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It’s the No. 1 principle of storytelling: keep momentum moving forward. But compelling story hinges on fully realized characters—which means incorporating the past.

Believable characters don’t just spring to life fully formed at the beginning of your story. Ideally, if you’ve developed them thoughtfully, they are three-dimensional people with complex lives and experiences that have shaped who they are when your story opens. And those past experiences will inform the journey they take in your novel. 

So how do you convey who your characters were that have led them to who they are now—without it taking over the story? What backstory belongs in the story and what doesn’t? How much of it do you need? And how can you fluidly weave in all that depth and complexity without stalling the story’s pace with info dumps, flashbacks, or just too much exposition? 

In three detailed, example-filled classes, this masterclass offers:

• Clear, practical guidelines for lacing in backstory to deepen and develop your characters
• 3 main ways of weaving in backstory, with specific examples of each from published books
• Practical techniques for revealing who your characters were and are without slowing down the story

Complete with supplemental practice exercises, worksheets, and plentiful examples, Mastering Backstory helps you create compelling pasts for your characters while moving your story forward.

April 10: Understanding and Incorporating Backstory

April 17: Mastering Flashbacks

When used unskillfully, flashbacks will stop the story cold. You’ll learn what makes a flashback essential, and how good ones can add meaning and impact to the main story. We’ll assess whether and when flashbacks serve your story best—as well as how to draw readers smoothly and organically into and out of them without the “cheese factor” equivalent of an old-movie dissolve. This session specifically tackles:

• What is flashback? How flashback is different from context and memory (the other main forms of flashback), but incorporates them
• Flashback pros and cons: How flashbacks can add immediacy and depth to a story, but also risk pulling readers out of it and diluting the story’s focus
• Whether and when to use flashback: Determining how flashback serves your story (or doesn’t), and when it may be used most effectively to illuminate the past
• Weaving flashback seamlessly into story:
  • What role memory plays in flashback, and how to  use its principles in creating seamless flashbacksHow to transition smoothly in and out of flashbackHow to orient readers within a flashbackSteps to building an effective flashback
  • How to start a story with flashback—and whether you should
• How point of view affects flashback
• Best practices for formatting flashbacks
• Flashback faux pas

April 24: Developing Relevant and Compelling Backstory

This session will cover how to develop and explore what and who shaped your characters into who they are, determine which threads in the fabric of your characters’ lives are essential to this story and which aren’t, and how to mine those areas to create believable and cohesive characters. We’ll review the key backstory guidelines and different techniques to discover, develop, and convey your characters’ backstory. This session specifically tackles:

• How backstory provides character context—and what “context” means
• Why you don’t need a character bible
• The 3 main elements of character to mine out relevant backstory
• Why not every character needs a “wound”
• Practical, actionable techniques for incorporating backstory on the page so readers see who your character is and why they do what they do:
  • Mine backward from current action/situation (reverse-engineer)
  • Build forward from what you know of character: how would she react, act, behave, etc., as a result of her past experiences, traits, situation, identity?
• Using consistency and contrast to create memorable, unique characters

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Who should take this class

• Novelists who want to bring characters to life for readers as vividly on the page as they are in your head 
• Novelists who get “bogged down in backstory”
• Novelists who struggle to balance enough backstory with too much
• Novelists who need guidance on determining what backstory is essential and relevant
• Novelists who struggle with adding flashbacks into the narrative seamlessly
• Authors who avoid flashbacks as “cheesy shortcuts”

This class is not suited for

• Memoirists of any kind
• Short story writers
• Anyone not writing book-length work
• Narrative nonfiction writers
• Children’s writers: picture books and middle-grade fiction

How do I attend the live class?

This class uses Zoom webinar technology (see system requirements). You will join through your Internet-connected computer or mobile device. When you register, you will receive information via email on how to join the class. If you don’t receive it within 1 hour of registering, please contact us.

• When: Part 1: Wednesday, April 10, 2024 | Part 2: Wednesday, April 17, 2024 | Part 3: Wednesday, April 24, 2024
• Time: 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Eastern / 10:00 a.m. Pacific
• Registration fee: $75 for the entire series (sorry, but single-class registration is not available)

The webinar is broadcast via the internet with live audio delivered through your computer or mobile device speakers. The visual presentation is displayed directly from the presenter’s computer to your computer screen. The Q&A is managed through a chat-style submission system with questions read and answered by the presenter for the entire class to hear.

Closed captions are provided during the live class. We use Zoom’s automated closed caption service (powered by Otter), which is about 80%+ accurate. We also use Otter AI to generate an unedited transcript, provided with the recording.

Testimonials

All students receive the following

• Access to live classes. After roughly 75 minutes, the instructor will take questions during class using in-class chat/text. Each class will end after roughly 90 minutes.
• A recording of the class—audio and video. This is especially helpful if you have a conflict with the class time or something comes up and you can’t make the session. Each registration comes with access to the archived version of the program and the materials for six months. You do not have to attend the live event to access the recordings.
• Presentation slides. All participants receive copies of the slide presentations in PDF form.
• Rough transcript. We use Otter to create an automated transcript of each webinar, which we’ll share with you in addition to the audio and video recording.
• Supplementary exercises and worksheets. You’ll receive backstory exercises and worksheets, including summaries and overviews of the class material. These are delivered with the recording after class.

Event Attendance & Anti-Harassment Policy

We strive to provide an environment where all present—whether attendee, presenter, or staff—can feel supported. In order to ensure a welcoming event, here is what we expect from all who participate.

• That the presenter and the presenter’s work be treated with respect by attendees and that all attendees treat each other with respect and a generosity of spirit.
• That attendees will refrain from harassment of any sort including (but not limited to) comments or questions of a racist, homophobic, sexist/sexual, or threatening nature. This includes actions that disrupt or interfere with anyone’s ability to participate. Offenders will be disconnected from the live event.