Backstory Guide

This page is a brief guide on how to write the backstory of an Edeia, focusing on their character journey on their path to Actualization.

The core of an Edeia's existence is their journey of self-discovery, self-acceptance, and ultimately self-determination that leads to Actualization. This guide is intended to offer guidance on the psychological, personal explorations, and experiences this can entail. 

Basics: Idea, Identity, and Actualization

What is an Idea?

An Idea is not simply something a character likes or experiences—it is a concept they deeply identify with, to the point that it becomes fundamental to who they are. They do not just experience joy; they are Joy. They do not just practice patience; they are Patience.

Even for "negative experience" Ideas like Despair, Sadness, or Loneliness, the character must come to embrace, understand, and identify with the concept itself, and not simply suffer from it.

The Key to Actualization: Self-Determination

Self-determination—making choices according to one's own values and identity—is essential to Actualization. This concept comes from psychology and focuses on three key needs:

1. Autonomy: Making your own choices. For an individual on a path to Actualization, this involves active, thoughtful choices about who they are and what they want to do. 

2. Competence: Feeling capable and effective. This could involve succeeding in following through on the choices they make; perhaps their idea magic better allows them to effectively live their life the way they want to, allowing them to achieve satisfaction and fulfillment. 

3. Relatedness: Connecting with others or existence in general in meaningful ways. For one on a path to Actualization, this could involve observing their Idea in other people or places in the world, or using their abilities to influence the world in some way that allows them to see and understand the impact of their Idea on existence. 

For an Edeia, all three aspects contribute to the journey, but autonomy is particularly crucial. They must actively choose their path, not merely be pushed into it by circumstances.

Common Pitfalls in Edeia Backstories

1. The Passive Protagonist

Problem: Character only reacts to things happening to them, rather than making meaningful choices that align with their Idea.

Example: "After losing everything, she became consumed by despair until she transformed into an Edeia."

Why it doesn't work: This portrays Actualization as something that happens to the character rather than a culmination of their own choices and identity development.

2. Conflating Experience with Identity

Problem: Assuming that experiencing something intensely automatically leads to identifying with it.

Example: "He experienced profound isolation, therefore he became the Edeia of Isolation."

Why it doesn't work: Experiencing isolation doesn't automatically mean someone identifies with the concept of Isolation itself. Many people experience isolation and actively reject it.

3. Missing the Satisfaction Component

Problem: Forgetting that Actualization requires profound satisfaction with one's identity choices.

Example: "After years of being forced to sacrifice for others, they became the Edeia of Sacrifice."

Why it doesn't work: Being forced into sacrifice makes it especially difficult for an individual to disentangle external pressures from their own meaningful choices. Without finding meaning and fulfillment in the act, and fundamentally understanding how it is their own choice to play their role, Actualization cannot occur. 

As a note, there are cases of individuals developing Ideas in forced circumstances. They may experience some degree of identification. However, with their Idea they tend to gain power, and if they reach the level of identification that nears Actualization, they generally have the capacity to change their own circumstances. In this case, even if an initial situation is forced, they should be aware of their choices and actively decide to pick a particular path. 

The Building Blocks of a Strong Edeia Backstory

1. Initial Exposure 

How did your character first encounter their Idea? For some examples, this could be through:

• Personal experience (either positive or negative)

• Observation of others

• Cultural or familial influence

• Academic or philosophical exploration

• Being born with an Idea (which would have carried over from a past incarnation) 

2. Exploration 

How did your character develop a deeper understanding of their Idea?

• Did they study their Idea or how it exists in the world?

• Did they experiment with expressing their identity in alignment with their Idea?

• Did they observe how that Idea manifests in different contexts?

• Did they develop their own philosophy about their Idea?

This stage involves active engagement, not passive experience.

3. Identification 

How did your character go from understanding their Idea to identifying with it?

• What led them to see the Idea as central to who they are?

