In addition to being an author, I run a lot of tabletop roleplaying games. These games combine storytelling and math, allowing players to explore a realm through their characters, and to weave their own narrative as things progress. And whether they're playing knights and wizards, or vampires lurking in the shadows of the modern day, these kinds of games are great for really getting people immersed in a story.
However, when you're the Game Master (the person crafting the plot lines, making all the extra characters that inhabit the world, running the world itself, and so on), you generally acknowledge that the players are only going to see about 40% of what you put together. Maybe 70%, if they're really curious. And it is so tempting to find some way to shoehorn in all that lore you worked on that supports the world, the characters, and the plots... but you need to resist that urge.
If something isn't important to the narrative, don't let it eat up table time. And if you're an author, do not dedicate word count to things people do not need to know... all you're going to do is weigh down your story, and potentially bore your audience enough that they'll close the book and walk away.
 |
| There's so much to know... and a lot of it is for you, not the readers. |
But before I get into the meat of today's post, remember, don't forget to sign up for my newsletter to
get all my updates right in your inbox. Also, if you've got a bit of
spare cash that you'd like to use to help keep the wheels turning,
consider becoming a Patreon patron! Also, be sure you're following all of my followables, check out my LinkTree.
Lastly, for hundreds of extra articles on gaming, weird history, and for more free fiction, check out my Vocal archive, too!
Backstory Is Necessary... For The Author
I've talked at length on this blog about the necessity of research, proper world building, and understanding character motivation, the law, and more. However, most of that is for you, the author. Because writing a book is like an ice berg... most of it remains out of sight, deep below the surface of the story. While it's important for holding up the framework, it isn't the sort of thing your readers need to know.
Until it is.
 |
| After all, didn't you wonder why they called it Skull Island? |
Consider for a moment a private detective protagonist. You, as the author, know his full history. You know he was born in farm country, and that he signed up for the marines to get away from that tiny patch. You know he was dishonorably discharged for punching a superior when he was a military police officer, and that he couldn't get a job in civilian law enforcement after that. He was a prize fighter for a while, and then he hung out his shingle as a PI.
Now, you might want to find a way to shoehorn all of that into conversation through the book. You might also want to talk about his extended family, their lives, and even lay out the history and genealogy of his family tree and ancestors to show your readers that you did the work... but until that becomes somehow relevant to the story you're telling, you need to keep all of that stuff behind the curtain where it belongs.
And this is where an earlier post I made, Lore Drops Instead of Lore Dumps, becomes relevant.
Because the purpose of a lore drop is to give a small chunk of relevant information to the audience, either in a subtle way, or in a direct way, to help enhance your story without bogging it down with unnecessary details. For example, your PI might have a client come to him. He doesn't trust cops, but he knows a guy who recommended the detective. Harry White? Yeah, we did a tour of the sandbox together. Client relaxes, knowing that he's talking to a fellow jarhead who's here to help him out. Alternatively, our PI is expecting a call from a contact, but instead his brother calls from back home. He's gossiping about the kids, his wife, the current crop, and can't get to the point, and our detective can feel his old accent trying to claw its way back up his throat. Then he has to cut the call off when another number dials him. This gives us a glimpse into the detective's life, and can provide a kind of tension breaker before we get back into the case.
Before you bring a piece of backstory onto the page, whether it's a historical event that happened in the setting, where your protagonist learned to shoot, or the details of a holiday celebration where everyone wears leather masks made from the preserved, peeled faces of their elders who have passed on, ask yourself if this adds to your story, and serves a purpose in the narrative. Because if this information isn't necessary to provide context to your readers, and it won't reveal something important, then you probably need to leave it under the water.
And that can hurt trying to hold yourself back from explaining everything that you spent all this time working on. But if the audience doesn't need to know, all you're doing is gumming up the works. And if your audience does need to know, you need to find a way to convey that knowledge as smoothly as possible. For more on how to do that, though, check out my older posts How To Avoid The Dreaded Exposition Dump, as well as 3 Ways To Avoid Info Dumping In Your Story.
Support The Literary Mercenary
If you want to see me produce more work, consider some of the following options!
- The Azukail Games YouTube Channel (where I contribute video content)
- The A.L.I.C.E. Files (a channel full of short stories, many of which are mine)
And if you happen to have some spare dosh lying around, and you want to be sure my supply doesn't run low, consider become a Patreon patron, or leaving a tip by Buying Me a Ko-Fi!
Also,
if you're curious about how to write for tabletop RPGs, don't forget to
check out my show Tabletop Mercenary, which you can find on both the
Azukail Games channel!
Like, Follow, and Come Back Again!
That's all for this week's Craft of Writing! For more of my work, check out my Vocal archive, or at My Amazon Author Page where you can find books like my sci-fi dystopian thriller Old Soldiers, the Hardboiled Cat series about a mystery solving Maine Coon in Marked Territory and Painted Cats, my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, or my most recent short story collection The Rejects!
And to stay on top of all my latest news and releases, collected once a week, make sure you subscribe to The Literary Mercenary's mailing list.
If you'd like to help support my work, then consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page! Lastly, to keep up with my latest, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and now on Pinterest as well!
