tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post536169655432280972..comments2024-03-27T10:02:56.747-04:00Comments on Fiction University: Revision Workshop: Day Ten: Balance the BackstoryJanice Hardyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02356672149097741248noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-10080922732026268062017-03-17T14:17:57.256-04:002017-03-17T14:17:57.256-04:00Most welcome! Most welcome! Janice Hardyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02356672149097741248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-77043004351507012672017-03-10T12:56:36.576-05:002017-03-10T12:56:36.576-05:00Pretty much, yes. It's often a dramatized back...Pretty much, yes. It's often a dramatized backstory, since many flashbacks are told as scene. Janice Hardyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02356672149097741248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-77236708266538159822017-03-10T11:32:53.996-05:002017-03-10T11:32:53.996-05:00Isn't a "flashback" really just back...Isn't a "flashback" really just backstory?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02787259249720031535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-75297387688444122442017-03-10T11:19:23.689-05:002017-03-10T11:19:23.689-05:00If the backstory doesn't move the story along,...If the backstory doesn't move the story along, then there is no need for it. You explained it well. Backstory is not something that tells something about the character, it's part of the plot. Thanks!Sussuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10060179011416062341noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-70090125047513178942015-03-18T14:28:05.922-04:002015-03-18T14:28:05.922-04:00Sadly, no, it's a matter of training your ear ...Sadly, no, it's a matter of training your ear to catch when you're explaining. There are some red flag words, like realized, knew, figured, made, because of, since, etc. that you see around a tellish explanation, and you can search for those. The explanation lines also tend to feel like a summary of what the scene is about or what the idea of that section is about, so if you get a summarized vibe, there's a chance it's explaining. Janice Hardyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02356672149097741248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-20344809878475779852015-03-11T11:46:04.688-04:002015-03-11T11:46:04.688-04:00This is a hard one for me. I don't think I hav...This is a hard one for me. I don't think I have info dumps, but I've often revised to add dribbles of backstory details early on because just because I could slip it in easily, and it seemed to help ground things. But I had an agent who recently said what it really did was explain things, which left her with nothing to wonder about. When I went back, I could see what she meant. But that balance between "will this leave them wondering" vs "will holding off on this detail leave them confused" still seems to elude me. Is there a way of thinking about this that I'm missing? *sigh* Mercinoreply@blogger.com