Unpacking Backstory: How to Seamlessly Integrate It into Your Novel

Backstory provides depth and context to your characters. It enhances and expands on their motivations, and the world they inhabit. Effectively incorporating backstory into your novel enriches the narrative, engages readers, and enhances their understanding of the plot.

Here’s a comprehensive guide on what backstory is and how to integrate it seamlessly into your writing:

What is backstory?

According to Jericho Writers, “In a nutshell, the backstory is everything that has happened to your character before the novel begins.”

Backstory refers to the history, experiences, and events that occurred before the main timeline of your novel. It encompasses details about your characters’ pasts, their relationships, significant life events, and any other information that shapes who they are and influences their actions in the present story.

Backstory helps readers comprehend characters’ motivations, understand conflicts, and invest emotionally in their journey.

Why incorporate it?

1. Character Development: Backstory reveals your characters’ personalities, fears, desires, and flaws, making them more complex and relatable.

2. Plot Enrichment: Backstory provides context for current events, explaining why characters behave in certain ways or react to situations as they do.

3. World-Building: Backstory establishes the setting’s history, culture, and societal norms, immersing readers in a richly detailed and believable world.

4. Emotional Impact: By delving into characters’ past traumas, triumphs, or pivotal moments, backstory evokes empathy and deepens emotional resonance.

How to incorporate backstory:

1. Strategic Placement-

• Introduce gradually: avoid info-dumping by revealing the backstory in small doses throughout the story.
• Relevance to plot: it is needed when it directly impacts current events or decisions, ensuring its relevance to the unfolding story.

2. Character Integration-

• Reveal through action: show backstory through characters’ actions, decisions, and interactions (avoid solely relying on narration).
• Dialogue and reflection: use conversations, memories, and internal thoughts to subtly weave in relevant details.

3. Flashbacks and Memories-

• Use sparingly: flashbacks and memories should be used sparingly and purposefully. Use them to highlight significant events or character development.
• Transition smoothly: ensure smooth transitions into and out of flashbacks to maintain narrative flow and clarity.

4. Conflict and Resolution-

• Motivation and conflict: connect backstory to present conflicts to clarify characters’ motivations and add layers to their struggles.
• Resolution and growth: use backstory to reveal character growth or transformation as they confront past traumas or reconcile with their history.

5. Show, Don’t Tell-

• Immersive description: show sensory details and emotions associated with past events to immerse readers in the moment.
• Implications and consequences: show how past choices or experiences shape characters’ current circumstances and decisions.

Example of backstory:

From my cozy mystery, Birds Alive! –

I stopped for an iced latte on the way home, letting the cool, milky drink soothe me. This
day, our first birding expedition had begun with so much hope. New friends, new experiences.
And it ended so fast. In death. How?
Why would quiet, withdrawn Anna volunteer to fill the bird feeders? And what did
Sylvia mean when she said she never bought that kind of seed? If she didn’t buy it, who put it in
the shed? So many questions but no answers.
More memories of Zack’s death returned, and the latte soured in my stomach. I don’t
know where I would’ve been without Lauree by my side, taking care of my kids. She would pull
me off the couch every few days and shove me into the shower.
And, each month, on the anniversary of Zack’s death, she sat with me and let me talk
and cry. Eventually, I shared more positive memories and fewer tears. It took time, like I told
Owen, but I got my feet back under me. Mamma Birds hatched, and I found my way as a widow
and single mom.
Did Anna’s family have someone like Lauree? Did she have people who cared, who
would mourn her? How I wished I’d talked with her more.

What we’ve learned:

Integrating backstory into your story enriches characterization, deepens plot complexity, and enhances reader engagement. By strategically revealing characters’ pasts and their impacts on the present narrative, you create a layered story.

Experiment with different techniques to seamlessly incorporate backstory. This ensures it enhances rather than overwhelms your novel’s flow. Embrace the art of storytelling through backstory, and watch your characters and their world come to life on the page.

Happy writing!

Read Crafting a Writer’s Mood Board and then follow me on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram, and subscribe to my newsletter to keep up with news about my book and any special offers! Be sure you grab your FREE 10-step checklist to plan your novel when you subscribe!

Hi, I’m Jen! I’ve been married for over 37 years, have 5 amazing kids and 3 adorable grandkids. I homeschooled our three youngest children, and I used to blog about homeschooling. I also taught Oral Communication as an adjunct instructor for over 5 years.

Jen Dodrill Writes is born of a passion of mine – to write a novel! My first cozy mystery, Birds Alive!, released Feb. 27, 2024!

When I’m not working, you’ll find me writing, spending time with my family, or curled up on the couch reading and drinking a mug of dark roast coffee. (Don’t forget to check out my mug shop – JDMugs!)