We’re continuing to blog questions from blog readers and MBT Voices. If you have a question, be sure to email me at Rachel@mybooktherapy.com.

So, here’s today’s question.

Q: How do I add “storytelling elements” to my novel without dumping backstory?

A: The balance between back story and the action on the page is tricky but not hard. Let’s look at a few definitions before we outline some guidelines for weaving back story into a scene.

Story telling elements are just those fragments of a characters life, history, wants, goals and desires that are necessary for filling out or understanding a scene.

The trick is to deliver just enough emotion and history to intrigue the reader while filling them in on what’s going on.

For example, if Sally is not excited about going to her high school reunion, we need to know why.

Let’s try a scene:

Sally opened the invitation that came in the day’s mail. High school reunion. Groan. Had it been ten years already? Well, she wasn’t going. Forget it. Standing over the trash can, Sally ripped the invitation in two, then again and again until it fell against the plastic sides like pieces of cardboard snow.

So we see Sally has issues with the idea of going to her high school reunion.

Can we weave in some character history and motivation to add more to the story without a backstory dump?

Sally opened the invitation that came in the day’s mail. Her pulse sounded in her ears as she stood by the mailbox, tearing open the flap. Why did she answer the email requesting her address? Because… it came from Siri Forsyth. Ten years and nothing had changed.

Well, she wasn’t going. Forget it. Standing over the trash can, Sally ripped the invitation in two, then again and again until the name of Township High School and every memory of Siri Forsyth and her minions drifted against the plastic sides like day old ashes.

Ah, so we get that Sally had a nemesis – a relationship that causes bad memories and torment. So, we understand she’s not just a girl who has no interest in returning to high school, she is not interested in unearthing the pain of her heart.

We got a bit more emotion in that scene – her pulse racing. We get a hint of her character flaw to want to be liked. It’s why she answered Siri’s email. Then we see some resolve. She’s going to tear up that invitation, tear up her old memories and never revisit them again.

But as the story goes on, we know this is an attempt which will fail. She’ll go to the reunion and it will take another force and voice of truth in her life to get her past this wound.

That’s the difference between story telling and backstory.

Back story is dumps of history that take the reader out of the current action. It’s kind of cheating. The author doesn’t want to take the time to weave in the elements of tension and intrigue to draw the reader into the life of the character.

Backstory would look like this:

Sally opened the invitation that came in the day’s mail. Her pulse sounded in her ears as she stood by the mailbox, tearing open the flap. Why did she answer the email requesting her address? Because… it came from Siri Forsyth. Ten years and nothing had changed.

When she meet Siri the first day of junior high, they became fast friends. Their mothers had gone to college together and finally, their daughters were in school together.

But Siri was popular and beautiful. Sally was awkward and tall, way too tall. And smart. By the end of seventh grade, Siri made cheerleading and removed Sally from her friends list.

Sally joined the math club and debate team, trying to find her place in the vast school landscape. She even tried Pep Club hoping to renew her friendship with Siri.

They were cordial to one another until their sophomore year when Willard Watson entered the picture. Math geek and back up quarterback.

Siri was determined to have him. And so was Sally. It all came to a head that fall when Willard asked Sally, now not so awkward and much more beautiful, to the homecoming dance.

Siri launched an all out campaign against her.

See, now we are in a completely different story. We are not in Sally’s 28 year old life, we have drifted back – not even in flash back form – to the story of her high school days and why she’s dreading the reunion.

But what about Siri Forsyth made Sally answer the request for an address? We got away from that intrigue, didn’t we.

That’s what back story does. It starts…. Another story in the middle of the main on.

This information is awesome, but it needs to come out as part of the current, main story. Use dialog and small lines of prose to introduce Sally’s issues with Siri.

We want the character history. What we don’t want is another story. Got it? Make sense?

Here’s a couple of guidelines:

1. Layer in enough of the character’s emotions that we get a feel for what’s happened in the scene. Don’t leave us guessing. Is the return of her boyfriend exciting or scary? Is the invitation in the mail good or bad?
2. As you’re layering in information, have you taken the reader into a different story, time and place? That’s back story. Cut it.
3. Character history is letting us know the why and how of the character “in that moment” we’re reading. We want to know why he refuses to carry a gun even though he’s a police officer. But one line is all we need… for now. We want to know why she is desperate to go on a date. But one line is good.
4. Tease the reader. If you write too much, cut some and rewrite. Hint at the issues and problems but don’t write the solution.
5. Remember to RUE. Resist the Urge to Explain.

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Best-selling, award-winning author Rachel Hauck loves a great story. She excels in seeing the deeper layers of a story. With a love for teaching and mentoring, Rachel comes alongside writers to help them craft their novel. A worship leader, board member of ACFW and popular writing teacher, Rachel is the author of over 15 novels. She lives in Florida with her husband and her dog, Lola. Contact her at: Rachel@mybooktherapy.com.