A few weeks ago I had a chance to review someone’s work… and found that it had significant problems with pacing.

What problems? The scene simply didn’t flow. The reason was obvious: it was a scene from early in the book, and the writer was busy setting the scene – and this involved filling in lots of backstory.

Most writers are familiar with this term, but if you’re not… “backstory” is the process of filling in various details from the past. These details can pertain to the plot or the viewpoint character. The writer feels that it’s important that the reader has these details to understand where the characters are now.

Usually, it’s not nearly as important to get these details in as the writer imagines. It’s far better to ‘drip’ in details that are absolutely necessary than to ‘dump’ them all in at once.

I decided to address this in an article about backstory: How To Weave Backstory Into a Novel. You might find it handy if you’re struggling with this issue.

Marg

Tags: Pacing
Categories: General Tips, Technique
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