Into the Fire

Backstory. How can a novel exist without it? Thrust into present tense, first person POV, backstory must still be revealed. Second person POV, though rarely used, must recall something from the past to allow the voice of the character to clue us in to the quandary of his dialogue. Third person POVs give us history of their characters one way or another.

The current trend found in Susan Meissner’s award winning novel The Shape of Mercy and recently controversial Lost Mission by Athol Dickson is to alternate back and forth between historical situations and characters pulling those histories into the significance of the present. That takes “backstory” to new heights—or depths—depending on how you see it used. Yet, even in the “current” aspect of these stories, the author must still provide snippets of the contemporary backstory.

So it seems just a tad hypocritical for professionals to degrade how backstory is included within a story. Once again it seems to be a matter of preference. Some would argue that backstory should be provided in snippets through dialogue or a character’s observation. Others find it perfectly fine to begin with backstory and proceed to the present. Others like it slipped in almost invisibly with whatever method seems least intrusive to the present.

How can there be a “rule”? Some professionals claim that when authors make the backstory the real story, or that it takes too much away from the “real” story, it’s unacceptable. I would agree that an author needs to recognize what the “real” story is in order to present their story effectively in their query or proposal.

As you know, my main complaint with "the rules" is they’re usually stated as if poured in concrete. Backstory is just another means to provide information, and, like the rest of creating fiction, it seems to land smack dab in the middle of subjectivity rather than on firm literary substance.

Your thoughts?  

Lord, thank you that creativity is a gift from you, the Most High Creator of all. Help us not to put everyone’s efforts into tight boxes that don’t fit your expansive designs. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.