Here’s the Wikipedia definition of a river. “It begins at a source, follows a path called a course and ends at a mouth”.
Just like a story.
Most rivers are visible. But a subterranean river is a river that runs wholly or partly beneath the ground.
Let’s talk about the source of what what I call your Hidden River. The Hidden River of your character is not immediately visible to the audience. It is slowly revealed by the onward flow of the story.
Of course another word for the Hidden River is Backstory.
JULIE’S BACKSTORY
My friend Julie is a typographer, designer and illustrator. She has kindly allowed me to share this series of photos to illustrate the idea of backstory.
This is Julie.
Your challenge is to speak out a couple of words that describe her mood and vibe in this photo of Julie in her design office. Give me a couple of words.