_TimothyPower Let me just start by saying I want the least back story as possible! Give me the present story, not the past. #MGlitchat -9:01 PM Dec 8th, 2011
elissacruz Let's start with the basic definition of what backstory is. Anyone? Anyone? #MGlitchat -9:02 PM Dec 8th, 2011
rachelnseigel @_TimothyPower It depends on where the story starts- sometimes it's necessary. #MGlitchat -9:02 PM Dec 8th, 2011
_TimothyPower But when it's a sequel, there HAS to be back story. In that case, as concisely as possible! #theoldgrouch #MGlitchat -9:02 PM Dec 8th, 2011
rachelnseigel @elissacruz I see it as the off-screen stuff that happens before the story starts- the story before the story. #MGlitchat -9:02 PM Dec 8th, 2011
elissacruz For me, backstory is the information that happened before the story starts but affects the story you are currently telling. #MGlitchat -9:04 PM Dec 8th, 2011
KarenninaPosa backstory = character's history that determines who he/she is in the present #mglitchat -9:04 PM Dec 8th, 2011
DeannaRoy Backstory, to me, is made of the events in a character's past that relate to current actions. #mglitchat -9:05 PM Dec 8th, 2011
_TimothyPower Sigh. You're right. There always has to be a little back story! #MGlitchat -9:05 PM Dec 8th, 2011
rachelnseigel @DeannaRoy Great definitioin. #mglitchat -9:05 PM Dec 8th, 2011
elissacruz Ergo, if you don't have to share it for us to understand the current story, then please don't. #MGlitchat -9:05 PM Dec 8th, 2011
rachelnseigel @_TimothyPower Unless you start when the character is born, there's always something that readers need to know #MGlitchat -9:05 PM Dec 8th, 2011
JenniferCEstes @elissacruz @DeannaRoy Yes. #mglitchat -9:06 PM Dec 8th, 2011
KarenninaPosa Good one. RT @DeannaRoy: Backstory, to me, is made of the events in a characters past that relate to current actions. #mglitchat -9:06 PM Dec 8th, 2011
AlysonCGreene I heard someone say a good story keeps readers turning pages to find out what happens next AND to find out what happened before. #MGlitchat -9:06 PM Dec 8th, 2011
DeannaRoy Backstory is different from background--the latter might be job, city of birth--facts. Not story. #mglitchat -9:06 PM Dec 8th, 2011
rachelnseigel @KarenninaPosa @_TimothyPower Interesting question. I like a bit of a catch-up in a sequel at the start. #mglitchat -9:07 PM Dec 8th, 2011
rachelgrinti @DeannaRoy I'd include events in the character's world in that definition, even if they don't seem to directly affect the char. #MGlitchat -9:07 PM Dec 8th, 2011
_TimothyPower MT @AlysonCGreene: A good story keeps readers turning pages to find out what happens next AND to find out what happened before. #MGlitchat -9:07 PM Dec 8th, 2011
KarenninaPosa @AlysonCGreene I've felt that about a lot of good books #mglitchat -9:07 PM Dec 8th, 2011
rhondasaunders @AlysonCGreene next AND before, yes, love that. #mglitchat -9:07 PM Dec 8th, 2011
_TimothyPower What was that movie where the screenwriter finally decided to start the story at the creation of the earth? Ha ha! #MGlitchat -9:08 PM Dec 8th, 2011
rachelnseigel @_TimothyPower Was it Monty Python? #MGlitchat -9:09 PM Dec 8th, 2011
JenniferCEstes @_TimothyPower Mel Brooks? History of the World Part 1? #mglitchat -9:09 PM Dec 8th, 2011
DeannaRoy I love those moments when authors serve up backstory at the exact moment I want to know--why did s/he do THAT? #mglitchat -9:10 PM Dec 8th, 2011
KarenninaPosa So when do you figure out the backstory? Before you write or as you're writing? #mglitchat -9:10 PM Dec 8th, 2011
