Deborah Woehr

If you’ve been writing for a while, then you know what these are. However, if you’re a complete newbie, then I’ll give you the straight-forward definition. Backstories are mini-biographies of your characters and your plot.

Is it necessary to write backstories for your characters before you write a word of your novel? I’m torn by this question because often, the idea for the story and the mental picture of my character come at the same time. If I don’t write the idea down, then it becomes lost.

My characters stick inside my mind, once I envision them. Their personalities and looks are the first thing that come into my mind as I begin writing my novel. Two or three chapters into the process, I begin to realize who they are and stop to let them tell me their stories. Sometimes I write them down. Other times, I continue with the novel, keeping their histories inside my head until the reader needs to know why this character is reacting the way he/she is when confronted with a certain situation.

Then I inject a short flashback, where they re-experience the event (a trauma or an unpleasant situation) that hangs them up in the present situation. This happens in a vivid dream or a conscious recollection. Most of the time, I am short and to the point, careful not to stall the main plot.

In Amanda’s case, I have her face her past when Travis (her neighbor and one of the town deputies) starts probing her about Joel’s murder when her sleepwalking continues. This is a rather long flashback (2-3 pages) that occurs before the onslaught of the hauntings. The sole purpose of this scene is to establish trust between the two characters, something that is lacking in both of them due to domestic violence issues.

They need to trust each other before they can team up to uncover the town’s secrets. If they don’t, well they become part of the ghostly population. Very, very bad.