I do have the character tell another about a dark moment from the past, which I hope helps draw out emotion. There are a number of them, but they show so much about the main character and give the reader an understanding of why she is the way she is now. If that makes sense. Not all stories need a flashback, but do you plan to use one later on in your novel, Jeanne?
Thanks so much! Johnnie, if your story is being told in present tense, your flashback should be in past tense. If your story is being told in past tense, your flashback should be in past perfect tense. Is that what you were thinking? Thanks for answering, Mary. I thought the flashback began in past perfect for a novel written in past tense , then switched to past tense and ended in past perfect.
Thanks again! Johnnie, technically you are correct. If the story is in past tense and the flashback is a long scene, the first sentence of the flashback should be in past perfect tense, then switch to past tense to avoid becoming too ponderous , as you said, until the last sentence, which should go back to past perfect tense. Mary, so many good points here! I love a good flashback when it adds layers to the characters and depth to the story.
Perhaps I need to move it, but the series of flashbacks throughout the story give the reader hints as to how the male and female lead came to be in their current situation so that when the heart monitor stops beeping, the reader checks her heart as well.
I hope! Meghan, it sounds like you are revealing only a little at a time in your progressive flashbacks, which is good. Like you said, it might be worthwhile to take another look at the first one and determine if it might work better to blend it in to a later flashback, keeping more of the mystery going a little longer.
Just a thought. It sounds like the books you mentioned had large portions of backstory that detracted from the current story. This makes my question almost comical. The first book I wrote—and the only novel length one—was actually an entire flashback. The prologue opens one year after the events that took place in the rest of the book.
This was done for two reasons. The first chapter is a Thanksgiving holiday scene filled with the sisters and their families, so I wanted the reader to be able to connect to the three sisters first before adding in their husbands and kids.
First, the backstory IS your story. Second, I wonder if it would be better to eliminate the prologue, folding anything vital into the epilogue. What do you think? Thanks for your comments, Mary. I think the epilogue idea will be better. My main concern was in introducing so many of the characters in the first chapter.
I think it might need to be reworked so that only the three sisters are introduced in the opening chapter and the extended families come in afterwards. Thanks for the refresher! I love how Katie Ganshert used them in her novels. They are full scenes — shorter than her other scenes, and more like vignettes — and I believe are written in present tense, which differs from the rest of the book, which is written in past tense. They are particularly poignant scenes that show something about the main character and why she is the way she is.
I found these particularly effective…and powerful. Jeez, it sure is nice when I read an article and can do a fist pimp when I get something right. I was worried about the flashback in the novel I currently signed with a publisher. In my opinion, it not only heightens the ending with a major reveal, but it also brings conclusion to the story. Congratulations on your publishing contract, Annalyse.
And congratulations that you held off the flashback until so late in the story. Obviously, the publisher thought you succeeded in your intended purpose for it. He went from the present to two different times in the past, those times being a couple of months apart. It was difficult to know which of those times he was flashing back to. And, there were multiple flashbacks, with the older one moving toward the later one.
As much of the book was in the past as the present. What kept you from abandoning it? The fact that I had written my baseball book which you saw chapters of , and was planning a sequel to, and so I figured I needed to stick it out and see how the experienced expert did it. I just had a flashback to an earlier blog you wrote a month ago and I noticed, yours was a perfect FB and you followed all your rules to a Tee. Practice what you preach.
I always say, well actually my dad said that a lot, he was a minister. End Note: I remember one of his sermons had a flash back to an earlier time, no wait! All his sermons were a flash back to an earlier time.
Never mind. Your flashback is confusing me, Donnie. Your bible knowledge is showing there. I once read a book in which the flashbacks were told in present tense, while the rest of the story was told in past tense.
I was enthralled. It gave the flashbacks such immediacy. I would never have thought to try such a thing. Pretty sure she did that. Lindsay mentioned them earlier. Katie obviously did the reverse-tense flashbacks effectively since three of you have commented about them in this one post. Or both. More so than the actual storyline did, apparently!
