My favorite character of all time is Zuko from Avatar The Last Airbender, and he is the PERFECT character to analyse with these questions. When you first find out why he acts the way he does, it's heartbreaking. Seeing Zuko struggle with his own identity, taking one step forward and then 2 steps backwards again, made me love him as a child watching this show. I still cry during so many of Zuko's scenes. I have never ever felt so much for a character like I do for him. I hope to write a character as brilliant as Zuko one day...
ATLA has a lot of amazing, strong characters. The relationships b/w the characters are also really interesting to watch and analyze too. You can blindly pick a character or a group dynamic and still come out learning something from them. Zuko is one of the most multi layered characters in the show. It’s probably why he’s a major fan favorite. And all the characters themselves are huge reasons why the show still holds today-other than the themes they go into. It’s a really well-written show. Really helped set up a standard in terms of storytelling for a younger audience.
Backstory isn't always one life-changing event. My main character's backstory is a lifetime's worth of trying to live up to his father's high expectations, leaving him with the lie that he must change who he is to be worthy of love. Anyway, my favorite backstory is from the movie Nightmare Alley. The main character has one throwaway line about his past, and yet it tells you everything you need to know about why he is who he is and does what he does.
my favourite thing about writing backstory is making my characters seem real - real people aren't perfect, real people have misbeliefs - and showing the reader and myself why they do things that are morally wrong or destructive. writing imperfect characters is just a whole lot more interesting.
I wouldn't say they're the best written characters I've came across, but I always loved the Pokemon Anime episodes where we had Team Rocket members' backstories.
My favorite character backstory is Katherine Pierce from the vampire diaries. Katherines misbelief is that she is justified in doing evil things because she needs to survive, and this stems from being chased away from her home after her whole family was killed, she believed to outwit Klaus she had to become as evil as him. And that’s what made her into the villain (my favorite villain)
I think our character's backstory is sooooooo important because like you say it truly gives them the WHY behind their actions. "Making their story matter," as you say. Love this 😀
I need to say this. You have literally changed the way I write! Your videos are helpful beyond words! Backstory is a really great and helpful subtopic to discuss, and for me personally since I'm doing a story with heavy flashbacks and backstory 😅. Thanks a lot!
First I am surprised no one has mentioned him. But my favorite backstory has to be Severus Snape. His character was one of the most complex and mysterious with Dumbledore trusting him and Snape killing him. Them then revealing details of him and Lily, of his childhood bullying. Just the best. Chef's kiss.
I just saw Black Widow and they added so much depth to her and really showed us her trauma without literally showing us her trauma. So good! Also, love the videos Abbie! They’re so helpful!
After watching this video, I was surprised, that my character's arc is way better than it seemed to me before. Let me summarize: _"Be the best, do great things, so you don't go back to times when you didn't mean anything."_ . And that's because in times of hunger he was ambandoned by his family, as he was the youngest child out of 9 siblings, therefore the least important. He was later taken in by the knightly order as an orphan. It becomes his new family. Years of proving his worth and loyality to the order in a rush for higher position are wasted when the "incident" happens, which leads main plotline to him being renounced by the order as a heretic and a traitor. Your videos are really helpful, thanks.
sounds interesting I am the 9th and last child in my family too I just want to say that if it was because of hunger that the parents threw him out wouldn't it make more sense if they threw out more kids instead of just him? like they had 9 mouths to feed now they have 8 it's an almost insignificant difference, don't you think? edit: omg i just realized now that this is a one year old comment😭 I'd be interested in knowing where the story is at right now or if it's finished if that's okay
The backstorys Disney show us with Maleficent and Cruella live-actions are perfetc. It's amazing the way they make us understand, root and even fall in love with the worst "villains". I love it.
Alright, so, my favorite backstory is Anne Shirley's backstory. It is so heartfelt and I fell in love because she didn't deserve to go through what she went through. No one does. Thank you, Abbie, for this video! It was amazing as usual!
I mean…fav backstory has to be Darth Vader / Anakin Skywalker. With an entire trilogy dedicated to his backstory, the scope is obviously way more than what I would ever commit to in my writing project; but it really does explain why Vader became who he was. Btw, Vader means Father in Dutch so his name is kind of a foreshadowing Easter Egg? 😂😂 I don’t know if you will ever read this Abbie but you absolutely rock! Thanks so much for all you do for new writers. I’m brand new. I started off looking at various sources of information about the craft here on You Tube; but I have pretty much abandoned every other source since I stumbled onto your videos. You are “one stop shopping”! More importantly, your whole program / approach just resonates with me! The way you explain things couldn’t be more plain. Your case studies exemplify and PROVE everything you talk about in the videos and the “bad examples” also prove by contrast whatever you present in the videos. Your videos are all so well done and to the point; however you are able to insert your lovely personality into your presentation. It makes a huge difference that your videos are both informative and a real pleasure to watch. If you were a professor at a university, your class would be the one I’d look forward to attending…I wouldn’t ever have to fight to stay awake; nor would I ever skip. Most of all, your videos make me feel like there is such a PROCESS to writing, that anyone who is willing to apply it has a better than average shot at producing a compelling story, depending on the idea and more creative elements of the story i.e. is the idea big enough. I’m finding I’m a plotter and I’m also finding that I really enjoy the combination of structured organization coupled with my more intuitive creativity. It’s been a revelation! Whether I ever publish anything or not, my eyes have been opened to the possibility of enrichment I have access to through writing - again, even if only for myself. I’ll decide whether to pursue that after I finish my first work I guess. I’m still learning; but I’m starting to feel like I have enough of the basics down to dive into drafting! Sorry for the length of this comment but it’s a heartfelt thanks to you for sure! Wishing you continued success!
Zuko from ATLA is the GO-TO for characters for me, espec his backstory! FEELS! SO damn good! His redemption arc is literally used as THE EPITOME of best redemption arc ever by SO many people! He's basically character GOALS! >:D
powder/jinx from arcane! although the backstory is the story, I think this is a perfect example of a moment that made the character who they are today!
no.1 I'm 2 years late to the vid no.2 This may be cheating but from any book I've read, Westons backstory, (yes, from 100 days of sunlight) definitely stuck out to me the most. its compelling, heartbreaking, and yet beautiful. love your vids, Abbie!
