22nd May 2005, 12:49 AM
Please, just because you read Steven King books doesn't make you any sort of authority on good storytelling.
Long and convoluted backstories are most certainly not needed to make for interesting characters in a story. You don't need to know what Palpatine eats for breakfast and how he spent his childhood summers. And lust for power, the urge to make things right in your point of view by having absolute control, is the very motive of just about every single major "villain" in history. Call it cliche if you want--that is realism.
What makes a good character is defining characteristics. That is the most important thing. Everything in addition to that helps but isn't necessary. You can have a great character even if you know nothing about his/her past and only understand them in the present tense, and likewise you can have a great character if you understand every single thing there is to know about them. But the true testament to their quality is that first thing I mentioned, their defining characteristics. Everything else helps but isn't nearly as important as you suggest. To you the most important thing is the background. Who cares if the character is interesting without that information or not. People still remember Han Solo, and why is that? Most people don't know a thing about his past. Yet he's endured for 30 years. Han Solo might be better appreciated by knowing more about his past, but without those defining characteristics none of that matters.
Long and convoluted backstories are most certainly not needed to make for interesting characters in a story. You don't need to know what Palpatine eats for breakfast and how he spent his childhood summers. And lust for power, the urge to make things right in your point of view by having absolute control, is the very motive of just about every single major "villain" in history. Call it cliche if you want--that is realism.
What makes a good character is defining characteristics. That is the most important thing. Everything in addition to that helps but isn't necessary. You can have a great character even if you know nothing about his/her past and only understand them in the present tense, and likewise you can have a great character if you understand every single thing there is to know about them. But the true testament to their quality is that first thing I mentioned, their defining characteristics. Everything else helps but isn't nearly as important as you suggest. To you the most important thing is the background. Who cares if the character is interesting without that information or not. People still remember Han Solo, and why is that? Most people don't know a thing about his past. Yet he's endured for 30 years. Han Solo might be better appreciated by knowing more about his past, but without those defining characteristics none of that matters.