Your next story sounds wonderfully complex, Andrew. Three thousand words…sounds like an explosion of inspiration. They come to understand, if only subconsciously, that the author is in full control of the narrative and is using the flashbacks for a very specific artistic reason. My MC in my NaNo is amnesiac, so naturally he has flashbacks. But most of them are very short- generally something that happens brings to mind a buried memory of a similar situation in his past, usually just something someone said to him.
Ah, the joy of putting your character through a disillusionment arc…. Love it! This is one reason I heart amnesia stories so hard: the backstory subtext is everything. In real life, we have conversations where something the other person says triggers a flashback. In a novel, just as in real life, that can make the conversation take off in a whole new direction, revealing new information that builds the characters and develops the plot.
Ideally every scene should be so dramatic it can stand on its own as flash fiction. Beware of using the flashback to explain something that reduces the tension. It should raise more questions than it answers. Of course, sometimes these relivings are necessary in fiction, for the shape of the narrative, but we have to be careful not to stray from realism in indicating a character stops smack in the middle of a conversation, for example, to relive a lengthy experience blow by blow.
Two examples: firstly, a short story of about words was, in fact, three flashbacks to describe the three cities which, in fact, were two. I think I may turn this into something longer but I feel that if I do the whole story will flounder around like a shark in a garden pond. Secondly, I discovered what I consider to be the main use of flashbacks by accident.
I was writing a story aimed at children aged about It ended up as half a thesis of 44, words because I got carried away with a flashback but what I had written was the whole history of the main character, who is made of plastic and lives in a wooden house, along with a full description of his world.
The flashback gave me understanding and knowledge of who and what I was writing about. Then I understood much better, on a complete rewrite, that part of the story was suitable for year olds, part was suitable for year olds, and part of it was just waffle. It was an editing education and it ended up as a story for year olds. I now write two novels for each story … one containing the indulgent back story for my benefit, and the crisper version for my readers.
Perhaps one day I might publish them. There are a few flashbacks in my story. I was watching Forrest Gump the other night. That movie is almost all flashback. Most people probably have. As a reader, I almost always get bored when a flashback comes on. Honestly, I think the Golden Rule is the Golden Writing Rule too: do unto readers as you have other writers do unto you.
In my story. Actually, I think this sounds brilliant. Back when I was writing my first novel which will never see the light of day, for reasons I will make clear! That novel is resting peacefully on my hard drive. I do hope to use the protagonist in a better-constructed work someday because I really like him. But the rest of it? Honestly, you were a braver writer than I would have been.
My prologue of some words is a flash forward to give a brief introduction to the main characters and their future relationships, to get the readers guessing. My heart was pounding as if it might explode out of my chest. I retched and instantly felt faint. I had to get out of there…I planted myself face first on my bed and just started to bawl my eyes out into the pillow.
I needed to have his uneasiness linger, so the next day he mentions having a dream during an afternoon nap. Hannah ran over and dropped to her knees in front of me. I continued to wipe my face as I tried to collect myself. She was still kneeling, her face a foot in front of mine. Hannah stumbled back as her hands went to her face. I took a deep breath as I collected my thoughts. So she got in the car with this dude and left. Giving to someone you love, making them happy.
However, being in the cemetery is a vehicle for him to talk to his dad about various ancestors also buried there, and dad utters a statement which sets up another thread later on. Great example of how to do it well. I cry nearly every time I read my own words about it. I have one, that starts to give a hint as to why Merryn is doing the awful job of moving the crippled evil?
It started when she was tossed in prison when she spotted a white rat. Her, her mom, her people and the god are all intertwined in the plot and need to be told some of it. Using a visual symbol like the rat to lead in and out of a flashback is a nice technique. I just got a post in my Facebook feed that this year marks the 75th anniversary of Citizen Kane. That was the first movie that used flashbacks. The first scene is Charles Foster Kane dying. The rest of the film is told from the perspective of a reporter trying to find out what Rosebud is.
