𝐒𝐈𝐆𝐍 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒 ━━ 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘪𝘱𝘴

⠀⠀²⁵ how to write a good backstory

          ╰─── "A backstory is a comprehensive overview of a character's history that extends beyond the story in which the character appears. Devising backstories is a crucial part of character creation since a character's background will inform the action of the main narrative. Writing character backstories can be part of the world-building process. It's a way to create fully formed characters who resemble real people with nuanced personality traits."

     ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐈𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐍 '𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘' 𝐀𝐍𝐃 '𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃' ⸝⸝ ⇗
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀→ ⺌ This section is inspired by Dramatica and Story Bodyguard articles. Credit for this portion goes to them. Disclaimer: I have added my own words, advice, and paraphrased sections of the article.

          Many beginning writers often confuse background information they establish about a character with backstory in the narrative. "This is an area in creating a story where discernment and tight story play a key role."

          For those of you who may not entirely know the difference between background and backstory, this is for you.

━━ 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗞𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬: "a literary device authors use to give a sense of history; the imagined pasts characters' live and worlds possess; includes the events that directly lead to the "story" and its story form. These events take place before the main narrative of the story."

           ➳❥ 𝙁𝙐𝙍𝙏𝙃𝙀𝙍𝙈𝙊𝙍𝙀. . . "Backstory consists of events that happened earlier than the story itself but are inserted into the plot. The backstory must be used with a deft hand. Beginners usually add too much, too soon. I recommend that beginning writers avoid backstories at all costs, especially in screenwriting. If you insist on putting a backstory in wait until you have written at least one-third of the story. Beginning with backstory — because you want your readers and viewers to know all about your character — will always feel like a trick to the audience."

━━ 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗞𝗚𝗥𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗: "the detailed character history that an author builds for all the main characters — where they were born, their parents, how they grew up, likes and dislikes, life-changing early trauma incidents, phobias if any, etc."

           ➳❥ 𝙁𝙐𝙍𝙏𝙃𝙀𝙍𝙈𝙊𝙍𝙀. . . "The more an author knows about their characters the better able they will be to make them believable and intriguing in their story. So, the more time, work, and detail they put into their background the richer, more complicated, and more conflicted their story will be. Yes, it is essential to build a background for your main characters. Think of it as the iceberg. Only the tip of the iceberg actually appears in a story. Use the basic guideline: it must move the story forward or throw it out."

          Bottom Line: The primary difference between backstory and background is that backstory is directly tied to the essential growth and development of the story's story form, while background provides an environment within which the characters have individual, historical contexts as an aspect of the story's storytelling.

     ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐔𝐒𝐄𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐈𝐍 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆? ⸝⸝ ⇗
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀→ ⺌ This section is inspired by a Now Novel article. Credit for this portion goes to them. Disclaimer: I have added my own words, advice, and paraphrased sections of the article.