: Re: Innovative Ways to Provide Background Information Think action movie. Think two heavily-armed men - one chasing the other over rooftops, down through buildings and into the mean streets of a crowded

In the book I'm reading right now, The Bone Clocks, David Mitchell does an excellent job of giving background information without it feeling like an information dump. In the first section of the book, "A Hot Spell", he switches between the primary story and a background story from 8 years prior.

Both the primary and background stories are told in a first person by our protagonist, Holly Sykes. The background sections are told at natural moments in the story. They are short, but clearly demarcated, in the character's voice, as "Holly Sykes and the Weird Shit, Part 1", "Holly Sykes and the Weird Shit, Part 2", "Weird Shit, Last Act".

As I reader, I'm already primed for this because, well, so far it appears to be a realist novel told from the perspective of a 15 year old girl, but some slightly weird shit has happened already (Holly's brother appears to read her mind, for one), and I'm looking for some explanation. Both the primary story line and the background story line are compelling, they're both in the same voice, and I get a clear and almost immediate payoff for paying attention. The things I learn in the brief "weird shit" parts are relevant to understanding both the characters AND the action of the primary story line.

To sum up, good techniques in The Bone Clocks for back story:

Doesn't break the narrative flow (in style, voice, and content, it's clearly part of the same story)
The reader is looking for it
It's compelling on its own
It's relevant at more than one level (character and action)
There is an immediate payoff

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: How to write a story without conflict, like "My Neighbour Totoro"? We are used to stories being about conflict. There can be an antagonist, or a hostile environment, or even an internal problem

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: Writing a Satisfying Ending It strikes me that the last chapter (or so) of any story needs to make the reader feel that reading the book has been a worthwhile experience. An exceptional ending

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: Well, there's always Savi Sharma, whose inspirational romance Everyone Has A Story made her India's youngest self-published successful female author. And all it took was a little (electronic)

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: Static Scenes that still Move the Story Forward I've just read a tutorial about scenic techniques in novel-writing that recommends that a story should have a rhythm of static scenes and dramatic

: Re: Innovative Ways to Provide Background Information Think action movie. Think two heavily-armed men - one chasing the other over rooftops, down through buildings and into the mean streets of a crowded

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: How to write a story without conflict, like "My Neighbour Totoro"? We are used to stories being about conflict. There can be an antagonist, or a hostile environment, or even an internal problem

: Writing a Satisfying Ending It strikes me that the last chapter (or so) of any story needs to make the reader feel that reading the book has been a worthwhile experience. An exceptional ending

: Well, there's always Savi Sharma, whose inspirational romance Everyone Has A Story made her India's youngest self-published successful female author. And all it took was a little (electronic)

: Static Scenes that still Move the Story Forward I've just read a tutorial about scenic techniques in novel-writing that recommends that a story should have a rhythm of static scenes and dramatic

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