Backstory, or Why Can't I Write It? HE Did!

I can't tell you how much I'm enjoying and learning from Damon Knight's Creating Short Fiction. What a great, practical book. But that's not what I wanted to yap about today.

I started reading a certain novel two days ago. It's by a much recognized and honored writer. This particular mainstream book, in fact, won several awards the year it came out (over ten years ago). It begins with a brief description of the setting, which is itself a character. The opening only hints at the coming conflict between characters. What follows next is our good friend Backstory.

And it goes on. And on.

And nothing happens. I mean nothing for the next three chapters, which is where I stopped.

Then I started reading Philip Roth's The Plot Against America, which also contains quite a bit of backstory. The difference between the two books is Roth's opening is so compelling (What if Charles Lindbergh became a Nazi sympathizer and beat FDR in the 1940 presidential election?) that I didn't mind the backstory. In fact while reading, I understood that Roth was using the backstory to explain to me how this intriguing premise could have legitimately come about. Maybe the first writer was going to show me how his/her characters were going to develop, but after three chapters of zero conflict and a not very engaging premise, I wasn't about to hang around any longer.

So we've got two established writers using a lot of backstory. But Roth knows how to get away with it. The first writer didn't sell the backstory as well as Roth, but he/she got away with it too (just not with me). Watch out for backstory, boys and girls, it's everywhere. When you find it, see if it's justified. See if it goes on for too long. Today's lesson is over. Happy writing.

Now Playing = B.B. King Live in Cook County Jail