Strong characters reveal just enough backstory. How much should you reveal about a character’s history?

For Creative Nonfiction and Fiction Writers

A character walks into the room…and brings an entire lifetime of baggage with them. How much do readers need to know? How should the writer decide what to include out of all we know about the character’s real or invented past? Often, writers spend time writing extensive character backstory or family history that isn’t essential to the story, but we’re so close to the material, it’s difficult to narrow down the most important details, those necessary to move the story forward.

In this webinar, discover the key questions that unlock your character’s history—even if that’s you! —and learn how to use backstory strategically to power the plot and reveal information effectively to readers. We’ll take a look at prompts you can use to develop intentional backstory and learn methods of incorporating backstory into narrative, including dialogue, exposition, and flashback.

Whether you’re working on your first book or refining your approach to character, this webinar will give you practical tools to make better decisions about backstory—so you can write with clarity and confidence.

Can’t make it live? No worries—a replay will be available to all registrants.

In this webinar, you will:

• IDENTIFY the essential questions that unlock your character’s past and reveal what truly matters to your story
• DEVELOP a clear strategy for deciding which backstory details to include—and which to leave out
• LEARN effective methods for weaving history into your narrative without stalling plot momentum
• UNDERSTAND how to use backstory strategically to drive plot forward and deepen reader connection

Through lecture, prompts, and discussion, you’ll leave with practical tools for creating intentional characters whose histories enhance rather than overwhelm your story.

This webinar is perfect for you if you’re:

• planning or drafting a new project and want to develop compelling character backstories from the start
• in the early stages of revision and realize your characters feel flat or their motivations unclear
• struggling with how much backstory to include—unsure whether you’re revealing too much, too little, or at the wrong times
• spending too much time writing character history that never makes it into the actual story
• feeling overwhelmed by everything you know about your character and need a strategy for deciding what matters
• writing fiction or memoir where character depth and motivation are essential to the narrative
• an emerging or developing writer looking to strengthen your craft fundamentals around character development
• stuck in backstory dumps and want to learn how to weave history seamlessly into your narrative

Closed captioning is available. ✔
All registrants receive the recording. ✔

ABOUT YOUR PRESENTER

Stephanie Dethlefs is a certified book coach and former teacher. She is the author of the middle grade novel Unspoken, and her stories, essays, and articles can be found in Tahoma Literary Review, Christian Science Monitor, Literary Mama, Flash Fiction Magazine, diyMFA, WOW-Women on Writing, and more. Through her online community, teaching, and coaching, Stephanie strives to help people with stories on their hearts get them onto the page with ease and self-compassion. She lives with her family in the Pacific Northwest. Find her on Substack at WritingFromTheGroundUp.Substack.com.

Questions? Please email Info@writingcraft.com

FULL REFUNDS ARE AVAILABLE before the replay is sent out. For a refund, EMAIL us at info@WritingCraft.com. Canceling your Zoom invite will not initiate this process.

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