JenniferCEstes Both, oftentimes! RT @KarenninaPosa: So when do you figure out the backstory? Before you write or as you're writing? #mglitchat -9:11 PM Dec 8th, 2011
rhondasaunders @DeannaRoy Exactly. It doesn't feel infodumpish. It feels right. #mglitchat -9:11 PM Dec 8th, 2011
elissacruz @KarenninaPosa I discover backstory as I write. But, hey, I'm a panster, so I discover the story as I write, too. #MGlitchat -9:11 PM Dec 8th, 2011
studio2grl A flat, illogical character usually means someone hasn't thought through the backstory. #mglitchat -9:12 PM Dec 8th, 2011
_TimothyPower I am such a lazy reader. My eyes gloss over in biographies when it gets into the lives of the subject's parents, etc. #MGlitchat -9:12 PM Dec 8th, 2011
elliefalcone @KarenninaPosa For me, as I'm writing. Or revising. Yep, more like revising. #mglitchat -9:12 PM Dec 8th, 2011
_TimothyPower If you can write back story that's as fun and compelling as the present one, you've got me as a fan for life. #MGlitchat -9:12 PM Dec 8th, 2011
elliefalcone @_TimothyPower Glad I'm not the only one. #mglitchat -9:13 PM Dec 8th, 2011
elissacruz People often equate backstory with infodumping. Please share some suggestions on how to weave backstory without the infodump! #MGlitchat -9:14 PM Dec 8th, 2011
DeannaRoy I try to figure backstory out ahead, but something always comes up--the character behaves strangely and I have to think--why? #mglitchat -9:14 PM Dec 8th, 2011
KarenninaPosa @_TimothyPower That is the challenge, isn't it? #mglitchat -9:14 PM Dec 8th, 2011
_TimothyPower The big question with back story is "when does the story really begin?" #MGlitchat -9:16 PM Dec 8th, 2011
_TimothyPower Imagine if JKR wrote the first HP from Harry's point of view as a student ALREADY at Hogwarts! Back story galore. #MGlitchat -9:16 PM Dec 8th, 2011
elissacruz One technique I use (sparingly) is hiding backstory in dialogue. I keep it short and sweet and relevant to the conversation. #MGlitchat -9:16 PM Dec 8th, 2011
AlysonCGreene @elissacruz If backstory is past explaining actions in present, then it should only be revealed when an explanation is needed #mglitchat -9:16 PM Dec 8th, 2011
KristineAsselin Weave backstory into the narrative, slowly. #mglitchat -9:17 PM Dec 8th, 2011
rachelgrinti @elissacruz I can say what I don't like--when the important backstory info is given through a character delivering a lecture. #MGlitchat -9:17 PM Dec 8th, 2011
rachelgrinti @elissacruz In dialogue is great if it is short and to the point, definitely. #MGlitchat -9:17 PM Dec 8th, 2011
kellybarnhill @elissacruz A great example is Wrinkle in Time. Backstory of the father's disappearance heightens the present story's tension. #mglitchat -9:18 PM Dec 8th, 2011
KristineAsselin Yes. This. RT @elissacruz: One technique I use (sparingly) is hiding backstory in dialogue. Relevant to the conversation. #mglitchat -9:18 PM Dec 8th, 2011
elissacruz @rachelgrinti Ugh definitely! Lectures should not be allowed in any MG book, IMO. #MGlitchat -9:18 PM Dec 8th, 2011
JenniferCEstes @elissacruz Or any book! #mglitchat -9:19 PM Dec 8th, 2011
elissacruz @JenniferCEstes Except one that is a compilation of lectures, I suppose. #MGlitchat -9:19 PM Dec 8th, 2011
kellybarnhill #mglitchat The fact is, though, there's always backstory. We are the products of our pasts, and our characters are no different. -9:19 PM Dec 8th, 2011
elliefalcone @JenniferCEstes Or anywhere. Down with lectures. #mglitchat -9:19 PM Dec 8th, 2011
AlysonCGreene @rachelgrinti @elissacruz IMHO In dialogue it's important to remember characs KNOW the backstory so they don't need to explain it #mglitchat -9:20 PM Dec 8th, 2011
