Flashback 'grammar'

DeaK · Jan 27, 2011

I need help, here.

What's the etiquette for going into flashbacks? As far as I know they are just introduced by using the past perfect in a few sentences, but other than that, they are written in the same prose as the rest.

My concern is that readers might not realize it is a flashback – I find myself wanting to do such silly things as starting a new scene for the flashback and putting the dialogue in the flashback between single quotation marks (to offset it from the 'regular' prose). That would be wrong to do, right? I'm just being a little anxiety-ball of a writer, right?

Also I'm not a fan of using italics for flashbacks, so that is not an option.

Anybody know of any other ways to differentiate flashbacks? Who thinks it's a bad idea?

RobJ · Jan 27, 2011

How is it done in the books you've read?

DeaK · Jan 27, 2011

RobJ said:
How is it done in the books you've read?

Unfortunately I have recently moved and am without a lot of books right now. I tend to loan from the library also, so I can't just go to my own shelves.

I don't usually notice technical stuff like that when I read. More rhythm, pace, character development, etc.. However, I think it normally is done with just the switch of the verb tense for a little bit. I am not sure though, and that is why I am asking. I can imagine a new scene (blank line) being called for, but I don't remember if I have ever seen this in other novels.

Jamesaritchie · Jan 28, 2011

The best flashbacks are the ones readers don't even notice. Good writers slide into and out of flashbacks so readers aren't slowed down, aren't pulled out of the story. The reason flashbacks have a bad name is because too many writers do differentiate them, usually with with italics or breaks.

DeaK · Jan 28, 2011

Jamesaritchie said:
The best flashbacks are the ones readers don't even notice. Good writers slide into and out of flashbacks so readers aren't slowed down, aren't pulled out of the story. The reason flashbacks have a bad name is because too many writers do differentiate them, usually with with italics or breaks.

Okay, that's a great answer! Thanks very much James.

I really hadn't looked at it that way – in terms of the technicalities getting in the way, or slowing readers down, pulling them out of the story – but you are absolutely right.

Thanks again

maestrowork · Jan 28, 2011

It's all in context. And usually all you need is one or two past perfect tense to establish it's a flashback:

"She waited at the bus stop. She had walked into him the day before. He looked great, even after ten years...."

Like JAR said, it should be pretty slick and unnoticeable.

If you must set off a long passage or chapter for a flashback, then you can either explicitly say "ten months ago" or whatever. Some people like to italicize a big block of flashback but I won't recommend that -- italics are hard to read. Some people also set off the flashback in a different tense (present tense, if the main story is in past tense). Again, there's a lot of ways to set off a chuck of flashback.

No matter what, the "grammar" is still the same.

DeaK · Jan 28, 2011

Thanks Maestro. I'm happy to have your opinion on board

pinkrobot · Jan 28, 2011

If I want to subtly differentiate between the main story and a flashback, I slightly change the tense. So, if the story is written in past tense ("I took a break from studying"), I would write the flashback in past perfect tense ("I had taken a break from studying"). That's just one example, but that's usually how I write my flashback sequences.

maestrowork · Jan 28, 2011

pinkrobot said:
If I want to subtly differentiate between the main story and a flashback, I slightly change the tense. So, if the story is written in past tense ("I took a break from studying"), I would write the flashback in past perfect tense ("I had taken a break from studying"). That's just one example, but that's usually how I write my flashback sequences.

You needed past perfect to establish the chronological order anyway. But you shouldn't keep using it in the rest of your flashback. Once you've established the time frame, you can go back to using past tense.

"She waited for him at the park. She had bumped into him at the coffee shop the day before, and he looked the same despite ten years had passed. She asked about him, and he told her he was now divorced, with no children."

Flashback 'grammar'

DeaK

RobJ

DeaK

Jamesaritchie

DeaK

maestrowork

Fear the Death Ray

DeaK

pinkrobot

I poke badgers with spoons

maestrowork

Fear the Death Ray