A conversation came up on one of my boards about plots, and how to know if a plot is contrived or not, and if it is, what does that mean? So let's talk about that today.
According to the dictionary, "contrived" means something that is so unexpected, unrealistic and/or unconvincing that it affects the suspension of disbelief. It is something that is implausible, and doesn't come naturally to your characters or to the basic plot of the story. It is something that you ordinarily would not even think about putting into your story, until you write yourself ( your characters) into a situation that you don't know how to get them out of. What to do? You come up with a solution that temporarily creates drama or tension of some sort that, in turn, resolves that particular situation. You have contrived a solution that is totally unrealistic in terms of your characters' behaviors and actions.
Let's take an example: Your main characters are a boy and girl, 12-13 years old. They want to have horses but their parents say no, they are too irresponsible to have a horse. The story revolves around their adventures in trying to prove to the parents that they can be responsible and learn how to take care of a horse. They end up accidentally getting into a corral with a wild horse who doesn't trust people and is called a "rogue horse." No one is around to hear their calls for help, so they decide to "tame" the horse and ride him out of the corral. The scene calls for them to teach him to trust them, and ends with them getting on his back and riding him away. Totally unbelievable, totally unrealistic. A contrived ending...which your readers are going to see through immediately. Sure, the kids themselves have solved their problem, but it is a completely implausible solution.
A contrived plot usually takes place because you the writer do not know your characters well enough to know what they are going to do when, where, why and how. You are writing a plot driven story, rather than a character driven story.
Now, don't misunderstand me. Many stories and novels are plot driven. There is nothing wrong with that. But that's where a lot of new writers get into trouble. When the plot suddenly takes a turn you weren't expecting, and you don't know what to do next, you come up with some kind of plot twist. It may be dramatic, tension-building, humorous, or whatever, but if it is implausible for your characters to engage in that particular activity, event, dialogue or what have you, then the twist becomes, in and of itself, unrealistic. It becomes contrived.
Anything that you build into your story that doesn't keep the natural flow of the rest of the story going, becomes a contrivance of some kind. Now, sometimes, you can come up with a plausible reason for it, or for your characters to do whatever they have to do at that point. But most of the time you can't, so why allow some kind of plot twist to happen in the first place?
One of the best ways to keep this from happening is to KNOW your characters. Know who they are, what they want, how they will go about getting what they want, how they will deal with conflict and rejection, and how they will resolve the problems they encounter. If you plan your story around your characters, instead of around the plot, "contrivance" probably won't be a problem. Make the plot fit the characters, instead of the characters fitting the plot. That way, they will be unique, interesting and original, and they will carry the story, not the other way around.
Think about it. Let me know.
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Friday, March 5, 2010
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Tuesday's Thoughts
Another grey day. Rain, rain and more rain. I shouldn't complain about it because our part of the country really needs it. But after weeks and weeks of rain every few days, it becomes boring and predictable.
At first, I welcomed it because it was easy to sit and write. I like listening to the sound of rain on the roof and even against the windows. It was almost like the rain was providing a symphony for me to write against. A good feeling.
Now, I'm finding it not so harmonious ! I don't think I have that 'seasonal affective disorder' that some people have during this time of the year. I really do like the wintery weather, and wearing sweaters and sweat shirts. Still, it would be nice to have a cold day with the sun shining.
What is your favorite time of the year? Does it affect your writing, in that you writer better during some seasons than others? I've never really thought about it until today, when 'rain on the roof' awakened me once again.
Maybe it's because I'm writing about a funeral scene. Although...wouldn't a cold, rainy day be a better setting for funerals, with their grieving mourners, than a bright, sunny day that sparks energy and a desire to be somewhere else, anywhere else, than in a cemetary?
I'm wondering if there really is any kind of symbiotic relationship between the weather and what we write, how we write, and when we write.
Think about it. Let me know.
At first, I welcomed it because it was easy to sit and write. I like listening to the sound of rain on the roof and even against the windows. It was almost like the rain was providing a symphony for me to write against. A good feeling.
