The Traumatic Backstory Part II: The Lies We Tell

How a character's backstory impacts their motivation

Photo by Arwan Sutanto on Unsplash

A couple of weeks ago, I posted about giving your characters a tragic backstory. I’ll admit, it was a pretty basic post, but I’ll keep sharing these more fundamental types of lessons as long as I think they’re helping writers, including those who self-publish comics and novels that would’ve been (subjectively) better had the writer incorporated some of them.

Today, I want to share something just a bit more advanced by explaining why the tragic backstory is so important. But first, a note about my own troubled youth…

My Traumatic Backstory

My parents divorced when I was 8 years old. I don’t recall much about it, but I do remember the yelling and door slamming. The night my father decided to bring his mistress into our house was a real doozy, too. Then there was the moment when we were suddenly moving across the country without Dad.

My mom was pretty tyrannical, but for whatever reason, she praised my brother endlessly. Me? I could do nothing right. Straight As weren’t good enough, not when two months earlier, that one test came back with a B+ written at the top.

Anyway, that’s a hint at my trauma, which is why, 50 years later, I’m a recovering perfectionist and people pleaser.

That trauma led me to develop the story that shaped my life: I believed that, to be loved, I had to be perfect. On top of that, I had to put myself second and continually give, give, give. Otherwise, I’d lose everyone I cared about.

How many times have I scrapped a project or failed to pitch a publisher because I thought my story wasn’t good enough? How many times have I delayed following my dream so I could give my time to another?

I won’t go into details, but trust me, I’ve made thousands of faulty decisions because of the lies I started telling myself over 40 years ago.

Okay, so why am I sharing this? No, this isn’t another episode of Therapy Hour with James. Instead, it’s me showing how life works.

And fiction reflects life, right?

How the Traumatic Backstory Effects Your Characters

I’d never suggest you add trauma to your characters’ backstories just for the hell of it. Instead, it’s for you to figure out the story or lie your character comes up with to deal with that trauma.

Look at Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games. Her father died and her mom completely checked out, so she learned quickly that she and her sister would die if Katniss didn’t protect them.

From then on, every decision she makes is seen through the lens of the protector, the caregiver.

(You’ll have to forgive me, it’s been a while since I read the series. I’m sure there’s more depth to it than that, but hopefully you see where I’m going with this.)

If she were a pampered child with two living (and loving) parents, would she have volunteered to take her sister's spot in the Hunger Games? Would she have risked her own life to help Rue, that little girl from another district? Would she have stood up for the other districts and risked her life to take down the capital?

Trauma > Lie > Character Motivations

I often press writers to understand their characters’ motivations. But c’mon, anyone can develop surface-level motivations. Oh, there’s a radiation leak in the spaceship? Hey, look, everyone, this character must be motivated to survive.

That level of motivation might work for you and your audience. If so, great.

But I’d push you to think deeper.

Or rather, to feel deeper.

Put yourself in your characters’ shoes and figure out what that must feel like. How would that trauma change how you perceive the world? The lie you developed for yourself because of that traumatic event…how does it inform all of your actions?

Now plug that lie into your story.

• What trauma has your character dealt with?

• What story did they tell themselves to live with that trauma?

• How does that lie impact their decisions within the story?

Let’s say you’re developing a riveting drama about a young writer who’s got abandonment issues. You’re at the midpoint, and trying to decide what happens next.

The main character has an appointment set up with a prominent publisher who’s shown interest in his work, but suddenly, his girlfriend calls. Oh no! Her car broke down! If he doesn’t pick her up, she’ll miss the final audition for the part that’s guaranteed to make her a Hollywood star.

Okay, maybe that’s too on the nose, but the point is, his trauma led to his lie, which led to him worrying his girlfriend might leave him if he doesn’t help, which now leads to a big decision he has to make: the book deal or his girlfriend.

And that, my friend, is why understanding your character’s backstory is so important.

Not only does that traumatic backstory impact your character’s decision-making, it might also impact something even more powerful…

But for that, you’ll have to wait until next time.

(Hint: It has nothing to do with cliffhangers.)