This post is all about how to write a flashback.
Flashbacks are a common way to reveal backstory for characters. They’re a great way to add depth to your story, because everyone has a past which influences their present. You likely have a backstory for your characters that you’ll want to show. Learning how to write a flashback will help flesh out your story and characters.
Are flashbacks lazy writing?
Flashbacks can be a useful and engaging part of a novel, but you don’t want to overuse them. Too many flashbacks can lose their purpose, and bog down pacing. Readers may feel like the actual story doesn’t have any progression.
But like with any story element, flashbacks aren’t inherently poor or lazy writing. You just have to know how to use them effectively, and when to include them in your story.
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How to write a flashback
Consider how it advances the story
A flashback should always serve a purpose in your story. Even if it doesn’t directly tie into the main plot, what does it reveal? How does it deepen your character’s understanding of the story?
When you write a flashback in your story, it should accomplish one (or all) of the following:
- Advance the plot: New information should be followed with a character’s reaction and the decision they make informed by said information. Essentially, the information the reader learns should come into play in some form throughout the story, otherwise it’s filler that’s better off being cut.
- Give the reader new insight into a character: A character’s past affects their present lifestyle and choices. Therefore, a flashback could be used to explain, in part, why a character acts a certain way. A flashback could reveal a secret that a character doesn’t want others to know about.
- Raise the stakes or urgency of the story: Understanding an aspect of a character’s past can add important context which changes how the present is viewed. Do they fear putting their trust in others because they were betrayed in the past? Maybe your character meets their betrayer years later, and a flashback helps add to the tension.
- Explain a crucial piece of background information: Let’s say you’re writing a story that involves searching for a lost object. A flashback could explain why the object is highly sought after by others. In turn, the flashback serves to give background context to the present-day plot, as well as establish the stakes for the overall story.
Think about formatting
Decide what formatting best serves this flashback. Should there be a scene break, or will it be seamlessly integrated into a present-day scene or dialogue?
Each format has its pros and cons. For example, weaving a flashback into a present day scene allows you to show how a character reacts to a memory from their past. If you want the purpose of your flashback to give the reader background information, inserting the flashback after a scene break will present it with a sort of outsider’s perspective.
Integrating the flashback into dialogue can help advance plot and character development. For example, you can transition into a flashback by having one character open up to another when trust has been gained.
Choose the correct placement
You don’t want a flashback to kill the natural momentum of your story, so consider carefully the best placement for it. For example, putting a flashback in a high tension/high action scene could feel jarring for the reader. But putting a flashback in a scene that’s slower or more character-heavy allows it to be impactful without overshadowing the rest of the story.
You can dedicate a flashback scene to its own chapter to help prevent it from clashing with a present day scene. Another method is to keep the flashback scene short, so that you don’t bog down the pacing. Maybe something a character says or sees triggers a memory which can transition in to a flashback more naturally.
Ensure your characters have strong present-day motivations
Don’t use flashbacks as a crutch to over-explain past issues or emotions. Flashbacks might explain important information, but your characters’ present-day motivations and fears should still be enough to propel the story forward on their own.
One way to do this is to show the cause and effect of a past event. A character who’s been cheated on in the past likely will make decisions to actively avoid dating in the present. You could have a flashback scene showing that, but you should also show how it affects their present day life as well.
Another method is to give your character a secret that they desperately don’t want revealed, which can serve as their present day. You could then use a flashback to reveal the secret or to recontextualize story events, rather than letting the flashback take the majority of the story progression.
Make sure your characters have development outside of the flashback
Your characters should still have an arc or development from the beginning to end of your story, even if you totally removed all flashbacks.
If that’s not the case, you might be relying too heavily on flashbacks in your story. A flashback should propel characters’ present motivations and decisions.
One way to avoid this is to use flashbacks sparingly. Think about what you want the reader to know, and if it could be told through something other than a flashback. That way, you determine which scenes or past events will be the most effective if they’re shown in a flashback.
This post was all about how to write a flashback.
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