Abackstory,background story,background, orlegend is a set of events invented for aplot, preceding and leading up to that plot. Inacting, it is the history of thecharacter before the drama begins, and is created during the actor's preparation.[1][2]
As aliterary device, backstory is often employed to lend depth or believability to themain story. The usefulness of having adramatic revelation was recognized byAristotle, inPoetics.[citation needed]
Backstories are usually revealed, partially or in full, chronologically or otherwise, as the main narrative unfolds. However, astory creator may also create portions of a backstory or even an entire backstory that is solely for their own use.[3]
Backstory may be revealed by various means, includingflashbacks,dialogue,direct narration,summary,recollection, andexposition.
Recollection is thefiction-writing mode whereby a character calls something to mind, or remembers it. A character's memory plays a role for conveying backstory, as it allows a fiction-writer to bring forth information from earlier in the story or from before the beginning of the story. Although recollection is not widely recognized as a distinct fiction-writing mode, recollection is commonly used by authors of fiction.
Orson Scott Card observed that "If it's a memory the character could have called to mind at any point, having her think about it just in time to make a key decision may seem like an implausible coincidence . . . " Furthermore, "If the memory is going to prompt a present decision, then the memory in turn must have been prompted by a recent event."[4]
In ashared universe more than one author may shape the same backstory. The later creation of a backstory that conflicts with a previously written main story may require the adjustment device known asretroactive continuity, informally known as "retcon".[citation needed]
Actors may create their own backstories for characters, going beyond the sometimes meager information in a script. Filling in details helps an actor interpret the script and create fully imagined characters.[5]