Alright, Abbie, I need you to be honest with me - are you psychic? I mean, a couple of days ago I started writing backstories for my characters so even I could get a better understanding of them. Then, I started struggling because all my characters have to have a unique backstory and you know how that is --- but to make a long story short: you saved my life!
I'm in the middle of writing my outline and developing my characters, so I thank you for this video. It's very timely. By the way, comgrats! You have 114 thousand followers!
Thank you so much! This video was perfectly timed. I love my 3rd protagonist, but I couldn't get him to be as interesting as the other two and I couldn't figure out why. I know what kind of environment he grew up in and what he needs to learn (his misbelief), but I hadn't figured out why he is the way he is. I didn't realize that until this video. My other two characters, I have turning points for their past that make them who they are, but somehow I skipped this guy. Like, they all grew up in the same environment, but he handles it differently, and now I know that I don't know why. Time to brainstorm again. Thanks for the prompts! This is gonna help so much. Rock on, Abbie!
I’ve read too many books to have a favorite backstory, but I’m also really into video games, right now I’m playing through Fire Emblem: Three Houses (no spoilers please), and so far I LOVE how they’re handling Dimitri’s backstory. The writing is soooo good. I’m only at the beginning of the second half of the game, but so far it’s doing a really great job of giving us bits and pieces of Dimitri’s backstory and the massacre that killed his family and friends, not via cutscenes (but who knows, that might come later), but via Dimitri as well as other characters telling you about it throughout the game. It gives you a sort of jigsaw puzzle of facts and varying opinions and perspectives to work with, and you’re not sure whose story you should trust or believe-which only adds to the mystery of trying to figure out why Dimitri is the way he is today-a polite, mild-mannered, chivalrous young man one moment, and a bloodthirsty maniac the next. Honestly I’m both excited and terrified to see how it all plays out.
Legends say this comment will get pinned as a random act of kindness. Besides, we all wanna say thank you Abbie for all that content you put out. I used to be a person who thought i had a blank mind but i changed that right after seeing one of your videos 💛
Hey Abbie! I love your videos they help me so much!!! I don’t know if you’ve read the Harry Potter Series but if you have can you do a breakdown of some of the characters in the series because I think that the level of internal conflict that JK Rowling is able to achieve for so many different characters through a limited omniscient POV is unparalleled by a lot of other stories, especially in the YA genre, that I have read. I would love your take on how she is able to achieve it.
My favorites movies are Last Holiday Mr.Right and Hairspray! I can watch over a million times on repeat. This video makes me want to check out a new show and I don't watch many series but makes me want to branch out more for the sake of why does it matter in storytelling. Mahalo Abbie for giving us this visual w/ explanation. Excellent examples!!!
funny how i did this on my own for my story's main antagonist before i figured out much about what id do with the protagonist lol. i definitely wanted to make sure i knew exactly why they were evil & not being evil for evil's sake 🙈
I finished your book in less than three days, and I loved it so much, it has become my favorite love story. I was never one for romance novels or love stories, but your book inspired me to even write a novel that revolves around fantasy romance. Your book and your videos inspire me everyday to write and you have helped me so much in improving my writing and broadening my views in genres I never found interest in. I wanted to say thank you and I really appreciate each video you post, so thank you!!!
Thank you very much for this. I'm writing a survival horror story and I've been struggling with my character's past that made her into who she is in the current events of the story. This helped, thank you.
This was super helpful. I have been struggling with my writing lately with life and I've been trying to get back into the swing of things again. And you're not 100% correct on the first two seasons being the best. Buffy comes to mind. The first season was pretty much awful. LOL! Have you seen North & South, the British series on the Industrial Revolution, not the one with Patrick Swayze? To me, especially for a romance, it is one of the most interesting series I've ever seen. Richard Armitage as Mr. Thornton is everything you could ask for in a tortured hero and I think he's a good example of knowing a character's backstory without having it info-dumped. That is the hardest thing when it comes to writing. Exposition or by show? Or a combination of both? Or do you do a prologue or a flashback? Sometimes that is the hardest choice to make when writing. You want to tantalize, not bash someone over the head with it. How to find that happy medium. And I just recently came across your channel. Your pride and prejudice piece is what brought me over. No idea how or why YT sent me here, but I'm glad they did. Sorry for the rambling post. I just logged off work and my brain hasn't kicked in yet. LOL
I had a good idea on what my character's backstory was, but execution was my problem. When I first started writing, I did a data dump of her backstory and it felt forced, preachy, and even pretentious. To solve this issue, what I did was incorporate her entire back story in relation to her late parents, who are famous for saving the lives of many people in a major incident when she was still a child. My character is often asked about her parents and she talks about them based on how she remembered them when she was a child, and these little stories become scenes which reveals not just her relationship with them, but a lot of her backstory of how she ended up where she's at now, which comes off a lot more natural than how I had originally done it. The same goes with relationships between her and friends and adversaries. In fact this continues through all 3 Acts, and even to the very end they continue do discover more about her, but within the context of what they already knew about her to keep it believable, and not as some desperate twist to shake and twist things up. Ultimately, her deep backstory that readers learn over time is what ties up the climax of the 3rd Act.
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!! I NEEDED THIS. It’s like your reading my mind, Abbie!!! Thank you!!!!!!!!!!❤️ Also, i would be very interested in a video about why the first two seasons are always the best!!!
My favorite character's backstory 1. Kurapika from the HunterXHunter manga: It makes the readers understand all of his emotional expressions: anger sadness coldness pain. So compelling backstory. 2. Magneto from X-Men: quite well-written. It gives explanation why he is a radical (in comparison with professor X) 3. I like backstory/flash-back in some survival genre shows. For example, Lost (first 2 seasons, of course) and Netflix's Alice in Borderland.
