Time, like an ever-rolling stream,
Bears all its sons away;
They fly forgotten, as a dream
Dies at the opening day.
–Isaac Watts
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We live in a four-dimensional world. For most of us, the three dimensions of space can be manipulated at will because we can move around and change our position on the Earth. We can climb the stairs in our homes, sail across oceans, or fly through the air. However, we have no control over the fourth dimension: time.
Albert Einstein famously told us that time is relative, and I sort of understand that. But the clock on my office wall doesn’t know anything about relativity. It just ticks away, recording one second after another. And despite what our friends in quantum physics tell us, my time goes in only one direction. Yes, I’ve heard of Kurt Gödel, worm holes, and theories that say traveling backwards in time is possible, but to my knowledge, no one has accomplished that feat. I know I haven’t. So, for the purposes of this post, we’ll use this definition from dictionary.com:
Chronology – noun – the sequential order in which past events occur.
Unless you’re writing a time-travel fantasy book, the events in the story you’re creating occur in a chronological sequence. But the telling of it doesn’t have to. Authors are a lucky bunch because we can tell a story in any way we want to. Even in a non-fantasy novel, we can take time and twirl it around our little fingers, make it do somersaults, or leap forward and backward in great bounds.
But why would we do that? Well, to keep the reader interested, of course. And how do we do it? One way is by the use of flashbacks.
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What is a flashback scene?
Smartblogger.com defines a flashback as
“a literary device where a story breaks away from the present narrative to delve into the past, by showing us a past event or a scene from the past.”
According to novelist James Hynes in his Great Courses lectures entitled Writing Great Fiction,
“One of the fundamental principles of plotting is the withholding of information.… A plot is the mechanism by which the writer decides what information to withhold, what information to reveal, and in what order.”
If the reader knows there was some disturbance in the protagonist’s past, but doesn’t know the full story, he/she will be compelled to keep reading to find out. When the author decides to reveal that fact, it may be effective to use a flashback scene.
The Power of a Flashback Scene
According to writingmastery.com,
“The beauty of flashbacks is that they give writers the freedom to fully show instead of tell the details of a traumatic or significant event in a character’s history, at the moment when it will be most powerful.”
How to move from the present to the past
Transitioning to a flashback scene can be achieved by a character remembering something from his/her past. Or it can be a break in the story that presents some important background information that is crucial to the narrative. In either case, it’s important that the reader understand where he/she is in the story. To that end, transition can be accomplished in several ways:
A change in verb tense: If the story is written in the past tense, switching to past perfect will clue the reader in.
The use of italics: Although some readers don’t like long passages in italics, I’ve seen this device used and found it effective.
A specific date: A flashback can be a separate chapter or scene that is clearly dated to indicate a previous time.
However you decide to handle a flashback, it’s a device that can add strength to your story.
A Word of Caution
In his book Plot & Structure, James Scott Bell warns us about the overuse of this plotting device.
“There is an inherent plot problem when you use flashbacks—the forward momentum is stopped for a trip to the past…. If such information can be dropped in during a present-moment scene, that’s always a better choice.”
But if you feel the flashback scene is necessary, then JSB advises to make sure it works as a scene.
“Write it as a unit of dramatic action, not as an information dump.”
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Examples of flashbacks in literature
The entire book is a flashback
Most of the articles I read about flashback scenes describe a character who remembers something, and the flashback scene ensues from that. One example is The Catcher in the Rye which starts with Holden Caulfield’s first-person account of his current situation. “If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like,…”
Then the second paragraph begins with a transition to a flashback: “Where I want to start telling is the day I left Pencey Prep.” The rest of the book is a continuation of the flashback.
Other examples of stories written almost entirely in flashback are Wuthering Heights and To Kill a Mockingbird.
Flashback scenes sprinkled throughout the book
Another type of flashback is used by Jane Harper in her debut novel, The Dry. The story begins when Federal Agent Aaron Falk returns to his hometown to attend a funeral. As the story progresses, we learn that Falk left his hometown as a child after being suspected of the murder of one of his friends. As the reader gets more and more intrigued about Falk’s history, Harper fills in backstory through the use of flashbacks dropped in strategic chapters to show Falk and his friends as youngsters. These scenes are written in italics so it’s easy to know when you’re reading a flashback scene. The main narrative is written in Falk’s third-person POV, but the flashback POVs vary.
A single flashback scene to describe a life-changing moment in the plot
I included a flashback scene in my latest novel, Lacey’s Star. When Cassie Deakin’s uncle regains consciousness after being attacked and seriously injured by thieves, he explains that the assailants stole a package he had recently received from his unreliable and long-lost Vietnam war buddy, Sinclair. I wanted to include a flashback scene at that point in the narrative as a powerful display of Sinclair’s drunken despair changing to hope when he finds what he thinks is proof that his young sister was murdered 40 years earlier. In order to ensure the reader understood it was a flashback, I subtitled the chapter “Alaska – Three Weeks Earlier” and wrote it in italics. The novel is written in Cassie’s first-person POV, but the flashback is in Sinclair’s third-person.
