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How to properly work flashbacks in a book?



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Thu Nov 06, 2014 3:47 am
JasonMorris says...



Hey YWS, my question is: How should I incorporate a flashback properly into a book? My idea is that when an event in the present mirrors the past event, or is a result of that past event, then the flashback should be shown. When do you think a flashback should be incorporated?
  





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Thu Nov 06, 2014 3:59 am
Rosendorn says...



Wherever they work.

As much as it would be nice to give you a firmer answer, there basically isn't one. If you can make something work, it works. This is regardless of how many "rules" the writer breaks to make it work. So long as the majority of readers go "hey I enjoy this" you've succeeded.

That idea sounds cool, although my one caution would be not to pull out the flashbacks too early, as in try to have at least one scene of pure forward momentum and/or minimal flashbacks. When a story begins with a flashback, I wonder why the story didn't start there with forward momentum. However, I'd not delay flashbacks too much because you're building a whole structure of flashbacks into the book, therefore you need to establish the pattern early on.

As for general mechanics of flashbacks:

Italics and tense are the two most common ways to indicate flashbacks. What method you use depends on what you're going for, and when flashbacks are used. Ie- if they're separate flashback scenes, or the parallels are slipped within the scene.

You have to decide if you're going to have flashbacks within the scene, or as separate scenes. Both have advantages/disadvantages. Within a scene you can draw the parallels a lot faster and it's less likely to feel repetitive, but they're a lot shorter snippets. If they're two separate scenes, you get maximum contrast but you run the risk of repetition.

If they're separate scenes, whether or not you use tense depends on what you're going for, visually. Do you want the past and present to be immediately differentiable, or do you want readers to pick up on a flashback only when they read it? I'd not suggest changing tenses if you're going for in-scene flashbacks, simply because it's a lot easier to look like a simple mistake (especially if the flashbacks are short).

I hope that answers your question!
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Thu Nov 06, 2014 4:38 am
Kale says...



I've personally never been a fan of flashbacks mirroring events in the present because they (with a few really good exceptions) tend to be really repetitive and redundant. Unless the repetition and redundancy is required for a clear reason (such as a core theme of the story being a cyclical repetition of history), then I'd recommend avoiding flashbacks that are mirrors of the present.

Flashbacks are very useful in the right circumstances though, such as when a character is reliving a traumatic moment. Instead of just telling us the character is reliving the moment, you can show it to us, and it can really make a character even more real to the reader. They're also useful for showing information that the characters don't have, but that the reader needs to know (mmm delicious dramatic irony).

Ultimately, as Rosey said, it comes down to how well you use them in the story and how well they go over with your audience.
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