Mini-Backstory in Series

[Ned Marcus]

How do you feel about the inclusion of pieces of mini-backstory in later books in a series that's written to remind you of characters or events? Some writers write a few sentences, or even a paragraph or so, every time a previous character or event is remembered.

Personally, I don't like this. But then I usually remember these events. Perhaps a few subtle words would work, or a sentence at most, but not constant repetition. I ask because I'm now finishing the third novel in a trilogy, and beta readers (who might or might not have read the earlier books) have sometimes mentioned it.

How do you feel about being reminded about events from previous books in this way?

 

[CupofJoe]

Like any infodump, if it is done well, then no-one will notice. I'm not sure how much information could be usefully imparted in a few words unless it was a nickname of sorts. Aldred, "The Butcher of Casscar" or Manet the Cripple...

 

[Night Gardener]

If it is subtle and organic, I'm usually fine with it. People naturally notice physical differences, body language, and the emotions of others if they have reason to care and observe. Especially if time has passed since some common signifigant event.

If I hadn't seen or heard from someone in 6 months, and they show up in a lower leg cast using a crutch, I'm probably going to wonder what the hell happened to break their foot, and want to know from them. If someone is writing me letters about their new romance, and I bump into them in public and they're sobbing, I might deduce there's been some heartache.

People reminisce, too. If I knew you from High school football and recognize you 25 years later, guess what? There's a good balance of probability that the high school we both attended and that football team will come up in conversation.

And people relay information to 3rd parties after the fact. That can feel like gossip, but that's not always the case.

Conversely, characters meeting in an environment like a veteran's club might gloss over the fact that they are all war veterans, because the common history is well established. They might focus on more recent interpersonal happenings amongst themselves until a new face shows up for the first time.

If I'm reading about fictional characters, and there's history between them, I usually infer that if the author makes very little effort to mention the subtext or backstory on a character from past chapters or books... that maybe I should be interpreting that as foreshadowing or a clue; only because it seems kind of unnatural for one character to not associate signifigant acknowledgements with the other character. It reads like they are purposely being ignored, even if that was not the author's intention.

Now, if there is open animosity between characters that haven't seen each other in a while, that should be also be woven in because expressing that animosity feels the most natural.

So, at the most a paragraph if you as the author just want to bring the reader in on the character's casual assessment of the other. Of course, if there are significant plot developments or new information to be conveyed with their meeting, that should probably be written about differently.

If you write, " Jensen looked up when he heard the door bell chime. It was Orrick. He was brisk and brusk as usual hanging up his wet coat, grumbling a hello to the tavern keeper. He still needed the cane, but his range of motion in his shoulder was much improved. His natural gruff temperment masked his physical pain well. It was good to see the proud swordsman back on his feet after taking on such an injury. If it had happened to anyone else they would have surely died. But not Orrick. Not that old Scratch. The scars on his face healed very well and could argueably be an improvement to his normal scowling countenance. People would now just assume he scowled because of his face and the cane, but Jensen knew better. He waved at Orrick to invite him over to his table, and as customary, Orrick just shook his head and took his usual table in the dark corner under the stairs. Jensen figured that if he survived that last ordeal, Orrick would be alive long enough to shake hands with the Devil himself in Hell. Jensen took a swig from his stein and was surprised to see a distorted shape of Orrick approaching his table through the bottom of the glass."

Now, you don't have to refer back to all the details of the battle or accident that is familiar to Jensen and pertains to Orrick, but this observational exchange and inner commentary between the two characters would be enough to establish details without being bogged down into actual backstory rehashing or info dumping.

 

[Maker of Things Not Kings]

It really is all in how it's presented. The more naturally it's worked in, the easier it is to keep the reader from being confused losing interest.

All of Night Gardener's suggestions are quite strong.

And though you wouldn't want to overdo it, I think people (or characters) tend to replay certain moments they experienced with another when they see or hear from them after a time.There's a friend of mine who is a nurse. Ten years ago I happened to be the first to see her after what, to this day, remains the most horrific event she has experienced in her field. I don't replay it in detail every time I think of her but it does run through my head if she's coming to visit us or when we meet up, or when I write about her as I am now. How could it not. It's a standout, dramatic moment in our shared history. it's never comes up in our actual conversations, but it's a placeholder or a marker of her in my life.

Or there was the 15 yr old girl whose parents asked if I'd listen to the songs she had written and who asked me to give her encouragement if I didn't think they were any good. (I had a digital studio at the time in a small town where I was the only studio for local recording.) She showed up, all pigtails and overalls, pulled out her guitar and, for the next half hour, my jaw was on the ground. She was amazing. Vocals, emotive song style, originality, lyrical content. Never heard anything like her. We ended up recording her songs. I watched her finish high school in that town and we stayed in touch through her college days and beyond. Despite hundreds of shared memories, I always think of that first meeting when I think of her.

To me, natural means hitting it just as I would replay it through myself. There are few events in the past that I will recall in moment to moment detail, even traumatic ones, good or bad. If I were writing either of those people above as memories in a main character's head, I'd hit the highlights, the emotional beats, just as my brain does in my real life memories.

It's natural for us to revisit any event that has left such an impression on us. I think it makes the character more relatable while allowing you to work the memories into a later book in a series.

 

[Ned Marcus]

If it is subtle and organic, I'm usually fine with it.

Me too. It's the long boring and unsubtle ones I don't like. Some good ideas in your post.

 

[Ned Marcus]

It's natural for us to revisit any event that has left such an impression on us. I think it makes the character more relatable while allowing you to work the memories into a later book in a series.

A good way of putting it, and an easier way to make it more subtle.