Addison
Auror
Today during a very boring twenty minutes babysitting the prop shop my co-worker spotted me writing out character back stories. The conversation went something like this:
"Hey, what'cha doin'?" He asked
"Fleshing out my characters' back grounds."
"Huh?"
"Writing about their past, trying to figure out where they came from."
"Oh. Why? Is your book a thriller mystery where each of them is connected, like Clue or Saw?"
".....No."
"Oh....then why?"
Here's my answer, because it's important. You don't have to write the background in the story. We didn't need to know how Hermione Granger's parents met or how they took it when she started exhibiting magic. We didn't need to know Hannibal Lecter's childhood so see why he turned out how he did. But the author did know. And that is why it's important. Fleshing out the background of your character will give them more dimensions, they will appear real (or more real) in your head. And the more you know about the character the better you can describe him or her in the story.
"Hey, what'cha doin'?" He asked
"Fleshing out my characters' back grounds."
"Huh?"
"Writing about their past, trying to figure out where they came from."
"Oh. Why? Is your book a thriller mystery where each of them is connected, like Clue or Saw?"
".....No."
"Oh....then why?"
Here's my answer, because it's important. You don't have to write the background in the story. We didn't need to know how Hermione Granger's parents met or how they took it when she started exhibiting magic. We didn't need to know Hannibal Lecter's childhood so see why he turned out how he did. But the author did know. And that is why it's important. Fleshing out the background of your character will give them more dimensions, they will appear real (or more real) in your head. And the more you know about the character the better you can describe him or her in the story.