JenniferCEstes @elissacruz LOL, for sure. But only if I go back to college for another degree in English lit! #mglitchat -9:20 PM Dec 8th, 2011
DeannaRoy I prefer to tie backstory to a matching moment. In film, it's a match cut, but it works beautifully & symbolically in story. #mglitchat -9:20 PM Dec 8th, 2011
WriterRoss Hope I'm not repeating. Just got online. In my book, no pun intended, backstory is another layer & depth to characters' lives #MGlitchat -9:21 PM Dec 8th, 2011
kellyandrewsPA @kellybarnhill There are always beta readers that will mark *any* backstory as infodump. It's hard to know when to believe #mglitchat -9:21 PM Dec 8th, 2011
KarenninaPosa RT @AlysonCGreene If backstory is past explaining actions in present, it should only be revealed when an explanation is needed #mglitchat -9:21 PM Dec 8th, 2011
KristineAsselin Hard to reveal backstory when characters are hiding it. Feels great when you figure out how to make it work. #mglitchat -9:21 PM Dec 8th, 2011
WriterRoss @DeannaRoy What is a match cut? #MGlitchat -9:21 PM Dec 8th, 2011
JenniferCEstes @DeannaRoy Oo, I like that! #mglitchat "match cut" -9:22 PM Dec 8th, 2011
elissacruz @AlysonCGreene Good point. Best used when one character is imparting info to a character who doesn't know the basckstory. #MGlitchat -9:22 PM Dec 8th, 2011
rachelgrinti @JillCorcoran Yes! The tag is #mglitchat We're talking backstory tonight. :) -9:22 PM Dec 8th, 2011
rachelnseigel @KristineAsselin Wendy Mass does it very well. Like in Candymakers- backstory is revealed in what they don't say. #mglitchat -9:22 PM Dec 8th, 2011
elissacruz @kellyandrewsPA Sometimes infodumps are the only option. If so, KEEP IT SHORT. A sentence or two, max, imo. #MGlitchat -9:23 PM Dec 8th, 2011
kellybarnhill @kellyandrewsPA Yeah, I just don't buy it. We just have to ask ourselves - does this raise the stakes? Does it advance the plot? #mglitchat -9:23 PM Dec 8th, 2011
KristineAsselin @rachelnseigel My daughter just finished that--I guess I should pick it up! #mglitchat -9:23 PM Dec 8th, 2011
rachelnseigel @KristineAsselin I'm a huge fan of hers! She's terrific. #mglitchat -9:23 PM Dec 8th, 2011
_TimothyPower I would enjoy an info dump if a character laid it out in a funny, sarcastic way in dialog. #MGlitchat -9:24 PM Dec 8th, 2011
DeannaRoy @WriterRoss Match cut = character ascends steps to library. Pause and jump to earlier moment going up those steps. #mglitchat -9:24 PM Dec 8th, 2011
AlysonCGreene I love books like White Cat by @hollyblack where the backstory is just as an exciting mystery as the front story. #mglitchat -9:24 PM Dec 8th, 2011
elliefalcone I'm all for if it doesn't move the story forward, cut it, save it as backstory. #mglitchat -9:24 PM Dec 8th, 2011
WriterRoss So do we want our backstory to move plot/subplots forward or is it just static info? #MGlitchat -9:25 PM Dec 8th, 2011
elliefalcone I think the only way to determine that though is through revision and beta readers (if you don't trust yourself). #mglitchat -9:25 PM Dec 8th, 2011
kellybarnhill Rebecca Stead does an amazing job of using the past to ratchet up the plot of the present in WHEN YOU REACH ME. #mglitchat -9:25 PM Dec 8th, 2011
JenniferCEstes @WriterRoss Move it forward! #mglitchat -9:25 PM Dec 8th, 2011
KristineAsselin I like back story if it helps strengthen the characters. Get to know them better. How they tick. #mglitchat -9:26 PM Dec 8th, 2011
DeannaRoy If I find the need to put backstory in the first chapters, I know I have started the novel in the wrong place. #mglitchat -9:26 PM Dec 8th, 2011
