tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post116539166692902500..comments2023-11-03T05:49:10.841-04:00Comments on Storytelling Rules: Backstory... Just say no! (or yes)Maureen McGowanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00494408580378817045noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-1165551625733327152006-12-07T23:20:00.000-05:002006-12-07T23:20:00.000-05:00That's a great rule, Eileen.That's a great rule, Eileen.Maureen McGowanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00494408580378817045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-1165549505559317392006-12-07T22:45:00.000-05:002006-12-07T22:45:00.000-05:00My rule: the backstory has to serve the current st...My rule: the backstory has to serve the current story. Interesting is not enough. Great post.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-1165549261772946712006-12-07T22:41:00.000-05:002006-12-07T22:41:00.000-05:00Deb KristyI think you hit the nail on the head. Pr...Deb Kristy<BR/><BR/>I think you hit the nail on the head. Prologues work when they help get the book into action more quickly, or pose an intriguing question the reader wants answered.<BR/><BR/>They got a bad name because so many authors used them to dump back story about the character. <BR/><BR/>Thanks for stopping by the blog Kristy! Everyone, check out the debutante ball blog. Great! Can't wait to read every single one of your books.Maureen McGowanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00494408580378817045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-1165531596623556192006-12-07T17:46:00.000-05:002006-12-07T17:46:00.000-05:00I LOVE it when a map or geneological chart is incl...I LOVE it when a map or geneological chart is included. It makes the story more real for me - especially the foreign and/or historicals.<BR/>Does this mean I'm visual?!Wylie Kinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09271148590574475682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-1165530960631820722006-12-07T17:36:00.000-05:002006-12-07T17:36:00.000-05:00Hold on tight Deb.I don't look at the maps either....Hold on tight Deb.<BR/><BR/>I don't look at the maps either. Or the geneology charts.<BR/><BR/>Chapter One. Start your motors please.<BR/><BR/>NancyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-1165525167408218212006-12-07T15:59:00.000-05:002006-12-07T15:59:00.000-05:00There is no question that one of the biggest reaso...There is no question that one of the biggest reasons my book sold was because of the prologue. No matter what anyone says about the book, they always seem to love the prologue. I've always been fascinated, the way I'm fascinated by a train wreck, by people who skip, SKIP, the prologue!<BR/><BR/>A cousin of mine admitted to this massive character defect (not really, Nancy!) and I spent the entire evening with her basically pinned to her seat looking wildly around for rescue (which never came) while I interrogated her--none too gently-- about her Prologue Skipping Ways.<BR/><BR/>My theory is that people confuse Prologue (usually a fast-moving, pull-you-in, strong piece of writing containing pertinent, nay, IMPERATIVE information) with Foreword (usually a dry bit of academic blah blah blah that anyone in their right mind would skip). What do you think? Can I spout that theory publicly? (I suppose I just did.) <BR/><BR/>And I, too, believe that backstory, properly done, is important in a character-driven story, which is what I like to read and what, I hope, I write.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-1165501094210145522006-12-07T09:18:00.000-05:002006-12-07T09:18:00.000-05:00You know the more we get into these things and the...You know the more we get into these things and the longer we stick around I think just about everything comes back to "you can do anything if you do it well."Molly O'Keefehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15171236688541657736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-1165493709740669622006-12-07T07:15:00.000-05:002006-12-07T07:15:00.000-05:00I love a short little prologue. The one in The Poi...I love a short little prologue. The one in The Poisonwood Bible comes to mind. A long prologue like the one in Empire Falls was too long. I also don't mind a bit of backstory. Seems most literary novels are full of them from the get-go. <BR/><BR/>I've read Donald Maas' writing books, been to one of his lecture's at a writer's conference and get the impression he just wants writers to take out all the long winded drivel, the painful flashbacks, etc. that sounds like their ego's talking. I'm a patient reader, so I don't mind backstory when salted in effectively at the beginning of a story. I've been agonizing about this in regard to my own WIP. Even one little paragraph of backstory in chapter three is up for deletion. <BR/><BR/>I've only read Emily Giffin's first book and couldn't relate to her characters. Maybe because she focuses on issues facing younger women, and I'm in my mid-forties! I've found that women's fiction writer's Marian Keyes and Sophie Kinsella deliver tons of backstory in their novels, but nothing that slows the pace of the story. Great post, Maureen.