Setting and Backstory: Two Underutilized Tools for Thinking about Character and Conflict

In this class we will address setting and backstory, two tools of fiction writing that are rich in potential but are underutilized. Writers often think of setting as simply the place and time in which events occur, but in this class we will first focus on setting as a way to shape and reveal a character, and we will then discuss the ways that setting can be used to isolate or challenge a character, leading to conflict.

“Over the years, numerous students have told me that they don’t feel comfortable writing backstory or have been told to avoid backstory,” says instructor Lori Ostlund. “My general philosophy is to utilize all tools, and backstory is one more tool to help writers make sense of their characters and give meaning to the plot. In this class we will look at ways to incorporate backstory through summary, exposition, flashback, and narrator recollection. We will also discuss some of the reasons that backstory has gotten a bad rap.”

We will look at examples from short stories and novels and engage in in-class exercises that focus on setting and backstory. Participants will use these exercises to create work at home, which we will workshop during the last two weeks of class. “My goal,” Lori says, “is for us to think about these craft elements in ways that are new and generative.”