Now, I'm finding it not so harmonious ! I don't think I have that 'seasonal affective disorder' that some people have during this time of the year. I really do like the wintery weather, and wearing sweaters and sweat shirts. Still, it would be nice to have a cold day with the sun shining.
What is your favorite time of the year? Does it affect your writing, in that you writer better during some seasons than others? I've never really thought about it until today, when 'rain on the roof' awakened me once again.
Maybe it's because I'm writing about a funeral scene. Although...wouldn't a cold, rainy day be a better setting for funerals, with their grieving mourners, than a bright, sunny day that sparks energy and a desire to be somewhere else, anywhere else, than in a cemetary?
I'm wondering if there really is any kind of symbiotic relationship between the weather and what we write, how we write, and when we write.
Think about it. Let me know.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Self-worth
On my blog, there is a "gadget" that gives a new quote every day. A recent one concerned self-worth. I don't remember the exact words but it said something like "Just for today, don't let your self-worth be tied to what you do; you are worth so much more than that."
Now, doesn't that give you pause? How many of us do exactly that...tie our self-image, and therefore our self-worth, to what we do and how well we do it? On one of the literary boards I'm on, there are several young people who have such things as "I write because I must;" "Writing is my life;" and so on in their signatures. There is also a young man who has never been published, and considers himself a failure because of that. Come on, now...is writing really "your life?" Is it the only thing you can do because " you must?"
I'm a grandmother, so I don't have as many years stretching ahead of me as many of you do, to succeed in the publishing world. Of course I want to be published...actually, I am already, so I should rephrase that to mean, I want my book ( or books) to be published. But if that doesn't happen, does that mean I am a failure as a person? Hmm...no, I don't think so.
So stop and think about this for a moment: is your self-worth really tied to your writing? If for some reason you would have to stop writing forever, does that mean your life is over? That you have no value as a person? If you don't get published in the amount of time you've set as a goal, does that mean you are worth nothing? At least, that you think you're worth nothing?
That would be so sad. I think of all the authors I read, and the stories that some of them have told about how long it took for them to be published, and I marvel at their capacity for longevity. Longevity in terms of not only continuing to try for publication, but also in the mere idea of continuing to write in the face of so many rejections. Yet these same authors did persevere and today are fabulously successful. Obviously, their self-worth was not tied to their writing.
So...who are you? You are a person in your own right: a son or daughter, a brother or sister, a mother or father. You are valuable to the people in your life...your family, your friends, your peers, associates and co-workers. Your self-worth should be tied to the value these people place in you and the kind of person you are, not to what you do.
Just for today, realize this: Writing is what we do. It is not who we are.
Think about it.
Now, doesn't that give you pause? How many of us do exactly that...tie our self-image, and therefore our self-worth, to what we do and how well we do it? On one of the literary boards I'm on, there are several young people who have such things as "I write because I must;" "Writing is my life;" and so on in their signatures. There is also a young man who has never been published, and considers himself a failure because of that. Come on, now...is writing really "your life?" Is it the only thing you can do because " you must?"
I'm a grandmother, so I don't have as many years stretching ahead of me as many of you do, to succeed in the publishing world. Of course I want to be published...actually, I am already, so I should rephrase that to mean, I want my book ( or books) to be published. But if that doesn't happen, does that mean I am a failure as a person? Hmm...no, I don't think so.
So stop and think about this for a moment: is your self-worth really tied to your writing? If for some reason you would have to stop writing forever, does that mean your life is over? That you have no value as a person? If you don't get published in the amount of time you've set as a goal, does that mean you are worth nothing? At least, that you think you're worth nothing?
That would be so sad. I think of all the authors I read, and the stories that some of them have told about how long it took for them to be published, and I marvel at their capacity for longevity. Longevity in terms of not only continuing to try for publication, but also in the mere idea of continuing to write in the face of so many rejections. Yet these same authors did persevere and today are fabulously successful. Obviously, their self-worth was not tied to their writing.
