Since that thread is focused on one book on writing (which gives what I regard as an incomplete definition of "backstory") I've started this thread to enable a broader discussion.

I thought I knew what backstory was and was surprised to discover there isn't much of a generally agreed definition of what it is. What do you think?

To get the ball rolling, here's what I think "backstory" is.

The best definition I can find online is at wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back-story

For me the "backstory" is the story behind the story, so to speak. It's the background against which the story plays, some of it visible in the story, some not, or maybe only vaguely so.

It's similar to background but more. It's one or several stories that lead up to the story at hand--stories that might or might not be told another time. I write backstory as a separate document and use it to keep myself consistent within my imaginary world.

OSC calls it your "bible", the collection of facts known to the author about the characters and their universe. As the story evolves, new facts emerge and one might add them to the backstory.

I can write the backstory as an engineer, a poltical scientist, an observer of human behaviour--anything but a story teller--and get the background and the sequence of prior events clear in my mind and, as they develop, keep them straight.

What's the purpose or value of backstory? Here's what I think:
- to make a logically consistent universe of characters, milieu, technology, etc
- to help author understand motivations for characters based on their backgrounds, psychological makeup, relationships and ...
- ... broader context of political, cultural evolution of the milieu
- to provide texture to the story

This last point is an intangible but vital, I think, to a story that's believeable. Some of story-telling is about belief and passion. If the author believes passionately in the story, it will shine through and grab the reader. There's an element of writing backstory which helps me believe in my fantasy world, because I've thought it through to details way beyond any the reader might imagine. I like to think that that belief gets transmitted to the characters, and thence to the reader, helping her engagement with the story. For this reason, I'll never include all the backstory in the main story; a good chunk of it is there to build my belief in my world and its characters: a convinced author writes a convincing story.

I believe the term "backstory" came from TV where, in series like Star Trek which have several authors, it's important to have an "author's guide" to the fantasy universe, its characters and technology. Without it, continuity would be hard or impossible to manage. For example, in one episode someone might say, "We can't make it in time, Jim, our top speed is warp factor 10."--and then in another episode, they might fly at warp factor 20 without giving it a thought: the backstory is where authors write stuff like "top speed is warp factor 10" so they can keep it consistent amongst episodes. Does anyone know where the term actually came from?

Here's the default format I use for backstory. I'm not a slave to it. If a heading makes no sense for this story, it gets dropped. If new headings are needed, they get invented. Where it says "back stories" I sometimes note other plot ideas that could come in handy either on this story (as subplots), or sequels, or even prequels.

character names and bios
- what they do, how they get what they want/have (back stories)

milieu
- time
- place
- geography (or star maps, or planetary system map)
- historical and political evolution (back stories)

fantasy engineering, technology, ecology (or in fantasy, rules of magick)
- what it does, limitations, dependencies
- who invented it (back stories)
- who wants it (back stories)

There may be links between different parts. For example, a key character may have invented a technology which another key character wants--a classic SF storyline, e.g. EE Doc Smith's Skylark series.

The question was asked: how much backstory should make it into the real story. The answer is like asking a woman, "How much should one reveal?" I think F&SF stories are more tantalizing, more engaging if they retain an air of wonder, or--for dystopian futures, hope. All things critical to the plot and its resolution will be revealed of course, but it's not necessary for the reader to understand every last detail of the world, its characters and fabric; some mystery, some elements that seem logical but not obviously, add texture. (Who amongst us understands how cell phones work?) Part of the pleasure of visiting a foreign country is to see a totally different way of living and being; we don't have to understand it all to be entranced, and I think it's the same with an F&SF story.

How much backstory to include is a question I wrestle with, and critiques of my stories often indicate that, in early drafts, I take it too far and fail to bring in enough of the backstory. The principle I'm trying to use is to include enough that the characters can make sense of the action, and the reader can understand the story. I'm sticking with erring on the side of revealing too little, because I like the sense of mystery it evokes--and I have a suspicion that many published stories do something similar, hence our cries of "don't understand these modern yarns" and "bring back the Golden Age".

The question was asked, what's the difference between background and backstory? I pretty much agree with Annepin. For me there's not much of a useful distinction, but if I had to answer it I'd say that background is the basic stuff that doesn't change, and backstory is more dynamic--it's the sections labelled "backstory" in the template above and--critically--it could be added to over time as the main story evolves. For a large work (which I have not attempted yet) I would expect to add to the the backstory from time to time, to capture key events from the main story so I can keep future episodes consistent with what has happened so far.

Edited to add: I've just realized I do distinguish between background and backstory. When I write the backstory I research, mostly via Google and sometimes in books, topics that are relevant to the story, to understand how it's done today, was done in the past and might be done in future. So, for various stories, I have archives of webpages in folders I call "research" on topics like guns, airships, pagan beliefs, time travel, nuclear power, climate change, creationism and so on. For me these are a big part of "background" because I like to think they bring me up to date with current thinking on the topic and should help me avoid major contradictions with common knowledge. (And no, I don't believe much in "write what you know".)

In the backstory, I might take something from today's body of knowledge and extrapolate into the future--sources of electric power, for example. The development--a fantastic light-weight heavy-duty battery, for example--the reasons for it, who did it and how, and how it has changed our world, all that becomes backstory because it comes from my imagination and, as Anne says, there's a narrative thread to it--maybe subplots, even.

So, what's backstory in your neck of the woods?

Cheers,
Pat

[This message has been edited by TaleSpinner (edited November 03, 2008).]

[This message has been edited by TaleSpinner (edited November 03, 2008).]