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-1165459924315729562006-12-06T21:52:00.000-05:002006-12-06T21:52:00.000-05:00The odd thing about prologues is I used to skip th...The odd thing about prologues is I used to skip them until I started writing. Then I started to read them. I still glaze over them if they're too long though.<BR/><BR/>Thanks,<BR/><BR/>NancyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-1165438864607688102006-12-06T16:01:00.000-05:002006-12-06T16:01:00.000-05:00Great post, Maureen. And gave me an ah ha moment.....Great post, Maureen. And gave me an ah ha moment..... I always love those.Sara Hantzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16182080983150346914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-1165438731894454082006-12-06T15:58:00.000-05:002006-12-06T15:58:00.000-05:00It seems to me it's not really about "official wri...It seems to me it's not really about "official writing rules" but the writing rules that are "in" at the time because so many of these "no-nos" were done in the past and done well.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-1165433075015865052006-12-06T14:24:00.000-05:002006-12-06T14:24:00.000-05:00I, too, love a good intriguing prologue. Not one f...I, too, love a good intriguing prologue. Not one full of backstory, but one that raises all sorts of questions that compels you stay up til 3am turning pages, just to find the answers.<BR/>I'm also a sucker for backstory, as long as it's woven into the story appropriately, so info is dished as needed.Wylie Kinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09271148590574475682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-1165423945646989802006-12-06T11:52:00.000-05:002006-12-06T11:52:00.000-05:00Amy and NancyAs Sinead said, rules can be broken. ...Amy and Nancy<BR/>As Sinead said, rules can be broken. The important thing is to understand why the "rule" is there and ensure you understand why you've decided for your particular story to break it.<BR/><BR/>I think the reason prologue has become a dirty word is that so many of them are just a lazy way to dump tons of information about the characters' pasts right at the beginning. Another argument against them is that it's best to hook a reader with the story, the action, the inciting incident, right off the bat. To start a book right at the point when the character's world gets turned completely upside down and will never be the same no matter what action they take.Maureen McGowanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00494408580378817045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-1165421063779685882006-12-06T11:04:00.000-05:002006-12-06T11:04:00.000-05:00Brilliant, Maureen. I agree with you. And I find...Brilliant, Maureen. I agree with you. And I find that in a lot of continuity cases, where there's a series or trilogy, backstory is dumped in to bring a new reader up to date, in case they've not read the first, or prior books. If it's not handled well, I skip over it. I'm currently reading Nora's Circle trilogy, and she's done a wonderful job of just giving the reader what they need to understand what's going on at the time. But then, this is Nora.Anne Crawford-Clarkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08273410743920730211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-1165414708883136052006-12-06T09:18:00.000-05:002006-12-06T09:18:00.000-05:00Amy,Did they say why prologues are a no-no? Becaus...Amy,<BR/><BR/>Did they say why prologues are a no-no? Because of backstory?<BR/><BR/>I seem to see so many of them...<BR/><BR/>Thanks,<BR/><BR/>NancyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-1165414485646199342006-12-06T09:14:00.000-05:002006-12-06T09:14:00.000-05:00I learned through a recent online self edit course...I learned through a recent online self edit course prologues are a No-No, and my NaNo prologue had tons of backstory. Since my eyes have been newly opened to back story I'm shying away from great gobs of it, but a couple of tid bits later on doesn't hurt anyone, I really enjoy it. Great post!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-1165413688729742802006-12-06T09:01:00.000-05:002006-12-06T09:01:00.000-05:00mmmm...story sundaeyou are a smart one ms. mcgowan...mmmm...story sundae<BR/><BR/>you are a smart one ms. mcgowan!!! Great rules. i think finding that perfect point between the reader dying to know and deciding that they just don't care and would rather watch Friday Night LIghts (which was fantastic last night) is the hardest thing about backstory. it used to be figuring out how much was too much - but now for me it's the when.<BR/><BR/>excellent post!!!!Molly O'Keefehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15171236688541657736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-1165408126479577152006-12-06T07:28:00.000-05:002006-12-06T07:28:00.000-05:00That's a hard one. I like to have some backstory. ...That's a hard one. I like to have some backstory. People don't come from a vacuum. But I don't like to get a lot up front. You're right when you say it should happen as late as possible. Or rather come a bit before a critical scene to explain why a character has reacted a particular way. <BR/><BR/>That said, as long as the character acts in a consistant way, it almost doesn't matter the background for why.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com