Thread: One for the experts

On a first chapter of 2500 words how much in terms of a percentage would you allocate to back story - if any?

Oh, wow. Just think, the fate of your story, its ranking on the best-seller lists, hinges on knowing *the correct answer* to this question. I dunno how you sleep at night for worrying about it.

Well, gosh, I thought everyone knew that exactly 16.25 percent of the first chapter must be devoted to back story or the manuscript will be rejected without further reading. If you go now and read every novel that's ever been published you'll see that's true.

That's enough, you two.

Sorry Quill. Welcome to the Grumpy Old Men's Club.

The answer to your question is - Don't worry about stuff like that. Write your story, finish it, then go back and consider things like this. If that's where you're at now, don't think in terms of percentages, there will be no right answer. It depends - among other things - on the style of the book, and the purpose the 'back story' serves.

My mentor would encourage you to think about whether it's necessary, or whether you're just looking for an easy way out. "Could we get that information through the narrative?"

Yes, it is probably a stupid question. I ask because I received a right going over for having 2.5% back story - which gave the reason for the MC doing what he did - from a couple of ‘critters’!

At some point, I would like to get my work published and needed to know if there was a rule, common view, or convention I was breaking.

Nah, there's no rule. 'Back story' and 'Info-dumps' can be frowned upon, but don't worry too much about stuff like that right now. You should take all critiques with a big ol' bag of salt anyway. I mean some people know what they're talking about, and some don't... and until you have a publisher or an editor on your side, it's up to you to make that judgment call.

As Like a Fox indicated, get the first draft completed. Then worry about backstory.

If you're unsure, look at how published writers accomplished it. I think you'll find they sprinkle backstory in as needed, no more than what the reader needs to know at the time to understand and move forward. There are always exceptions.

Most readers like to figure things out, not have it all told to them up front. And it's better if they understand the backstory in the context of the current storyline. They have something to anchor the information to. Too much at the beginnng, without an anchor, and the reader is lost or indifferent. Both are not good things.

But has been said, there isn't a magic number on this.

Terry

Quill, first a totally rhetorical question or two. Who on earth sat down and calculated how much was backstory? Sounds like way too much free time on their hands to me. Second, what formula did they use?

Backstory is tricky at best. Only use as much of it as is necessary for the reader to understand the story at this point. If they need more backstory in chapter 2, work what they need into the narrative there.

Originally Posted by RomanticRose

Quill, first a totally rhetorical question or two. Who on earth sat down and calculated how much was backstory? Sounds like way too much free time on their hands to me. Second, what formula did they use?

Backstory is tricky at best. Only use as much of it as is necessary for the reader to understand the story at this point. If they need more backstory in chapter 2, work what they need into the narrative there.

I imagine they decided what sections were backstory and did a basic percentage calculation. Goddes knows why...


I basically stopped by to agree with everyone else. Don't worry too much about this until the first draft is done, you can always cut or add later, if necessary.

Your first chapter is your "hook, like, and sinker" chapter. That means it has to grip the reader and want to make them read on. Adding in back story does little to help accomplish this. Start the book by getting right into the thick of things, and worry about the back story in subsequent chapters.