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Back story. Present story. Hidden story. Every novel has all three. So what are they?

Back story:
Anything that happened to your characters before the novel starts.

Present story:
The series of actions and reactions between the front and back cover.

Hidden story:
The story off stage. The untold scenes and occurrences that don’t make it on the page.

How does back story affect a novel?
Back story determines the characters’ motivations. The characters’ fears. Hang ups. Beliefs. Prejudices. You name it. Back story plays a HUGE roll in every novel. It’s the conglomeration of all that makes a character. Without a back story, the characters are lifeless and flat. Not real. So authors must spend a lot of time on it, even if only bits and pieces make it into the novel.

How does the present story affect a novel?
Umm…..it sort of is the novel. So there ya go.

How does the hidden story affect a novel?
We all know not to start with back story. We know present story must be a series of scenes and sequels. We hear those terms a lot as writers. But hidden story? While the terminology isn’t as well-known, the concept is. At least it should be. Those secondary characters have lives, right? They end up in the same places as our main characters. Like when the hero runs into the heroine’s old boyfriend at the grocery store. Well, how did the old boy friend get there? Why is he there? What’s his story off the page? Every character should have their own story (whether hidden or seen), otherwise we’re left with cardboard. And who likes cardboard?

My epiphany (or more like Rachel Hauck’s epiphany):
My Book Therapy has Monday night chats. I urge you to hightail it to the archives and read. I guarantee you’ll be blown away. One Monday night, while Rachel Hauck and Susan May Warren discussed the role of secondary characters, Rachel said something that stuck with me. She said, Every character must have their own special problem. A problem gives secondary characters depth. It made me think of the hidden story and how we have to pay just as much attention to what’s not on the page as we do to what is on the page.

Questions to Ponder: What part of the narrative trinity do you most enjoy creating? What part do you struggle with the most? Have you heard of the hidden story? Do you give it the attention it deserves?removetweetmeme

I like the idea of a lot of things.

For example:
Gardening. I see people gardening and eating home-grown vegetables, and I think, I want to garden.

Cooking. I run into these people who cook organic, healthy meals for their family every night, and I think, I want to go organic and learn how to cook.

Big family. I see big families. Those mothers with a passel of kids (Hi, Jody!), two hugging their legs, another starting high school, yet another graduating, and I think, I want a big family.

Scrapbooking. I see friends who catalog every moment with their children and put all the memories into a scrapbook, and I think, I want to scrapbook.

These are things I see and think, “Yeah, I’d like to do that.”

But the idea of doing them versus the reality of doing them exists on different planets. Sure, I may want a garden, but am I really willing to sacrifice the hours spent bent over dirt, digging, planting, and watering? I may love the image of my family around the dinner table eating a home-cooked meal, but am I willing to spend the extra time in the kitchen, putting together dinners while my kid is begging for attention and I’m tired from working all day? I may like the idea of a big family, but wow, am I willing to sacrifice all that sleep, all that me-time, all that sanity?

Reality is hardly ever as glorious as the idea. Ideas are easy. Reality is hard. Ideas are pretty and pleasing. Reality can be ugly and frustrating.

A lot of people like the idea of writing a book. But not many people sit their butt in front of the computer each morning when they’re feeling tired and insecure and type word after word for 300 plus pages.

A lot of people like the idea of getting an agent and finding a publisher. But not many people care to withstand the mind-numbingly long waits, the rejection, the doubt, the naysayers.

The thing of it is, reality takes commitment. It takes stamina. It takes a passion that is alive and pulsing. Because without the passion, the commitment and stamina won’t last. I might dig up a patch of land in my backyard, even plant some seeds, but lose interest when the cucumbers don’t grow like they’re supposed to. I might buy a new recipe book and a spice rack only to watch them collect dust. You see where I’m going. Passion needs to be there.

If you’ve got the passion, it’ll keep you committed when you want to quit. It’ll keep you going when you’re exhausted.

Passion is key.

Passion is mysterious.

Passion is not in our control.

It’s not something we muster up in our own strength. It’s something God gives us, like a gift. It’s that undefinable quality, the yeast in our work, whatever that work may be, that makes it rise.

Questions to Ponder: What passions have made your ideas into realities? Do you have the passion it takes to write? Do you have the passion it takes to write for publication?removetweetmeme