So...who are you? You are a person in your own right: a son or daughter, a brother or sister, a mother or father. You are valuable to the people in your life...your family, your friends, your peers, associates and co-workers. Your self-worth should be tied to the value these people place in you and the kind of person you are, not to what you do.
Just for today, realize this: Writing is what we do. It is not who we are.
Think about it.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Conversation With An Agent!
Okay, guys, I need a little help, here. If I can get 10 people to follow Mark McVeigh in my name, I can have a 15 minute conversation with him! Who's Mark McVeigh, you ask? He is an AGENT! That's right, a literary agent. Now I realize that not everyone is at the point in their writing career to need an agent...but...I AM.
Mark is having an official opening of his new blog, and he wanted as many followers as possible before his official launch. His contest is that for everyone who can get 10 people to follow him, he will give that person 15 minutes of his valuable time.
I already have 5 people following in my name, but I need 5 more. And...if you are at the point where you need an agent, you can also get that same conversation with him by having 10 of your friends follow him.
BUT...there's a catch. TODAY, THE 22ND OF FEBRUARY, IS THE LAST DAY. So come on, friends of mine, help me out, pleeeze! I've posted his blog in my blog list, but I'm going to do it again here: http://www.themcveighagency.blogspot.com/.
He is going to have another contest like this one in April, but I sure would like to get in on this one. So hey, guys, if ya' luff me, go to his site and sign up as a follower, okay?
Mark is having an official opening of his new blog, and he wanted as many followers as possible before his official launch. His contest is that for everyone who can get 10 people to follow him, he will give that person 15 minutes of his valuable time.
I already have 5 people following in my name, but I need 5 more. And...if you are at the point where you need an agent, you can also get that same conversation with him by having 10 of your friends follow him.
BUT...there's a catch. TODAY, THE 22ND OF FEBRUARY, IS THE LAST DAY. So come on, friends of mine, help me out, pleeeze! I've posted his blog in my blog list, but I'm going to do it again here: http://www.themcveighagency.blogspot.com/.
He is going to have another contest like this one in April, but I sure would like to get in on this one. So hey, guys, if ya' luff me, go to his site and sign up as a follower, okay?
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Me and Writing
Today, I thought I'd talk a little about my journey into the world of writing. My mother was a beautiful poet, but poetry is not something I write well. I've written some, but usually it is a way for me to express extreme feelings more than anything else...feelings of pain, loss, desperation, love...the kinds of things you usually don't want to talk about to anyone. At least, it's that way for me. So poetry is not really a genre I can get into, even for kids.
When I was ten years old, I wrote a poem about my three kittens...Mischief, Trouble and Whiskers. Mischief and Trouble were males ( naturally) and Whiskers was female. That poem made it into the Houston Chronicle, even though we no longer lived in Texas. I don't suppose the fact that my mother had been the Feature Page Editor of that paper had anything to do with it, do you?
When I was twelve, I wrote a story about a mare I was training that had suddenly gone blind. I continued to train her, using voice commands, and showed her to a championship. That story was also published, in both the Houston Chronicle and in a now long-defunct magazine, Children's Digest.
And even in college, I published a very small book of Japanese Haiku...actually, the college published it. But writing was never, at that point in my life, something I wanted to do. I wanted to get my Ph.D, start teaching in college, and continue raising and training horses. So I did.
Along the way, I began painting, started teaching that on a private basis, sold some, exhibited a couple of times, but never gave it a lot of thought as to becoming professional with it. Although I did.
But in 2005, Chrismas I think, my daughter sent me some books on Writing for Children. She also sent me a note which basically said, "Mom, get off your butt and start writing." So I did.
Since then, I've completed two courses with the Institute of Children's Literature, am enrolled for a second novel course, and have published several stories and articles. My journey is far from complete, and is certainly not without its hills and valleys, but wherever the road takes me, is where I will go.
When I was ten years old, I wrote a poem about my three kittens...Mischief, Trouble and Whiskers. Mischief and Trouble were males ( naturally) and Whiskers was female. That poem made it into the Houston Chronicle, even though we no longer lived in Texas. I don't suppose the fact that my mother had been the Feature Page Editor of that paper had anything to do with it, do you?
