Is Backstory Holding Your Story Back?

How to give your reader context without confusion

Photo by Hadija on Unsplash

I recently read a manuscript that told this incredible coming-of-age story. The climax was the moment the protagonist learns their true purpose in life, something bigger than most of us will ever encounter, and rises to the occasion in a most satisfying way. Sounds good, right?

The trouble was, to get there the author dips into the past on page two for context. A potentially dangerous move, because the reader has barely had any time to bond with the protagonist or feel comfortable in the scene before everything changes.

And a few pages later, we get more back story. Not much later than that, the backstory goes even further into the past with a flashback.

But the story was interesting, and the writing was good, so even though I tripped a bit as I read and needed to remind myself what level of the story we were on, I kept reading.

I loved the story, and recommended revisions to help bring that plot line to the forefront. As written, the central story was hidden behind too much backstory, potentially confusing or losing readers, and the central plot needed to be brought back to the focus of the story. I wondered if the author chose the right place to start, and made some suggestions to help rein in all those time shifts.

But when I discussed the story with others who had the chance to read it, I was surprised at how many people were so turned off by the backstory that they weren’t sure the story worked at all.

So what’s the truth?

A story’s purpose

A story’s purpose is to relay a significant moment in time in a way that lets readers live vicariously and learn from other experiences. And most of all, a story must entertain.

Did this manuscript achieve its purpose?

Based on the feedback from other readers, I would have to say no. If 9 out of 10 readers miss the point of a story, then the story hasn’t done its job. With revisions? Well, that would depend on the final result. How much jumping around would the reader have to do?

I went back to the original manuscript and counted the words in the central story versus backstory.

60% of this story was backstory.

And that’s the problem.

Using all that backstory confused the story’s central purpose of relaying a specific moment in time. I counted five chronological jumps in the span of a particular five pages. With that many time shifts, a reader could not get fully established in a scene before finding themselves in a different moment altogether. Not only is the reader deprived of that magical suspension of disbelief that allows them to live in a fictional world, but sooner or later, the reader will simply get confused.

And the last thing an author wants is for readers to be this confused.

The Fix: When writing a story (or more accurately, revising a draft), identify the central story line. This is the story. Anything that veers from chronologically moving forward takes the reader away from the moment and can detract from the story. Authors dealing with chronology shifts must be aware of the percentages so they know how readers perceive the story. Whether you highlight different times in different colors, change the fonts, or copy and paste the text into different documents to count words and determine percentages, if the central story isn’t the majority of the text, it’s time to revise the plot.

Backstory’s purpose

So should authors avoid backstory at all costs because it’s too risky? Do we need to stay only in the story’s present and move forward?

Heck no. Backstory, or a poignant flashback at the perfect moment, can take a story from pedestrian to truly memorable. But only if wielded correctly.

Backstory should deliver that deep context missing from the current plot line. It should reveal intentions, justify actions, and reveal the truth behind what’s happening in the main storyline. Backstory can bring the reader to an even deeper connection with the protagonist.

The Fix: Backstory must reveal something critical to the central story line. If sharing this moment from the character’s past doesn’t directly move the central story line forward, it’s not serving the story. Any shift back in time must relate to the moment in the present the reader just left, and it should allow us to get right back into the central plot with deeper understanding than we had a moment earlier.

How to use backstory

Whether in the form of a quick flashback or a longer memory, every second (or sentence) spent away from the central story risks losing readers.

The Fix: I’ll share three of my favorite tactics to ensure backstory supports the central plot.

1. Use backstory sparingly. Remember the story is what is happening now for the reader, so that should be the majority of the manuscript. Anything else is context. Dip too much into the past and you’ll confuse the reader as to which story you are telling. Most readers want to relax and let a book take them for a ride, so use backstory sparingly and only when context is needed for a specific element of the plot to be understood.
2. Make sure transitions are clear. The reader should get at least a sentence or two that indicates why we are moving into the past (what triggered the memory) and another sentence or two firmly orienting the reader into that moment in the past. Ditto for moving back to the present — Make sure the reader knows clearly whenever time shifts away from each minute ticking away in the central plot line.
3. Interrupt long blocks of backstory. This last bit gets to technique. Even if your transitions are smooth, long passages outside the central plot line can make a reader lose track of the present. One trick to keep the reader firmly planted in the present so they can appreciate the extra context being shared is to take breaks from that backstory and return to the present. This requires smooth transitions each time we move back or forward in time, but using vivid and visceral sensory details from the present to cue the reader each time we touch base will help them remember the point of what they are reading.

Now, this author knew they had revisions ahead of them, and they’re a very strong writer, so I know that by the time this story makes it to publication all of these backstory issues will be ironed out and this story will get the recognition it deserves.

Backstory can be powerful… just don’t get carried away.

Have any of these techniques worked for you? Is there another trick you’ve found that helps wrangle backstory into place?

Happy writing!

Elizabeth Russo is an editor and author with a passion for helping new writers navigate their way through the process of taking a good story and turning it into a publishable manuscript. She’s a Florida Writers Association Top Ten Short Story winner and a returning Royal Palm Literary Award judge. She’s an active member of the Florida Writers Association, the Women’s Fiction Writers Association, ACES: The Society for Editing, and the Editorial Freelancers Association. Have questions? Reach out!