WriterRoss @DeannaRoy Maybe I missed your earlier tweets but is a match cut a film technique? Can we do this in text? Have you? Anyone? #MGlitchat -9:27 PM Dec 8th, 2011
kellybarnhill @WriterRoss There is no room for stasis in a novel. If it moves, it is alive. If it does not, then it is dead. #mglitchat -9:27 PM Dec 8th, 2011
elliefalcone RT @DeannaRoy: If I find the need to put backstory in the first chapters, I know I have started the novel in the wrong place. #mglitchat -9:27 PM Dec 8th, 2011
elissacruz @WriterRoss Backstory must move plot forward, or reveal character, or do something! Static anything is pointless. #MGlitchat -9:27 PM Dec 8th, 2011
JenniferCEstes Yes..RT @DeannaRoy:If I find the need to put backstory in the first chapters, I know I have started the novel in the wrong place. #mglitchat -9:27 PM Dec 8th, 2011
_TimothyPower "Looking back, Benny still couldn't believe the moment he learned his mother was a unicorn." #MGlitchat -9:28 PM Dec 8th, 2011
kellyandrewsPA @DeannaRoy Do you mean you started too late? Too early? Just in a spot where the past matters too much? #mglitchat -9:28 PM Dec 8th, 2011
kellybarnhill The thing about backstory - it's still a *story*, and can be used as a counterpoint to the A-plot. It's not a stationary object. #mglitchat -9:28 PM Dec 8th, 2011
WriterRoss @kellybarnhill That's what I was thinking. An unmoveable... feast.
DeannaRoy @WriterRoss Example. Character arrives at a circus and refuses to go in a tent. Immediate backstory scene of bad tent moment. #mglitchat -9:28 PM Dec 8th, 2011
kellyandrewsPA @kellybarnhill @WriterRoss Exactly. And sometimes the movement is to the past and back as long as the story is moving #mglitchat -9:28 PM Dec 8th, 2011
kellybarnhill I think that's how we know if it's working or not. If the backstory is a story, then it works. If it's just info, it doesn't. #mglitchat. -9:29 PM Dec 8th, 2011
DeannaRoy @kellyandrewsPA Usually too late. I have to explain too much. My last book got backed up twice, each time by about three days. #mglitchat -9:29 PM Dec 8th, 2011
KarenninaPosa Do you get tired of "I remember when" scenes to provide backstory, even if relevant? #mglitchat -9:30 PM Dec 8th, 2011
AlysonCGreene @kellybarnhill Yes! Love that book! But trying to figure out what is and isn't backstory cuz of time travel. *scrathces head* #mglitchat -9:30 PM Dec 8th, 2011
WriterRoss @DeannaRoy Ah. I see your point now. I've never heard that expression before. Love this. #MGlitchat -9:30 PM Dec 8th, 2011
DeannaRoy @kellybarnhill Perfectly said. "Backstory is not a stationary object." #mglitchat -9:30 PM Dec 8th, 2011
KarenninaPosa RT @kellybarnhill: how we know if its working or not: If the backstory is a story, then it works. If its just info, it doesnt. #mglitchat -9:31 PM Dec 8th, 2011
elissacruz On a related note, let's talk about backstory in prologues. #MGlitchat -9:31 PM Dec 8th, 2011
AlysonCGreene Yes! RT @kellybarnhill If the backstory is a story, then it works. If it's just info, it doesn't. #mglitchat -9:31 PM Dec 8th, 2011
kellybarnhill @AlysonCGreene Except the main character doesn't travel in time. But the way she tells the story connects past and present. #mglitchat -9:31 PM Dec 8th, 2011
WriterRoss @kellyandrewsPA One step up, two steps back. Then up three. No static cling. ;> #MGlitchat -9:32 PM Dec 8th, 2011
kellyandrewsPA @DeannaRoy @WriterRoss Ah, that's a great way to look at it. Films have sure changed books! #mglitchat -9:32 PM Dec 8th, 2011
