Watch your delivery of backstory ~ the story of what (in the past) made the characters who they are today (in story time).
Writers want to cram everything right up front.
“I know all their history, why would I want to withhold it from the reader?”
“I wrote it that way.”
“It’s the good part.”
Writers spend lots of time imagining and writing every little detail about a character’s past, be it for a child or an adult. So, of course, writers would want to tell everything right away. Perhaps, in the process, even show off a bit how clever they are. Until, one understands how curiosity works.
Not telling everything makes the reader curious. Curiosity draws the reader deeper into the story world. The reader wants to fill in the “who,” “what,” “how” (the “where” and “when” have already been clearly established right up front to ground the reader). They keep reading. This is good.
Tell the reader only what they need to know to inform that particular scene. This is especially true in the Beginning (1/4 mark). During the first quarter of the project, the character can have a memory. But, for a full-blown flashback, where you take the reader back in time in scene, wait until the Middle.
(PLOT TIP: If you’re absolutely sure you absolutely have to include the flashback, try using one when you’re bogged down in the middle of the middle.)
Very good tips on one of the toughest questions for writers — thank you very much for this!
Excellent point about leaving something for the reader to discover. It's good for a writer to know all of the backstory, as it helps understand the character's motivations, but the reader doesn't need to get it all, especially not in big, clunky passages. Another reason it's good for the writer to know the backstory, though, is that s/he then knows what specific hints s/he can drop to show the reader that there is more to this character's story.