What Is a Backstory [Complete Guide, With Examples & Tips]

A back story is a story that comes before the main storyline of a film, book, or play. It is a preface to the main tale, which follows later.

The term has been used to refer to both the plot and characters in backstories that are not necessarily told in order.

A back story can be either an entirely separate narrative contained within another work, or it may be an element of another work with its own continuity and backstory.

For example, in The Lord of the Rings (1954-1955), the character Frodo Baggins was introduced in The Hobbit (1937).

Then he was introduced again in The Fellowship of the Ring (1954-1955), where he became involved in a quest to destroy an evil ring which had been created by Sauron, who was allied with goblins and ogres under Mount Doom. He then returned home again as Bilbo Baggins to live out his life until Sauron returned again at the end of The Hobbit (1977).

How To Write Exposition That Works

Exposition is the introduction of plot, characters, and setting. The most common exposition is a summary of what has happened in the story so far. This is usually a part of the beginning or middle of the book.

It is also used for movies and other media where there are no chapters to divide up the plot.

Exposition can tell us how long ago something happened or how quickly it’s happening. It can also give us information about characters and settings.

For example, if someone asks you how long ago your family moved to their new house, you can say “we’ve been here for two years” or “we just moved here three months ago.” You can also explain that your mom has been married for five years or that your dad has always loved baseball since he was five years old.

Exposition is not just limited to telling us facts about a story; it can be used to show us things like character traits, motivations, fears, relationships and goals.[1]

   

Backstory Characteristics

Backstory is the story that all characters have before they are introduced in the game. The backstory can be anything from their past to how they came to be who they are today.

All characters have backstories that help explain their behavior and personality, as well as help build up the character’s development throughout the course of the game.

Backstories can also be used to explain why certain actions were taken by a character at certain points during gameplay. For example, if you decide to fight a boss battle after defeating all of the other enemies in an area, then there must be some reason why your character chose to fight this particular enemy instead of any other one they may have met along the way.

Backstories are vital to create compelling characters and make them feel more real because they provide a sense of who these people really are rather than just having them act out their role like robots.

How To Write A Backstory

Backstory is the story of your character’s past. It can be a fun way to bring depth and personality to your characters. But, like anything else in fiction writing, it can be difficult and time-consuming to write.

Here are some tips and tricks that I’ve learned over the years that will help you master the art of backstory writing:

1. Start early — Backstory is best when it’s fresh in your mind, so start working on it with your character as soon as possible. You don’t want to wait until you have an entire novel plotted before you start thinking about what happened before the current scene. Plan out one chapter or scene at a time!
2. Keep track of everything When writing backstory, make sure you keep track of all the important details such as dates, places and events that lead up to your current scene or chapter. This will help you create a solid foundation for each new piece of information that comes along later on down the road (and also makes sure everything gets placed back in its proper order after editing).
3. Use research — If you want to make sure your characters look authentic and realistic, check out some historical books or other materials that might help inform their

Creating A Backstory For Your Character

 The backstory of your character is important because it gives you information about their childhood and upbringing. It can also help you to determine the type of person they are, as well as how they view the world around them.

In this section we will look at some tips for creating a backstory for your character.

Why Backstory?

   

Backstory can be used to create tension in a scene. If you want your audience to feel afraid for someone or worried about their future, then creating a backstory will help to do this.

By revealing something about the character’s past, you are showing that they are vulnerable and potentially more likely to make bad decisions that could lead to disaster. It also helps give depth and dimensionality to your character so that they feel more real and believable.

Incorporate Past Events Into The Present Day

When writing your story, remember that everything is based on an event or series of events which took place in the past; therefore, incorporate these events into your present day story so that it makes sense how things have changed or evolved over time. This will help keep things interesting and moving along at a good pace without dragging out too long or becoming boring!

What Is A Backstory In Film

 A backstory is a story within a story, and it’s what makes movies so compelling. It’s the place where we get to see how the world really works, how people really think and feel, and how they react to situations that are completely normal to us.

In movies, we see a character do something shocking or unexpected. We’re shocked for them and their reaction is so real that we experience it ourselves. Their backstories reveal why they did what they did and why they reacted as they did.

The backstory also shows us what makes them tick, who they are at their core, and how they got there. If a character has a backstory that doesn’t make sense or doesn’t have enough detail in it, it will be hard for us to connect with them emotionally.

