Activity

@katy-walker

Generally, I think stories should begin close to the “moment of change” so there is some time showing the “ordinary world” before your main character goes into the adventure of the plot. Backstory can be sprinkled in bits and pieces throughout the story. There’s nothing set in stone, of course, but rule of thumb for me is that if the backstory doesn’t help the reader understand the character/plot better, it should remain in your character notes only.

I think when it comes to a point where there is no further conflict that is relevant to the plot and/or the readers can easily imagine what happens next for themselves (e.g. the couple gets married, the kingdom gets rebuild), the story should end. Otherwise it would take away a lot of the mystique of the story and it would seem draggy.

Alternatively, if the backstory/after-ending scene is really important, perhaps they can used as a prologue/epilogue.