tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post593203204521260913..comments2023-11-03T05:49:10.841-04:00Comments on Storytelling Rules: Thinking About BackstoryMaureen McGowanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00494408580378817045noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-55328084412832442002010-03-29T19:18:01.817-04:002010-03-29T19:18:01.817-04:00Hmmm. It's making me think of that Hitchcock m...Hmmm. It's making me think of that Hitchcock movie MARNIE. It had a young and incredibly fine Sean Connery in it. Oh, he could act, too. :-) Anyway, the whole thing was unraveling why this woman reacted to certain things in certain ways. Meanwhile, the romance between Connery and Tippi Hedren is the real story that's moving the plot along. It's probably really cheesy now, but I loved it when I first saw it a bazillion years ago.<br /><br />And, Molly, I am honored to have made you shoot ANYTHING out of your nose. I chose hope it wasn't cheese tortellini.Eileenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09803986849921870941noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-44506878710616502242010-03-29T18:16:07.802-04:002010-03-29T18:16:07.802-04:00yeah - it's a careful thing AND you have to ha...yeah - it's a careful thing AND you have to have enough plot questions moving the story forward - it can't be lopsided.Molly O'Keefehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15171236688541657736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-40801567815195019602010-03-29T18:14:09.507-04:002010-03-29T18:14:09.507-04:00Maureen makes a really good point, the backstory t...Maureen makes a really good point, the backstory tease can be a great mystery, but it has to be carefully used. Holding something back while in a character's pov is difficult without having the reader feel annoyed or cheated, but if done well, so delicious.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-69525271748010379302010-03-29T15:53:45.751-04:002010-03-29T15:53:45.751-04:00Great points. I'm a Weiner fan but have not re...Great points. I'm a Weiner fan but have not read that particular story.Travis Erwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09420879160702098979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-56684229623933032592010-03-29T13:28:23.344-04:002010-03-29T13:28:23.344-04:00I think the real epiphany is how easy a tool it is...I think the real epiphany is how easy a tool it is. And how much fun it can be. <br /><br />It also made me think about DON'T KILL THE MESSENGER Eileen - and how the backstory questions and dragging them out doesn't always make sense - Melina wasn't much of a dweller, she was an upfront and forhright character for her to not talk about something (And both books are in first person POV) it would have seemed like a trick. Of course Melina would be like "i nearly drowned and now I'm a messenger and it totally sucks." She's adjusted to the baggage. Those aren't the questions that were going to work in that book. <br /><br />Also, I will not tell you what shot out of my nose when I read The Vodka Cleanse line. I laughed my tush off.Molly O'Keefehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15171236688541657736noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-59256682133374479292010-03-29T12:54:00.540-04:002010-03-29T12:54:00.540-04:00I love the held back backstory, too. I think one p...I love the held back backstory, too. I think one problem writers make (and by writers, I mean me) is to hold it back but refer to it too much... so it becomes an annoying tease rather than a pondering mystery... A careful balance is required and some authors are so dang good at it. Molly, I'd like to borrow that book. :)<br /><br />Kristy Kiernan is another author who I think does a great job of pulling you along by making you wonder what happened in the past. (that is, waiting for the backstory to be revealed is as or more suspenseful than what's going on in the present) Especially with her first book, Catching Genius.Maureen McGowanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00494408580378817045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-45356603295677868652010-03-29T12:41:07.994-04:002010-03-29T12:41:07.994-04:00Nice epiphany, Molly!
I haven't ready Weiner ...Nice epiphany, Molly!<br /><br />I haven't ready Weiner for a while, but I loved IN HER SHOES.Eileenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09803986849921870941noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29864506.post-49339065172784676542010-03-29T12:33:21.483-04:002010-03-29T12:33:21.483-04:00This is probably a really timely post. I've be...This is probably a really timely post. I've been thinking about so much backstory with what I'm working on. Most of what I know about the characters comes through the stories that happened before the book starts.<br /><br />Stories I really love. Stories about how they first met. Stories about when it all went wrong. And I think... do I do a backflash? Are the days of backflash over?<br /><br />But you're right Molly. What I have to remember is that those stories are important to me because it got my characters to this point. But maybe I don't need to spell out all the ugly details.<br /><br />Thanks for this!Stephanie Doylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17448686465587131952noreply@blogger.com