How do divide memories from story

[Zipotes]

I've reached a part in my book where the MC is getting her memories back slowly, in flashes. She'll get a memory then return to reality and use the new insight...whatever.
What would be the best way to divide things up during a memory (everything is first person POV) so it's clear to the reader that it's a memory or not. I was thinking italics or slight indentation, but some of the memories are very long and that might get annoying. Currently, I'm just putting a page break with asteriks when the memory starts and again when it's over but not sure if that's sufficient enough.
Any suggestions?
Thanks

[Greenify13]

I use the * * * at the beginning and end.
I think its 3 tabs in *tab*tab*
I like how it breaks up past and present to the character/story...
I would stick with it.

[kuwisdelu]

Yeah, italics get annoying if they're too long.

A normal scene break is fine. Whatever you do for those. I just hit "return" twice. If you happen to double space, maybe throw in an asterisk or two for good measure.

[Stunted]

Is it possible to do it such that the memories don't have to be cut off? Like:

At the familiarity of the book in her hand, she paused. That's right, she'd seen it the night that John had bla bla bla.

Something along those lines? I tend to find it annoying when things like that are real cut off.

[Greenify13]

Is it possible to do it such that the memories don't have to be cut off? Like:

At the familiarity of the book in her hand, she paused. That's right, she'd seen it the night that John had bla bla bla.

Something along those lines? I tend to find it annoying when things like that are real cut off.
Yes, good point, but it does depend upon the length of the memory I think. If its a sentence (Italic) If its a paragraph or shorter (keep with text) if it is going to be longer then a paragraph (I would seperate it)

[wandergirl]

Yes, good point, but it does depend upon the length of the memory I think. If its a sentence (Italic) If its a paragraph or shorter (keep with text) if it is going to be longer then a paragraph (I would seperate it)

Agreed. That's how I do it, at least. Just make it apparent in your text that it's a memory, either with a lead-in from the section before, or details within the first couple sentences of the memory that reveal it's a flashback.

And nix on the italics -- they're too affected. Plus, hard to read.

[ChaosTitan]

How long are these flashes?

If they're just a few paragraphs, you can probably get away with italics. If it goes on for several pages, use a scene break.

[Zipotes]

Thanks, I guess I'll stick with the astrik then. The memories are usually at least a couple pages long. For shorter letters, etc. I use italics.

[Dave Veri]

I've got the same problem with my book. One reader said it "got choppy" and another reader said it became a "mess and did not follow." The second reader is a publishing heavyweight, so I took her seriously. In analyzing that second half of my book I saw that some flashbacks can be organically placed because they follow the flow of the narrative. Others did not, so I cut them back to the bare minimum to make my point about the MC's past and made dialog out of them. People tell stories to each other. The give and take between dialog members also helped the stories come alive and to put them into the flow of the main story. I also considered using them in letters, some may fit that way. One or two I cut, put into another file, and will use them in a story or another novel sometime. I try to stick to serving the main story and the MC best by giving the reader an honest chance at it. I try to write the "imagination of the story" and not fall in love with the words I've written. Good luck.

[Zipotes]

Another problem I face with this is that the memories are from the MC's previous life, so it's really another person, different name, different feelings, different history, etc. that I examine with each memory.
It's a major part of the book, but I want it to be as understandable as possible. I lead into it well and discuss each memory afterwards with the MC. I hope it works. It's a challenge I'm enjoying.