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And just in case those guys are right about time travel, here’s a clock that might be useful:
* * *
So, TKZers. What do you think about flashback scenes? Have you used them in your stories? What’s your opinion of the power of the flashback?
* * *
When Sinclair Alderson wakes up from a drunken binge to find himself in the home of a kind stranger, he pours out his despair over the death of his young sister 40 years earlier. Only then does he discover the note that could identify her killer.
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The first rule of flashbacks is: try to avoid them, primarily for the reason Kay mentions: The main story comes to a screeching halt. Also, quite a few readers get confused by them.
The second rule is: Use good transitions, including past perfect for the first and last few verbs of the flashback passage:
Opening transition: “Jorge took the picture from the mantel. It showed Felicity as an eighteen-year-old vamp, taking him back to that night in Darjeeling. She’d [past perfect] been swimming naked in the darkened hotel pool. ‘Jorge,’ she’d said, bursting into his bungalow. ‘Dry my back.’ He dried her back. . .” [rest of flashback, past tense]
Closing Transition: Similarly, please reorient us when you end a flashback. Again, note the transition back into past perfect at the end, then reversion to simple past tense for the present action:
“…She slapped him enthusiastically and stalked away. He’d never forgotten that, could still feel his face burning after the slap, hear the bungalow door as it had slammed shut behind her. Jorge started to put the photograph back on the mantel, but flung it into the wastebasket, instead.”
Flashbacks are useful for introducing a new character by showing the history of how they met the MC. Or they can be used to explain the MC, her motivation, or how the situation she’s in came about. They can also reveal the existence of a secret to be divulged later in the main story thread.
The third rule of flashbacks is: Never put a flashback in another flashback. I’ve seen this done a few times. It’s reader abuse!
Good morning, JG.
I agree the transitions have to be done well both into and out of the flashback so the reader always knows where he/she is in the story. That’s one reason I like the use of italics. It’s a visual clue that leaves no doubt about where you are in the story.
A flashback inside another flashback? Oh, no!
My first response to flashbacks is the whole Don Corleone “origin” story in the middle of Mario Puzo’s _The Godfather_. In essence it became another novel within the novel, and, if I may, seems to be a case of knowing the protagonist’s backstory well enough that it itself became worth telling “at length.” And, as I recall (I read it when I was in late middle school), it came where the forward action took a pause, and led or leaned into Michael Corleone’s rising to the top of the family, so the “interruption” wasn’t a much of a roadblock (or “speedbump”) as I’ve found other, less “graceful” remembrances…
Good morning, George.
A well-done flashback can add a lot of backstory without being an info dump. It’s been a (long) while since I read The Godfather. I should revisit it.
Have a great week.
“…we can take time and twirl it around our little fingers, make it do somersaults, or leap forward and backward in great bounds.” What a great description, Kay, and your cool clock illustrates those somersaults.
When possible, I like to use a physical signal as a way into and out of a flashback. Simple examples: a character enters his/her childhood home, or gets out of a car, or crosses a bridge where a significant event took place.
Right now, I’m reading a manuscript where the author uses flashbacks really well. When the character faces the doorway of a closet, it triggers flashbacks of childhood when his older brother would lock him in a closet. Each subsequent flashback reveals a bit more of the secret trauma that caused the character’s PTSD. Backing away from the doorway signals the end of the flashback w/o revealing the whole secret.
I look forward to the next flashback to learn more about the event. This device of breaking the flashback into several small pieces stretched over the book builds suspense really effectively.
Have a productive writing week!
Good morning, Debbie.
I have you to thank for my cool clock since I never knew such things existed until you showed me a similar clock you own.
The ms you’re reading sounds interesting. Filling in a little bit at a time on a character’s history is a nice way to keep the reader in suspense. It sounds similar to the approach Jane Harper took in The Dry.
Have a great writing week yourself!
Love the idea of the closet, Debbie!
Any tangible object can serve as “a magic doorway” to a previous event–a music box, a photo, a letter, even a gun.
While I take under advisement the advice to use caution when using a flashback, I love them. Flashing back is normal every day human nature–yesterday’s post about recalling key moments of our past lives and using them to fuel emotion in our stories was a perfect example of that.
As long as the flashback is clearly entered and exited and comes at an opportune time in the book without slowing down/holding back the story, they are a fantastic tool.
Good morning, Brenda.
Nice insight — Jim’s TKZ post yesterday demonstrated how we all remember events that shaped us. Using that kind of recollection in a story can be very effective.
Enjoy your writing week.
I’m a VERY linear person, and I don’t like flashbacks. Not to say I’ve never used them, but I try to find another way to get that information across if it can work for the story.
I read a book recently that kept bouncing back and forth in time–by a very well-known and loved by me (except for this book) author. My brain can’t handle it. Chapter headings only work if I read them and remember them if I have to put the book down mid-chapter.
