The Alphabet in Crime Fiction - The concept was started by Kerrie at Mysteries in Paradise. This week's letter is the letter B.
Here are the rules: By Friday of each week participants try to write a blog post about crime fiction related to the letter of the week. Your post MUST be related to either the first letter of a book's title, the first letter of an author's first name, or the first letter of the author's surname, or even maybe a crime fiction "topic". But above all, it has to be crime fiction. You could write a review, or a bio of an author, so long as it fits the rules somehow.
The Back-Story
“The most important things to remember about back story are that (a)
everyone has a history and (b) most of it isn’t very interesting.”
― Stephen King, On Writing
― Stephen King, On Writing
Definition: A backstory, background story, back-story or background is the literary device of a narrative history and set of facts and factors all chronologically earlier than, and related to, a narrative of primary interest.
The problem: For the new writer, the back-story is often told in large chucks of boring and unnecessary information.
How to spice it up: Break it up. Add only what is needed.
(a) wait to add the back-story until the novel is underway. The main story should come first and draw the reader in. If your back-story is so interesting, perhaps it should be your main story.
(b) Tell the back-story in different ways. Have it told in dialogue, have other characters tell it, make it funny.
(c) Break up the back-story. Only add the back-story that relates to the main story.
How have you handled A-Ha moments?
Also, authors I want to check out that start with the Letter B:
Bernard Cornwell
Bernard Cornwell was born in London in 1944 - a 'warbaby' - whose father was a Canadian airman and mother in Britain's Women's Auxiliary Air Force. He was adopted by a family in Essex who belonged to a religious sect called the Peculiar People (and they were), but escaped to London University and, after a stint as a teacher, he joined BBC Television where he worked for the next 10 years. He began as a researcher on the Nationwide programme and ended as Head of Current Affairs Television for the BBC in Northern Ireland. It was while working in Belfast that he met Judy, a visiting American, and fell in love. Judy was unable to move to Britain for family reasons so Bernard went to the States where he was refused a Green Card. He decided to earn a living by writing, a job that did not need a permit from the US government - and for some years he had been wanting to write the adventures of a British soldier in the Napoleonic wars - and so the Sharpe series was born. Bernard and Judy married in 1980, are still married, still live in the States and he is still writing Sharpe. 
Sources: Wikipedia and Amazon.com
Writing and selling your mystery novel by Ephron
Back-story - excellent choice for B!
ReplyDeleteGreat post. If backstory's done well, it's the extra hook pushing the story forward--what happened in the past to this character--I must find out.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely like what King had to say about backstory (so true!) and that book looks pretty interesting, too. Thanks :)
ReplyDeleteI must read me some Bernard Cornwell!! So on my TBR!!! Yay!
ReplyDeleteOh I suffer terribly with too much back-story - my story stops and goes no where! Yikes!! Thanks for the tips on how to tackle such madness!! Take care
x
I like these posts about elements of writing. I like to think about these when writing reviews... how well does the author handle them? I did not know that Bernard Cornwell writes mystery novels... I only associated him with historical novels. The book sounds good.
ReplyDeleteYes, Clarissa, back story is always a problem that I'm hoping to help with on my new blog, amongst other things. http://caroleannecarr-creativewritingtutor.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping for a few followers. :0)
I'd say Bernard Cornwell has his own great backstory!
ReplyDeleteAnother good post Clarissa...I may learn how to write something when you're all done! You have an affinity for the alphabet, and things to do with it. Cornwell sounds like it might be an interesting read. Thanks for the lead.
ReplyDeleteAll valid points about writing backstory. Interesting about Cornwell. Good post.
ReplyDeleteAll valid points about writing backstory. Interesting about Cornwell. Good post.
ReplyDeleteLOL! Ahh, Stephen King is such a card. :D
ReplyDeleteNo, it's so true! Usually a little backstory goes a long way--and breaking it up is always best. Great reminder--and yahoo! I got my free copy of Shoeless! Rock on~ :o) <3
Clarissa - Such an excellent choice for B! Backstory is one of those elements that have to be handled carefully. It's necessary for fully developed characters, but honestly, it's so easily overdone or "dumped." I try to give backstory as it's relevant to the plot. I find it helps.
