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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/23700
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/23700
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Characters are defined by what they want and what they are willing to do to get it. The specific details you give about them are there to justify what they want and what they are willing to do to get it. Joe wants X because he was raised by wolves in a trailer park in the 70s. Mary is willing to do Y because she was raised on a commune in Argentina by a mother with a an extra finger on her left hand. The details is there so that we will understand what they want and what they are willing to do to get it.

How much detail is required to do this depends on the nature of the work, what kind of desire, and what kinds of inhibitions you are exploring. Genre fiction has it tropes that allow you to shortcut this process somewhat, especially for secondary characters. Literary fiction that explores more subtle motivations and more subtle inhibitions may require more, and more precise, detail.

So, the answer is not an absolute one. Some characters and some styles and genres require a lot of detailed backstory; others require only a few strokes the the pen to place a character in their familiar role in a familiar story structure. The test is, is the level of detail adequate to justify what the character wants and what they are willing to do to get it.

Original score: 1