VancouverGREATER VANCOUVER EVENT
Backstory and How Not to Shoot Yourself in the Foot With It
Hallie Ephron’s online writing class uses in-class exercises to explore how to shape a character’s backstory, decide what readers need to know and layer it into the main story without slowing the narrative. Topics include finding the opening page and avoiding a backstory dump.
- Date and time
- Location
- Online · Surrey
- Organizer
- Surrey International Writers’ Conference
About this event
Hallie Ephron’s class examines what backstory is and why it matters to the main story. A character’s surprising actions need to make sense in light of their past, and novelists must find the story’s “Page One” and reveal that past without bogging down the front story. In-class writing exercises are included.
Topics include possible sources of backstory—character, setting, situation and context—how to formulate it and decide how much readers need to know, how to find “Page One,” strategies for layering backstory to strengthen the main story, and ways to avoid a backstory dump.
The class runs Wednesday, October 21, 2026, from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm online, presented by the Surrey International Writers’ Conference. It is recorded; classes marked as recorded are also available live, with recordings accessible for 30 days.
The per-class rate is $129 CAD (approximately $90 USD) for conference registrants and $249 CAD (approximately $179 USD) for non-registrants. Packages are charged in Canadian dollars. USD figures are approximate references based on the January 16, 2026 exchange rate, and the actual amount will fluctuate with the card provider’s exchange rate. Register: https://registration.siwc.ca