Your characters may first appear to your reader on page 1 of your story, but in their world, they’ve lived full lives before we encounter them. Understanding your characters’ backstories can help you portray well-rounded people and create a connection between them and your reader.
In a post on Writers in the Storm, Eldred Bird says if you want to know where your characters are going, you need to know where they’ve been. “Our past experiences have shaped who we are now and how we react to the world around us. It should be the same for your characters,” Bird says. “Our job as authors is to dig into our character’s past to find out where they hid the bodies.”
Your character’s strengths and flaws have been with them a long time and were likely formed in childhood. Before you start writing, you should spend some time with your main characters, asking and answering questions. Bird uses an interview technique. “As we go through the interview process any interesting details about their past that come up get jotted down in my character file,” he says.
If the interview doesn’t dig up enough detail, use real world people as inspiration. “I pick and choose details to shape a unique individual with their own special combination of traits,” Bird writes. “I’ve also been known to go out in public and do a little people watching when I’m out of character ideas. Going to settings similar to the story’s location can also yield some useful character details as you observe real world interactions.”
The tricky part is working this information into your narrative without dumping it on the reader all at once. Readers want story, not a résumé. In fact, most of your backstory will never make it into your novel. “Too much dwelling in the past can kill story pacing and bore your readers to death,” Bird says. “Most of the history you’ve created is there to give you, the writer, the opportunity to get to know the characters better so you can write them in a more realistic way.” Sort through your notes and figure out which details are vital for the reader, then insert them sparingly through the story when the information becomes relevant.
