Your character has a dark, mysterious past. But what is his past? Will readers appreciate it or roll their eyes hard?

First of all, how do you formulate a personal, unique character backstory? Who your character is today is explained by where he’s coming from.

So, ask yourself:

• Who or what influenced him the most as a kid? Parents? Friends? Mentors?

• What was his environment, world, or home like? Did he relate to it, love it or hate it?

• What did he dream of most as a teenager? What goal was he working toward?

• Who or what hurt him, affected him, or took advantage of him when he was young?

• Was he a happier person before today? A sadder person? An angrier person?

These questions will help you formulate a satisfying, unique origin story. After you’ve created an origin story that’s unique to your character, you’re ready to share it with the world, right? 

Well, what’s the purpose of an origin story?

To do three things:

• Share with the reader why your character needs to change.

• Explain a character’s personality traits, reactions, or beliefs about the world.

• Emphasize the personal importance of the character’s journey.

That’s it. No more, no less.

An origin or backstory encourages character development, so treat it as you would a plot point in your story, not just an identity marker.

The mistake I made when I was a newbie was that I treated the story like it was about this character’s past instead of his present. It got in the way of the story and became the character’s only identity. “Hey I’m Mr. Bad Boy Protagonist. I have cute freckles, mysterious eyes, a chiseled jawline- OH and a terrible father who beat me every day as a child- NICE TO MEET YOU.”

*Shutter*

I also dropped my character’s origin story right at the opening- before the current story even began- because I thought it would explain eeeeverything else that happened.

*Cringe*

Rookie mistakes, really. But here’s what you need to know:

An origin story is baggage to the reader if you don’t write with the three P’s in mind:

• Placement

• Purpose

• Pacing

Placement is everything when it comes to sharing a character’s backstory. Throwing around flashback after flashback of backstory without rhyme or reason leaves your reader burdened, confused, and peeved.

Let’s say your character is terrified of fire for reasons the reader doesn’t yet know. You introduce a scene where the gal absolutely freaks when a spark from the fireplace lands on her cloak. Now, the reader is thinking, “Mmmk. That’s weird. Why did she act that way? What happened to her that made her freak so insanely about a little spark??”

The thing is, you know that this same gal has to fight a fire-breathing dragon at the end of Act 2.

So what do readers need to know before that happens?

Well, in order for readers to grasp how high the stakes are for your character, they need to know that as a child she witnessed her father get charred to a crisp by a fire-breathing dragon while defending her and his siblings. (Ahhh, yes, the “aha!” moment!)

But when do readers need to know that?

A.) At the beginning of the story when they barely know the gal and that information would be less meaningful?

B.) When she’s begun her journey to save her kidnapped son and discovers the creature that’s taken him is a dragon?

C) When a friend teases her about lighting the campfire for the night?

D) Right before she enters into battle with the dragon?

What do you think? Well, consider what you need to know about placement:

• Dropping an important bit of backstory is all about timing, relativity and moving the plot forward.

• Sharing this vital info must emphasize the character’s current conflict alone.

Ask yourself: is this backstory pertinent to the current story? There cannot be any story baggage. Even if you personally love that piece of backstory or character history, it doesn’t mean the reader will.

So how can you tell what’s important and what’s fluff?

Well, write the details of his past down like a list.

Then, consider your plot, your story’s message, and your character’s goal. What on your list fits into those three denominators?

If any piece of your character’s origin story fits into any of those, then knight it as a worthy servant of the plot roundtable.

Don’t force backstory to fit into the plot like Cinderella’s stepsisters crammin’ the glass slipper on their elephant feet. Be unattached, be decisive, and edit wisely.

To help you edit, here’s what you need to know about purpose:

• If it doesn’t support your story’s message, then it’s fluff.

• If it doesn’t encourage readers to cheer your character on in his journey, then it’s fluff.

You know what’s hard? Shoving a whole pizza pie in your mouth without dying (don’t try this at home). You know what’s a little easier? Shoving once slice of pizza pie in your mouth.

But you know what’s even worse than eating an entire pizza pie in one mouthful? Getting it shoved down your throat.

What’s the point, Rae?

Pizza is amazing and deserves to be enjoyed in delicious steaming slices, not entire pie-fulls.

The same is true for your character’s origin story. It’s better enjoyed by the reader in well-paced, well-placed fragments.

Sure, you can devote an entire chapter to backstory. But what’s better is sectioning and sharing your character’s origin story in appropriate pieces, teasing your reader with intrigue (paragraphs over pages kinda’ thing). Strike questions in the heart of your reader, don’t just provide endless answers. Leave ’em coming back for more, ya’ know?

Ultimately, here’s what you need to know about pacing:

• Share fragments- paced out and relative to the plot point.

• Leave your reader intrigued with glimpses and not chunks.

*One bonus “P” to consider is perspective. Backstory should consider points of view of other characters involved. How will this information affect this character’s friendships or relationships? When will discovering this information challenge the friendship/relationship the most?

Character origin stories rock. And you can make them rock even harder by remembering the three P’s when you write:

• Placement
• Purpose
• Pacing

(and bonus- perspective!) 😉

Creating unforgettable, unique characters takes more than writing an epic origin story. It takes learning how to write unique dialogue, how to give your characters a specific goal, how to give your characters truly challenging conflict and much more.

So how do you do this with ease? You check out the new online course I have coming for teen writers just like you:

This 13 chapter online course teaches you the fundamentals of great storytelling, including:

• How to Discover your Unique Writing Voice

• Pixar’s 7 Steps to Outlining a Story

• The Elements of a Killer First Chapter

• How to Create Characters that Matter

• How to Create a Love Triangle Readers Won’t Hate

• The Art of Showing AND Telling

• The Art of World Building

And so much more!

Find out more about this online Course here

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