Backstory: Weaving the Past Harry Potter Left Untold

Every character in the wizarding world is carrying a history. Most of it never makes it onto the page.

Come explore how J.K. Rowling builds backstories — the techniques she uses to make her characters feel like they’ve been living full lives long before we meet them.

First, you’ll dig into the life of Minerva McGonagall — piecing together the history behind one of the wizarding world’s most beloved characters.

Next you’ll meet Argus Filch through the eyes of four different writers, each imagining a completely different past for the same man — and each telling it in a completely different way. A narrative. An interview. A diary entry. A file from the Ministry of Magic. Same character, four entirely different stories.

Then the quill passes to you. You’ll choose your character, decide how their story wants to be told, and write the history that explains everything about them.

Guidance and support are there whenever you want them. But the untold past? That’s yours to imagine.

• Understanding backstory
• Techniques for developing backstory
• Exploring examples of backstory
• Methods of communicating backstory
• Writing Process