Hello everyone, I only just created this account because I find I am needing advice from fellow writers as I begin to write my first novel but have no one around me who I can really ask about this sort of thing. Anyway I wanted to know your thoughts on how much of the backstory I should explain, here is an example; ' It had been two days passed and not a word from his friend whose absence had not gone unnoted by the local community who lived in the town of Oakenvale. Daniel was a prominent local figure known by many for his charity to the poor and indeed his good nature in general. He also was a man of some prestige holding a senior position in the town’s council and so was a direct employee of The Great Protector Beckett Rothermere. The title of Great Protector is one that stems back to the old times some 300 years ago. It was created shortly after the people of the Northern Woods, now mostly referred to as Oakenvale, unified to protect itself against an ever expanding southern empire. The position was merely meant as a figurehead, so that one person could speak with the voice of the many rulers that once populated the Northern Woods. However as the southern empire began to disintegrate the need for unification became less urgent and the petty rulers seemed once more to be turning their thoughts to war amongst themselves. The Great Protector however saw an opportunity, he called the many rulers together for a council at the town of Oakenvale to discuss the disbanding of the confederation... ' I of course want to create a detailed backstory over the course of the novel (much like the Song of Ice and Fire series has), however I'm unsure if I should go into so much detail all at once or break it down into smaller pieces so that the chapter's focus isn't lost. In this example I'm writing about the prologue which details the event of the main character's father being murdered. I want to describe why the title of The Great Protector is important, as to anyone but me it's just a name. So I started to write about the title's origin, which began to become quite in depth. Would it be simpler to shorten this and describe the full story in subsequent paragraphs or chapters? Any thoughts are welcome. Also, apologies for the length of this post.
Yes, I think that it's too much backstory, especially since it's presented AS backstory. I offer an example of a rewrite that includes some of the same detail, and that I think feels less like backstory: Two days, and Daniel was still missing. The holes left by his absence were evident all over town. The Council meeting was cancelled for lack of a quorum. The soup kitchen, expecting the usual generous check, had to scramble to pay for the weekly poultry order. And the Protector was roaring in every government office, demanding that somebody, SOMEBODY find his right-hand man. But Daniel was not found, and a week later the Protector, reluctantly and angrily, chose a substitute, and the Council met. In fact, some whispered (when the Protector was out of earshot) that Daniel had not been wholly in support of his employer's position on disbanding the confederation. Could the roaring and the manly tears all be a ruse?
This really really really felt like backstory. Backstory kills momentum. It's like a dragster parachute or an anchor. When you do go into backstory, do your best to make it interesting. The sentences in your paragraph are ponderous. Break them up. Make them punchy. That keeps things moving. Backstory requires subtlety. Slip in a little here, a little there. Use dialog. Use actions. Use innuendo. Avoid info dumps. Best of luck with your first book. My advice is to put your head down and plow through it. Damn the torpedos! You can edit later. The most important thing with your first novel is to finish and gain experience. Very few people write good first novels. The first draft of my first novel was a crime against humanity. The first one is a test run for future work. Enjoy it. Have fun. Experiment. Learn. But most importantly, finish. Hope this helps.
You need to bring your story (backstory, Prologue, whatever) to life. Just reciting a list of 'facts' as if you were Wikipedia is not going to work. You need to take the 'facts' you know and spin them into a story. Start with characters. Don't just mention them, let us get to know them. I can't say this enough: don't be afraid to take your time. Don't rush us, especially at the start. Pick up any fantasy book that you like. How does it start? See what you can do to create the feeling of anticipation you get when YOU start reading a book that grabs you right away. It's much more important to get people interested in your characters and the kind of people they are and what their immediate problems are than it is to lay all the groundwork for their world. Just dive in. You say: "It had been two days passed and not a word from his friend..." So—who is this person who is missing his friend Daniel? Start with him. Who is he, where is he? What is he doing? What is he worried about (specifically)? Is it unusual for Daniel to be gone for two days? And go from there. Build a scene. And then another scene. Resist the urge to step back from your story. We don't need to be told the entire setup right at the start. Do we? We don't need a history lesson. We need a story.
Thanks for the advice everyone, whilst waiting I indeed thought it was too much backstory and it broke up the flow of following paragraphs. I appreciate the time everyone took to help me, particularity the rewrite (unusually you guessed correctly that the great protector had involvement in the disappearance). I know that this first novel will likely be awful but as you say it is good practice. Thanks again.
