Backstory is almost a swear word in some writing circles, sometimes to the point of actively campaigning to banish it. It bogs down the narrative, say some, if you have too much backstory at the beginning, it usually means you started in the wrong place. This may be true in some cases, but not necessarily. Instead of a ban, why not learn how to use it effectively? Often, the histories of your characters are not used in a way that intrigues the reader, but rather to inform the
