Ask Jerry
back story on character’s
Asked by Rebecca Robin Alber on October 20, 2020
I have 6 character's in an all girl gang, in the 1800's wild west. With their six shooters and their six sense, they prevail over the dark hearts that torment the good-hearted people, when they are called apon. To not confuse the reader how often can I bring each character's back story forward.
Thank You, Rebecca Robin
Jerry's Answer
First, Rebecca, be very careful of your punctuation and spelling. Agents and book acquisitions editors read dozens of missives every day, so you're competing with people who are sending in perfectly rendered prose from that standpoint.
You added a rogue apostrophe to the word characters in both your title and copy that would distract your reader. The same with 1800s, in which case if you intended it as possessive, the apostrophe would come after the s.
You also mention the girls' six shooters. Actually the gang would be composed of six shooters (six girls who shoot). Their guns would be six-shooters (guns that shoot six bullets).
You mention their six sense when you mean their sixth sense.
You also misspell upon.
Sorry to seem so picky, but I'm eager to see you put your best foot forward and give yourself the best chance to succeed.
That said, covering the backstories of six different characters seems ambitious and unwieldy. It may make sense for the gang to have six members, but you want one main character and maybe one strong secondary one. The rest can play interesting roles, but we don't need their entire histories.
The best way to reveal backstories is through dialogue, but it must not be an information dump. It has to sound like real conversation between characters, not just someone's history. People who know each other speak in shorthand, like, "Let's not have a repeat of Cincinnati..." and readers know that somewhere down the road, they'll learn what that was about (in pieces, not all at once).
Do a word search within the Guild here for backstory.
And all the best with your story.