I have decided to try and write a story but I am having trouble with the details of the backstory. As it stands I know how I want my character to be portrayed but I am struggling to show that that is a result of his past if that makes sense To give you a better understanding it is about a boy who was tortured mentally and physically and how he is able to get back on his feet. However to create a past that provides mystery and makes sense, I am finding quite difficult. Basically is it vital that I know the past of my character in detail or should I just edit/create it later Not sure if I explained it well so ask if I haven't made it clear Any advice on backstories in general would be helpful as well
Broken household, broken heart, death of loved ones, rape, being shunned because of something that makes you different in the entourage that you are in... Here are some shows that provide sad stuff (each with a different degree): Clannad: After Story Grave of the Fireflies Goblin Slayer Naruto Sono Mono Nochi Ni… The Little Match Girl
honestly, if you don't know I suggest leaving it vague. imply the things you don't know for now and fill it in later with what makes sense for the story. it will give of the impression that you are giving out breadcrumbs instead of force feeding the whole loaf into people. it's difficult in one way to do stories like this because it is so over done, people often do a lot for a tragic backstory, but they don't show why the mc is on the path of recovery, or not (depending on the story, some like to show the mc wallowing in it or reveling in it). storytime (maybe this will give you ideas, but honestly I just love telling stories)- So I used the traumatized backstory for a character I played in dnd. his parents had been a paladin and a priestess living on the fringes of the holy land. one night their settlement was attacked by drow and the adults were killed off quickly, but the drow took their time on the children. I had made two characters here, he was hiding his little brother in a trunk and figured that if he held out as long as he could the drow would focus on him and not search the trunk. so he got tortured all night, and even worse, he responded to them with righteous quotes and whatnot you would expect from the proud child of a paladin and a priest of a lg war god. so they cut out his tongue. (hahaha, this was a way I used to not dominate the party, being the most experienced player in the group, my character not being able to talk meant they couldn't use my decision making as a crutch for themselves. I just had to accept their choices. anyways, I wrote that night up as a shortstory and the dm loved it so much he allowed my character concept, mixed class ranger/paladin/fighter that flowed into knight champion/templar throughout the levels (representing his training as the pathfinder for his order, flowing into a full knight eventually, these weren't special rules, you could literally take a different class with every level in 3rd edition if you wanted to, it just tended to make your character really fragmented if done poorly, and usually was frowned upon if there wasn't good reason for it). he even gave my dude great fortitude and both my main dude and the little brother and a few other principle npcs access to drow sign language to allow them to communicate. his drive was to protect his brother and the holy land and hunting down the drow raiding parties on and near the surface, eventually falling in love with a paladin from the order. so it allowed me to focus on the character finding purpose and seeking to cure his traumas. not content, the dm set up another ambush by drow which led him down another cycle of trauma and purpose. for how wholesome that dm's stories had a tendency of being, that character's total story arc included 5-6 deaths prior to the final arc when he had to defend the chosen of his god during a demon invasion. the demon invasion arc included a death every other session, with 3 deaths in one session. felt like dark souls towards the end there. we started joking that my character wasn't a living character, but rather a summon that just got to stick around longer than most others. stopped leveling at that point too because dude just died too often to ever really gain a level. finally got to stay dead after the final battle. ehh, I got off topic, but that is the general flow of my most memorable "traumatic backstory" character. writing another now that's supposed to deal with the concept of grief but I feel like I am doing it wrong. wasn't little match girl the play from dragon maid?
Thanks for that, i think i have got an idea of how to do it, will have a go and see Also, good luck for that story. Free to bounce off, although i dont know how much help i will actually be
To your question. I’d say it would be more beneficial to have a rock solid past, but it’s not necessary. My thoughts are. It all depends on the triggers. What is the conflict that creates these flashbacks. So in essence work yourself backwards. Since you have an idea already for the character. Just work backwards. For instance. A girl with long red hair triggers the MC. Work backwards and flesh out his pass. Like say a childhood friend that use to torment him. Than from their you could build a past for him. Or something like that. I wish you luck
If you're looking for ideas on the tragic backstory itself and how average people reacted I would recommend an American tv series called 'Evil Lives Here'. It's a true crime docuseries that talks with the friends and family members of convicted criminals: serial killers etc. I stumbled on it the other day and was honestly shocked. Specifically the episode about Theresa Knorr, Spoiler: Evil deeds she tortured all six of her children and killed 3 of her 4 daughters (I think) before she was caught. the reason I mention that is because they talked with one of her sons and he spoke about some of the issues he has had in his life. As for writing it, if you don't have a full idea going into the start then make sure to keep a character profile updated as you go. That way you can keep track of their story to avoid confusion later on.