Ding, ding!
Referee: “Ladies and gentleman, welcome to the first ever
bout between Back Story and Character History.”
Wahhaaaaa. Cheerers!
Ref: “In this corner, from the New York City, wearing black
shorts, weighing in at a hefty five hundred and eighty-two pounds is the
champion of all novel prose, Baaaaack Storrrryyyyyy!”
Waahhhh…. crowd
cheering.
“And in this corner, from Miami Beach, wearing blue shorts, weighing
a sleek one hundred and seventy-eight pounds is the challenger,
Chhhaaaarrracter Hhhiiiistorrrryyy.”
Wooooo…. Crowd booing.
Referee: “All right you twos, I want a clean fight. No
hitting below the belt, no tripping, spitting, holding or biting. Touch gloves,
go to your mutual corners and when the bell rings, come out fighting.”
Ding!
Character History leaps to the center, bouncing, dancing,
he’s full of pip. From his corner, Back Story lumbers to the center of the ring.
One cross from the herculean champ, Character History will be out, face down on
the canvas.
Character History circles, jabbing at his opponent.
“He sure seems confident, Bill.”
“I’ll say he does, Sam.”
Smirking, Back Story takes a wide stance, raises his gloved
fists and waits, his hawk-like gaze tracing the young fighter. He’ll not give
up his championship belt without a fight. He know, this young whipper-snapper
has no power over him.
Character History bobs and weaves. He taunts. “You’re going
down, Back Story. You’re going down.”
“Take your best shot, wise guy.” Back Story strikes, a hard
right jab.
Oh! Character History takes the hit on the chin. His head
snaps back and he wobbles to stay up. He’s against the ropes. Back Story
presses forward.
“This is it folks. Back Story will win in round one with a
one-two punch.”
Just as he swings, Character History cuts low and lands a
hard shot to Back Story’s ribs. The big man his stumbling, breathing heavily.
His arms slip low but he recovers, watching Character
History circle. He strikes again with an uppercut…
“But mercy, Bill, Back Story misses by a mile.”
“And here comes Character History. With a jab, cross,
uppercut. Ooo, Back Story is taking a beating. He’s teetering… he’s stumbling…
he’s against the ropes. Sam, it’s not looking good for Back Story.”
Character History throws one final blow. A sharp cross. And
Back Story falls! The whole arena quakes as he hits the canvas. It’s like
watching Goliath being quelled with one of David’s stones.
The ref is on his knee, counting. “One, twos, three, four….
nine, ten. You’re out, Back Story. You’re out.”
It’s over. In Round One.
“Ladieeesssss and gentlemennnn, Chhhhaaarrracter Hissstory
is the new prose Cham’peeean of the World.
***
Fun, uh? Okay, I can hear y’all now, “Rachel, what are you
talking about?”
I’m talking about back story verses character history.
What’s the difference? Strength, power, speed, agility and ability to sustain
the long haul of a novel.
Back story is old fashioned writing. It’s large and
encumbersome. Slow. Waddling. And most of the time, unnecessary.
But writers use it and readers endure it because it gives us
some glimpse into the heart and soul of a character.
Character History is hot, lean and sleek, fast and quick, in
and out, not weighing down the story.
Back story, we all know, slows down the action. We’ve heard
the rule: No back story for the first 30-50 pages.
But wait, what if an author needs the reader to know
something critical about the character for the opening scenes to make sense?
That, my lovelies, is character history.
For example, Billy Bob is about to go on his first police
call -- a possible robbery -- since returning to the force after being shot in
the gut while responding to a bank hold up. He’s nervous. He’s anxious. When he
gets inside the establishment, he draws his gun a bit too early and almost
shoots his partner.
What’s going on with him? I f we stick to the “no back story
rule” we miss the importance of this moment. His jittery nerves just make us
think he drank too much coffee. We don’t care.
What the reader needs a bit of history. A line or two of prose, or even better dialog, that gives
the reader a hint of Billy Bob’s emotional state.
The scar on his
shoulder from the bullet wound burned and twisted as Billy Bob entered the
bank. It’d only been four weeks… and in a split moment, he couldn’t remember
why he’d returned to this job.
Ah, the reader has learned there’s something more to the
story. It ups the readers attachment to Billy Bob. This bit of history adds
tension. What bullet in the gut? When? Who shot him? Why?
All of those question, left hanging, can be answered later
in the story. Good stuff. If the writer wanted, s/he could add a line of dialog
from his partner.
“You okay?”
“I’m here aren’t I?”
“Just wondering.”
“You do your job, I’ll do mine.”
Why was his partner asking Billy Bob if he was okay? Hmm?
The reader wants to find out more so s/he turns the page.
Back story is another matter. Back Story stops the forward
action and talks about things unrelated to the current scene and emotion. Sure,
it’s about Billy Bob and it’s all true, but the reader doesn’t need to know he
wanted to be a cop since he was ten while our hero is stalking a burglar.
Here’s a back story blob:
“Since taking a bullet in the gut, Billy Bob wondered if he
could still be a cop on the beat. But his dad had been a cop and his father
before him. Every Martin man wore the badge. Billy Bob remembered the first
time he held his father’s badge, feeling the cool metal in his palm, stroking
his finger over the shiny brass. He knew then, at then, he’d be a cop just like
his father. Mother didn’t want him to be. She worried about Dad, but if a man
put on blue and a gold badge, wasn’t he invincible?”