The reporter interviews people, and their memories are played out on the screen. It is considered a classic. Zane sat up straight and his eyes narrowed. His family was good people and ruled their kingdom with kindness and fairness. All was good and happy in the kingdom. Ruben was an only child and was pampered and spoiled by his doting parents.
Then one day the king fell and injured his leg, he had to stay in bed to heal. He was very depressed and so his loyal subjects brought him all kinds of gifts to cheer him. Alas, none really worked.
Until oneday a peasant from Hope Island brought the king a beautiful yellow bird. The bird would sing to the grumpy king, making him laugh and cheerful. Ruben was off on an adventure as he was a young healthy man. All was well until the king became ill, the royal healers could not understand what was wrong. Zane leaned closer to hear more. The only thing the king wanted was his yellow bird she was placed beside his bed where she sang to the king.
Then one day she stopped signing, the king got weaker as did the queen. The king died soon after as did the queen, but before they died something strange happened to their bodies. And it had been except for one island was missed. Zane shook his head in disbelief. Cara looked far away then slowly answered. Cara continued. He parents were dead as was everyone else with the exception of an old woman. She had hidden away in a small cave nearby when people started dying.
She told Ruben everything that happened. Ruben saw his parents graves, his kingdom in shambles, no peasants no servants all was lost. He flew into a rage and went to the island when the man had lived and he destroyed every living thing! Zane gave her the flask; she smiled weakly and took a deep drink before continuing on.
He took the blood from this man to use to make his own yellow fever to use as he would. He killed the man, but before the man died Ruben promised him he would destroy all of his descendants. So now you know why we must hurry and why she is so important to this cause. Ruben is very powerful, and he has had plenty of time to learn the dark arts of his crafts. His hatred has grown, as has his anger. He will not stop until he has destroyed all the realms.
He cares for no one and his heart is black as the night. Just after Jane has done some rather spectacular aerobatics with a re-entering spaceship I said this:. The ship began to sing with the vibration of a clean re-entry.
Jane flicked the display from sub-orbital to re-entry mode. Then, holding the stick lightly, she settled into the new trajectory. The yellow cross on the display wandered around inside the green box—the eighty-footer was running true and stable, finding its own way down into the atmosphere with little help from Jane.
Back home at Hallsfield Farm on Mercia, there was a lake. One winter it had frozen over. Only, this time, could she do it the other way up, so that she could see where she was going?
I use flashbacks as a way to kickstart my story. This brings about a good hook to entice further reading. The narrative continues as normal from there. I have been told to drop the first chapter by a rather aggressive editor but still feel it needs to be there as it has a job to do.
Now I feel a little lost. The main story runs from chapter two. Since the whole book is written first person, present tense I think I may have sidestepped a mine field. But these are always just pithy statements that fit as if the nemesis is actually in his head, commenting on the action. I never make it clear if this is a memory or something more sinister, though, and until now I would not have really thought of it as a flashback.
Curious also if his occasional references to his favorite, historical emperor Emperor Sinead, a martyr he admires or to the current, Juliana a tyrant he despises are actually flashbacks.
An effective one? Certainly pithy, which works for it. Just an example of how he pulls his memory and it becomes a character, talking to him, rather than a memory. A sort of sci-fi ghost or ensorcelment. Yes and no. But the flashback still has to be pertinent, engaging, and well-timed, just as it would be in any other type of narration. Thank you, these are enlightening.
I am usually so encouraged when I read your articles. Thank you for that. This one however, has me concerned. My wip is my first attempt at writing a novel, and I plan on using flashbacks for more than half of the story. It definitely moves the plot forward. In fact it kind of is the plot. The two stories just tie together so well going back and forth. The precautions in this article still apply, but not to quite the same degree.
More to the point, my description has given me the title for my next work: The Shark in the Garden Pond. Watch this space. This has been so helpful!
I, too, have been mentally crippled, thinking flashback is totally taboo. And wondering who would not penalize me for even asking. Enter someone who not only knows flashbacks can be great, but also knows how to know when and when not to use them.
