EVERYTHING has history. EVERYTHING.

Thumbtacks, pigeons, frayed cushions, patched aprons, slashed tires, burnt out cigarettes, they all have a history, a past, and your characters do to.

Backstories for you character are important for a number of reasons,

1. They have made your character into who they are, so make sure you characters personality fits with their history!

2. Your character backstory could drive you plot! For example *SPOILER ALERT* in the Disney movie "Up" Carl and his wife have always dreamed of traveling to Paradise Falls since they where kids, but they never had enough money, and things got in their way.

Then ears later Carl buys tickets to finally go on their dream trip but tragedy strikes and his wife Ellie suddenly dies, driven by grief, a lifelong wish, and some builders Carl flies his home to Paradise Falls in Ellie's memory.

Without his backstory the movie "Up" would be rather weird, don't you think?

I do.

3.They give you character secrets, and what's a story without secrets?

So yeah, backstories really make your character, and even if they've suffered major memory loss, they still have a past! Even if it's hidden from the character.

Also, here are a few tips for finding your characters backstory:

1. Look at their personality, think of events that might have made them how they are. This trick always works for me.

2. Take events for you own life, or your friends and families pasts, everyone has a story!

3.Get random with it, try things out, take things out. Your imagination really is the limit! Get crazy and write down ideas that wont even work for you characters backstory, it might spark a idea that will.