Before your story opens, that is. 

I think most writers have an intuitive grasp of what backstory is  - simply put, it's everything that happened before your story opens that has a potential impact on your characters or on their journey. 

To truly understand your characters and the growth arc they must experience, to understand them in such a way as to make them real to your reader, they first must be real to you. And in order to accomplish this, you need to explore those people and events from their pasts that molded them into the persons they are in the 'today' of your story.

Equally as important as knowing your characters' backstory, however, is knowing WHEN to reveal it to your reader.  Many novice writers make the mistake of wanting to explain everything up front.  But if you do this, you eliminate much of the page-turning quality that drives your reader further into the story.

There are two main reasons to hold back certain key bits of information about your characters' past in the early part of your story.
1. To answer a story question you've been building up to
or
2. To introduce an unexpected twist and send your story in a whole new direction  

In the first instance, your reader will feel more involved in your story if you start with subtle hints that both intrigue and raise questions in her mind.  This allows her to puzzle things out, layer by layer, so that when the final pieces fall into place, she feels satisfaction in having deduced all or part of the picture. 

In the second scenario, the reveal is something they (hopefully) didn't see coming.  But once disclosed, it sheds new light on the character and her actions.  It makes the reader sit up and say
'Cool!  So that's why she did thus-and-so when confronted with situation xyz.' (Think of the actions of Bruce Willis' wife in The Sixth Sense and how your perception of her changed once you learned the surprise ending.)
or 'Wow!  I wonder what he's going to do now that he knows the BIG SECRET.' (Think of the classic Darth Vadar line "Luke, I'm your father.")

In all of these cases, the revelation of certain pieces of the character's backstory was withheld until the moment when it would have the most impact.

Once you've decided what you want to reveal and when to work it in, there are a number of techniques for doing so effectively.   I hope to see you at my BACKSTORY: WEAVING IT IN WITHOUT SLOWING THE PACE workshop at the conference in October where we can go over each of these in detail.  See you there!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Winnie Griggs is the award-winning author of five historical romances.  She has presented workshops at numerous  local, regional and national writers' conferences on a variety of writing craft and career topics.  To learn more about Winnie and her work, visit her website at www.winniegriggs.com

Dialogue is more than words within quotation marks.   In romance, the dialogue serves three purposes:
to reveal character,
to create and sustain conflict,
and to develop intimacy. 

Sure, we can write pages of internal monologue explaining our characters' feelings, thoughts and motivations in an attempt to explain their actions and engage our readers' emotions.  But if we do, we risk not only slowing the pace but also creating self-absorbed characters.  Admit it:  when the bullets are flying or the scary ex-husband shows up at the door,  we're not drawn to people—fictional or otherwise—who spend a lot of time considering "But how does that make me feel?"

My motto is:  If your character can think it, she can say it.
It's better if she says it to the hero.
Best of all if they fight about it.

Why?  By putting your characters' thoughts in their mouths (instead of their heads), you are creating larger-than-life protagonists who aren't afraid to speak their minds.  When they speak those thoughts to each other, you have the opportunity to develop both conflict and intimacy.

In real life, we have time to date, and long silences and shared habits and gradual disclosure may develop trust.  But in fiction, all that silent sharing between your romantic couple may only lead to reader boredom.

Let's look at an example of how dialogue can be used to enhance romance.

In HOME BEFORE MIDNIGHT, the heroine, Bailey, is a suspect in the murder of her boss's wife.  Since the hero is the detective in charge of the case, opportunities for romantic interaction are, uh, limited in the first several chapters.  So I have to use every scene where they are together to maximum effect.

Set up:  Bailey comes to the police department to sign her statement.

FIRST DRAFT
Bailey fought a shiver as she ducked past the detective and blamed the air conditioning.  He wasn't escorting her to jail.
Yet.
He indicated another open doorway.  "My office."
A big nothing scene, right?  With one little internal comment to add a touch of humor and characterization.   But look what happens in the

FINAL DRAFT

            Bailey walked through the door he held open for her, careful not to brush against his outstretched arm.  But as she scooted past, she couldn't help noticing his jacket hung open in the heat, revealing a white, wilted shirt and broad, muscled chest.  He smelled of warm wool, clean cotton, and adult male.

She shivered.

"Nervous?" he asked in his deep twang.

"Cold," she lied.  "It's the air conditioning.  I mean, it's not like you're escorting me down

death row."

"Not yet, anyway," he agreed blandly.

She gaped at him.

Humor gleamed in his dark eyes, but his expression never wavered.  "My office," he said, nodding down the hall.

 
Not only do our characters (who may only know each other for weeks or days before developing a for-a-lifetime bond) need dialogue to get to know each other quickly, but the reader needs it, too.  Needs it to believe in their eventual happily-ever-after, and needs it to experience and enjoy the growth of intimacy second-hand.

