Use of flashbacks

efreysson · Nov 9, 2011

I've been thinking about the issue of characters having flashbacks. Do those scenes really work? One of my WIP's is about a war veteran and I'd like to delve a bit into his experiences in the war a bit. I thought about using dreams, but then I've never ever had a dream that was an exact recollection of something that actually happened, and so writing a scene like that feels rather wrong.

Maybe I should just write events mostly as they happened, but then have them fall into dream-logic at the very end just before he wakes up in cold sweat.

What do you guys think?

KYcactus · Nov 9, 2011

My opinion, most dream scenes are overdone. Especially, the stereotypical first attempt at a novel where a dramatic scene turns out to be the main character's dream, from which he or she awakes.

I'm sure there's gotta be a creative way to do flashbacks, but I'm not exactly sure what a flashback would be beyond what I've seen in movies. I would imagine there's a way to intersperse a flashback with a specific trigger of dialogue overheard while waiting in line at the bank or something. Maybe working in a quick bit of haunting backstory by introducing it as a sort of flashback.

efreysson · Nov 9, 2011

KYcactus said:
My opinion, most dream scenes are overdone.

Totally agree.

I'm sure there's gotta be a creative way to do flashbacks, but I'm not exactly sure what a flashback would be beyond what I've seen in movies. I would imagine there's a way to intersperse a flashback with a specific trigger of dialogue overheard while waiting in line at the bank or something. Maybe working in a quick bit of haunting backstory by introducing it as a sort of flashback.

Maybe I could have certain specific events in the story remind him of events in the war, which then gets him thinking about them and segues into the flashback sequence.

seyelint · Nov 9, 2011

a flashback should only be used if it moves your story forward

dangerousbill · Nov 9, 2011

efreysson said:
I've been thinking about the issue of characters having flashbacks. Do those scenes really work? One of my WIP's is about a war veteran and I'd like to delve a bit into his experiences in the war a bit. I thought about using dreams,

Some readers in these circumstances, would think PTSD and associated nightmares. If that's not your intent, don't use dreams.

You just need to set up a time shift, which can be as simple as: "Newchapter X. Joe Teabag had been my sergeant for my last three months in Nam. He almost made it, too. 'Mike,' he said, while we were on patrol near the Flung Poo River, 'I don't think I'm gonna get home this time.' Just then..."

Etc.

Siri Kirpal · Nov 9, 2011

Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

There are some wonderful books with flashbacks. I was just dipping into Three Junes by Julia Glass, which alternates the present with the flashbacks in three interlocking novellas. Events in the present trigger the flashbacks, but the flashbacks are what the story is about. The book won the National Book Award.

I personally think dream sequences are better as "forward flashes" (my very own, just this minute, term) than as flashbacks...usually.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal

Boston Steve · Nov 9, 2011

There are a great many more books with bad/overdone use of flashbacks. The vast majority of them are EXPOSITION (volume increase intentional).

The most useful advice I ever got concerning the use of flashbacks is to imagine the flashback, write it out, then set it to the side. Use the flashback to inform your understanding of the character in the story's present, but don't actually include it in the manuscript.

junebug85 · Nov 9, 2011

Don't do a dream. Everyone does them and so few people do them well.

I think flashbacks can work great for what you're working with. Not knowing your character, I'd suggest that you consider using triggers. If he/she has even minor PTSD or something like it, a sight or sound could trigger a memory. If you did something like this, you could even keep the memories in the present of the story, like he's re-living them.

If your character doesn't suffer anything like that because of their experiences, then I'd go with a traditional flashback, even if you use the trigger. It's common in real life for present experiences to trigger memories, so this could really work for you.

CrastersBabies · Nov 9, 2011

I do believe that for me (personally) it works better when I use a framing mechanism of some sort. Beginning and End are the present and everything in the middle are past events.

Or, switching back and forth with sections (present/past/present/past).

I think as long as you are very clear as to the time you should be okay. Check out The Time Traveler's Wife. That goes all over the place with time, but it's very easy to follow and it never distracted me from the narrative.

I'm sure others have suggestions too on good novels that illustrate some cool moves on the narrative timeline.

The only thing that bothers me is when an author jumps in and out of flashback constantly and you never feel grounded in the present (or even the past).

For example, one novel I read kept interrupting the current narrative plot (every page there was a mini-2-3 paragraph long flashback) and I got the reader's version of motion sickness.

Kyla Laufreyson · Nov 9, 2011

If you're talking about a veteran, you can probably get away with flashbacks because...well, veterans actually have flashbacks for real. That's not just a literary device.

Then again, I believe that flashbacks, much like everything else in writing, can always work if done well. Heck, my second novel is littered with them (about 6 throughout the book) that work as a tug to get the reader emotionally invested in my MC's violin just as much as he is. And according to all of my betas, I pulled it off just the way I wanted.

