The Character House, Pt. 2: The Backstory Basement

Are you looking for a tool to help you develop authentic and relatable characters? The Character House is here to help! In this model, characters are constructed from the ground up, starting with the backstory and building up to fears, goals, actions, and personality traits.

Last week’s post shared an overview of the Character House. Today, we’ll be discussing the most foundational part of this model: the Backstory Basement.

When a house is built, the basement is constructed first. If the foundation is weak, the entire house will eventually collapse. Likewise, the character’s history produces fears, goals, strengths, flaws, interests, struggles, and many other traits. Both good and bad experiences play a huge role in shaping a character’s present-day responses. If characters lack backstory reasons for their actions, their choices may seem groundless.

The Backstory Basement includes the following components:

The basement floor represents the backstory as a whole—the events that have shaped the character’s current personality.
The storage room represents the backstory wound, the painful past event that forms the basis of the character arc.
The basement walls represent the beliefs, both true and false, that stem from the backstory. One of these beliefs is the Lie, the false belief that the character must overcome in the story.
The boxes represent the character’s emotional baggage—the secrets, insecurities, habits, and struggles that result from the backstory.

Basement Floor and Storage Room: Backstory and Wound

In the Character House, the basement floor represents the character’s backstory, and the storage room represents the backstory wound—the defining negative event that the character must overcome in the story. This backstory wound may be a single event (such as a betrayal or abandonment) or an ongoing situation (such as being bullied or living in a dangerous area).

Just as the door to the storage room is usually closed, the character keeps the backstory wound hidden at all costs. However, the events of the story force the character to open the door and face the past.

Solid backstories are crucial to strong plot points and characters. When creating backstories and past wounds, keep these tips in mind.

1. Start with what you know.

If you know that your character is energetic and enthusiastic, you can work backward by considering why these traits exist. Are they a cover for loneliness or sadness? If so, what past experiences caused the character to feel lonely or sad? If you know that your character loves fishing or basketball, you can brainstorm backstory events to explain these interests—such as an uncle who loved fishing or a desire to please an athletic parent. Start with the basic facts about your character, and ask questions to uncover the related backstory events.

2. Make sure the backstory events fit together.

Oftentimes, characters have experienced more than one formative event. Regardless, the backstory—at least the portion revealed in the novel—shouldn’t contain a haphazard collection of random events. Instead, all the backstory events in the novel should reflect the same theme or highlight the same struggle.

In The Geography of Lost Things by Jessica Brody, Ali’s backstory includes an absent father and a painful breakup with her boyfriend. All the flashbacks in the novel focus on these two elements, highlighting Ali’s fear of abandonment.

Perhaps the author knew that Ali used to take piano lessons or had an unfair history teacher in eighth grade. But she wisely chose not to include these irrelevant backstory events because they don’t relate to the story’s central theme.

3. Be specific.

A common backstory wound, such as death or rejection, can help readers relate to the character. However, specific details can make commonplace backstory events more powerful.

For instance, suppose your character lost his mother at a young age. This backstory is fairly common in the fictional world, but you can enliven this history by adding specific details. What caused the death? How does it affect the character today? If he was old enough to remember his mother, what memories stand out to him?

4. Don’t always go for the drama.

Many authors strive to create the most traumatic backstories possible—the character suffers physical disfigurement, the death of both parents, the betrayal of a friend, and banishment into the Dark Forest of Doom and Gloom.

But piling on death and trauma doesn’t automatically make a good backstory. Even characters who grew up in stable households can have backstory wounds. In In My Own Way by Kathy Buchanan (a YA contemporary), Amelia’s parents are alive, and she has a tight-knit group of friends. Her backstory wound occurred when a boy at summer camp played a humiliating prank on her. This experience isn’t as traumatic as watching one’s parents die, but it makes an emotional impact in the context of the story.

In The Emotional Wound Thesaurus, Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi have compiled a comprehensive list of backstory wounds. The wide range of wounds in this book demonstrates that even less “traumatic” wounds can still significantly influence a character’s present-day life.

5. Consider the ripple effect.

Most likely, the backstory wound didn’t affect only the character in question; it probably affected other people as well. If your character’s sister died, how did this event impact the parents, other siblings, relatives, and friends? If your character suffered a friend’s betrayal, how does the traitor feel about this deception?

Considering this ripple effect has the additional benefit of developing the side characters by showing their reactions to the backstory event.

Walls and Boxes: Beliefs and Baggage

Once you have a backstory, it’s time to connect the character’s past to the present.

Just as the basement floor supports the walls, the backstory events (both good and bad) result in true and false beliefs. Past experiences also result in emotional baggage (secrets, insecurities, habits, etc.), represented by the boxes and luggage in the basement. Rooted in the past, the beliefs and baggage affect the character’s present-day fears, goals, actions, and more.

Beliefs and baggage make characters relatable. Their struggles engage the audience and ensure that your story is more than an emotionless chain of scenes. Even if your characters inhabit another world, their emotional baggage reminds readers that they’re not so different on the inside.

When developing your characters’ beliefs and baggage, remember the following tips.

1. Consider cause and effect.

When characters experience painful events, they often adopt false beliefs. Suppose a character was babysitting her two-year-old brother, and he fell into the pool and drowned. Even if she couldn’t have changed the outcome, the character might believe, “The accident is my fault.” Although this statement might not be factual, readers can understand why she developed this belief.

Likewise, emotional baggage should have a backstory explanation, but the same event may prompt opposing reactions. Imagine that Jane and Robert were both abandoned by a parent. Jane might become loyal to a fault (emotional baggage) to prevent people from leaving her. By contrast, Robert might become grumpy and reclusive (emotional baggage) to keep people from getting close to him.