Wow! All that while checking on a robbery call? By now, the
reader’s forgotten what was going on. The burglar has escaped while our hero
mused over his past. Or worse, shot Billy Bob’s partner.
The reader doesn’t need that much information. Especially in
the midst of a tense scene. Save it for later. Perhaps in a conversation with
his Dad when our hero, Billy Bob, is facing a voice-of-truth moment.
Do I still want to be
a police office?
Why did I become a
police officer?
Back Story is more for the author than the reader. Character
History is for the reader, and the power of the story.
So, what’s Character History and how do we use it?
1.
Character History applies to the current action on the
stage. If your heroine cannot stand the hero, don’t let her behave irrationally,
leaving the reader in the dark. Don’t give us a snippy rude girl without giving
us motivation.
Drop in a line of history. “Ever since seventh grade when he stole her PE clothes from her locker and she got detention, Jen couldn’t stand Colby Witherspoon.”
Drop in a line of history. “Ever since seventh grade when he stole her PE clothes from her locker and she got detention, Jen couldn’t stand Colby Witherspoon.”
2.
Drop in history and exit quickly. Leave the reader a
bit curious. In writing Love Starts With Elle, I had a paragraph or so of
history about Elle so the reader could understand the significant emotion of
the scene and what action was about to take place – a proposal. Elle had set up
Operation Wedding Day for herself in the book, Sweet Caroline. She wanted to
find a man. But her plan didn’t work. When she let it go, THEN she met the
handsome Jeremiah Franklin. When Elle got her own book, I needed to add that
bit of Operation Wedding Day “history” to help the reader “get” and care about Elle.
3.
Character History sets up tension. Drop in a line about
how your character is afraid of…. snakes or heights. Don’t you love how Indiana
Jones hates snakes, then gets dumped in a pit of them? We first see his fear
when he’s escaping in a prop plane after taking the artifact from the cave. We
don’t get a bunch of lines about why and how he’s afraid of snakes, we just see
his reaction. Then when he’s dumped in the pit, our skin tingles. It’s Indy’s
worst nightmare. Most of ours too! Can you imagine how boring the scene
would’ve been if Indy went on for six or seven more lines about how his big
brother used to toss snakes on him when they played in his grandma’s creek? Who
cares at that point? We just need to know his history with snakes. Period. He
hates them.
4.
Character History is part of the prose painting. It’s a
nice clutch on forward action. It helps the reader take a breath and get into
the heart and mind of the protagonist. But be careful. Just a bit of history is
all we need. If your character is passionate about ending injustice of some
kind, show us that passion on the page, then through dialog or a fast line or
prose, hint at why this injustice bothers your heroine so much. But don’t give
the reader a montage that begins when our heroine is ten and ends when she’s
sixteen, then brings us back to the current moment. Give just enough to fill
the reader in.
5.
Character History sheds light on the protagonist
motivations. Let the history pertain to what’s happening on stage, in the
current scene. If your character is dealing with, oh, say, an errant child,
don’t stop and give a dissertation on the protagonist own childhood and
upbringing. Not necessary. Boring. But, do tell us how her mother was so kind
and patient, and it frustrates her how she is so impatient and sharp. That’s
all the reader needs to get what’s going on with the protagonist motivation.
Watch out for phrases like, “a sound brought her back into
the present.” Ooo, where did she go? On a back story rabbit trail?
We all love
to sit and reminisce, but a novel is about tension, conflict and moving
forward. Most of us don’t stop to muse or reflect while arguing with our friend
or trying to save the world. Right?
Now, these are guidelines. Once in awhile, we do have a
character drift off in thought for a moment, but be guarded. Ask yourself if
there is a better, more emotionally impacting way to present the information.
If not, then go for the reflect and keep it brief.
So, there you have it. The bout between Back Story and
Character History. Go out writing and have a clean fight with your words.
Ding, ding!
***
A graduate of Ohio State University with a degree in Journalism, she worked in the corporate software world before planting her backside in uncomfortable chair to write full time eight years ago.
Her book The Wedding Dress hit the top bestsellers list the first half of 2016.
Her book The Wedding Dress hit the top bestsellers list the first half of 2016.
Rachel serves on the Executive Board for American Christian Fiction Writers. She is a mentor and book therapist at My Book Therapy, a conference speaker and worship leader.
Rachel writes from her two-story tower in an exceedingly more comfy chair. She is a huge Buckeyes football fan.
Here latest novel, The Wedding Chapel landed on Booklist's Top Ten Inspirationals for 2015.
Visit her web site: www.rachelhauck.com.
What a unique way of teaching this writing lesson. Personally, I prefer that the writer keep moving forward.
ReplyDeletelove this Rachel!! never thought about that subtle distinct difference! i've used both but now i'll be more aware of which i'm using and how and when! thanks for a ninformative post!
ReplyDeleteThanks Debbie and Robin! It was a relief when I finally realized the difference!
ReplyDeleteRachel ;)
Great post, Rachel. Thank you for clarifying the differences between the two.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Rachel. Thank you for clarifying the differences between the two.
ReplyDelete