JenniferCEstes @elissacruz I thought prologues were the devil's spawn? #mglitchat -9:32 PM Dec 8th, 2011
_TimothyPower I can't help thinking back story is a distraction, however well it's done. I'm always glad when it's over. #MGlitchat -9:32 PM Dec 8th, 2011
DeannaRoy If you as the author have a tendency to skip the backstory when you read over a draft, chances are so will readers. CUT! #mglitchat -9:32 PM Dec 8th, 2011
AlysonCGreene @elissacruz UGH. I hate backstory in prologues. I like feeling smart as a reader and figuring it out as I go. #mglitchat -9:33 PM Dec 8th, 2011
kellybarnhill @elissacruz I hate prologues! No, wait....I love them. No....I think I hate them. ;-) #mglitchat -9:33 PM Dec 8th, 2011
WriterRoss Love: MT @kellybarnhill: Except the main character doesnt travel in time. Way she tells the story connects past and present. #MGlitchat -9:33 PM Dec 8th, 2011
rachelnseigel #MGlitchat I think certain genres require more backstory than others- like dystopian or post apocolyptic -9:33 PM Dec 8th, 2011
DeannaRoy @_TimothyPower I think this happens when false suspense is attempted by cutting into a high-speed scene with backstory. #mglitchat -9:34 PM Dec 8th, 2011
JenniferCEstes This is what I mean! RT @kellybarnhill: @elissacruz I hate prologues! No, wait....I love them. No....I think I hate them. ;-) #mglitchat -9:34 PM Dec 8th, 2011
elissacruz @rachelnseigel True. Mysteries kinda hinge on figuring out the backstory, for the most part, anyway. #MGlitchat -9:35 PM Dec 8th, 2011
DeannaRoy @kellybarnhill Ha ha ha. Love/hate prologues. They often seem inserted to cure slow starts. (re: Twilight) #mglitchat -9:35 PM Dec 8th, 2011
kellyandrewsPA @rachelnseigel But I love when dystopians and scifi have little explicit backstory and you have to puzzle it out #mglitchat -9:35 PM Dec 8th, 2011
elliefalcone I always forget what I read in prologues. #mglitchat -9:35 PM Dec 8th, 2011
_TimothyPower @DeannaRoy You're so right! #MGlitchat -9:35 PM Dec 8th, 2011
AniProf Backstory is something I leak out little by little via dialogue. #mglitchat -9:36 PM Dec 8th, 2011
rachelgrinti re: prologues, I am known to skip them when reading because too often there isn't a character to connect to, just info. #MGlitchat -9:36 PM Dec 8th, 2011
rachelnseigel @kellyandrewsPA I like that sometimes, but have been frustrated by some books where I couldn't piece it together. #mglitchat -9:36 PM Dec 8th, 2011
KarenninaPosa Most prologues feel like backstory to me. #mglitchat -9:36 PM Dec 8th, 2011
kellyandrewsPA @elliefalcone Sometimes I have to flip back. As a reader, flipping can be a wonderful aha! or it can be a frustration #mglitchat -9:37 PM Dec 8th, 2011
AlysonCGreene @kellyandrewsPA Me too! If the world is crafted well enough, we can infer how things got that way and don't need a history lesson #mglitchat -9:37 PM Dec 8th, 2011
_TimothyPower Why can't prologues just be Chapter One? #MGlitchat -9:37 PM Dec 8th, 2011
WriterRoss I'm trying to think of prologues in MGs. (Tired. Forgive me.) We probably have less time to weave one in successfully. #MGlitchat -9:38 PM Dec 8th, 2011
AniProf @rachelgrinti Shame, as a good prologue can set the tone of the entire story. #mglitchat -9:38 PM Dec 8th, 2011
DeannaRoy RT @_TimothyPower: @DeannaRoy Youre so right! (Had to retweet--I'm so rarely right!!!) #mglitchat -9:38 PM Dec 8th, 2011
rachelgrinti @_TimothyPower Because I would feel guilty skipping chapter one? #MGlitchat -9:38 PM Dec 8th, 2011
themattlondon Hey all -- excited to be back at #mglitchat . I think backstory is a dance with the audience. What you tell, what you don't. Key to tension. -9:38 PM Dec 8th, 2011
