So, what’s you story? Answer this question and you’ll probably include a bit about where you came from, where you are, and where you’re going. The first portion of this answer is your character backstory.

The goal behind character backstory is creating character depth … or, undeniable realism. You want your character to be someone your audience will believe in. There should be no doubt that someone like your character actually existed, exists, or will eventually exist. Character backstory is simply one way to help your audience believe in your character.

To develop a character backstory for someone, ask them what there story is and take a look into their past with additional questions. Where were they raised? What were they like in school? What were they like as a teenager? What’s their story?

Though these questions will give you an idea of who your character is – as the past always informs character … even if they’re trying to avoid it, – it’s probably not the best information to focus on as backstory in your screenplay. Audiences want details. So how do you create them?

Here’s a few things I found work best for me …

The Dinner Chat

Next time you’re at dinner and you’re sitting across from someone you’re interested in knowing, you’ll most likely ask them the question, “So, what’s your story?” They’ll give you a general overview, including where they came from, where they are, and where they’re going. What they tell you is the fabric of their character … though there’s always more to a person than they tell you.

Once you know this, pay close attention to the stories they tell throughout the night; the stories they tell are straight out of their backstory in most cases. Even if it’s a funny story that took place a week ago, it’s backstory if it took place before the curtain lifted.

Take you character out to dinner and get to know them!

The Press Interview

I’m not sure where I first read about conducting an interview with my character, but it’s proven to be a pretty valuable tool – especially when first getting to know them.

People are notorious for seeing themselves differently than the way others see them. People often see what they want to see. The trick here is to allow them to project themselves how they want the world to see them.

Conduct an interview as if they were famous – write it out as if it were a transcript. Include both a short head and tail to the actual interview to be published “for the record.” Often times, the head and tail, or moments just before and after the interview will be more revealing than the actual interview.

Be the press behind the magazines, gossip websites, or news broadcasts, and let them shine in the lime light.

This will reveal a lot about character, including the history they want to exploit, the aspects of their life they want to promote, and their attitude both before and after the interview starts.

The CSI Interview

Interview the same character from the perspective of the police or other authoritative entity. Though the character may never come in contact with the police throughout your story, the exercise is truly one of the most revealing a writer can execute while digging for character backstory.

Ask the questions they don’t want to answer. Get them to reveal secrets they share with no one. Bring the dark side out of your character. Perhaps there’s something in the past they’d like to forget? Dig for the first, and break the character down until they reveal their true selves. Unlike the previous interview style, the goal of the police interview is to break your character, admit to the skeletons in the closet, and reveal themselves for who they really are.

To get a better idea of how this might work, watch any CSI episode and pay close attention to the interviews conducted by the CSI. Notice how they accuse ever interview suspects – this is a way of breaking them and judging response.

What doesn’t your character want you to know?

Finding the character backstory

These are just a few things that help me. You might find wildly different techniques suite you and your style better.

The important thing about finding your character’s backstory is simply knowing it. Whether or not it makes it into the story or screenplay, you need to know what makes the fabric of your character in order to create a realistic portrayal of the character on the page.

Once great example of backstory shining through a character can be seen in Pirates of the Caribbean when we catch the last part of a story Jack Sparrow tells two royal navy soldiers,

“And then they made me their chief.”

Those seven words are straight out of Jack’s backstory, and while the first movie allows the audience to imagine what he might have been talking about, it also spawned a large sequence in the second.

Backstory is one of the most powerful elements a character can have. It makes them undeniably real to the audience.

Anyone have any other ways they find work well for them? If you have the time, write them out below in the comments section.