Your videos are very helpful from an actor's perspective too! We create a backstory for a slightly different purpose tho. To determine choices, how I choose to bring the character to life. Where they have been/are/will go. I usually create a backstory through a conjunction of what the writer has given + filling in the blanks through background research on time period, setting, bunch of other factors.
Abbie I doubt even a writer as talented as you you could put into words how helpful these videos are! When I’m stuck I just look at your channel and you have a video explaining just what I need! Thank you so much 😊
Abbie, after seeing this video I gasped at the fact that although I have been working on this story ( on and off) for ten years, I did not know one of the protaginists as well as I knew the other two. I DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT HER! How could that have happened? The other two characters told me why they are the way they are because their backstory is written in their monologues and throughout dialogs with the other two ladies. But, the main character (although when we first meet her in the story) is pretty well adjusted and living her best life. But after watching your video, my question was what happened to her in her past to make her stay with an abusive husband for 20-years. WOW! Thank you. I need to learn more from you.
This makes me think I'm writing my story wrong. My main character has a secret that even the reader doesn't know. It's hard to show their disbelief because I have yet to reveal the secret. Their secret is a whole big thing. It defines them in a way. It's part of who they are. They hide this secret that are ashamed of. Everything they do is based on this one secret.
But at the end of the book you can show the secret to the reader and they are going to understand why the character acted the way he acted through the whole story, maybe.
Sort of like the previous comment said, use context clues! This can help the reader infer what the big boom might be. Ex: Let's say I write about a dog who goes missing. i can write little hints that the protaganists husband hated the dog. I can even write that he said stuff regularly like, "One day I otta' get rid of that dam dog!" This can hint to the reader of having a suspicious suspect on their "who got rid of the dog" list.
I absolutely loooooove the way you explain things. I’m listening first and then I’m gonna rewatch them again & take notes later. I looovveee your style ‼️ You GO girl.
I'm working on my characters backstories. This really inspires me because I have this character named Nico Roberts, the historian. I can't give much info because of spoilers.
All of your presentations are not only informative, they are presented with great zest and clear reasoning . Thanks Abbie, I can't wait to see and rea more!
This is what I was thinking of all this time and I kinda forgot it’s wednesday today, i literally jumped out of bed upon seeing the video! thank you so much
In one of my stories, it isn't the main character who I talk about her backstory {Because there's a prequel that explains it} but about her trying to figure out what happened to her friend that made him hate Northerns so much. I should explain that this is set in Richmond Virginia in 1867 two years after the end of the American Civil War. My main character is not from the north but her family supported the north so that creates a nice conflict when her friend finds that out.
Great insights and examples that are fun to watch. And, being a guitarist who plays for book trailers I like learning writers' process since that helps me understand characters when I interpret and represent them w/ original guitar music. Really like your notes on plot effecting characters' fears and misbeliefs! My favorite character's backstory tells of Princess Ozma from the original Oz books by L. Frank Baum since it's tragic and compelling & would make a wonderful film adaptation w/ Ozma as the lead character.
First let me say that this is a great video. You've got a great personality and presence, and the info is great. So thank you. One of the best way to develop characters is to expose yourself to new people as much as possible. Here's just one more reason to pay close attention to people around you and what they have to say. A great model to use for character development is the Four Quadrant "Integral Philosophy" model. This states that everything and everyone has a Subjective, Objective, Cultural, and Socioeconomic aspect. Keep these in mind when developing characters.
How do you manage to come up with the very thing I'm struggling with?? You're amazing. Also, if you ever did a Science behind the story on Lala Land I'd be forever grateful because I'm not entirely sure I understand why it hits so hard...
Hello, Abbie, love your videos, I have been bench watching all your previous series, and I have to say your videos are really helpful, I love how straight to the point you are when explaining things, you don't make it complicated or try to use big words to make yourself look important like some of these author tubes on RUclips been doing, I love how real and authentic you are with your videos, I have just started writing my book, and I am not using an outline, I am following a little of your 3 act structure and Agatha Christie's method, which is writing first the big events, then the intro then the story, I did write down the first big events but the rest of the book I write as the ideas and stories slowly start to develop in my mind, I will be writing down the character back stores though, I have a feeling that I will be able to keep up with the development of my book better, again thank you for your amazing help, and seriously, if I was you I would turn all your helpful RUclips videos into an 1.2,3 part series of how to write a book, if you do that I guarantee you I would buy it immediately! Again, thank you for the amazing tips.
Abbie can u please make a video on how to write battle and fight scenes cuz i am struggling with it and u with u explaining it would be a lot easier 👇 like if u want that video too
Awesome writing advice , I actually definitely needed this for the characters in my book. Since I’m writing the beginning/ middle of chapter 1 of my book, I haven’t actually thought of my characters backstory,s yet. So this video really helped me out a lot on getting me started. In addition to dreaming up story ideas for my books plot, I’ll also dream up details for all four of my main characters backstory,s
Trafalgar law has an amazing backstory actually. He isn't as deeply flawed as many other characters but his actions and attitude is deeply exhibited by his well-written backstory.
I have a main character who was a very high ranking nobleman who served a pretty awful king and has done some pretty awful things in the past. I got the idea once that his mother had been a common girl from an occupied land mostly because I needed somewhere for the characters to go next, but then as I developed that it turned out to be the key to everything about him. His loyalty to the rebel leader, his motivation for taking in his adopted daughter, the way he's always looking for someone else to tell him who he is and what he's supposed to be, everything stems from the way his "lowly" background and people seeing him as not one of them kept him on the defensive growing up.
Omghhh The Mr. Selfridge example sounds so similarly to my MC's internal conflict! He strives to be the best husband & father (fear based). He's also wealthy & famous, & his family loves him 👀
Great vid, Abbie! So far, my favorite character backstory is Justin from 2017's The Endless. His misbelif is that he has to be in control of his and his younger brother's, Aaron, well-being. When they were teens, they grew up in a mysterious commune called Camp Arcadia. Justin was never comfortable with the camp's philosophy giving up control to an entity he didn't believe, then later found out that the camp memebers were all going to kill themselves, and Justin took Aaron and ran away from the camp. Btw, who hates it when movies establish character arc and misbeliefs only to cut it short as soon as Act 2 barely starts? Also, Abbie how cab I give a villain internal conflict without having the backstory be tragic, such as "I'm evil because something bad happened to me." I look at movie villains like Heath Ledger's Joker from the Dark Knight and James Moriarty from BBC Sherlock. These two have little backstory but, to me, they're still effective villains. Your thoughts?