• How did they begin to embody the Idea in their choices?

• What personal meaning did they find in the Idea?

This is where introjected values (doing something because you "should") might transform into identified values (doing something because it aligns with who you are).

4. Choices

What deliberate choices did your character make that aligned with their Idea?

• How did they arrange their life to reflect their values?

• What changes did they willingly make?

• How did they defend or advocate for their Idea?

These should be active choices, not circumstances forced upon them.

5. Satisfaction

How did living in alignment with their Idea bring your character fulfillment?

• What moments of profound alignment did they experience?

• How did embodying their Idea feel right or complete?

This satisfaction is crucial for Actualization—the moment when ideal self, actual self, and actions all align.

Working with "Negative Experience" Ideas

Ideas that can be considered a "negative experience" such as Sadness, Malice, and Weariness can be more difficult to work with. Here are some tips on how to progress through their story:

1. Experience to Understanding

Your character likely experienced or witnessed the negative concept. However, they might then develop their own understanding of it. Perhaps they recognized its universality, or discovered its hidden value or purpose, or they might have found beauty or truth within it. 

2. Understanding to Purpose

From their understanding, these individuals may then find purpose. They could use their experience to help others process similar feelings, or perhaps they see their Idea as necessary for growth or balance and establish a goal to encourage its presence, or they might recognize how their Idea connects to broader aspects of existence. 

3. Purpose to Identity

Once these individuals have a sense of purpose, through actions of exploration, identification, and making choices that align with their identity, they can come to embrace that Idea as their identity. 

Example: A character who experienced grief does not simply remain grieving. They might come to understand grief as a necessary, powerful force that connects people to things they have loved. They might choose to help others navigate grief, to honor its purpose, to witness and validate others' pain. Eventually, by living a life of helping others experience grief and leading them through the whole process, they come to see themself as Grief itself, finding satisfaction in representing this essential human experience.

Example: Transforming a Passive Backstory

Passive - Not Lore-Accurate

After being abandoned during a dangerous expedition, she survived alone in the wilderness for months. The solitude broke her spirit until eventually it consumed her, transforming her into the Edeia of Isolation.

Active, Self-Determined

When she was abandoned during an expedition, her initial desperation gave way to a surprising discovery—in isolation, she found a clarity of mind she'd never experienced in her socially demanding life. Though her mindset was initially one of survival, she soon started deliberately exploring further, going even more beyond civilization. She was eventually rescued, but once she returned, she felt overwhelmed by constant social interaction. She began studying historical hermits, meditation practices, and philosophical works about solitude across cultures. She became fascinated by how separation from others could foster deep connection with oneself and the natural world.

She established a retreat center in a remote mountain region, where she guided others through temporary periods of carefully structured isolation to help others discover what she had found. For years, she balanced her life between society and isolation, gradually spending more time in solitude as her understanding deepened. She continued her research and established a network of similar retreats worldwide. One winter, during a three-month silent meditation in a cave she had prepared, she reached a profound understanding of isolation not as absence but as presence—complete unity with oneself. In that moment of perfect alignment between her understanding of solitude, her chosen purpose, and her actions, she Actualized.

Exercise: Exploring the Journey

Ask yourself these questions about your character:

1. What active choices has my character made that align with their Idea?

2. How has my character's understanding of their Idea evolved beyond their initial experience?

3. Why does my character find satisfaction in embodying this Idea?

4. If my character met someone else experiencing their Idea (e.g., someone feeling weary), how would they interact with them?

5. What makes my character's relationship with their Idea so fundamentally deep?

Final Notes

Creating a compelling Edeia backstory means centering your character's agency, their evolving relationship with their Idea, and the profound satisfaction they find in their chosen identity. When crafting your character's journey to Actualization, remember that it should be an active process of becoming, not merely a reaction to circumstances. Their Idea is shaped by their choices and explorations, ultimately leading to their transformation into a manifestation of that actualized, self-determined path.