rachelgrinti @AniProf I don't skip all of them, but if it's not interesting me, I'd rather skip ahead and give the rest a try. #MGlitchat -9:39 PM Dec 8th, 2011
AlysonCGreene @kellyandrewsPA @elliefalcone I think that's a good test. If backstory is important enough to flip back to, keep it! #mglitchat -9:39 PM Dec 8th, 2011
elissacruz @WriterRoss The Edge Chronicles has a prologue (history lesson, really). I think you'll find them more in fantasy than anything. #MGlitchat -9:39 PM Dec 8th, 2011
rachelgrinti I'm not a prologue hater. :) But when it's an overload of backstory before we've got anything to go on, it doesn't work for me. #MGlitchat -9:39 PM Dec 8th, 2011
JenniferCEstes @kellyandrewsPA Faves are ones I reread just to get all the clues & backstory that was so well done I didn't notice it 1st time! #mglitchat -9:40 PM Dec 8th, 2011
AniProf @_TimothyPower Because the purpose of a prologue is not necessarily to initiate the plot. It ushers into the world of the novel. #mglitchat -9:40 PM Dec 8th, 2011
_TimothyPower Skipping ahead is one of the great privileges of readership. :) #MGlitchat -9:40 PM Dec 8th, 2011
elissacruz Back to backstory, please share some MG titles where backstory was well done. #MGlitchat -9:41 PM Dec 8th, 2011
LaurelSnyder
rachelgrinti My dog would like to skip ahead to the part where he gets his walk after the chat. #MGlitchat -9:41 PM Dec 8th, 2011
_TimothyPower Ah! Prologue = doormat. #MGlitchat -9:41 PM Dec 8th, 2011
rachelgrinti @LaurelSnyder Hiya Laurel! #MGlitchat -9:41 PM Dec 8th, 2011
WriterRoss @elissacruz Ah! Hear you. Sort of like a whisper to the audience before throwing them into the story without a parachute. {} #MGlitchat -9:42 PM Dec 8th, 2011
LaurelSnyder I've written a prologue into every book, pretty much. #MGlitchat -9:42 PM Dec 8th, 2011
LaurelSnyder @rachelgrinti Hi! #MGlitchat -9:42 PM Dec 8th, 2011
DeannaRoy @_TimothyPower Yes! But you should leave out the parts readers skip. :) So sayeth Elmore Leonard #mglitchat -9:42 PM Dec 8th, 2011
elissacruz @LaurelSnyder
WriterRoss @_TimothyPower "Membership has its privileges." ;> #MGlitchat -9:42 PM Dec 8th, 2011
rachelgrinti Hmm, thinking... RT @elissacruz: Back to backstory, please share some MG titles where backstory was well done. #MGlitchat -9:43 PM Dec 8th, 2011
elliefalcone @elissacruz The ones done well go unnoticed, at least for me. #mglitchat -9:43 PM Dec 8th, 2011
rachelgrinti I think the problem is if it's done well I don't notice it. #MGlitchat -9:43 PM Dec 8th, 2011
AlysonCGreene @elissacruz Savvy by Ingrid Law. A tiny detail in backstory ended up being the thing that saved the day. #mglitchat -9:43 PM Dec 8th, 2011
JenniferCEstes RT @elliefalcone: @elissacruz The ones done well go unnoticed, at least for me. #mglitchat GAH! Was just going to say something like this! -9:44 PM Dec 8th, 2011
JenniferCEstes Now it just sounds like I'm copying. *pout* #mglitchat -9:44 PM Dec 8th, 2011
JenniferCEstes RT @rachelgrinti: I think the problem is if it's done well I don't notice it. #MGlitchat And this!1 -9:45 PM Dec 8th, 2011
WriterRoss Laurel, do your prologues contain backstory? What makes them work for you? And hello, Slinky. ;> #MGlitchat -9:45 PM Dec 8th, 2011
elissacruz @JenniferCEstes Gotta be faster on the draw...uh...keyboard. ;) #MGlitchat -9:45 PM Dec 8th, 2011
_TimothyPower I hate when back story is used to create a "mystery" and revealed piecemeal just to keep the puzzle from being solved at once. #MGlitchat -9:45 PM Dec 8th, 2011