When I was twelve, I wrote a story about a mare I was training that had suddenly gone blind. I continued to train her, using voice commands, and showed her to a championship. That story was also published, in both the Houston Chronicle and in a now long-defunct magazine, Children's Digest.
And even in college, I published a very small book of Japanese Haiku...actually, the college published it. But writing was never, at that point in my life, something I wanted to do. I wanted to get my Ph.D, start teaching in college, and continue raising and training horses. So I did.
Along the way, I began painting, started teaching that on a private basis, sold some, exhibited a couple of times, but never gave it a lot of thought as to becoming professional with it. Although I did.
But in 2005, Chrismas I think, my daughter sent me some books on Writing for Children. She also sent me a note which basically said, "Mom, get off your butt and start writing." So I did.
Since then, I've completed two courses with the Institute of Children's Literature, am enrolled for a second novel course, and have published several stories and articles. My journey is far from complete, and is certainly not without its hills and valleys, but wherever the road takes me, is where I will go.
Friday, February 12, 2010
What's In A Name?
Do you ever have trouble coming up with names for your characters? Or do you even give much thought to their names? Do you remember this quote: What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.
Juliet said that in Shakespeare's play of star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet. If you remember the play ( surely you've read it? ) Romeo and Juliet are from two warring families, so their love story is pretty much doomed from the beginning. But Juliet say that a name is a 'meaningless convention', and for her sake, Romeo promptly rejects his family name...Montague...and wants to be rebaptized as Juliet's lover.
So...think about this for a minute. No, not rejecting the family name part, the part where Juliet says names are artificial and meaningless conventions. Is that true? Are names meaningless? Sure, we can look up every name known to mankind and 99.9% of them will have some kind of "meaning" behind them. But what do those names mean in terms of who the person is emotionally, mentally, physically, socially and spiritually? Does the name exemplify the person?
Okay...let's take a little test. I'm going to give you some names, and I want you to picture that person based on three things: What does she/he look like? What kind of clothes does she/he usually wear? What is her/his personality like? Ready? First name: Howard. Second name: Kevin. Third name: Emma. Now don't cheat! write down your impressions before you read any further!
What did you come up with? Here is what some students decided the name Howard meant: he is a computer nerd, wimpy when it comes to athletics, wears glasses, wears pressed chinos and shirts instead of jeans and T-shirts, is quiet and a "stand in the corner and observe life" kind of person. Ummm...the name actually means someone who is "a guardian of the home and who has a bold heart." Doesn't sound too wimpy to me ! Same students with Kevin: tall, probably blond curly hair, smiles a lot, may have dimples, good in sports, jeans are always clean and so are his T-shirts which are from the latest fads. Well, that's a little closer, as the name Kevin actually means "handsome and out-going." Again, same students and Emma: short, dumpy, no personality, a "wallflower," wears skirts and sweaters even in hot weather. WOW! way off the mark! Emma really means a girl who is "smart, popular and a flatterer."
Get the point? Names are important! It is obvious that people ( even kids) get an image in their minds about what a character looks like, because of the name. How many times do you suppose your readers have some idea of what your character looks like...or what he/she should look like...and it's totally wrong?
Therefore, when we name our characters, we need to pay close attention to, first, WHO our character is: what they look like, how they dress, what their mental characteristics are ( is he a nerd or merely very smart), what their personality is ( is she shy and quiet, or an out-going cheerleader type), and then try to project that persona to the reader by the name you've given him or her.
Don't forget last names, either. The first and last names need to carry a kind of rhythm when they're said together, but at the same time, you need to recognize that the character's full name isn't going to be used in dialogue very often. Sometimes an unusual last name can be the source of background information, and often an unusual or just plain strange first name can provide the basis for either an internal conflict for the character, or an external one...or even both. The name that comes to mind is one of Lisa Yee's characters. Lisa writes MG and YA fiction, and one of her best books ( I think) is Absolutely Maybe. Her main character is named Maybelline Mary Katherine Mary Ann Chestnut. Now anyone with that kind of name is going to have a major internal conflict AND external conflict with her mother for naming her that. In the book, she calls herself Maybe. Her mother is a former beauty queen who constantly causes Maybe problems, to the point that finally she picks up and leaves home. It's a great book, one I highly recommend for more reasons than the names!
