How to Write a Backstory Without Losing Momentum
Explaining a user's background can help reveal their motivations or mindset. But it's important to learn how to weave that backstory in without constantly pausing the current experience. Here are some tips to keep the flow natural.
The 5 w’s of story – where, what, why, who and when – can all change to create variety and interest. None of these elements must change. The characters in your novel or your setting could remain fairly constant. Yet change opens up possibilities for new developments and intriguing new scenarios. These keep your novel exciting and interesting. To avoid your story stagnating in a single location, shift somewhere new – another town or country, from the city to the countryside or vice versa. Make sure any change of setting makes sense in relation to the story.
"If a passage feels bloated or unbalanced, be brave and trim it."
This is the first part of our series on building better user journeys. I'll share more techniques in upcoming posts. Let me know in the comments what topics you'd like covered next!
User A
It’s great that you share these tips with young and aspiring writers. Even though they may not be writing novels, I believe it will be very useful for them to learn something new from a really skilled writer like you. I’d be glad to hear some recommendations on how a writer can develop the plot without cutting down chapters (I often see it in the books of young writers). Anyway, thank you for this post, it is very informative!
User B
I completely agree with your last point, but I also think understanding how key relationships develop between features would be fantastic. That would definitely add depth.