Thank you so much for all your advice! I recently came across your yt channel and it has helped me SO MUCH! I have been watching all your videos haha. Before I was intimidated by writing a whole novel. Now I'm excited to write!!
My favourite character's backstory, He lived withhis sister with good parents who loved them but never had enough time for them since they were always working. They couldn't afford a babysitter so he learned to take care of himself. But he is still a children and makes mistakes, this time he started a fire and burned down the house. Killing his parent and his sister who died in his arms. He was then sent to an orphanage and the new family was like his but way more children and cold parents who never wanted this many. To make up for his mistake, he tries his best to take care of his siblings. One day, he found out onw of his siblings was bullied badly and kept it to himself because his own parents didn't care. There were many, many bruises on his arms. He killed the bullies and slapped his parents. Since he knew how nice parents could be, he could recognise how terrible they were. Him today. Overprotective of his siblings, selfish at times to take care of them. Tried to make money on his own to take care of them (even if it means to go beyond the limits of morality towards others) and is very mature with trust issues. His siblings think of him as a father and if he ever messed up taking care of them, he starts comparing himself to their old parents. Thsi is fantasy so he also curses jewellery and binds them to himself because he is an elf and they are known to be good at magic and wearing jewelley as well.
Dude, my favorite character back story is Will Herondale from the Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare. At first you love him, and then you question him, and then you're TOTALLY confused and stuck between love and hate. Then, you find out why he acts like he does and you're HEARTBROKEN 💔 I mean, like, devastated. I love him so much because he is human. You can see his flaws and quirks, and you can also see how much he wishes he could fix them. Will is heartbreaking and perfect, and definitely my all time favorite book character, by far!!!🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰
Omg Abbie how could u listen to my heart❤️ I was just so troubled with this since 2/3 days and u just popped u here to save me❤️ can't love u enough okay?
My favorite back story character it Ayanakajo kyotaka from classroom of the elite, which was reased in a hard way in a white room, but even though, I think I'll take my childhood as a reference because my childhood traumas are interesting, I'm so luck to have suck a sad story to add to my novel
I get it. My two favorite series have wonderful backstories that I can relate to, as weirdly as that might seem given their time period. I relate to both of the main characters, but for different reasons. One is La Pola, a Colombian telenovela about a heroine of the Colombian war of independence. The other one is the Korean drama Six Flying Dragons (aka The Roots of Throne), which is about the life of Lee Bang Won who becomes a tyrannical monarch, King Taejong of the Joseon Dynasty. It helped to have Nam Da Reum play the twelve year old child version of Lee Bang Won. I defy anyone not to fall in love with that adorable child. For 4 complete episodes we experience everything right along with him. His experience with Hong In Bang is similar to one I had when I was a child, so it became very personal for me. I have to say that I have never felt such intense emotions watching any other tv shows, much less movies. I binge watched both, even though they are both quite long. La Pola has 98 45-minute episodes and Six Flying Dragons has 50 hour-long episodes. There was never even 10 boring minutes, for me, during either of them. As these two have set the bar so high for me, I wonder if I will ever be able to write anything even a quarter as good.
Something I would love to see from heris She talking about specific stories or characters pointing what makes them good. I'm new here si I don't know if she has done that, I would love it
I clicked on this video faster than Abbie could say "Internal Conflict"
Mvp of the comment section
Hehe same
haha YES!
But why did clicking it matter to you?
@@davidwilliams7348 you win 🏆lol
My favorite character of all time is Zuko from Avatar The Last Airbender, and he is the PERFECT character to analyse with these questions. When you first find out why he acts the way he does, it's heartbreaking. Seeing Zuko struggle with his own identity, taking one step forward and then 2 steps backwards again, made me love him as a child watching this show. I still cry during so many of Zuko's scenes. I have never ever felt so much for a character like I do for him. I hope to write a character as brilliant as Zuko one day...
ATLA has a lot of amazing, strong characters. The relationships b/w the characters are also really interesting to watch and analyze too. You can blindly pick a character or a group dynamic and still come out learning something from them.
Zuko is one of the most multi layered characters in the show. It’s probably why he’s a major fan favorite. And all the characters themselves are huge reasons why the show still holds today-other than the themes they go into. It’s a really well-written show. Really helped set up a standard in terms of storytelling for a younger audience.
atla is so good oh gosh, i remember finishing it on one sitting, probably one of the best series there
YESSS OMG
Amazing! I also love Zuko and Zuko's backstory is a bit hard to understand for me.
ATLA is the Best!!!!
It's like every time I'm struggling with something Abbie miraculously posts a video on that same topic 😂
Sameee
Backstory isn't always one life-changing event. My main character's backstory is a lifetime's worth of trying to live up to his father's high expectations, leaving him with the lie that he must change who he is to be worthy of love.
Anyway, my favorite backstory is from the movie Nightmare Alley. The main character has one throwaway line about his past, and yet it tells you everything you need to know about why he is who he is and does what he does.
my favourite thing about writing backstory is making my characters seem real - real people aren't perfect, real people have misbeliefs - and showing the reader and myself why they do things that are morally wrong or destructive.
writing imperfect characters is just a whole lot more interesting.
😊
Fr
I wouldn't say they're the best written characters I've came across, but I always loved the Pokemon Anime episodes where we had Team Rocket members' backstories.