AlysonCGreene @elissacruz Harry Potter, obvs. Who doesn't love James, Lily, Sirius, Lupin, and Snape's stories? #mglitchat -9:45 PM Dec 8th, 2011
DeannaRoy @elissacruz Rules by Cynthia Lord. Knowing what the sister has gone through makes us tense about the present situation. #mglitchat -9:45 PM Dec 8th, 2011
KarenninaPosa Really good backstory often goes unnoticed. I can't even tell it's backstory. #mglitchat -9:46 PM Dec 8th, 2011
_TimothyPower @AlysonCGreene I skipped over those! :D #MGlitchat -9:46 PM Dec 8th, 2011
rachelgrinti @DeannaRoy Good example! #MGlitchat -9:47 PM Dec 8th, 2011
AlysonCGreene @elissacruz Much of Hugo Cabret depends on a mysterious backstory #mglitchat -9:47 PM Dec 8th, 2011
rachelnseigel #Mglitchat Lauren Oliver did it well with Liesl & Po -9:47 PM Dec 8th, 2011
DeannaRoy @elissacruz Also Beezus and Ramona. We appreciate Beezus reading the book because we know how many times she's had to. #mglitchat -9:47 PM Dec 8th, 2011
DeannaRoy @AlysonCGreene YES! Hugo is a great example of perfect backstory. #mglitchat -9:48 PM Dec 8th, 2011
kellyandrewsPA @_TimothyPower Yes! The mystery can't just be a tease where the POV characters don't tell us stuff. #MGlitchat -9:49 PM Dec 8th, 2011
WriterRoss I'm trying to think if these successful MGs are all told in 3d POV or..? Is it harder in 1st to weave and connect a backstory? #MGlitchat -9:49 PM Dec 8th, 2011
KarenninaPosa Harry Potter was unaware of his backstory. It was revealed at the right time, on a need-to-know basis. Readers found out with him #mglitchat -9:49 PM Dec 8th, 2011
LaurelSnyder @WriterRoss Well, some do & some don't. My first book had a prologue I write AFTER the book, because I added backstory/subplot. #MGlitchat -9:49 PM Dec 8th, 2011
AlysonCGreene @elissacruz A mysterious backstory threads each book in Lemony Snicket's series together. #mglitchat -9:49 PM Dec 8th, 2011
elissacruz @WriterRoss My current WIP deals with the MC learning to let go (of the backstory, really). It's in 1st and I'm struggling. #MGlitchat -9:50 PM Dec 8th, 2011
elissacruz @WriterRoss Not that my WIP has anything to do with others stories, just my observation with backstory in 1st person. #MGlitchat -9:52 PM Dec 8th, 2011
WriterRoss @LaurelSnyder Ah hah. We all presume we're writing the story beginning at the prologue or chapter 1. A post-written prologue. ;> #MGlitchat -9:53 PM Dec 8th, 2011
elissacruz Okay, any parting thoughts about backstory? Tips, observations, book recs? #MGlitchat -9:54 PM Dec 8th, 2011
_TimothyPower When back story moves to the front, it better be worthy of the spotlight! #MGlitchat -9:55 PM Dec 8th, 2011
DeannaRoy Backstory is like good journalism--you anticipate the reader's next question, and immediately provide the answer. #mglitchat -9:55 PM Dec 8th, 2011
WriterRoss @elissacruz Struggling because it's harder to artfully dump it all in when the main character is telling the story? Oy. Hear you! #MGlitchat -9:55 PM Dec 8th, 2011
rachelnseigel @elissacruz I'll repeat Anything by Wendy Mass, but esp. Candymakers & Willow Falls books #MGlitchat -9:55 PM Dec 8th, 2011
DeannaRoy RT @_TimothyPower: When back story moves to the front, it better be worthy of the spotlight! #mglitchat -9:55 PM Dec 8th, 2011
elissacruz @WriterRoss Yes. It's a bunch of talking to herself right now. Yuck. #MGlitchat -9:56 PM Dec 8th, 2011
DeannaRoy Most brilliant backstory ever? A.S. King's chapter title in Vera Dietz. "So you're wondering where my mother is." #mglitchat -9:56 PM Dec 8th, 2011
rachelnseigel @DeannaRoy I loved that book! #mglitchat -9:57 PM Dec 8th, 2011
