Flashbacks Readers prefer real-time sequencing of events. Flashbacks interrupt the flow a story and jolt the reader out of the state of suspended disbelief that you have worked so hard to create in the beginning of your story. Keep flashbacks to a minimum or have none. If you see a real need to explain your character’s behavior in light of an earlier life experience then follow these three rules: 1. The flashback must follow a strong scene, either after the beginning of your book or following a later scene where the you feel the reader’s experience would be enriched by an in depth look at events shaping your character’s personality. Caution: Do not flashback to a character’s past before readers have a chance to get to know them. 2. Anchor the flashback in time and space. Let your reader know exactly how far back (30 years, 3 months, etc.) and where (a farm house in Iowa, a flat in the Bronx, etc.) 3. Use verb tense to signal your flashback. If you write in the popular third person, past tense: then use the past perfect to signal a flashback. [John had started his life in a brownstone flat, on Third Street in the Bronx. He had grown up on the mean streets of New York City.] It is best to keep your flashback as short as possible, but in longer scenes use the past perfect a couple of times at the beginning and revert to the regular past tense in the middle. Then signal the end of the flashback with another [This experience had changed him.] Caution: Sequence all of your writing in correct order of time. Do not inject an event that happened before at the end of a sequence. For Example: John opened the door and peered into the darkened room. He had walked down the long dark hallway looking for that door. After his eyes adjusted to the dark, he could see a man sleeping on a mattress. (This type of flashback is jarring to the reader and should always be avoided.) The same caution applies to major events in your story. Always have events taking place in the order of their occurrence. Improper sequencing of events, scenes, and chapters can jar your readers out of the flow of your story. The rules were made to broken and some authors do a great job of weaving flashbacks into their stories. Stephan King uses flashbacks extensively and I admire and respect his work. “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that” Stephen King.
Posted on: Wed, 22 Oct 2014 10:39:45 +0000
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