Abbie is a mind reader again, I was just about to start writing character backstories and i had no idea where to start- perfect timing again abbie 💕
My favorite character backstory is Katherine Pierce from the vampire diaries. Katherines misbelief is that she is justified in doing evil things because she needs to survive, and this stems from being chased away from her home after her whole family was killed, she believed to outwit Klaus she had to become as evil as him. And that’s what made her into the villain (my favorite villain)
I think our character's backstory is sooooooo important because like you say it truly gives them the WHY behind their actions. "Making their story matter," as you say. Love this 😀
And sets up their insecurities as well
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo is such a PERFECT example for backstories that shaped the characters. Also once upon a time does a great job on that too
I need to say this. You have literally changed the way I write! Your videos are helpful beyond words! Backstory is a really great and helpful subtopic to discuss, and for me personally since I'm doing a story with heavy flashbacks and backstory 😅. Thanks a lot!
yayyy :D I saw a copy of a Hundred Days of Sunlight in my local library a couple days ago! So exciting
First I am surprised no one has mentioned him. But my favorite backstory has to be Severus Snape. His character was one of the most complex and mysterious with Dumbledore trusting him and Snape killing him. Them then revealing details of him and Lily, of his childhood bullying. Just the best. Chef's kiss.
I just saw Black Widow and they added so much depth to her and really showed us her trauma without literally showing us her trauma. So good!
Also, love the videos Abbie! They’re so helpful!
After watching this video, I was surprised, that my character's arc is way better than it seemed to me before.
Let me summarize: _"Be the best, do great things, so you don't go back to times when you didn't mean anything."_ . And that's because in times of hunger he was ambandoned by his family, as he was the youngest child out of 9 siblings, therefore the least important. He was later taken in by the knightly order as an orphan. It becomes his new family. Years of proving his worth and loyality to the order in a rush for higher position are wasted when the "incident" happens, which leads main plotline to him being renounced by the order as a heretic and a traitor.
Your videos are really helpful, thanks.
sounds interesting I am the 9th and last child in my family too I just want to say that if it was because of hunger that the parents threw him out wouldn't it make more sense if they threw out more kids instead of just him? like they had 9 mouths to feed now they have 8 it's an almost insignificant difference, don't you think?
edit: omg i just realized now that this is a one year old comment😭 I'd be interested in knowing where the story is at right now or if it's finished if that's okay
That is so good, don't give up on it. 😊
The backstorys Disney show us with Maleficent and Cruella live-actions are perfetc. It's amazing the way they make us understand, root and even fall in love with the worst "villains". I love it.
I don't think the phrase "Cruella live-action" and the word "perfect" should be in the same sentence.
Alright, so, my favorite backstory is Anne Shirley's backstory. It is so heartfelt and I fell in love because she didn't deserve to go through what she went through. No one does. Thank you, Abbie, for this video! It was amazing as usual!
You must be stalking me, because the timing of this video is literally fantastical. I've been fighting my own brain to create a backstory for days!
I mean…fav backstory has to be Darth Vader / Anakin Skywalker. With an entire trilogy dedicated to his backstory, the scope is obviously way more than what I would ever commit to in my writing project; but it really does explain why Vader became who he was. Btw, Vader means Father in Dutch so his name is kind of a foreshadowing Easter Egg? 😂😂
I don’t know if you will ever read this Abbie but you absolutely rock! Thanks so much for all you do for new writers. I’m brand new. I started off looking at various sources of information about the craft here on You Tube; but I have pretty much abandoned every other source since I stumbled onto your videos. You are “one stop shopping”!
More importantly, your whole program / approach just resonates with me! The way you explain things couldn’t be more plain.
Your case studies exemplify and PROVE everything you talk about in the videos and the “bad examples” also prove by contrast whatever you present in the videos.
Your videos are all so well done and to the point; however you are able to insert your lovely personality into your presentation. It makes a huge difference that your videos are both informative and a real pleasure to watch.
If you were a professor at a university, your class would be the one I’d look forward to attending…I wouldn’t ever have to fight to stay awake; nor would I ever skip.
Most of all, your videos make me feel like there is such a PROCESS to writing, that anyone who is willing to apply it has a better than average shot at producing a compelling story, depending on the idea and more creative elements of the story i.e. is the idea big enough.
I’m finding I’m a plotter and I’m also finding that I really enjoy the combination of structured organization coupled with my more intuitive creativity. It’s been a revelation!
Whether I ever publish anything or not, my eyes have been opened to the possibility of enrichment I have access to through writing - again, even if only for myself.
I’ll decide whether to pursue that after I finish my first work I guess. I’m still learning; but I’m starting to feel like I have enough of the basics down to dive into drafting!
Sorry for the length of this comment but it’s a heartfelt thanks to you for sure! Wishing you continued success!
Zuko from ATLA is the GO-TO for characters for me, espec his backstory! FEELS! SO damn good! His redemption arc is literally used as THE EPITOME of best redemption arc ever by SO many people! He's basically character GOALS! >:D
Your uploads are always perfectly timed lol. I needed a backstory for my MC and this video just popped up.
powder/jinx from arcane! although the backstory is the story, I think this is a perfect example of a moment that made the character who they are today!
no.1 I'm 2 years late to the vid
no.2 This may be cheating
but from any book I've read, Westons backstory, (yes, from 100 days of sunlight) definitely stuck out to me the most. its compelling, heartbreaking, and yet beautiful.
love your vids, Abbie!
Watching this made me realise that my writing, or at least my character back story, is a lot more advanced that I thought it was. thank you
Alright, Abbie, I need you to be honest with me - are you psychic? I mean, a couple of days ago I started writing backstories for my characters so even I could get a better understanding of them. Then, I started struggling because all my characters have to have a unique backstory and you know how that is --- but to make a long story short: you saved my life!
Thank you so much, you are very helpful. And I'm able to look at my stories in a whole new way.
I’m literally struggling with writing backstory right now, and then you post this
I'm in the middle of writing my outline and developing my characters, so I thank you for this video. It's very timely. By the way, comgrats! You have 114 thousand followers!
Thank you so much! This video was perfectly timed. I love my 3rd protagonist, but I couldn't get him to be as interesting as the other two and I couldn't figure out why. I know what kind of environment he grew up in and what he needs to learn (his misbelief), but I hadn't figured out why he is the way he is. I didn't realize that until this video. My other two characters, I have turning points for their past that make them who they are, but somehow I skipped this guy. Like, they all grew up in the same environment, but he handles it differently, and now I know that I don't know why. Time to brainstorm again. Thanks for the prompts! This is gonna help so much. Rock on, Abbie!
