by Cory MacNeil
Maybe you're sick and tired of winter and thinking about the days to come when you can fire up the grill again and take a dip in the pool. Having just come back from Miami, I can assure you awesome weather is on the way and you'll be smiling again soon. How can you be sure? You can be sure because of what's happened in the past. They're called seasons and they are as predictable as the rising and setting of the sun. Today, we'll unpack that idea some more and see why it's so important to you as you map your future.
If you've enjoyed this post, please be sure to check out previous ones. You can find the links below. And, if you're a writer or an artist of any sort, you can buy my book "Set the Hook! 5 Powerful Storytelling Secrets", by clicking the link to the right of this article. In the meantime, stay tuned for more blurbs to come!
Here's a snippet from my book on writing to get us started.
Backstory is Powerful!
With it, you may write the next great American novel. Without it, you’ll have no idea why your main character Bob really chose Alaska with it’s voracious bugs and even more voracious Grizzly Bears! When he hits his thumb with his hatchet you know what he’ll say before he says it. When he decides to leave the woods and hitchhike back to talk with the authorities in Toledo, Ohio you’ll know why.
Until then, here’s a tip. Your reader doesn’t need to know the entire backstory behind “The Untimely Death of Backwoods Bob.” You will know and you will share as you see fit. Remember, you don’t just hook a fish, you have to keep her on the line. I know what I would have happen to Backwoods Bob on his way back to Toledo, Ohio- but I’ll let you figure that one out for yourself.
In the meantime, let it suffice to say that not only are some people born in a barn, some people die of Cancer while on their way to confess a crime they committed twenty years ago! But not “Backwoods Bob”, he died on the bus of gangrene from the wood chopping accident one mile outside of Toledo.
Which leads us to consider what must happen to every character ever written about- they must develop.
The preceding paragraphs are from my book "Set the Hook! 5 Powerful Storytelling Secrets." I hope these words not only inspire you, but bring out the best in you as you try and decipher your own life story.
Backstory is what makes others interesting when we meet them.
Backstory makes everyone you meet interesting. Chances are if you're taking people for granted, you've forgotten the fact that everyone has a story to tell and each one is different.
We love stories! What better way to feed our love than listening to others.
Tweet this! "Too often, however, we do too much talking and too little listening and then we prescribe cures without thoroughly diagnosing the symptoms."
So what is your backstory? Is it exciting? Depressing? Heartbreaking? Take some time and reflect, then map out your plan for the future. Sometimes the past makes a great rudder for navigating the oceans which lie ahead. Rather than beating yourself up for past mistakes, determine to be wiser in the future. Count loss in the past as a gain in the form of an education. You get the idea!
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