Check Your Understanding: Backstory Concepts Check Understanding
Learning Targets
I can explain how backstory, wounds, and wants shape character behavior and drive narrative.
Question 1: Wound vs. Want
What is the difference between a character's "wound" and their "want"? How are they connected?
Hint
A wound is something that happened to the character that shaped them. A want is what they're pursuing because of that wound. How does the past create the goal?
Question 2: Showing vs. Telling Backstory
Why is "showing" backstory more effective than "telling" it? Give an example of each approach for the same character detail.
Hint
Telling is: "She had a hard childhood." Showing is: the character flinching at a raised voice. Which helps a reader understand the character better?
Question 3: D&D Backgrounds as Frameworks
How does a D&D character's background (like Acolyte, Criminal, or Folk Hero) function as a backstory framework? What does a player need to add to make it feel like a real character?
Hint
A D&D background gives you a starting point and some suggestions. But what personal details, relationships, and specific stories need to come from you?
Question 4: World and Backstory Connection
Think about the character you're developing. How does the world you built in Unit 1 shape their backstory? Give one specific example.
Hint
If your setting has specific cultures, conflicts, or dangers, how would those have shaped your character's past? What would be different if they grew up in a different world?
Guidance
These questions ask you to think deeply about how backstory works. There are no single "right" answers, but your responses should show that you understand:
- The connection between wound and want
- How writers reveal backstory through action and detail
- How to take a D&D framework and make it specific and personal
- How your character's world shapes who they are
What's Next
After you've answered these questions and completed the Backstory Brainstorm activity, you'll be ready for Assignment 2.5: Character Backstory, where you'll write the full story of your character's past.