I writed a book about the whole life of my main character...it's almost 200 pages long..and I'm kind of proud of it..
I’ve read too many books to have a favorite backstory, but I’m also really into video games, right now I’m playing through Fire Emblem: Three Houses (no spoilers please), and so far I LOVE how they’re handling Dimitri’s backstory. The writing is soooo good. I’m only at the beginning of the second half of the game, but so far it’s doing a really great job of giving us bits and pieces of Dimitri’s backstory and the massacre that killed his family and friends, not via cutscenes (but who knows, that might come later), but via Dimitri as well as other characters telling you about it throughout the game. It gives you a sort of jigsaw puzzle of facts and varying opinions and perspectives to work with, and you’re not sure whose story you should trust or believe-which only adds to the mystery of trying to figure out why Dimitri is the way he is today-a polite, mild-mannered, chivalrous young man one moment, and a bloodthirsty maniac the next. Honestly I’m both excited and terrified to see how it all plays out.
oh, my gosh, this therapy session idea is everything.
Abbie, your guidance on backstory is SO helpful. Thank you squared
Legends say this comment will get pinned as a random act of kindness.
Besides, we all wanna say thank you Abbie for all that content you put out. I used to be a person who thought i had a blank mind but i changed that right after seeing one of your videos 💛
It wasnt pinned Lmao
I have a better trajectory for my character and the confidence to push this short atory to novel length with publishing intent. Thanks!
I like writing characters from the backstory up, cause it makes writing them a personality make more sense, so this is very helpful!
It feels so amazing and easy to understand what u want to tell when u give us some examples 🥰🥰🥰
Hey Abbie! I love your videos they help me so much!!! I don’t know if you’ve read the Harry Potter Series but if you have can you do a breakdown of some of the characters in the series because I think that the level of internal conflict that JK Rowling is able to achieve for so many different characters through a limited omniscient POV is unparalleled by a lot of other stories, especially in the YA genre, that I have read. I would love your take on how she is able to achieve it.
And her "Strike" murder mysteries are characterisation masterclasses too!
You are a Fantastic teacher. I feel like I am understanding these concepts fully for the first time. thank you.
WHY IS YOUR INTRO SO GOOD!?
My favorites movies are Last Holiday Mr.Right and Hairspray! I can watch over a million times on repeat. This video makes me want to check out a new show and I don't watch many series but makes me want to branch out more for the sake of why does it matter in storytelling. Mahalo Abbie for giving us this visual w/ explanation. Excellent examples!!!
One of my favourite ones is The Fast and the Furious
funny how i did this on my own for my story's main antagonist before i figured out much about what id do with the protagonist lol. i definitely wanted to make sure i knew exactly why they were evil & not being evil for evil's sake 🙈
I finished your book in less than three days, and I loved it so much, it has become my favorite love story. I was never one for romance novels or love stories, but your book inspired me to even write a novel that revolves around fantasy romance. Your book and your videos inspire me everyday to write and you have helped me so much in improving my writing and broadening my views in genres I never found interest in. I wanted to say thank you and I really appreciate each video you post, so thank you!!!
Me : comes here for writing another book.
My brain : this lady keeps getting better like fine wine.
Lol I didn't expect the main char from Mr. Selfridge be very similar to my main char XD (except the backstory)
Nice video btw!
Abbie you are a life saviour😭 I was just trying to find a way to write a good backstory for my character
Thank you very much for this. I'm writing a survival horror story and I've been struggling with my character's past that made her into who she is in the current events of the story. This helped, thank you.
this was my last video in the binge watching saga of your videos which was at random by having a series of tabs from the sidebar
I started having chest pain a week ago and decide to continue writing my story
Thanksie ❤
This was super helpful. I have been struggling with my writing lately with life and I've been trying to get back into the swing of things again.
And you're not 100% correct on the first two seasons being the best. Buffy comes to mind. The first season was pretty much awful. LOL!
Have you seen North & South, the British series on the Industrial Revolution, not the one with Patrick Swayze? To me, especially for a romance, it is one of the most interesting series I've ever seen. Richard Armitage as Mr. Thornton is everything you could ask for in a tortured hero and I think he's a good example of knowing a character's backstory without having it info-dumped.
That is the hardest thing when it comes to writing. Exposition or by show? Or a combination of both? Or do you do a prologue or a flashback? Sometimes that is the hardest choice to make when writing. You want to tantalize, not bash someone over the head with it. How to find that happy medium.
And I just recently came across your channel. Your pride and prejudice piece is what brought me over. No idea how or why YT sent me here, but I'm glad they did.
Sorry for the rambling post. I just logged off work and my brain hasn't kicked in yet. LOL
I had a good idea on what my character's backstory was, but execution was my problem. When I first started writing, I did a data dump of her backstory and it felt forced, preachy, and even pretentious.
To solve this issue, what I did was incorporate her entire back story in relation to her late parents, who are famous for saving the lives of many people in a major incident when she was still a child. My character is often asked about her parents and she talks about them based on how she remembered them when she was a child, and these little stories become scenes which reveals not just her relationship with them, but a lot of her backstory of how she ended up where she's at now, which comes off a lot more natural than how I had originally done it. The same goes with relationships between her and friends and adversaries.
In fact this continues through all 3 Acts, and even to the very end they continue do discover more about her, but within the context of what they already knew about her to keep it believable, and not as some desperate twist to shake and twist things up. Ultimately, her deep backstory that readers learn over time is what ties up the climax of the 3rd Act.
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!! I NEEDED THIS. It’s like your reading my mind, Abbie!!! Thank you!!!!!!!!!!❤️ Also, i would be very interested in a video about why the first two seasons are always the best!!!
My favorite character's backstory
1. Kurapika from the HunterXHunter manga: It makes the readers understand all of his emotional expressions: anger sadness coldness pain. So compelling backstory.