Needless to say, I could go on and on about names and what they do or can do to our stories and to our readers' imaginations. But I won't. I'm going to stop here, give you a couple of good links for names, and let you stew about this for awhile. How have you named your characters? Do you think the names suit the characters? Do you think your readers will form an image that does or does not represent the true picture of the characters? Think about it. You may come up with some very different ideas about how and what to name your "babies!"
Some good web sites for names are:
http://www.babynamescountry.com/
www.writing-world.com/links/names/shtml
http://www.behindthename.com/
Good luck!
By any other name would smell as sweet.
Juliet said that in Shakespeare's play of star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet. If you remember the play ( surely you've read it? ) Romeo and Juliet are from two warring families, so their love story is pretty much doomed from the beginning. But Juliet say that a name is a 'meaningless convention', and for her sake, Romeo promptly rejects his family name...Montague...and wants to be rebaptized as Juliet's lover.
So...think about this for a minute. No, not rejecting the family name part, the part where Juliet says names are artificial and meaningless conventions. Is that true? Are names meaningless? Sure, we can look up every name known to mankind and 99.9% of them will have some kind of "meaning" behind them. But what do those names mean in terms of who the person is emotionally, mentally, physically, socially and spiritually? Does the name exemplify the person?
Okay...let's take a little test. I'm going to give you some names, and I want you to picture that person based on three things: What does she/he look like? What kind of clothes does she/he usually wear? What is her/his personality like? Ready? First name: Howard. Second name: Kevin. Third name: Emma. Now don't cheat! write down your impressions before you read any further!
What did you come up with? Here is what some students decided the name Howard meant: he is a computer nerd, wimpy when it comes to athletics, wears glasses, wears pressed chinos and shirts instead of jeans and T-shirts, is quiet and a "stand in the corner and observe life" kind of person. Ummm...the name actually means someone who is "a guardian of the home and who has a bold heart." Doesn't sound too wimpy to me ! Same students with Kevin: tall, probably blond curly hair, smiles a lot, may have dimples, good in sports, jeans are always clean and so are his T-shirts which are from the latest fads. Well, that's a little closer, as the name Kevin actually means "handsome and out-going." Again, same students and Emma: short, dumpy, no personality, a "wallflower," wears skirts and sweaters even in hot weather. WOW! way off the mark! Emma really means a girl who is "smart, popular and a flatterer."
Get the point? Names are important! It is obvious that people ( even kids) get an image in their minds about what a character looks like, because of the name. How many times do you suppose your readers have some idea of what your character looks like...or what he/she should look like...and it's totally wrong?
Therefore, when we name our characters, we need to pay close attention to, first, WHO our character is: what they look like, how they dress, what their mental characteristics are ( is he a nerd or merely very smart), what their personality is ( is she shy and quiet, or an out-going cheerleader type), and then try to project that persona to the reader by the name you've given him or her.
Don't forget last names, either. The first and last names need to carry a kind of rhythm when they're said together, but at the same time, you need to recognize that the character's full name isn't going to be used in dialogue very often. Sometimes an unusual last name can be the source of background information, and often an unusual or just plain strange first name can provide the basis for either an internal conflict for the character, or an external one...or even both. The name that comes to mind is one of Lisa Yee's characters. Lisa writes MG and YA fiction, and one of her best books ( I think) is Absolutely Maybe. Her main character is named Maybelline Mary Katherine Mary Ann Chestnut. Now anyone with that kind of name is going to have a major internal conflict AND external conflict with her mother for naming her that. In the book, she calls herself Maybe. Her mother is a former beauty queen who constantly causes Maybe problems, to the point that finally she picks up and leaves home. It's a great book, one I highly recommend for more reasons than the names!
