Backstory. Love to hate it. One writing guru suggests cutting all backstory in the first 3 chapters and using a very miserly hand with any after that.
The reason backstory is so maligned is that it's often an info dump. And an info dump is often a lazy writer not bothering to write the scenes that would show the info in a more entertaining way.
But sometimes, even if you're not lazy, you find yourself needing to stick in a piece of information the reader needs to know to understand a scene. So what do you do?
Here are a couple suggestions.
Just stick the info in, with as few words as humanly possible. If you need to know a sword has the ability to behead vampires, say, "I pulled out my sword, sharp enough to slice hair -- or a vamp's spine."
Stick the info in, in an entertaining way. Like, while two characters are taking a bath. Naked people in water generally intrigue us. Or use humor. Call your sword The Spine-slicer 2000.
Make it a scene, with a full compliment of goal-conflict-dubious resolution.
If you simply must dump in a couple paragraphs of backstory or explanation, at least put someone in danger first, or raise an important question. Most readers will slog through a bit of tedium to get to the resolution.
Published since 2009, over the years I've accumulated various items of writing wisdom. The Third Tuesday Writing Tidbit showcases these items in no particular order. Click here to see all 3T Tidbits.
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