How to express background in a novel?

This is soo weird cuz I'm writing almost the same thing only not the crystal, so here is what I'm doing is a prologue, then use another chapter for a flashback or memory and going back and forth beween past and present. If thats not what you wanted to know then email me and I'll try to explain more on how I'm writting mine. Its hard.

Flashbacks can work.. if they are not all that frequent. The important part is that whatever you do must further the story. Providing backstory rarely if ever does that.

What I usually do is to invent some characters who participated in particular parts of these backstories and have them come into conflict with each other in such a way that the hero has to intervene. For example, if, in the backstory, there was some huge magical accident, then I'd have one of the older mages, perhaps the girl's teacher, have been invovled in some way. Another older mage travels to see him and confronts him where the girl is listening and they have a duel that ends up forcing the girl to unlock some aspect of her own power that will be needed later.

If the backstory is important to the current story, then you can bring the important bits of it out at the appropriate moments. There are a variety of ways to do this:

Through a character remembering parts of the story at a similar moment in the current story.

Someone telling a part of the back story when asked. "They sat around the campfire, and as always the question arose: Did she have any siblings? "Two," she answered, "a brother and a sister." And as curious companions do, they drew the story out of her, how their farm had been attacked by a mucous demon and she'd been too new in her magic to protect her younger siblings...."

And so on. If no instances come up where it's important to a character's thoughts, decision, or action, then you know you don't need the backstory.

Its good to have a good background for your characters, obviously, it helps you learn who your character is and what drives them. I recommend not using to many dream sequences , it can disrupt the flow of the story. Instead, you can use the back story through out the book as you meet new characters or go to places that trigger the girls memories. Ex:"He was so arrogant she instantly thought of ..." Or "the musty smell stung her eyes, she thought of ..." If you want to give a large amount of information you can transition into a separate chapter. Background story is good for fleshing out your character but can bog down the the real story your trying to tell. Hope this helps.

Interesting idea! I would suggest this: Make a prologue. In this prologue, supply the reader with that background, however it's written. Or, perhaps, you can insert little pieces (chapters) throughout your story about his. These pieces would be written in italics, would go in chronological order, but they wouldn't be told all at once, and instead at intervals, which would unlock secrets one chapter at a time!

Good luck with your story!

I'm quite fond of flashbacks, but they can be annoying after a while. Perhaps you could include little bits of the back story throughout the novel, through memories, etc.

Hope this helps!

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