tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032582810288643728.post8469547748002372336..comments2021-09-30T21:23:47.847-06:00Comments on Ken Baker: Children's Author: Beware the Boring Back Storykenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15418599820612016932noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032582810288643728.post-14751878349666046422011-04-04T22:26:55.323-06:002011-04-04T22:26:55.323-06:00I agree that you need to weave the back story into...I agree that you need to weave the back story into the narrative in small bits. Add a memory or short flashback for the character at a point where the action would naturally trigger that memory.<br /><br />However, you have to be careful that it reads as if the elements of the backstory were there all along, and not as if you suddenly realized you needed to add something to the plot. Stieg Larsson is guilty of this in his second novel, The Girl Who Played with Fire, where on about page 300 that the hero, Mikael Blomkvist, in addition to being a sterling journalist who is irresistible to women, is also a brilliant mathematician.Scott Buryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05061034006121401082noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032582810288643728.post-13676657759351207242011-03-31T09:08:28.289-06:002011-03-31T09:08:28.289-06:00Great discussion. I like to wrap the backstory in ...Great discussion. I like to wrap the backstory in organically also. Adding it in at an appropriate time, as it relates to the current situation, gives depth to the story without creating distance between the reader and the story.Rita Kuehnhttp://ritakuehnsblog.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032582810288643728.post-8542558783169985202011-03-24T10:48:43.431-06:002011-03-24T10:48:43.431-06:00Lana, great points. You're right on the mark a...Lana, great points. You're right on the mark about how back story needs to be organic to what's going on. It has to feel natural to the reader.kenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15418599820612016932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3032582810288643728.post-67930849051684257722011-03-24T10:40:02.322-06:002011-03-24T10:40:02.322-06:00An excellent topic and one that every writer has t...An excellent topic and one that every writer has to deal with. <br /><br />One thing I've learned is to make the back story very organic to what is happening in the story's here-and-now. Include tidbits about the past when something triggers this memory in the character's natural thought process. <br /><br />That ties in with the idea of not interrupting a fast paced scene with back story, because when the adrenaline is pumping, you're not likely to take a stroll down memory lane. You stay in the moment, focused and ready to act. And the narrative flow should reflect that.<br /><br />Also, one of my pet peeves is a prologue used as an excuse to include back story. I heard an author once say, that's why they call it BACK story--because it doesn't belong in the front. Ha!<br /><br />Thanks for another great post.Lana Krumwiedehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06538049424115986364noreply@blogger.com