As this example illustrates, the same backstory wound can produce a wide range of beliefs and reactions. There’s no single right or wrong answer; your characters’ responses depend on your goals for the story.

2. One of the false beliefs is the Lie that the character must overcome in the story.

In a positive character arc, the backstory wound causes the character to believe a Lie. Throughout the story, the character must overcome this Lie and accept the Truth (the story’s theme). (Negative character arcs involve the character rejecting the Truth and embracing the Lie, but that’s a subject for a different post.)

In Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, Scrooge’s uncaring father sent him to a neglectful boarding school (backstory wound). Decades later, Scrooge believes this Lie: “Accumulating money will bring me peace and security.” By contrast, the story shows him the negative consequences of greed and the positive results of generosity. After confronting his own mortality, Scrooge overcomes his Lie and learns the Truth (theme): “Love and generosity are more important than money.”

A character who accidentally caused someone’s death might believe, “I need to atone for this mistake at all costs.” A character who was betrayed might believe, “I can’t trust anyone but myself.” A character who grew up in a sibling’s shadow might believe, “I need to achieve in order to gain attention.” Each of these Lies could form a compelling character arc.

The Lie should be the opposite of your story’s theme. If your theme is forgiveness, your protagonist might believe, “I won’t be satisfied until I get revenge.” Then you can work backward to brainstorm an event that caused this belief—perhaps the character was harmed by a trusted loved one. In this way, the Character House can help you brainstorm from the known to the unknown.

3. Not all beliefs should be false, and not all emotional baggage should be negative.

Backstories don’t only create Lies; they can also create helpful beliefs. In the movie The Greatest Showman, P. T. Barnum’s impoverished upbringing developed his Lie: “I’m not valuable unless I succeed.” However, his childhood also formed a true belief: “Hard work is crucial to achieving my goals.” Incorporating both true and false beliefs into the Backstory Basement will strengthen your Character House.

Similarly, painful events can produce both positive and negative emotional baggage. Although bad habits provide opportunities for character growth, beneficial habits can deepen the backstory, showing that you’re not needlessly making your character’s life miserable.

In Tessa Afshar’s Thief of Corinth, Ariadne’s abusive upbringing caused her to develop the bad habit of relentlessly seeking popularity and prestige. On the other hand, this backstory wound also made her determined and resilient, and it strengthened her bond with her twin brother. This combination of positive and negative habits creates a well-rounded character with a balanced backstory.

4. Emotional baggage can hint to backstory events without info-dumping.

When you visit someone’s house, you probably don’t enter the basement immediately. In the same way, backstories should be revealed gradually throughout the story, not within the first few pages. Just as the basement supports the house even when you don’t see it, the backstory influences the character’s behavior even when the readers don’t know the character’s full history.

To show how your characters’ experiences influence their actions, you can use emotional baggage to drop hints about backstory:

Avoidance (If a character repeatedly refuses to discuss “what happened last summer,” this avoidance implies that the events of last summer are important to the backstory.)
Dialogue (Mysterious snatches of dialogue can hint to past experiences.)
Emotions (Topics that make characters unreasonably angry, fearful, or uncomfortable can indicate backstory wounds.)
Habits (A character who survived a house fire might repeatedly check the stove dials to ensure they won’t ignite.)
Interactions (A tense conversation between a mother and daughter can indicate their strained relationship.)
Physical traits (A noticeable physical feature, such as a limp or scar, can suggest a backstory reason.)
Secrets (If readers know that a character is keeping a secret about past events, the readers will be motivated to find out more.)
Sensory details (Certain sights, sounds, or smells can remind characters of painful past events.)
Setting interactions (Characters might avoid entering certain locations that remind them of bad memories.)
Strange behavior (If a character purposely sabotages relationships to keep people at a safe distance, this behavior may hint to a backstory wound related to abandonment or rejection.)

When the story portrays a character’s habits, behaviors, and insecurities, readers will be able to infer the backstory events that produced these tendencies. Dropping breadcrumbs about backstory is much more engaging than forcing the audience to sit through a history lesson.

Try These Practical Exercises

What are three major events that happened in your protagonist’s backstory?
What is your protagonist’s main backstory wound?
What true beliefs and false beliefs did this backstory produce? Which one is the Lie that your character will overcome in the story?
What emotional baggage (habits, secrets, insecurities, etc.) did this backstory produce?

Getting to the Bottom of Backstories

As the foundation of the Character House, the Backstory Basement comprises the basement floor (backstory), the storage room (backstory wound), the basement walls (true and false beliefs), and the boxes (emotional baggage). These components influence the character’s personality, reactions, and choices.

The backstory wound causes the character to believe a Lie and develop emotional baggage. The events of the plot force the character to open the door of the backstory wound, deal with past baggage, overcome the Lie, and learn the story’s theme.

All characters should have well-developed backstories that affect their actions and behaviors. To create memorable backstories, start with what you know. Choose backstory events carefully, use cause and effect, and add nuance with positive and negative results. Instead of info-dumping, use dialogue, setting, descriptions, and interactions to drop breadcrumbs about your characters’ past experiences.

With these tips in mind, you’ll be able to build a Backstory Basement that keeps your Character House standing strong.

Next week, we’ll discuss the following component of the Character House: the First Floor Fears. Discover how to use character fears to create emotion, reveal personality, and depict unforgettable themes.

What is your main character’s backstory? What are your favorite fictional backstories? Share your thoughts in the comments!