ReplyDeleteI'm loving this series of posts already. :D
ReplyDeleteI love the 'peek' into how you writers do it:) and Mr. Cornwell certainly has had an interesting life!
ReplyDeleteI have often thought about reading Cornwell but he just keeps being deferred. Maybe this year.
ReplyDeletesounds like you've got yourself a project!
ReplyDeleteBack story can be so hard to work in! Great B choice.
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I have had to learn to break up the back-story. Very important.
ReplyDeleteHeather
I love the back story that you show in your writing. It suddenly hit me last night as I was paging through The Sholes Key that your book reminds me so much of another by Dean Koontz that I read. Are you familiar with Dean Koontz?
ReplyDeleteThe ABC challenge sounds fun.
ReplyDeleteGreat pointers on backstory.
Where you say 'Have backstory told in dialogue', I'd add: don't over do it because it can also become tedious if characters are expounding at length to one another just to get the backstory told. People rarely talk for that long. I may ofcourse be guilty of doing just that. I hope not LOL!
Ha! I blogged about backstory today--I don't write crime fiction, so to speak, but there is still something big to solve. I decided to do a detailed outline of the backstory (unlike what I do for my main story) and then I'm planning how to dribble the info as my MC discovers it.
ReplyDeleteA great writing tip - and I am happy to tell your blog readers that you handle it admirable in "The Sholes Key" ;)
ReplyDeleteI have not finished it yet, but I have enjoyed the first chapters very much.
I love that Stephen King quote--so true. Backstory can be tricky. Parts of it can be essential to the story, yet other parts not so much. And then where to place the bits of information? Great post.
ReplyDeleteI limit my backstory and use it mainly to catch people up who have not read my previous book. But that's about it. I keep things in the now and present.
ReplyDeletelol, I love that Stephen King quote.
ReplyDeleteIt's good advice to break up backstory and only use what's relevant to the plot.
I need to work on inserting my backstory. It's such a difficult thing for me.
ReplyDeleteHi Clarissa. I like the way you've used backstory in Scholes.
ReplyDeleteDenise
I had difficulty with backstory in my WIP - it's hard not to create an info dump. But if you're patient, the right moment presents itself:) I haven't read any Bernard Cornwell, but it looks interesting. Thanks Clarissa.
ReplyDeleteExcellent quote about backstory. I used to avoid using backstory because it can be used incorrectly in a story, but I've learned that some is needed at times. It can be difficult to know if there is enough or too much, though.
ReplyDeleteI'm loving your topics for the Crime Alphabet so far. Great tips for those of us who are authors-in-the-making!
ReplyDeleteHere's my Letter B
I read Cornwell's Stonehenge a long time back. Gallows thief sounds interesting. I love your tips about writing the back-story.
ReplyDeleteGood post on backstory. I like making it funny, as well as the thought that if it's so interesting it should be the main story.
ReplyDeleteI've read Bernard Cornwell, but a different series. The Grailquest. It was a very interesting historic fiction - which is exactly how I like to get my history. I hope you enjoy his writing.
ReplyDeleteGreat tips on back story. I actually just worked through this in the opening chapters of my most recent story - the back story was way heavy in the first version, so I cut a bunch out & delivered what was left in different wa:D
A perfect post for B. How to handle backstory is a difficult thing to master. christy
ReplyDeleteIf the backstory feels important to me I write it all in one go in a separate document and when appropriate moments arise in the story I weave snippets in.
ReplyDeleteI always struggle with backstory, ever since I wrote a novel that had about 10 chapters worth of backstory!
ReplyDeleteExcellent post! Only reveal back story in bits and pieces,and when needed or called for in a scene. It's a good way to amp the intrigue and drama, too. :)
ReplyDelete