: Re: How do I show and not tell a backstory? In my novel, Matt's girlfriend Ella gets kidnapped and Matt is held responsible by the kidnappers. As it wasn't for ransom but as a revenge of something

@Sent2472441

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Building on Amadeus's answer, what you want to avoid is your character monologuing his backstory.

Sometimes, a monologue can be done. If that story is gripping, and the scene is such that it makes sense for one character to be telling a story uninterrupted. For example, if two characters are sitting in a pub, and one recounts this amazing adventure he had. Then, it's a form of story within a story. It is then structured accordingly, treated as a complete unit, with its own "show don't tell" etc. Other characters interrupting with meaningless "no way" comments don't add nothing to this type of setup.

But in your scenario, the setting isn't a calm pub scene. You have a conflict between two characters. So use that conflict. Have the characters argue, have one character disbelieve the story, try to catch the other one lying; while the other would be trying to convince the first of his truth, at the same time maybe not wanting to reveal everything. They might misunderstand each other, they might have partial and conflicting information, or misinformation, about certain events.

Conflict generates a dynamic setting. There's push and pull there. Play that to your advantage.

A scene from the last act of Verdi's La Forza del Destino is rather similar to the situation you're describing. (One character is looking for revenge, while the other pleads his innocence.) I'm linking here to a concert performance with no subtitles (but great singers), to give you an idea of the dynamics of such a scene. With the general feel of the scene in hand, you can fill in the words.

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