It really depends on how you do it.

Pyrephox · Nov 9, 2011

Arianna Sterling said:
If you're talking about a veteran, you can probably get away with flashbacks because...well, veterans actually have flashbacks for real. That's not just a literary device.

Then again, I believe that flashbacks, much like everything else in writing, can always work if done well. Heck, my second novel is littered with them (about 6 throughout the book) that work as a tug to get the reader emotionally invested in my MC's violin just as much as he is. And according to all of my betas, I pulled it off just the way I wanted.

It really depends on how you do it.

This. Especially that first part. If I were you, I'd see if I could track down some narratives written by veterans who have experienced flashbacks, and see if you can evoke that experience in your writing. Basically, don't do a flashback because you 'need' to tell people about something, but because it's a vital, immediate part of your character's experience, even if it was in the past.

French Maiden · Nov 9, 2011

In my WIP I was thinking about doing a flash back of my MMC getting out of the shower, drying himself off and looking at his reflexion in the fogged up mirror. He has a large scar running from his widows peak hair line across his eyelid and down to the bridge of his nose.

The chapter is in his POV (I switch between my FMC and MMC) and he tells us of how he resented the scar when he first got it, but has grown to appreciate it for what it is - A tool to make him look as scary as he really is.

He recollects how he came to get it as a young boy - His parents getting murdered before his very eyes and his infant sister dying in his arms. He had a sword with him to defend himself against the people who murdered his family. When the door is abruptly opened of the closet he is hiding in, it bangs the hilt of the sword slices up his face. He was lucky to have kept his eyesight. Now his face was forever tarred with the memories of his families death.

I dont think flash backs are over rated, i think they give us insite into the history of the character and lets the reader see how past experiences have shaped them into the person they are reading now.

Jehhillenberg · Nov 9, 2011

seyelint said:
a flashback should only be used if it moves your story forward

Agreed!

Boston Steve said:
There are a great many more books with bad/overdone use of flashbacks. The vast majority of them are EXPOSITION (volume increase intentional).

Definitely!

CrastersBabies said:
I do believe that for me (personally) it works better when I use a framing mechanism of some sort. Beginning and End are the present and everything in the middle are past events.

Or, switching back and forth with sections (present/past/present/past).

The only thing that bothers me is when an author jumps in and out of flashback constantly and you never feel grounded in the present (or even the past).

For example, one novel I read kept interrupting the current narrative plot (every page there was a mini-2-3 paragraph long flashback) and I got the reader's version of motion sickness.

Yes. And that is the risk one runs using/including flashbacks. Personally I am anti-flashback. But if it truly works for the story and they are used sparingly and well, then that is just fine. Especially if for framing purposes. That gives the flashbacks reason and will move to story forward.

I couldn't agree more with what's already been stated.

Andain · Nov 9, 2011

I can appreciate good flashbacks in novels, but you guys are right, a lot of them simply aren't done well.

I try not to use flashbacks, but every now and then I do. Sometimes there's just a certain conversation and image about that conversation I wanna capture, and a flashback best conveys it. But the emotions behind having that flashback better be extremely potent, otherwise it just comes across as silly.

Boston Steve · Nov 10, 2011

French Maiden said:
In my WIP I was thinking about doing a flash back of my MMC getting out of the shower, drying himself off and looking at his reflexion in the fogged up mirror. He has a large scar running from his widows peak hair line across his eyelid and down to the bridge of his nose.

The chapter is in his POV (I switch between my FMC and MMC) and he tells us of how he resented the scar when he first got it, but has grown to appreciate it for what it is - A tool to make him look as scary as he really is.

He recollects how he came to get it as a young boy - His parents getting murdered before his very eyes and his infant sister dying in his arms. He had a sword with him to defend himself against the people who murdered his family. When the door is abruptly opened of the closet he is hiding in, it bangs the hilt of the sword slices up his face. He was lucky to have kept his eyesight. Now his face was forever tarred with the memories of his families death.

I dont think flash backs are over rated, i think they give us insite into the history of the character and lets the reader see how past experiences have shaped them into the person they are reading now.

If this scene appeared in a work I was critting I would advise the writer to take it out, both the flashback and the mirror. They're pure tell, and they've been done before to the point of being hackneyed clichés.

jaksen · Nov 10, 2011

In the series I write, a teenage boy has the odd propensity for coming across dead bodies. I used a brief flashback scene (he's sixteen in it) in which he stares into a mirror (in the bathroom of the police station where he's been brought in for questioning) and remembers the 12-year old boy he once was and the first dead body he stumbled over. It's brief; it gives a bit of necessary background history; and it's realistic. (When I look at myself I sometimes think of the young person I used to be as I stare at my much-older face.)

Sometimes a flashback is useful; it fits; its necessary. It's up to the skilled writer to determine when that happens, or not.

