Definition
Backstory is the history of a character's life - their experiences, relationships, traumas, and triumphs - that exists before the narrative's opening scene. It includes anything from childhood memories to last Tuesday's argument. While most backstory never appears directly on the page, it invisibly shapes every decision, fear, and desire your character carries into the present story. Think of it as the iceberg beneath the waterline: readers may only glimpse fragments, but the whole mass gives your character weight.
Why It Matters
Without backstory, characters feel like paper dolls pushed through a plot. The reader doesn't need to know everything, but you do - because backstory is what makes a character's reactions feel earned rather than random. When you know why your protagonist flinches at loud noises or refuses to ask for help, their behavior stops being a writerly choice and starts feeling like a living person's reflex.
Types of Backstory
Famous Examples
Miss Havisham's backstory of being jilted at the altar explains her entire decaying world and her manipulation of Estella.
Amir's childhood guilt over betraying Hassan drives every major decision in his adult life.
Evelyn's backstory of unfulfilled potential and strained family relationships gives emotional weight to the multiverse concept.
Common Mistakes
Reveal backstory in small, relevant pieces when the present-action scene makes the reader hungry for context. A sentence here, a flashback there.
Every piece of backstory you reveal should earn its place by explaining a current behavior, fear, or desire. If it doesn't serve the story, keep it in your notes.
Real people hint at their past through reactions, avoidance, and half-finished sentences. Let backstory seep out through behavior, not monologues.
Try It Yourself
Pick a character you're working on and write a one-page timeline of their life from birth to the story's start. Circle the three events that most directly shape their present behavior. Now write a scene where one of those events bleeds into a present-moment reaction without any explicit explanation.
Keep every backstory detail in one place
Novelium's Story Bible lets you build rich character histories and instantly reference them while you write - so your backstory stays consistent even across a hundred chapters.