2. Magneto from X-Men: quite well-written. It gives explanation why he is a radical (in comparison with professor X)
3. I like backstory/flash-back in some survival genre shows. For example, Lost (first 2 seasons, of course) and Netflix's Alice in Borderland.
Your videos are very helpful from an actor's perspective too!
We create a backstory for a slightly different purpose tho. To determine choices, how I choose to bring the character to life. Where they have been/are/will go.
I usually create a backstory through a conjunction of what the writer has given + filling in the blanks through background research on time period, setting, bunch of other factors.
Abbie I doubt even a writer as talented as you you could put into words how helpful these videos are! When I’m stuck I just look at your channel and you have a video explaining just what I need! Thank you so much 😊
Abbie, after seeing this video I gasped at the fact that although I have been working on this story ( on and off) for ten years, I did not know one of the protaginists as well as I knew the other two. I DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT HER! How could that have happened? The other two characters told me why they are the way they are because their backstory is written in their monologues and throughout dialogs with the other two ladies. But, the main character (although when we first meet her in the story) is pretty well adjusted and living her best life. But after watching your video, my question was what happened to her in her past to make her stay with an abusive husband for 20-years. WOW! Thank you. I need to learn more from you.
This makes me think I'm writing my story wrong. My main character has a secret that even the reader doesn't know. It's hard to show their disbelief because I have yet to reveal the secret. Their secret is a whole big thing. It defines them in a way. It's part of who they are. They hide this secret that are ashamed of. Everything they do is based on this one secret.
But at the end of the book you can show the secret to the reader and they are going to understand why the character acted the way he acted through the whole story, maybe.
Sort of like the previous comment said, use context clues! This can help the reader infer what the big boom might be. Ex: Let's say I write about a dog who goes missing. i can write little hints that the protaganists husband hated the dog. I can even write that he said stuff regularly like, "One day I otta' get rid of that dam dog!" This can hint to the reader of having a suspicious suspect on their "who got rid of the dog" list.
I don't know if that made sense or not lol.. I'm currently a begginer writer, but that's just info I got from reading other books. Hope that helps 😁
Can you make about Gods, Religions, and Lore?
Thanks Abbie, this came at just the right time. And in regards to my favourite character backstory... Jane Eyre! A thing of a beauty
I absolutely loooooove the way you explain things. I’m listening first and then I’m gonna rewatch them again & take notes later. I looovveee your style ‼️ You GO girl.
I'm working on my characters backstories. This really inspires me because I have this character named Nico Roberts, the historian. I can't give much info because of spoilers.
All of your presentations are not only informative, they are presented with great zest and clear reasoning . Thanks Abbie, I can't wait to see and rea more!
Thank you! This helped alot, and i really look up to you as an aspiring middle-school author.. Thanks again!
This is what I was thinking of all this time and I kinda forgot it’s wednesday today, i literally jumped out of bed upon seeing the video! thank you so much
In one of my stories, it isn't the main character who I talk about her backstory {Because there's a prequel that explains it} but about her trying to figure out what happened to her friend that made him hate Northerns so much. I should explain that this is set in Richmond Virginia in 1867 two years after the end of the American Civil War. My main character is not from the north but her family supported the north so that creates a nice conflict when her friend finds that out.
I’m giving my bad guy a back story because I was thinking about my book and I always had this one question. Why is he doing this?
have you ever thought about voice recording for audiobooks? something tells me that your love for the characters would shine in your reading
This lil' gal is very professional with a great voice. Excellent production...very slick. She's obviously very knowledgeable. Likeable.
Great insights and examples that are fun to watch. And, being a guitarist who plays for book trailers I like learning writers' process since that helps me understand characters when I interpret and represent them w/ original guitar music. Really like your notes on plot effecting characters' fears and misbeliefs!
My favorite character's backstory tells of Princess Ozma from the original Oz books by L. Frank Baum since it's tragic and compelling & would make a wonderful film adaptation w/ Ozma as the lead character.
First let me say that this is a great video. You've got a great personality and presence, and the info is great. So thank you.
One of the best way to develop characters is to expose yourself to new people as much as possible. Here's just one more reason to pay close attention to people around you and what they have to say.
A great model to use for character development is the Four Quadrant "Integral Philosophy" model. This states that everything and everyone has a Subjective, Objective, Cultural, and Socioeconomic aspect. Keep these in mind when developing characters.
So good! I'm stuck right in this part of my outlining process.
Abbie seriously u have such a perfect timing, I needed this so much❤️ thank you so much ❤️
How do you manage to come up with the very thing I'm struggling with?? You're amazing.
Also, if you ever did a Science behind the story on Lala Land I'd be forever grateful because I'm not entirely sure I understand why it hits so hard...
This was just what I needed, thank you so much!
Hello, Abbie, love your videos, I have been bench watching all your previous series, and I have to say your videos are really helpful, I love how straight to the point you are when explaining things, you don't make it complicated or try to use big words to make yourself look important like some of these author tubes on RUclips been doing, I love how real and authentic you are with your videos, I have just started writing my book, and I am not using an outline, I am following a little of your 3 act structure and Agatha Christie's method, which is writing first the big events, then the intro then the story, I did write down the first big events but the rest of the book I write as the ideas and stories slowly start to develop in my mind, I will be writing down the character back stores though, I have a feeling that I will be able to keep up with the development of my book better, again thank you for your amazing help, and seriously, if I was you I would turn all your helpful RUclips videos into an 1.2,3 part series of how to write a book, if you do that I guarantee you I would buy it immediately! Again, thank you for the amazing tips.
I've been studying frozen these days. The backstory is so well shown and the overall movie follows the 3 act story structure so nicely
How do you feel about Frozen 2's story structure.
I haven't studied the second movie so much but I think it's really well made. I like the way everything connects.
HERE I WAS HUNTING FOR MY BACKSTORY AND AS EVER ABBIEE JUMPED IN LIKE, "HEY, YOUR LIFESAVER IS HERE" THANKSSSSSSSSS
Your videos are so entertaining! I can't feel time passing through watching and this rarely happens with me!!!