A good backstory can help define your character more clearly than any other part of your screenplay. If you have trouble coming up with one for your movie characters, try thinking about their childhoods or their families — anything that helps tell their story in more detail will help you write better backstories as well

   

What Is A Backstory In Literature

 A backstory is a narrative account of the events that led to a character’s current situation in a story. It is often used as a device to explain why the character has changed or grown as a person.

A backstory can also be used to help establish the setting of a story.

In literature, backstory is an element of narrative that provides background information about a character’s life and history, providing context which may help readers to understand how the character came to be in the situation described in the main plot.

Backstories may be told from different perspectives, such as those of narrator and other characters, or they may be described by one individual who speaks directly to another character. Writers use backstories to help readers understand why characters act as they do, especially when they are presented with unusual situations (such as death).

In film and television writing, backstories are usually developed during the scriptwriting process rather than written after filming has begun. Because film scripts must be written with minimal time available for changes once shooting begins, writers must include all necessary information at this stage so that editors can incorporate it into production without having to rewrite large portions of their script

Backstory Examples In Film

 The stories in film are usually about the past, and that’s a good reason why they’re called “backstory.” The backstory of a story is the background information that has been forgotten, or that was never told.

Backstories can be used to show how people got to where they are now, or they can be used to show how one character has changed over time.

Backstory Examples In Film

The following are some examples of backstory in film:

–           The backstories of both Batman and Robin were revealed in The Dark Knight Rises (2012). They were orphaned as children, but they were very different people by the end of the movie.

–           In The Bourne Legacy (2012), we find out what happened to Jason Bourne after he left his home country of France. His parents were killed in an attack on their family, and he was then taken in by a group of assassins known as The Black Legion. He eventually escaped from them and became an agent for the CIA, but he was captured again during a raid on their hideout. That’s where we find out what happened to him after he left the CIA — he lives alone with his dog inside a house filled with surveillance equipment.

Backstory Examples In Literature

In his essay “Backstory,” John Gardner discusses the importance of backstory, and how it can give a book its unique voice. He writes: “A story should have a distinct beginning, middle and end; it should also have a distinctive voice.

That is, each part of the narrative must be written in such a way as to convey a particular kind of information, in such a way as to make the story recognizable as one author’s work. A writer who fails to do this will probably not be able to write at all.”

Gardner goes on to explain that backstory is “a story told by an author about his own life or some other life.” It’s important because it helps readers understand why characters act the way they do, and why they feel the way they do.

It gives readers insight into what motivates them and why they’re doing what they’re doing.

The world of The Princess Bride is one filled with fairy tales and magic, but it’s also populated with characters who are real people, just like you or me — only with more money or less hair! In fact, there are so many characters from classic fairy tales in this film that it would take us hours just

Character Backstory Examples

Jack Sparrow

   

Jack Sparrow is a rogue pirate who has a very interesting backstory. He was once a young boy who lived on a ship with his father, who was also a pirate. One day, he gets kidnapped by Barbossa and the two of them end up on an island.

After being stranded there for years, Jack ends up finding Will Turner (who was also previously kidnapped). Together they sail off to find the Fountain of Youth so they can get back home and save their families from being killed by Barbossa’s crew.

Kagome Higurashi

Kagome Higurashi is one of my favorite characters in Inuyasha, as well as one of the most powerful female characters ever created. In the beginning of the series, Kagome is just your average teenager who lives with her family in Japan.

Then one day she discovers that she has the ability to see demons when she touches shards of shards (kind of like crystal balls). This leads her on an adventure full of action and emotional turmoil.

What Is A Backstory – Wrapping Up

A backstory is a sequence of events that explain how a character came to be where he is in the novel. The backstory can take many forms, including birth, childhood, education, business experience and military service.

The subject of a novel may be linked to their backstory in several ways:

– Their first name or nickname is the same as an important event in their life e.g. Peter Pan

– They have a relative or friend who shares their surname e.g. Batman and Robin

– They were born on the same day as an important moment in history or an event that changed the world e.g Harry Potter was born on 31 July 1926, which was also the day that Hitler invaded Poland and World War II began (Note: This may not be true for all characters but it gives you an idea).

Backstories should help readers understand who your characters are and why they do what they do in your story. When finding out about backstories it helps if you read the Wikipedia article on Backstory (this link will take you directly to it). This article will give you some good information about backstories, including examples of good and bad ones from popular books such as Pride and Pre