On Writing Flashbacks

Photo credit: NativeBacon on Flickr
It’s been a while since I’ve answered an e-mail with a blog post, probably because most of the time I’ve already blogged about the topic, but every once in a while one of you fabulous readers points out a topic I haven’t covered. Yay! 

Today's lovely e-mail is...
My question is what is your opinion about flashbacks? When and when not should you use them-or should you use them at all? And what should you do and not do?  
Some people I have talked to said that they dislike using and reading flashbacks, but I have found that I cannot get rid of the flashbacks without completely changing the story, and making longer than I wanted.
Flashbacks! So this may actually surprise you guys, but I actually like flashbacks…to a point. 

As with most writing-related topics, the key is balance. I think, depending on the situation, flashbacks can serve as a really great way to show some background information without info-dumping, particularly because the whole point of the flashback is to show the action. I tend to use flashbacks in my own writing quite a bit for that purpose. 

However, if you’re not careful, you can definitely overdo it. 

I’ve compared stylistic elements in writing to spices in a stew in the past, and I definitely consider flashbacks one of those stylistic spices. A dash of flashbacks here and a splash of flashbacks there can be a super effective way of revealing information about our characters backgrounds in a way that feels immediate and interesting. Too much of it, however, and the flashbacks lose their effect and the rest of the manuscript can drown in nostalgia. 

So when should you use flashbacks? Personally, I think the best use of flashbacks are to reveal a very significant event in your character’s life in a way that feels as important and immediate as the rest of the plot. These should be events that the readers need to know to really understand the plot and your characters. It also needs to be an event that your character remembers, assuming you’re not writing from an omniscient POV. 

So, for example, your protagonist’s birth is probably not going to be a good flashback because a) if we’re in your protagonist’s POV, they’re not going to remember it and b) it’s probably not an event significant enough to flash back to. PROBABLY. I mean, there are always exceptions, but anyway. 

An example of a potentially good flash back is a traumatic event from your protagonist’s background—one that has relevance to the plot, of course. 

Basically, when thinking about writing flashbacks, you want to ask yourself, is this event/information absolutely vital to the plot? and is this the most effective way to show this information? If you answer “I don’t know” or “no” to either of those, you may want to do some more brainstorming before jumping into a flashback. 

So there you go! Keep your flashbacks balanced, don’t overdue them and make sure they’re vital to the plot, and I say happy flashbacking. 

Do you use flashbacks in your writing? How do you feel about writing or reading them? 

Twitter-sized bites: 
Do you use flashbacks in your writing? Writer @Ava_Jae shares some tips for making them effective. (Click to tweet)  
How do you feel about writing or reading flashbacks? Join the discussion at @Ava_Jae's blog. (Click to tweet

18 comments:

Jim Heskett said...

For me, a flashback is a story within the story. It has its own beginning middle, and end. So i'll add some cliffhangers, separate the flashback at those cliffhangers (like act 1, 2, and 3 of the flashback) and then sprinkle those chunks throughout the longer story. Feels less boring to the reader if their eager to know what's happeneing in both the current story and the flashback story

Ava Jae said...

Huh. I don't think I've ever written a prolonged flashback like that, but that's a really interesting idea!

Leandra said...

The only time flashbacks annoy me is when I'm super invested in a scene and then I'm getting taken away from it. =( But other than that, bring 'em on!

Ismail N @ DLSL said...

I didn't know that there's such a tool in windows. Got to look into that. TQ for the info.

Ava Jae said...

That's a good point about timing—I think you're right that if they're in the wrong spot, they can be distracting or annoying. Definitely important, I think, to pick a natural break to insert a flashback so it transitions over nicely.

Ava Jae said...

Sure thing! :)

Robin Red said...

I like when flashbacks give only previews of the past, and when they're spaced between the declining action of two scenes. They're especially great when a character's personal arc parallels a similar problem in the past.

Daley James Francis said...

There has to be a point to them, or they are a waste of time and can pull the reader out of the immediate story. I love it when a first-person narrative dips into the narrators past experiences to reveal something about themselves or to tell a story. It works beautifully in films, too.

Ava Jae said...

Great points! I agree that they tend to work well in declining action (rather than pulling us away from something very exciting). Parallel flashbacks can also be very effective, when appropriate. Thanks, Robin!

Ava Jae said...

Another great point! Everything in a novel needs to have a purpose, and flashbacks are definitely no exception. And I also agree they work very nicely in movies. :)

RoweMatthew said...

Watching anime killed my love of flashbacks. Hey lets flashback to that thing that happened last episode that maybe people have forgotten and is vaguely relative to events now. Hey lets flashback to that cool thing that happened at the start of the episode. Hey lets flashback to how embarrassed the character was two seconds ago!


Grrrr.


Still, I use them a little though I have chosen to use them as prologues mainly, rather than break the flow of the main novel. Maybe I'm overly cautious, since people probably hate prologues more than flashbacks.

RoweMatthew said...

I need to do that, but I got lost when I was swamped by all its amazing features.

Ava Jae said...

I've had it for nearly a year, but I definitely haven't figured out it's full potential yet. It's a pretty complex program. :)

Ava Jae said...

Yeah, I tend to think prologues are more regularly problematic than flashbacks, but they CAN work. Sometimes.


Your anime experience was amusing to read. I don't watch anime, but I can definitely see how that'd tire out any love for flashbacks you may have had. Ha ha.

David Fuller said...

I love Scrivener and use it for all my fiction writing. Hadn't figured out how to do this yet! Thanks so much for explaining it. I have JUST the project in mind for using this feature :)

Ava Jae said...

You're so welcome, David! It's a fantastic feature and can serve as an awesome motivation booster, to boot. :)

Also, Scrivener is the best.

Antara Man said...

I am new with scrivener and for now I only waste time trying to figure things out. For all my writing I have used word and evernote but evernote is better for smaller projects such as blog posts. Is it truly paying off the time for learning scrivener? How much time did you spend on learning?
Everybody recommends scrivener for its ability to convert to kindle format. I wonder, Is it possible to convert a word format into mobi.file?

Ava Jae said...

I do think the payoff is worth it, because it's a fantastic program. I didn't really spend too much time though (but I'm a quick learn). I'd recommend looking at the tutorial videos on their site, because they're not too long and they're very helpful.


As far as Word to mobi, I think it's POSSIBLE, but it requires manual formatting and external programs.

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