – not actually the external situation.  One must engage the finger contraption in a particular way in order to be trapped by it, and so it is with life situations and writing.  

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All authors need agents. Period. There, I said it. I won’t take it back, and you can’t make me. I’m sure there are a few of you reading this who think they’ll do just fine without one of those 15% grabbers, so I’ve put together a short quiz. If you answer “yes” to even one of these questions, you’re absolutely right: you do not need an agent. So stop reading because your book is certainly already published. 

A)   You attend book signings and parties at least once a week, during which you mingle with high-powered editors over canapés and champagne (and yes, the editors have to be willing to speak to you for more than two minutes).

B)   You fly to New York at least four times a month to treat editors to $200 meals in order to learn their likes and dislikes (oh, and for some reason, these editors actually take your call and agree to lunch).

C)   You are well-versed regarding the ins and outs of foreign rights, audio rights, serial rights, advances, royalties, auctions, preempts, subsidiary rights, and how to interpret mind-boggling legalese. You’re also adept at negotiating for days, possibly weeks, until you get the best deal for your novel (a first time author would never just take what’s offered to them in the overwhelming excitement of finally getting published, right? Right???) more...