My MC is deranged and at a point of extreme shock, he remembers something huge he had blocked from his memory. Something crucial to the plot. Something that is revealed near the end and solves the whole mystery. Something heart-wrenching that needs to be there, in the first place, and needs to stay in the background until HE realizes it. I love knowing I was right and the work can proceed!
Thanks so much for making me a better writer! I am writing a sword and sorcery book. My character was waylaid on the way to meet someone so that th e sorcerers could implant a false memory delaying her getting the actual intel.
I have the false memory as a dramatized flashback. It begins as a straight narrative, then she throws in a few comments about odd things and toward the end she eases into reality, mulling over the oddness and basically acting weird as she comes to reality. When the POV has a false recollection is there a better way to portray it? I like reading the long-road sort of novels of say John Irving or Dickens—the ones that cover twenty to thirty years without too much time travel aka flashes.
I feel the character maturing before your eyes slowly is a delight, and a deeper dive into who they are. Readers can all relate to being a teen. So why hold back on a long-road story showing and telling method if the authors have such compulsion to draft backstory? Maybe this long chronology topic is a different subject—not meant for the flashback topic. But I still wonder, when sitting with my pen and paper: are there others that like these long, plodding stories?
So you can imagine my consternation when flashbacks started taking over my WIP! But all that juicy backstory was so fun to write and seemed so necessary to get my protagonist — as well as several other characters including the antagonist — where they needed to be when the story began.
Eventually I just threw up my hands and accepted that the backstory wanted to be THE story and went with that. Though I do have the idea that my original story idea could be re-purposed as a sequel….
My book uses flashbacks to avoid overwhelming readers with too much information. I start in the middle of the story, then use flashbacks to fill in the gaps. You mentioned that if the backstory is more important than the main story, you should be telling the backstory. In the s, she submitted her novel Go Set a Watchman to publishers.
They rejected it, but one told her that flashbacks to the s would be a great story on its own. She pulled those segments out and rewrote them into To Kill a Mockingbird, which is now considered a classic. She published Go Set a Watchman 2 years ago, mainly because she needed money for medical bills. I have three reasons for my flashback. This needs to be established so he can evolve through his character arc.
I feel like they move the story forward. I wonder if I am fooling myself. I use flashbacks because my mc is a peasant who is joining a rebellion against the nobility. When he gets sick of the fighting he reminds himself of what the peasants have had to endure because of the nobility and it gives him the strength to go on. For instance one chapter shows her not leaving her relationship with a guy everyone tells her is bad for her, and you feel frustrated but the next chapter you see her as a 10 year old with her father and all the ways he made her feel worthless so you are able to see how and why she is the way she is and does the things she does.
Same with The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood: there flashbacks are triggered by artifacts and recounted through letters. In my memory though I have very compelling reasons to do so…in italics! I use another one where a character has to give a formal report. I mix her flashbacks in to not only facilitate her healing process, but also to drive her love story sub-plot forward.
These are just two examples that I can recall…oh yes, I also confess to using another one to cover the passage of time, explaining how and why my soldier ended up somewhere. What is this an example of? External analepsis B. Internal analepsis C. Consider the following example of flashback from F.
I graduated from New Haven in , just a quarter of a century after my father, and a little later I participated in that delayed Teutonic migration known as the Great War. I enjoyed the counter-raid so thoroughly that I came back restless. Instead of being the warm centre of the world, the Middle West now seemed like the ragged edge of the universe — so I decided to go East and learn the bond business.
What is the point of this flashback from the narrator Nick Carraway? There is no real point; Fitzgerald just wrote it because he thought he should. Home List of Literary Devices Citation. Definition of a Flashback In literature, a flashback is an occurrence in which a character remembers an earlier event that happened before the current point of the story. Answer to Question 1 Show Answer: B is the correct answer. Answer to Question 2 Show Answer: A is the correct answer.
Answer to Question 3 Show Answer: C is the correct answer.
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