Storytelling: Writing Flashbacks

Today we are going to talk about the use of flashbacks in our fiction stories. Flashbacks are a common writing technique used by writers of every strip. They can be an effective way to give the reader more information about the character that is relevant to the story. However, there is a good way and a bad way to use flashbacks.

What is a flashback?

A flashback is a scene from the past that conveys relevant information needed for the reader to understand the character and/or scene better. This writing technique is often used to communicate information that can’t really be relayed through other means due to constraints imposed by the story itself. Most of the time those constraints have to do with the length of the story but other times telling the whole backstory is not good option.

For example, in the book ‘Wicked’ by Gregory McGuire, while on a train ride to Shiz University, Glinda reflects on how she managed to gain entrance into somewhat prestigious school.

She was seventeen. The whole town of Frottica had seen her off. The first girl from the Pertha Hills to be accepted at Shiz! She had written well in the entrance exams, a mediation on Learning Ethics from the Natural World. (“Do Flowers Regret Being Plucked for a Bouquet? Do the Rains Practice Abstinence? Can Animals Really Choose to Be Good? Or: A Moral Philosophy of Springtime.”) She had quoted excessively from the Oziad, and her rapturous prose had captivated the board of examiners. A three-year fellowship to Crage Hall. It wasn’t one of the better colleges-those were still closed to female students. But it was Shiz University.

The above example works better for the novel because to actually write the pages showing what Glinda does to get into college is not necessary and would do the book as a whole a disservice.

Flashbacks can also be used to remind the reader of information previously divulged but which they may have forgotten in the course of reading the story. This is a very real concern when it comes to long novels. Most people do not read a novel in one sitting and usually need to be gently reminded of important information.

Later on in the book, Elphaba’s memory of a strange meeting with the headmistress of Shiz University is triggered by something her nanny says about her (Elphaba’s) sister Nessarose.

The word adept sent chills down Elphie’s spine. Was Nessarose even now responding to some sort of spell that Madame Morrible had placed on her, those foggy years ago in the parlor at Crage hall?

The purpose of this flashback is to bring back to mind the scene where the girls appear to have been put under a spell while in the headmistress’s office several chapters beforehand.

How Best to Use Flashbacks

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Flashbacks are best used sparingly and as a way to enhance the story and/or pass along useful information. Here are a few tips to help you make the most of any flashback that you choose to include in your story.

Respect the Time Period

This is especially necessary if you are flashing back to a time when the character was significantly younger. If the character is in her fifties and she’s flashing back to a time when she was in her early twenties, she had better be wearing bell bottoms and a flower power t-shirt if she is an American female.

This is because her early twenties would have been lived during the seventies. She would have had different goals, ideals, and a different sense of fashion than at her current age.

Respect the Location

Just as the flashback should fit in with the time period in which it happened, it should also fit in with the location. If the character is thinking of a time where they ate at a restaurant in France, the flashback should have them eating French cuisine and hearing the French language spoken all around them. Anything that strays from your reader’s expectation will need to be explained.

Respect the Story

Flashbacks slow down, and even stop, the action in a story. Therefore it is important to make sure the information received in the flashback is relevant.

Throughout the book ‘Wicked’, Elphaba continually reflects on the nature of good and evil whether people are born with particular tendencies or develop them over time. So the second example, where Elphaba remembers the meeting in the headmistress’s office, actually contributes to Elphaba’s unease about where she fits in life.

Also avoid using a flashback during a time of intense action or emotion in the story as this will disrupt the flow of the story and frustrate your readers.

Respect the Verb Tense

If you are using present tense verbs to describe present actions, they you’ll want to switch to simple past verb tense when writing the flashback. If you are using simple past verbs for the majority of your story then you’ll want to use past perfect verb tenses.

When used correctly, flashbacks can enhance your story by giving them a richness and depth that emulates real life.