Baby Got Backstory! I’m working on the backstory of my next novel. And I recently read Mia Sosa’s The Worst Best Man and thought she did it brilliantly. As you know, one way to improve at writing craft is to read books in your genre and learn from other authors.

Backstory fuels internal conflict.

“Story is about internal struggle, not an external one. It’s about what the protagonist has to learn, to overcome, to deal with internally in order to solve the problem that the external plot poses.”

Story Genius by Lisa Cron

Romance Backstory- Why is this absolutely the WRONG guy/gal for your protagonist?

For a romance backstory, why is this absolutely the wrong guy/gal for your protagonist? That will complicate the plot. That will force the protagonist to deal with his backstory in order to move on and fall for romance interest.

The Worst Best Man is a great example to read to see how to do backstory and conflict brilliantly. His brother dumped her on her wedding day, he’s the one who told her, and apparently he said something the night before that made his brother call off the wedding. Ouch. He’s the last person she wants to date.

And he’s in the same boat. He’s always competed with his brother. Here’s Max’s best friend’s advice:

“Disregard all of it and move on.”

…[numerous, numerous reasons].

“Four, you’re trying to escape your brother’s shadow. Pursuing his old girlfriend is exactly the opposite of that.”

The Worst Best Man at location 1486.

I also LOVE the relationship between these two best friends.

Or take another example of backstory leading to conflict well done. In When Adam Met Evie, Evie hates liars and what is Adam doing?

He’s lying to Evie. (He has good reasons). But author Giulia Skye sets up that conflict and tension so that you keep reading because you want to know: how is this going to get resolved?

The Backstory Tease

Think of Backstory as a tease. Hint at it initially, but don’t tell all. As Marcy Kennedy states in her post on 10 Writing Mistakes that Kill Your First Chapter,

“Backstory can be hinted at, but it’s normally something you should withhold until later when the reader really wants to know it and it’s pertinent to what’s happening in the present. Why? Backstory, by definition, is over. The reader wants to see your character getting themselves into trouble in the present.”

10 Writing Mistakes that Kill Your First Chapter by Marcy Kennedy

Donald Maass writes:

“Backstory delivered early on crashes down on a story’s momentum like a sumo wrestler falling on his opponent.”

Donald Maass.

Mia Sosa also shows how to do backstory. As the story progresses, the reader learns why her heroine is emotionally reserved. Initially, we just learn her belief:

“We must never let our emotions get the better of us; doing so is either a sign of weakness, one that diminishes our well-earned respect, or a mark of combativeness, which will cause people to say we’re irrational. And as women–women of color, more specifically–we simply can’t afford to be perceived in those terms.”

The Worst Best Man by Mia Sosa, at Location 468.

But then there are specific backstory events that created this belief. I’ll let you read the book to see how she does it. Note that she teases with the belief initially and only gives you the full backstory later on. She doesn’t reveal the first backstory scene that cemented this belief until Chapter 15.

I recommend following the advice in Story Genius to take the time to develop those backstory scenes. Write the “Origin Scene” – the scene in which your protagonist’s misbelief originated– and three Turning Point scenes “where her misbelief was the deciding factor in a decision she made” and which confirms that misbelief as “right.” Story Genius by Lisa Cron at p. 114.

Also, show how the backstory affects her actions NOW.

Let’s Talk: Baby Got Backstory!

Have you read The Worst Best Man? Do you have any advice to share on backstory? Or on creating conflict between your romantic leads?

Also, my writing teacher Linnea Sinclair has another online writing class for $15 from July 6-30. It’s called “Hook ‘Em Dano: Writing the Grabber Opening Scene.” If you are a writer, I HIGHLY recommend taking her class. She is a fabulous teacher.