Day 9 of 84 Days of Ribbons: Backstory

In her book, Between The Lines, Jessica Page Morrell says,”Backstory illuminates the origin of behaviors and motives, especially those tied into the main conflict. ( p. 18) I agree. As authors we lay down subtle suggestions and reactions to fill in gaps and lead readers to conclusions. Sometimes it is hard to not share those details. I have two such chapters that wouldn’t stay out of my brain.

After I wrote 84 Ribbons, I went back and wrote two backstory pieces to explain two recurring actions by Marta: Jonas: The Day Marta’s World Changed and Steve’s First Ballet. I hope you will subscribe to my website and read each short chapter. I’d appreciate your feedback.

The Jonas chapter provides insight into Marta’s actions when she’d stressed.  At the age of seven it led to her rocking as her way to deal with tension and frustration. His death influenced her reaction years later when she had her accident. For me, it is one of my most cherished chapters that didn’t make it into the book.

In Steve’s chapter, I was able to share his troubles during his first trip to the ballet. I’d originally placed the chapter in 84 Ribbons until I realized I shouldn’t have a stand alone chapter from Steve’s point of view. When I wrote this one I had great fun, poking at him, watching him squirm when he didn’t get what he wanted. Let me know if I succeeded.