Needless to say, I could go on and on about names and what they do or can do to our stories and to our readers' imaginations. But I won't. I'm going to stop here, give you a couple of good links for names, and let you stew about this for awhile. How have you named your characters? Do you think the names suit the characters? Do you think your readers will form an image that does or does not represent the true picture of the characters? Think about it. You may come up with some very different ideas about how and what to name your "babies!"
Some good web sites for names are:
http://www.babynamescountry.com/
www.writing-world.com/links/names/shtml
http://www.behindthename.com/
Good luck!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Backstory...How Much and Where?
Is backstory a bugaboo for anyone besides me? When I wrote my first novel, my ICL instructor wanted the first chapter to be mostly backstory so it would lay the foundation for my MC's relationship with her father. Okay, my original first chapter became my second, and I wrote a whole new first chapter. Now, however, no matter how much I revise it, I don't like it. ( my instructor did.)
So, I tossed that first chapter, began my second one again as the first ( see how confusing this all gets?), and now am trying to work in the backstory. Only I'm finding that I can't do it all in one chapter, so that means more revision in terms of adding elements of the backstory into several chapters.
Let's talk about what the "backstory" really is, and why...or IF...it is important. No matter where you begin your novel, your characters, most especially your MCs, have a backstory. I mean, come on, they didn't just spring up out of nowhere, did they? Well, maybe in your head they did, but they had to have come from somewhere, didn't they?
When you begin a story, what are the first things you think of? One: what is it that your MC wants? Two: Who or what is going to keep her from getting what she wants? Three: What kind of conflicts, both internal and external, is she going to have to overcome to get what she wants? Four: What relationships and what incidents/events/issues/ is she going to be involved in while trying to overcome her conflicts? Five: What is the end result/resolution going to be, and how is she going to come up with this resolution? So...where does the backstory fit into all of this, and what effect, if any, will it have upon any one of these five elements?
A story rarely has just one plot, especially if it is a novel. The subplots that you weave into the major plot can often explain some of the backstory, but the question is, where do you begin this part of the novel? In my story, the overall theme was relationships: those between my MC, AJ, and her father, and between her, her best friends and the new girl in town who is out to "destroy" AJ's life in any way she can. In order for the readers to understand the relationship AJ has with her dad now, and why it is so hurtful to her, they have to know what kind of relationship she enjoyed with him in the past. In other words, what was the backstory about AJ and her father? But to put all of that into the first chapter was boring. At least, it was to me, therefore it probably would have been for the reader. So it had to go some place else.
One of the "rules" of writing is that every thing you write has to move the story forward. Every scene and every chapter has to move the story and it has to develop the characters in some way. So you need to work your backstory in by virtue of either conversation or action. Here's an example from my novel:
AJ's two best friends, Julie and Jaime, are in her bedroom when Jaime asks AJ why her father is never home any more. AJ is hesitant to tell them, as she believes her father doesn't love her and the family any more, and uses his job as an excuse to be gone. But she tells them some of what has happened in the past, and why he seems to prefer traveling to being at home. That is the first of the backstory, and it is brought into the story through dialogue.
However...you can't let the dialogue take over, and just spew backstory all over the place. Then it becomes nothing but an information dump. B O R I N G !
So it's a little at a time. For one thing, if you leave important parts out, to be told later, you leave both the characters and the reader hanging. What's going to happen next? Did AJ and her father have a fight? Will her father make her sell her beloved mare? Et cetera et cetera. The reader wants to know more about AJ's past connections to her father, just as her friends do. But she tells them only a little, then changes the subject and there is more action in the scene.
This is the way backstory should be told. A little at a time. Layer it. Weave it into other parts of the plot where it might be the least expected. That builds up the tension and the suspense, both for the plot at hand, and for things that have happened in to past to make the present more exciting. And because it leaves the reader in suspense, at the same time it moves the whole story forward.
