The backstory can be just as important as the story itself.

Every interesting character has an origin story⏤some tale from the past that helps to reveal how they became who they are today, and what fears and desires motivate them. Origin stories are a way for readers to see behind the curtain and understand a character on a deeper level. They help readers to develop an emotional connection with a character, whether that connection is based on attraction or repulsion, empathy or antipathy.

The origin story doesn’t have to be fanciful or extreme. The only thing that really matters is that the defining event helps your reader understand the emotional lens through which your character sees the world. The turning points and crossroads that led to who they are can come like fire and lightning, or they can come without any fireworks at all. They can be like the eruption of a volcano, which changes everything in an instant, or like the erosion of a hillside, which reshapes things slowly and over time. Forces of nature are excellent analogies for life-changing and character-defining experiences. It seems that almost everything that can occur in the natural world can occur in the human heart, as well. 

Knowing this, you can use observations of nature as creative prompts when crafting an origin story. Ask yourself, “What would this natural force look like if it was manifested as an actual event in the life story of a character?” For example, if the prompt is a waterfall, then your origin story could center around a sudden drop in social status. If the prompt is a burning ember, it could center around a toxic resentment eating away at serenity. Below are some items you can use as prompts:

  • A blinding dust storm
  • A high-voltage lightning strike
  • A massive volcanic eruption
  • Shifting tectonic plates
  • A smoldering ember
  • A ten-story waterfall
  • A seed traveling on the wind
  • A drop of water eroding stone
  • A weed growing through cement
  • A raging wildfire racing up a hill
  • A small tremor in the earth
  • The Northern lights
  • A meteor shower
  • A flash flood after a drought
  • A landslide
  • A heat mirage
  • An underground seam of gold
  • A bubbling natural spring
  • An expanse of quicksand
  • A smelly cesspool
  • A tree growing around an obstacle
  • A deadly virus
  • The eye of a tornado
  • A rainbow
  • Black mold hidden in a crawlspace
  • A massive underground aquifer

Copyright 2023 Kesel Wilson (entirely, 100% human-created)

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