 
Happy writing!

USA Today bestselling author Virginia Kantra is a six-time RITA Award finalist.  She is offering two workshops at the RWA National conference this July and a special presentation on "Voice:  What Are They Talking About?" at NJRW's October conference.  Visit her website at http://virginiakantra.net

Congratulations on the writing progress you've made this year. Consistently putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) is the most important component of any career. But keep in mind that there are a some intangibles you need to practice and grow right along with your creative talent-and verbal communication skills is at the top of that list.

As writers, we spend so much of our time working alone, speaking through the words and phrases and characters that bring our stories to life. But eventually, we have to pull ourselves out of our comfy cocoons and market our stories to "real" people (either in the publishing business, or actual readers we want to buy our books). And wouldn't you know it, these people actually expect us to be able to talk about our process and our goals and the worlds we create in our minds. Clearly, they haven't spent a lot of time around writers ;o)

My first career (information technology/computers) was a specialty that didn't always attract people who were as gifted with building working relationships as they were with analyzing and writing solutions to problems. I often find striking similarities in the writing community. Public appearances, standing up for yourself in business, speaking to other writers-these opportunities can sometimes challenge or even terrify the average author.

But here's the thing to remember. Communication is really about building and maintaining relationships. And aren't relationships exactly what we write about all day long? Recognizing how your words and actions affect the people around you, and then adjusting your approach so you can achieve your goals-that's the skill you want to master in the world outside of your comfy, quiet office. And you can. It just takes a little practice and a study of basic human behavior.

I can't wait for the Put Your Heart in a Book conference, where we'll have a chance to dig deeper into this topic! Don't miss my workshop-Speak Up: Communication Skills That Can Make or Break Your Career.

Anna DeStefano is a best selling author of long contemporary romances for Harlequin Superromance. She's a Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award winner, won Cataromance.com's reviewers choice award for the last two years, and has been a finallist in such contests as the Maggie Award of Excellence, the National Readers Choice awards, the Holt Medallian, and the Book Buyers Best Award. Her lastest release is All-American Father and keep an eye out for Because Of A Boy, the first book in the new Atlanta's Heros series.

It's important to remember that every scene in a book must in some way move the story forward. If it's a parallel subplot then we as readers won't know why until the stories merge.  But if it's  interwoven, then we need to see how it affects the story as we're going along.

Never create a subplot just to have a longer or more complex book.  They need to be there for a reason that in some way relates ultimately to the journey the hero and heroine are taking.  

Award winning author Dee Davis joined the NJRW after moving from Texas to Manhattan – a girl's gotta have friends!  Find her newest book, A Match Made on Madison, in stores now.  www.deedavis.com

Hope everyone is well and ready for the arrival of Spring as much as I am. I love to plant and putter in the yard. My flower boxes are craving new arrivals to make them look fantastic and full of color for the spring and summer months.

It's been hopping around here lately. This past week-end I spent the evening with Kathryn Falk of Romantic Times and her fiancée's Kenneth. What a phenomenal pair of people! We were given a tour of Brooklyn, NY, a place where I have never been before. We had the best pizza and cheesecake that I had ever tasted too. Their home houses a unique museum of one-of-a-kind penny arcades and the demonstration of each was handled superbly by Kenneth which is the reason we did not leave until midnight. Oh Man, what a night.

Did he or didn't he wear anything under his kilt?
I'll never tell.

Later in the afternoon, we went to BAAD theater in the Bronx for the taping of Caliente Con Dr. Charley Ferrer show on cable TV that we will be appearing on in the near future. Dr. Charley is considered to be the Latino Dr. Ruth and was a blast to be with and talk too. Of course, Caridad Pineiro was there doing a sexy segment on Vampires, romance and sexual freedom.

Colleen and I were on the stint about Being Naughty and writing your own erotica. What a blast we had not to mention the learning experience.

But to top all of these wonderful experiences off, my second novel with www.ellorascave.com will release on March 23rd and is titled, Curse of the Gargoyle. This is the first (hopefully) of a series about seven brothers in 1740 Scotland who are cursed and trapped in stone until the woman destined to be theirs releases them in today's time. Then my third novel will release on April 15th with www.thedarkcastlelords.com and is titled Night Prey. This one has a sexy shapeshifting panther who rescues a woman without the ability to speak only to learn that she has a secret. A dangerous secret that could cost them both their lives. This is set in the time period of King Henry VIII.

Next week I'll be attending the PASIC conference in NY followed by The Romantic Times Booklovers Convention in Houston in April, BEA in NY in June and RWA in Dallas in July.

Have a great day!

Peace, Love and Happiness
Tara Nina
www.taranina.com
www.myspace.com/taranina