By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
Backstory can be a real problem for
writers…if readers find it boring. Many readers won’t put their finger on
exactly what it was that made the story boring, but they’ll put it aside. No one really enjoys an expository dump of information—they just want an
engaging story.
In a mystery, this might seem
tricky. A suspect’s backstory is
frequently what comprises their motive for murder. How a suspect’s past intersects with the
victim’s past is important.
For mysteries, though, you’ve got a very
helpful element that allows you to work the backstory in fairly seamlessly: the
interview process. Your sleuth or
detective is trying to find out information to determine a suspect’s
motive.
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