The EVIL Flashback

photo by Tanja-Tiziana

Flashback: a past event that interrupts the forward action of a play, movie, novel, or the like

My friend, Lois, knows a famous author. She gets to speak to him on a regular basis, lucky girl. The last time she spoke to him he said (quoting Lois's words):

Beginning authors often start at the wrong spot in the story. He said you can always tell because they immediately have to flashback to get something in from earlier.

I am banging my head on my keyboard. This morning I opened up a blog post by Amber Argyle. She wrote about flashbacks. And yes, her excellent blog post title says it all: 5 MistaKes Amaeture Writer's Make. You should go read this post. It's filled with helpful advice.

I am banging my head again.

I have started both my novels with flashbacks. Open up in the present and then flash back less than one page in. Hello!? Just start at the right spot to begin with. Right?

Maybe.


Different Types of Flashbacks
There are several different types of flashbacks that I've found. If you know of more, please tell me. I am no expert.

(1) The Brief Flashback - a quick thought in the character's mind. Internal dialogue can be handled in many way (see my previous post on Internal Dialogue). These flashbacks usually include a few brief details with some important information. The story isn't abruptly interrupted. The flashback is given within the flow of the current story. Example from Monarch:

In his bedroom, Nick tossed clothes and weapons into a duffle bag, glancing at the rope burns around his wrists. The inflamed, swollen wounds ran deep and were only beginning to heal. The stinging brought back memories of a humid jungle. A concrete bunker. Fresh blood smeared across the hard gray floor.

He cursed under his breath, remembering how his partner, Kyle, had betrayed him that day. How had he not seen it coming? A trusted friend turned terrorist. Just what he needed.

This is the brief flashback I have used to replace the long flashback I had on the second page of my novel. Should I start the story with the bunker scene? I could. The scene is where Nick's story starts, but I don't think it would work well because of the way I have organized my story. I'm still fiddling around with it. Who knows what I'll decide in the end.

I think brief flashbacks (which might not even be considered real flashbacks) work the best at the beginning of novels. Like Amber says in her post: I would strongly warn against using any kind of flashback in the first 50 pages of your novel. Writers use flashbacks as a crutch when their story is limping along.

(2) The Establishing Flashback - The most evil of the flashbacks, I think. It is there only to establish information about a character's past or explain something about their behavior. Amber uses a good example in her post of using an establishing flashback to tell the reader about a character's childhood. The last thing you reader wants is a sudden yank out of the action of your story.

Don't make your reader listen to a two page telling of how your character can't eat the fish on her plate because when she was five her older siblings chased her around the yard with fish heads stuck on sticks. Funny. Interesting. But do you need to take your reader out of the story to tell them that? Show it in the action instead. Have her cringe and cover her mouth when she sees the deep fried fish on her plate. All she can see is a fish head instead. On the end of a stick. With her brothers squealing in delight.

I think establishing flashbacks are rarely needed. I could be wrong, but I always feel cheated and bored when I'm taken out of a story for that reason.

(3) The Moment In Time Flashback - These flashbacks are so tempting! A specific event that happened in the past. Something that makes a great impact on the story you're telling. Something that you know has to be there or your story won't work the way you need it to.

And you want to tell it in all its glory. Dialogue. A whole scene. Pages and pages.

Be careful. These may be tempting, but are they always necessary? It depends.

My bunker scene is one of these scenes. In fact, it is a scene that I tell over the course of the entire novel as 5 flashbacks. Risky? Yes. Should I do it? I don't know. I've already done it, and I love the way it works. Each flashback reveals more and more about the main character and another character he interacts with. If I told all that information up front, it wouldn't make any sense at all, and I would lose too much suspense.

I think you have to keep several things in mind when dealing with the Moment In Time Flashback:

(a) Avoid them in the beginning of your novel. Stick with your action. Pull your reader in and establish them in the time frame you have set up.

(b) Keep them as short as possible. If your flashback spans 10 pages (assuming double-spaced with one inch margins and 12 point font) you have overspent your limit. Even 3-4 pages seems too long to me. Your reader is going to start wondering when you'll take them back into the real story. I have read even published novels where I get lost in a flashback. I get bored. I want to return to the present. Please!!!

(c) Keep them relevant. I have read flashbacks that don't add anything to the main plot except a few details. Your flashbacks must push the story forward, not drag it back. Make sure every detail you put in that flashback is furthering your story and characters.

What Will You Do Now?
Let's say you LOVE flashbacks. You are convinced that you must have them in your story. They are like a backbone and skeleton for your characters. How do you decide if they really need to be there?

Let me tell you that I'm in that boat right now. My first novel, The Breakaway relies heavily on flashbacks. Those flashbacks are not the action of the story. It would be stupid to start the story with them. But they need to be there. Some are establishing flashbacks. Some are moments in time flashbacks. I think they are all necessary. I am on the 6th draft of the novel and am only now getting the flashbacks to flow smoothly and work.

So I can't answer the question very well. I think in the end, every story is unique and must be handled differently. It is your choice. Use your discretion and keep in mind some great points. Thank you, Amber, for stating these in your blog post.

Anytime you jerk your character to another time and place, you risk loosing the reader's interest.

When [flashbacks] work, they just work. Understand, using flashbacks is tricky and risky. Be warned.
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