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As we learned in [Part 1](https://steemit.com/photography/@arbitrarykitten/focus-on-the-background-part-1-photography-plus-quick-fix-tips), the background of a photo can sometimes be just as important as the subject.

The background of the characters is critical to your story, too, *even if you never share it with your readers.*

Wait, what?  How can the background of a character be essential if it's not part of the published story?  

As strange as it may sound it is true.  

We all have a backstory: a series of events which led up to the present moment.  It began when we were born and it continues every moment of every day.  *It's constantly being written.*  Your history is what makes you uniquely you.  The events of your background shape who you are as an individual, how you act and react to every situation, and give you depth and relatability.  

Imagine this: an adult human suddenly appears before you, fully grown yet *just made.*  Use whatever supernatural or scientific force you wish to imagine: suddenly, there's a brand new person standing before you.  Having just been created they have no history, and thus no stories.  Do you think they would have a personality?  Personally, I don't think they could yet, as even personality is a result of past upbringing and events.  I would imagine that after the initial surprise wears off, interaction would be rather dull and probably awkward.  Sure, **you'd** have plenty to talk about, but I fear it would be a rather one way conversation for a while until this human accumulates enough events to make them "whole."

What does this have to do with writing?  You want your created characters to be well rounded and have depth. As mentioned in [How to Developing a Compelling Character,](https://steemit.com/steemiteducation/@arbitrarykitten/how-to-develop-a-compelling-character) one of the most integral components is to give them some thought and a backstory.

*"How a person is raised and the type of environment they live in is going to affect the rest of their inner and outer description."*

This is true across the board.  Upbringing and every life experience will affect all parts of an individual: their beliefs and morals, how they dress and style their hair, if they love to read or have a penchant for extreme sports, and even if they are kind to strangers or have a fear of dolls.

**You are the sum total of your experiences**

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If you want to have a believable character, give them a background.  The more detail you can put into it, the more well rounded and believable they will be to the reader, *even if you never reveal the backstory in your writing!*.

Having a developed backstory for each of your main characters will make your job as the writer easier, too.  When you know who they are you will know why they do the things they do, and their every action and reaction will flow naturally.
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Focus on your character background to make them come to life and jump off the page into your reader's hearts.
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Photos and images are what captures the audiences attention.  Make yours look professional by [Focusing on the Background of your photos.](https://steemit.com/photography/@arbitrarykitten/focus-on-the-background-part-1-photography-plus-quick-fix-tips)

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