And if the publisher buys it that way and the readers like it that way, then guess what, you're doing something right.

KYcactus · Nov 10, 2011

Just checking back and enjoying following the conversation. I also wanted to put a plug in for a war memoir that is without-a-doubt worth the read. WITH THE OLD BREED by Eugene Sledge

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0891419063/?tag=absowrit-20

It is very matter of fact and rich in detail about absolute hell at Okinawa and Peleliu. Some the Pacific miniseries on HBO used parts of his story. There is one scene that still sticks with me a year after reading it. I probably underlined it too. He is digging a foxhole for the night and realizes that he is digging up a decomposing body.

I'm not typically a war memoir type of guy, but, wow, incredible read, if you're interested.

CarlyeKnight · Nov 10, 2011

I'm pretty much allergic to dream sequences in books. I don't care about people's dreams in real life, and I definitely don't care about them in fiction. Tell me the story already.

As for flashbacks, as long as they move the story forward and raise the stakes, you should be okay. Joshilyn Jackson's Gods in Alabama shows a good example of using flashbacks; she goes every other chapter with the backstory, but in a way, it parallels the present story and has an arc of its own.

efreysson · Nov 10, 2011

Sorry about the silence. I do appreciate the input.

I think I'll go with three approaches at the most, through a mix of approaches. I'll have him think back during events directly analogous or relevant to his wartime experiences, and maybe do a dream or two that mostly plays out according to real events, and then have it slip into nightmare-nonsense at the end.

GFanthome · Nov 10, 2011

Flashbacks were necessary in my novel and I handled them a bit differently.

Some advice: don't spend too much time on them and find a way to present them creatively because the jump from past to present isn't handled well in some novels and can confuse the reader if done badly.

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Mr Flibble · Nov 10, 2011

Rule one:

Telegraph that it's a flashback clearly

I read a(quite good in the end) book where I got very confused at the end of chapter...2? Because it segued into a flashback with no warning. Why was this guy suddenly single when he'd been married? Why were events being discussed as present instead of past as they had been previously? etc...then he meets his to-be wife and I think 'Oh, right, half this book is flashback with a frame!'

Be clear.

thomas86 · Nov 10, 2011

Flashbacks happen all the time in Game Of Thrones... you just don't realize they are flashbacks.

Since you're writing about what the MC is thinking about currently, you can easily segue into his recollections, right?

Al Stevens · Nov 10, 2011

Vonnegut jumps all over time in Slaughterhouse Five.

Al Stevens · Nov 10, 2011

I like to relate a POV's reminiscences in 3rd person past perfect tense rather than a scene change to the past. Only the first sentence after the seque narrative needs to be in past tense. Maybe the last one of the flashback, too. The rest can be in past tense. And I'd rather not have dialogue.

This is from a WIP. I can't say whether it fits any established rules, but it seems to work:

Jim recalled hunting season when he was fourteen. Pop had left him alone on a plot of dense woods in the mountains of Virginia along the eastern ridges of the Shenandoah Valley.

...(tells the story of the flashback in past tense here)...

Even though he didn’t get a buck that day nine years ago, he had learned the first lesson of the hunter. Nature is cruel without bias. To survive, you kill.

Alwaysinspired · Nov 10, 2011

efreysson said:
I've been thinking about the issue of characters having flashbacks. Do those scenes really work? One of my WIP's is about a war veteran and I'd like to delve a bit into his experiences in the war a bit. I thought about using dreams, but then I've never ever had a dream that was an exact recollection of something that actually happened, and so writing a scene like that feels rather wrong.

Maybe I should just write events mostly as they happened, but then have them fall into dream-logic at the very end just before he wakes up in cold sweat.

What do you guys think?

I'm revising my 1st manuscript and I have used a few flashbacks throughout the story. I thought it would help to illustrate why my main character was making a particular decision or feeling a certain way. It was done early in the story and I did it in a way that won't confuse the reader. As far as dream sequences are concerned, I did utilize them as well and so far I think it reads smoothly. Since your story is about a war vet, I think it's not only wise to use flashbacks, it's essential. If done right, bringing the character back to a time of tremendous trauma can only enhance the story.

Use of flashbacks

efreysson

Closer than ever

KYcactus

efreysson

Closer than ever

seyelint

dangerousbill

Retired Illuminatus

Siri Kirpal

Swan in Process

Boston Steve

junebug85

two piña coladas, one for each hand

CrastersBabies

Burninator!

Kyla Laufreyson

Oops

Pyrephox

French Maiden

Jehhillenberg

N/A

Andain

Boston Steve

jaksen

Caped Codder

KYcactus

CarlyeKnight

efreysson

Closer than ever

GFanthome

At the computer, opening a vein

Mr Flibble

They've been very bad, Mr Flibble

thomas86

Al Stevens

Al Stevens

Alwaysinspired