Writing flashbacks can flummox the best of us.
Writers will ask questions like:
Do you use flashback liberally, sparingly, or not at all?
Can you have too many flashbacks?
How do you indicate a flashback in your story?
In this episode, you’ll learn how flashback differs from backstory, and some do’s and don’ts of writing effective, resonating flashback.
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Episode at a glance:
[02:35] What is flashback?
Learn what we mean by flashback including 2 main things that make flashback different from backstory.
The Don’ts
[07:01] Don’t use flashback soon after your opening.
Let’s get grounded in the present. We need to know something about your character’s present circumstances in order to know why the flashback is relevant.
[07:54] Avoid flashback in a major action scene.
When the stakes are high, your character would be laser focused on the present danger or the urgency of this moment. He’d likely be thinking ahead. How is he going to get out of this danger? What should I do next? Your character is thinking his or her way through each scene. But in a major action scene, he won’t be ruminating about his past.
[09:19] Don’t make flashbacks too long…or too short.
A flashback’s length depends on its significance.
[10:34] Don’t crowd flashbacks close together.
Are your flashbacks clustered together? Or are they spread strategically throughout your story?
The Do’s
[11:46] Make the flashback relevant.
It happened in the past but has implications in the present. It tells us why he wants what he wants, and why he believes what he believes.
[13:14] Trigger the flashback.
Something happens in the present that triggers a memory, then something from the flashback launches your character back into the present.
[18:14] Write in scene.
It should feel immediate to your reader. and it should have conflict or tension.
[23:13] Transition us into and out of the past.
A flashback involves a shift in both time and place. So you need to think of transitions so that the reader has a seamless reading experience.
Link mentioned in this episode:
Episode 50: How Much Backstory Does Your Reader Really Need To Know?
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