Hello there, lovely humans!
I’m on episode four of my new story, Race Against Time (NOT published yet!), and I was writing a backstory for one of my character’s parents, to give her actions some context. Whilst I was writing, I was actually wondering if people even enjoy backstories. So, this is my question: Do you think reading a backstory is relevant, if it’s not about the main characters? (E.G. one of the main character’s parents always argue and the MC gives a backstory on what happens.)
Do you enjoy reading backstories?
4 Likes
Love reading backstories, in fact all of my characters have one! The thing is writing it in without seeming like exposition.
5 Likes
Okay, good to know! Thanks!
I hate them if put in the early episodes of a story. To put it simply, I barely knew anyone and suddenly I’m looking into the past of characters I haven’t really familiarized with. I could probably count with fingers the franchises I enjoyed that had a backstory —excluding heavy fantasy where you need to explain some things about the universe in prior— in the first quarter of the plot. Too many of them in the beginning would usually stop or hinder me from reading further as they drag the actual plot.
4 Likes
I like reading a characters backstory as long as it’s relevant to the plot and justifies their actions.
All of my characters have backstories which help the reader to understand why they act that way and I think it works well 
I’ve also separated them out, so they’re not all just in one episodes, so the more you read, the more you learn about that character. I also only bring up their backstory when relevant to what’s going on and made sure it’s not too long.
I hope this is helpful 
x
2 Likes
How interesting! Thank you.
Thank you!
I think that getting to know the character(s) the further you read in the story, the more interesting it is. I personally don’t really enjoy reading stories where they describe everything about them when you meet them - I find it’s better to find out slowly.
3 Likes
I like backstories, they really tell you more about the character.
Though I like them only if I know the character already. Like others said, a backstory of a character I barely know won’t be interesting.
Also, write them if they’re relevant to the plot and the character.
2 Likes
Yeah, it’s best to learn more about them as you go, makes the story more interesting 
x
1 Like
Hello @jonesrose12, I’m Sydney the moderator. Welcome to the forum! 
I’ve moved this thread to Episode Fan Community since it doesn’t fit into any Creator’s Corner category. Make sure to check out our Forum Tutorial for more info about creating topics, and feel free to PM me if you’ve got questions.
1 Like