Thank you Abbie🤜🏻♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️
Abbie can u please make a video on how to write battle and fight scenes cuz i am struggling with it and u with u explaining it would be a lot easier
👇 like if u want that video too
Awesome writing advice , I actually definitely needed this for the characters in my book. Since I’m writing the beginning/ middle of chapter 1 of my book, I haven’t actually thought of my characters backstory,s yet. So this video really helped me out a lot on getting me started. In addition to dreaming up story ideas for my books plot, I’ll also dream up details for all four of my main characters backstory,s
Trafalgar law has an amazing backstory actually. He isn't as deeply flawed as many other characters but his actions and attitude is deeply exhibited by his well-written backstory.
I have a main character who was a very high ranking nobleman who served a pretty awful king and has done some pretty awful things in the past. I got the idea once that his mother had been a common girl from an occupied land mostly because I needed somewhere for the characters to go next, but then as I developed that it turned out to be the key to everything about him. His loyalty to the rebel leader, his motivation for taking in his adopted daughter, the way he's always looking for someone else to tell him who he is and what he's supposed to be, everything stems from the way his "lowly" background and people seeing him as not one of them kept him on the defensive growing up.
ABBIE YOU ALWAYS KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I NEED HELP WITH!!
Omghhh The Mr. Selfridge example sounds so similarly to my MC's internal conflict! He strives to be the best husband & father (fear based). He's also wealthy & famous, & his family loves him 👀
Great vid, Abbie! So far, my favorite character backstory is Justin from 2017's The Endless. His misbelif is that he has to be in control of his and his younger brother's, Aaron, well-being. When they were teens, they grew up in a mysterious commune called Camp Arcadia. Justin was never comfortable with the camp's philosophy giving up control to an entity he didn't believe, then later found out that the camp memebers were all going to kill themselves, and Justin took Aaron and ran away from the camp.
Btw, who hates it when movies establish character arc and misbeliefs only to cut it short as soon as Act 2 barely starts?
Also, Abbie how cab I give a villain internal conflict without having the backstory be tragic, such as "I'm evil because something bad happened to me." I look at movie villains like Heath Ledger's Joker from the Dark Knight and James Moriarty from BBC Sherlock. These two have little backstory but, to me, they're still effective villains. Your thoughts?
Thank you so much for all your advice! I recently came across your yt channel and it has helped me SO MUCH! I have been watching all your videos haha. Before I was intimidated by writing a whole novel. Now I'm excited to write!!
6:07
"write it as if it was going in your book"
Gurl.. it IS going in my book XD
Wonderful as usual Abbie! Acacius and I have decided to calendar block in tomorrow morning so that all his dark secrets can be spilt.
1:23 I'm already in love with this video!
Thank you so much for this video! Your videos are helping me so much for college assignments
My favourite character's backstory,
He lived withhis sister with good parents who loved them but never had enough time for them since they were always working. They couldn't afford a babysitter so he learned to take care of himself.
But he is still a children and makes mistakes, this time he started a fire and burned down the house. Killing his parent and his sister who died in his arms.
He was then sent to an orphanage and the new family was like his but way more children and cold parents who never wanted this many. To make up for his mistake, he tries his best to take care of his siblings.
One day, he found out onw of his siblings was bullied badly and kept it to himself because his own parents didn't care. There were many, many bruises on his arms.
He killed the bullies and slapped his parents. Since he knew how nice parents could be, he could recognise how terrible they were.
Him today.
Overprotective of his siblings, selfish at times to take care of them. Tried to make money on his own to take care of them (even if it means to go beyond the limits of morality towards others) and is very mature with trust issues. His siblings think of him as a father and if he ever messed up taking care of them, he starts comparing himself to their old parents.
Thsi is fantasy so he also curses jewellery and binds them to himself because he is an elf and they are known to be good at magic and wearing jewelley as well.
I've been bingeing all your videos they're really helpful.
Hey Abbie. At 6:50 you ask the real questions. Somehow I avoid planning this kind of detail for characters when it is VITAL. Thanks for laying it out!
Abbie you're so lovely and your videos are getting more and more shine, thanks for all the advice :)
Dude, my favorite character back story is Will Herondale from the Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare. At first you love him, and then you question him, and then you're TOTALLY confused and stuck between love and hate. Then, you find out why he acts like he does and you're HEARTBROKEN 💔 I mean, like, devastated. I love him so much because he is human. You can see his flaws and quirks, and you can also see how much he wishes he could fix them. Will is heartbreaking and perfect, and definitely my all time favorite book character, by far!!!🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰
AHHHHHH I LOVE YOUR VIDEOS 😍😍
Omg Abbie how could u listen to my heart❤️ I was just so troubled with this since 2/3 days and u just popped u here to save me❤️ can't love u enough okay?
My favorite back story character it Ayanakajo kyotaka from classroom of the elite, which was reased in a hard way in a white room, but even though, I think I'll take my childhood as a reference because my childhood traumas are interesting, I'm so luck to have suck a sad story to add to my novel
I get it. My two favorite series have wonderful backstories that I can relate to, as weirdly as that might seem given their time period. I relate to both of the main characters, but for different reasons. One is La Pola, a Colombian telenovela about a heroine of the Colombian war of independence. The other one is the Korean drama Six Flying Dragons (aka The Roots of Throne), which is about the life of Lee Bang Won who becomes a tyrannical monarch, King Taejong of the Joseon Dynasty. It helped to have Nam Da Reum play the twelve year old child version of Lee Bang Won. I defy anyone not to fall in love with that adorable child. For 4 complete episodes we experience everything right along with him. His experience with Hong In Bang is similar to one I had when I was a child, so it became very personal for me. I have to say that I have never felt such intense emotions watching any other tv shows, much less movies. I binge watched both, even though they are both quite long. La Pola has 98 45-minute episodes and Six Flying Dragons has 50 hour-long episodes. There was never even 10 boring minutes, for me, during either of them. As these two have set the bar so high for me, I wonder if I will ever be able to write anything even a quarter as good.
Something I would love to see from heris She talking about specific stories or characters pointing what makes them good.
I'm new here si I don't know if she has done that, I would love it