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Debate: Should a character's backstory be revealed early or saved for later?
I was talking to my writing group buddy, Mark, at a coffee shop in Austin last month. He said dumping a character's whole past in chapter one kills the mystery, but his novel felt flat to me because I didn't care about anyone yet. Then another friend, Lisa, showed me her story where she drops one clue about a traumatic event around page 40, and it hooked me way more. Now I'm split: do you think it's better to front-load the backstory to build empathy fast, or keep it hidden to build suspense? What's worked for you when you've tried both ways?
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nora1101mo ago
Does dropping a hint about her dead sister on page 2 count as early or late?
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taylor.sean1mo ago
Page 2 is DEFINITELY early. In a 300 page book, page 2 is basically the prologue still. If you're dropping hints about a dead sister that soon, you're basically screaming "THIS MATTERS LATER" before the reader even knows the characters name. Let the story breathe a little. I once read a thriller where the author mentioned a "safety deposit box key" on like page 5 and I immediately knew it was the whole plot twist. Ruined it. You gotta trust the reader to pick up on subtler stuff over time. Page 2 just feels like you're holding up a big neon sign instead of earning the reveal naturally.
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ivanross1mo ago
Nora, I totally feel that. It's such a fine line between a good hint and a spoiler, and I've been burned by obvious ones too. Did a big neon sign ruin a book for you before?
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