The next time you are confronted with where or how or even why to start your backstory, think ahead. What does the past have to do with the present, or even the future, of your MC? What is the theme of your story, and what effect can or does the backstory have upon that theme? Go from there. Work the backstory into the present in the form of dialogue and action, but do it in spurts. Do it where it seems to fit in the most comfortably. Weave it like you were weaving a rug, where you cannot see the seams between backstory and present story.
It will be more challenging, but it will also be more interesting to an editor ( and your eventual readers), and it will add to the tension and suspense of your overall novel.
Think about it. Let me know if it works for you.
So, I tossed that first chapter, began my second one again as the first ( see how confusing this all gets?), and now am trying to work in the backstory. Only I'm finding that I can't do it all in one chapter, so that means more revision in terms of adding elements of the backstory into several chapters.
Let's talk about what the "backstory" really is, and why...or IF...it is important. No matter where you begin your novel, your characters, most especially your MCs, have a backstory. I mean, come on, they didn't just spring up out of nowhere, did they? Well, maybe in your head they did, but they had to have come from somewhere, didn't they?
When you begin a story, what are the first things you think of? One: what is it that your MC wants? Two: Who or what is going to keep her from getting what she wants? Three: What kind of conflicts, both internal and external, is she going to have to overcome to get what she wants? Four: What relationships and what incidents/events/issues/ is she going to be involved in while trying to overcome her conflicts? Five: What is the end result/resolution going to be, and how is she going to come up with this resolution? So...where does the backstory fit into all of this, and what effect, if any, will it have upon any one of these five elements?
A story rarely has just one plot, especially if it is a novel. The subplots that you weave into the major plot can often explain some of the backstory, but the question is, where do you begin this part of the novel? In my story, the overall theme was relationships: those between my MC, AJ, and her father, and between her, her best friends and the new girl in town who is out to "destroy" AJ's life in any way she can. In order for the readers to understand the relationship AJ has with her dad now, and why it is so hurtful to her, they have to know what kind of relationship she enjoyed with him in the past. In other words, what was the backstory about AJ and her father? But to put all of that into the first chapter was boring. At least, it was to me, therefore it probably would have been for the reader. So it had to go some place else.
One of the "rules" of writing is that every thing you write has to move the story forward. Every scene and every chapter has to move the story and it has to develop the characters in some way. So you need to work your backstory in by virtue of either conversation or action. Here's an example from my novel:
AJ's two best friends, Julie and Jaime, are in her bedroom when Jaime asks AJ why her father is never home any more. AJ is hesitant to tell them, as she believes her father doesn't love her and the family any more, and uses his job as an excuse to be gone. But she tells them some of what has happened in the past, and why he seems to prefer traveling to being at home. That is the first of the backstory, and it is brought into the story through dialogue.
However...you can't let the dialogue take over, and just spew backstory all over the place. Then it becomes nothing but an information dump. B O R I N G !
So it's a little at a time. For one thing, if you leave important parts out, to be told later, you leave both the characters and the reader hanging. What's going to happen next? Did AJ and her father have a fight? Will her father make her sell her beloved mare? Et cetera et cetera. The reader wants to know more about AJ's past connections to her father, just as her friends do. But she tells them only a little, then changes the subject and there is more action in the scene.
This is the way backstory should be told. A little at a time. Layer it. Weave it into other parts of the plot where it might be the least expected. That builds up the tension and the suspense, both for the plot at hand, and for things that have happened in to past to make the present more exciting. And because it leaves the reader in suspense, at the same time it moves the whole story forward.
The next time you are confronted with where or how or even why to start your backstory, think ahead. What does the past have to do with the present, or even the future, of your MC? What is the theme of your story, and what effect can or does the backstory have upon that theme? Go from there. Work the backstory into the present in the form of dialogue and action, but do it in spurts. Do it where it seems to fit in the most comfortably. Weave it like you were weaving a rug, where you cannot see the seams between backstory and present story.
It will be more challenging, but it will also be more interesting to an editor ( and your eventual readers), and it will add to the tension and suspense of your overall novel.
Think about it. Let me know if it works for you.
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