One of the reasons I started this site was to work on my story telling. I am an aspiring writer, I would like to get a few of my novel ideas published. Eventually. When I come up with a story idea and create the characters, I have a general idea of their backstory. The problem is that I want to write the story and not the backstory. I am figuring out that is the wrong way (for me) to go about it.
I have gotten stuck on every story I have begun writing. I believe it is because I only can develop characters so far before I get stuck without a proper backstory. For me, I have discovered that I need that backstory to help me write consistent decisions and feelings. I need to know how the character grew up, what kind of problems they had to overcome, how they were raised and so on. In short, I feel like a character can not be a fully developed character unless they have a fully developed backstory.
This will extend my writing process significantly, but I also believe that it will improve my writing in the long run. Some of the questions I need answered are things like:
- Where did the character grow up?
- Does the character have any siblings?
- What was their home life like growing up?
- What led them to be where they are at the beginning of the story?
- What kind of social life did the character have before the story beings?
- Have they suffered any great losses?
The list could go on, but you get the general idea. I have been working on one particular story since 2013, and I am stuck. I may have to take the time to go back and write backstory for ALL of the characters to help me. It would be an undertaking. When trying to write a series though, it seems like it should be an undertaking! I hope to have a manuscript ready by the end of this calendar year. We shall see.
In the meantime, I will begin posting some short stories here on the site. It is time. I have been reluctant to publish anything of substance here because I never see my work as finished. I can always improve on it. If I start sharing them with you all, maybe I can finally get some of these characters out of my head and onto paper (or website, as it were). So in the coming months I should be posting more on here. I hope you enjoy reading and will continue to enjoy reading.