rachelgrinti @elissacruz I have that problem too with first person... er, but no advice! Haha. #MGlitchat -9:57 PM Dec 8th, 2011
WriterRoss (my twitter feed is crrrrrrawling... sorry to be behind in the posts) #MGlitchat -9:57 PM Dec 8th, 2011
KarenninaPosa Yes! RT @DeannaRoy: Backstory is like good journalism--you anticipate the readers next question & immediately provide the answer #mglitchat -9:57 PM Dec 8th, 2011
DeannaRoy @rachelnseigel Yes! She knew EXACTLY when I started to wonder what happened to her mother! #mglitchat -9:58 PM Dec 8th, 2011
kidsmomo Late to #mglitchat, but COSMIC has neat approach: Spends A TON of time on backstory. You think it's just diverting, but all comes together. -9:58 PM Dec 8th, 2011
DeannaRoy @WriterRoss Are you not using http://t.co/aQvNXzxG? #mglitchat -9:58 PM Dec 8th, 2011
elliefalcone I have no thoughts; my brain is dead. :( #mglitchat -9:58 PM Dec 8th, 2011
rachelnseigel @DeannaRoy I love books that start with a powerful statement that gets you wondering. #mglitchat -9:59 PM Dec 8th, 2011
KarenninaPosa Writing backstory well is hard. Please share your tips! #mglitchat -9:59 PM Dec 8th, 2011
WriterRoss @DeannaRoy Yes I'm in Tweet Chat. Refreshing and refreshing to keep up with all of you in real time. Thx for trying. {} #MGlitchat -9:59 PM Dec 8th, 2011
elissacruz Wonderstruck uses the mysterious backstory to mesh the two plotlines together at the end. Really interesting/brilliant idea. #MGlitchat -10:00 PM Dec 8th, 2011
WriterRoss @rachelnseigel A great way of looking at it: start where it makes the reader wonder... #MGlitchat -10:00 PM Dec 8th, 2011
rachelnseigel @WriterRoss My unfinished story begins with "He brought her lightbulbs". #MGlitchat -10:01 PM Dec 8th, 2011
WriterRoss @elissacruz Have not read Wonderstruck but sounds like the backstory is not so back but as *in-your-face* story. #MGlitchat -10:02 PM Dec 8th, 2011
DeannaRoy @elissacruz I am never going to be talented enough for that! I don't put much backstory in at all. I just scoot the story back. #mglitchat -10:03 PM Dec 8th, 2011
rachelnseigel @WriterRoss @elissacruz I didn't find that with Wonderstruck- I liked the way the backstories converged at the end. #MGlitchat -10:03 PM Dec 8th, 2011
elliefalcone @rachelnseigel That's a good beginning sentence. #mglitchat -10:04 PM Dec 8th, 2011
elissacruz @DeannaRoy Sigh. Me either. #MGlitchat -10:04 PM Dec 8th, 2011
rachelnseigel @elliefalcone No if only I had the rest of it! ;-) Actually, I have about 50 pages that have gone nowhere. #mglitchat -10:04 PM Dec 8th, 2011
elissacruz @rachelnseigel Yes, that's another way of looking at it, and probably more accurate. I find all his books hard to define. #MGlitchat -10:05 PM Dec 8th, 2011
elliefalcone Well, I'm off. Toodles, y'all. #mglitchat -10:05 PM Dec 8th, 2011
WriterRoss @rachelnseigel Insert the light bulbs and let the ideas pop.
elissacruz Before I forget, thanks for another interesting chat, everyone. The transcript should be up soon, but feel free to keep chatting. #MGlitchat -10:06 PM Dec 8th, 2011
rachelnseigel @WriterRoss LOL! I've got the backstory and the ned- just no idea how to get past the middle yet. Needs work! #MGlitchat -10:06 PM Dec 8th, 2011
KarenninaPosa @elliefalcone Thanks for stopping by! #mglitchat -10:07 PM Dec 8th, 2011
JenniferCEstes Thanks for a great chat, everyone! #mglitchat -10:07 PM Dec 8th, 2011
KarenninaPosa Just a reminder. Next week, we'll talk about Experimenting with Format #mglitchat -10:07 PM Dec 8th, 2011
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