Alright, long story short, I was planning on putting in my MCs backstory as part of a conversation that builds a relationship between him and a major supporting character that up until that point he really didn't like. This would take place in chapter 11, over halfway through my story. A surprised reaction from my SO about putting it off this long led me to consider another option. The end of chapter 3 is also a good place to put the info, and the benefit of doing it there would be to further flesh out some of my minor characters (who wouldn't get much development otherwise). I wanted to see what other people thought would be a better contribution to the story: early backstory reveal with minor characters receiving some additional development, or later backstory reveal to give a better sense of relationship building with a major character. Thoughts?
It all depends on how well it's written, but all else being equal: later reveal with some amount of foreshadowing.
Exposition through dialog is tricky. Usually it's awkward because it's generally information the two of them would already know and is obviously only talked about for the sake of the reader. Another reason is that it's usually about someones tragic past, and 999 times out of 1000 the person with that tragic past ain't gonna want to talk about it and 99 time out of 100, the other person would just not want to be on the receiving end of that conversation. So characters tend to get broken slightly just to make it happen. Also, chapter three seems a little early to me, I don't know how your chapters are structured, but it seems really near the start. Giving the readers the opportunity to ask questions before answering them turns exposition into a game rather than a slog.
Well, I can say confidently my MC doesn't have a tragic backstory (his tragedy happens in the story and it's not a secret). The two characters in chapter 11 hardly know each other, so they aren't talking just for the benefit of the reader. If I went with the chapter 3 approach the people my MC would be talking to likely would have some awareness of his history, so that is a very good point I hadn't considered. Thanks for the input, both of you!
How about putting a piece here, another there. You can build a half relieved mystery by that way. And you can hint by silence. Question or comments unanswered, topics avoided, sudden changes, avoiding someone...
I think doing backstory via one character telling another character about the past is an excellent way to get the backstory across—IF it's okay to keep the backstory from the reader until that point. When you have two characters revealing things about the past during their conversation, you have an excellent opportunity to develop both characters as well as get the information across. HOW the person speaks about his or her past reveals a lot about character. How the other person receives the information is something that builds character as well. And the effect the revelations have on both characters also comes into play. Is the receiver sympathetic? Shocked? Angered? Disappointed? Relieved? Is the person who is talking happy to be doing so? Does telling another person feel like a relief? Or does it make them feel more vulnerable? Do they tell this stuff to everybody they meet. Is this the first person they've told? Is what they're talking about common knowledge (to other people in the story?) The exchange also has the benefit of breaking up the information, if it's long-winded. The two people can be doing something else at the same time. One can also ask questions of the other. (This is an excellent device, by the way, if you want the reader to remember particular details. If the other person asks a question that makes the speaker explain something or clarify a point, that will help get the information to stick.) I wouldn't say this is the only way to reveal backstory, but it can work in many instances. I would say that backstory should be revealed when the READER needs to know it. If you find that your beta readers get confused early on, or get off on the wrong track with what your story is about, it might mean that backstory needs to be revealed earlier on. This is where a vivid, in media res prologue can help. Or a chronological start (which may seem 'slow' but doesn't have to be boring at all) can also provide a solution. I'd say break your events down into chronological order to have a look at them. Chronological order is always easiest for a reader to follow. You might discover that jumping back and forth isn't really necessary after all. Backstory can actually begin the story. Keep in mind that you can have large transitions between chronological time periods, if you want. You can start with an event that happened when the main character was 5 years old, then jump to when the character is 25 years old, and carry on from there ...as long as you make the transition clear. Twenty years later, John was still digging holes in the garden, only now it was
Without knowing more it's hard for me to make suggestions. It really is a judgement call. I would use some foreshadowing and hints about this characters past, just to get my readers thinking and asking 'what happened'. Is it possible for you to show the symptoms of the backstory? You said it's not tragic but didn't say what it was. Meaningful things in our past leave marks. Someone who struggles to trust others usually has that for a reason. Self doubts, fears, anxieties all stem from somewhere - even if that place is subconscious. But if it's so important to the story then why is it being withheld for so long, but not knowing your story or how long it is affect this answer. How important is this back story to the over all story? Chapter three could be too soon. Especially if you want to create a hook and ask the readers to think about it. I would be tempted to forget it for now and just write the story and not try to force it in anywhere. You might find, as you write freely, a naturally good moment might develop. If not, once your manuscript is completed you can read it through and look for places where you can just drop pieces in. People often say back story can be boring or adding backstory in with dialogue is tricky. But it's not usually the way it's filtered in but the timing was off. It just wasn't the right moment in the story to reveal it. Hope this helped
Hello, friend! How about you tell your backstory little by little? Study your MC past and see where you can write it in good moments. Don't write it all; find important moments to show your character's backstory. Example, lets' imagine your MC have a phobia of spiders. She is a grown adult and is a cleaner. She is going to clean a dining room of a president; suddenly, as she is cleaning a corner, there's a spider. Her mind is transported when she was a child. Her. mother was a scientist that studies spiders, and in that time she was fascinated. Now you can stop here and not continue her backstory, or you stop here, and when in your story another spider or the same spice gets closer to her, you describe the time when she got the phobia. I hope this helps. Keep on good work and have fun.