That being said, Kay gives excellent advice and examples for those who use flashbacks.
Good morning, Terry.
You make a great point about putting a book down in mid-chapter. That’s another reason I like the use of italics for flashbacks. You always know where you are in the story.
Have a good week.
I agree that italics are a useful tool for identifying flashback (FB) passages. I use italics for inner dialogue, which pretty much means I can’t use them for FB in the same story. If I did, I would still provide clear transitions, per Rule 2, and I would not let the FB run longer than a page, per the general concept that readers don’t like long passages in italics.
I enjoy flashbacks.
Along the lines of JG’s comments (introducing a new character), George’s comments (a novel within a novel), and Debbie’s previous advice on paying attention to the villain, I have used flashbacks as alternating chapters to build the tension of the villain while catching up to the time frame of the rest of the book.
Have a great day!
Good morning, Steve.
Alternating chapters to fill in a villain’s backstory sounds like intriguing idea. The reader gets to know the villain as the story progresses.
We’re having an “Ohio” weather day here in Memphis. Several inches of snow on the ground and it’s still coming down. It’s a good day for writing.
Have a great week.
IIRR, Colin Dexter uses alternating villain/hero chapters in his novels.
I try to avoid flashbacks. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever used one since my debut. Long passages in italics bother me as a reader, but including a flashback as a separate chapter (as you described) would work.
Good subject, Kay. Too many new writers fall prey to the flashback. Your advice should help.
Good morning, Sue.
As I was researching this topic, I came to a greater appreciation of how many different ways there are to tell a story. But you make a good point about new authors being overly enamored with flashbacks — a word to the wise.
Have a good week.
If used effectively, and at the right moment, flashbacks can be very powerful, especially when it’s in delivering information and past emotion to satisfy story questions the reader wants answers to. Tana French is a master of flash backs in her Dublin Murder Squadnovels, picking just the right moments for a flashback.
That said, I’ve never used one in my novels, instead opting as JSB advises to deliver the information in a present moment in scene. I find that works well, for me. But, a well-executed flashback can be a very powerful tool.
Thanks for tackling this topic today, and in very fine fashion! Happy writing!
Good morning, Dale.
I was thinking of Tana French as I wrote this post. I’ve read several of her Dublin Murder Squad novels, I especially liked In the Woods, and I remember there were several flashback scenes in that book.
I suppose I think of flashbacks as another tool in the toolbox. Not necessary, but it’s there if an author chooses to use it to build the story.
Have a wonderful week.
As a reader, I don’t mind flashbacks. They bring the story to screeching halt, true, especially if used early in a story, but if they’re used later in a story, they can be something to look forward to. The reader knows there’s going to be a big reveal explaining the secret or a past injury a character has.
Hi Priscilla.
I agree. If used well, the flashback can give the reader a more enjoyable experience.
Write on!
Newer writers should avoid them at all costs because getting them right is very difficult, and they are a plot and pace landmine.
Good point, Marilynn. We should put a label on chapters in our writing craft books that deal with flashbacks: “Use With Caution!”
Thanks for the insight.
I’ve used flashbacks in my novels sparingly. Like you said, they are a tool in the toolbox. I rarely put them in italics though. Like you italics are hard for me to read if the passage is more than a paragraph.
And the snow is still coming down here an hour east of you. You know, you could’ve kept it over there in Memphis…
Hi Patricia.
It’s a tough call on how to effectively show the flashback. I know some people are bothered by italics that extend to more than a paragraph.
We’re getting more snow than was forecast, and I’d be happy to send it all over to you. However, there is one thing I’m grateful for when we get snow here in Memphis: that we don’t live in Wisconsin anymore where a foot of snow is just a dusting.
Oh, and stay warm!
I’ve read novels where current and past events are depicted in alternate chapters…a bit confusing. My current WIP, The Bourbon Conspiracy (a thriller), occurs present day, but is unquestionably affected by forgotten and unknown events that occured in 1882.
First 12 chapters I plan to drop all the seemingly unrelated hints to the reader, make them wonder why they matter to the story, and then at the right moment in the present, step back in time, tell that story in its entirety over maybe 3-4 chapters (which will finally reveal to the reader, what happened and why it affects the current day conflict.) Then return for good to the present and ramp up the tension as the looming present day conflict unfolds . . . greed, conspiracy, murder, a small town against a powerful Russian mobster. I just have to make sure the 4-chapter flashback doesn’t interrupt the forward flow of the main plot. Your thoughts?
Three or four chapters in FB sounds like a lot. But you can get away with it if you don’t bore or confoozle the reader. Make sure the transitions are clearly demarked. Minimize data dumps and telling, maximize action.
Follow your plan. When done, go through the FB material and tighten it mercilessly.
Ray,
Your plan of having the reader wonder what certain events have to do with the story, then opening the door to the past sounds like a good idea to me. Like JG suggests, it all depends on how well you dazzle the reader with the flashback.
“greed, conspiracy, murder…” What’s not to love?