Post History

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/20647
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/20647
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

I think we should distinguish between what I would call a personality flashback and a plot flashback.

A plot flashback occurs when, for whatever reason, the narrative begins after the events of the story begin.

A personality flashback occurs when there is an aspect of a character's personality that is best revealed through an anecdote from their past which illuminates who they are, but is not itself an incident in the story.

I think that if you are having a hard time with a plot flashback, it is most likely a symptom of not starting in the right place. I think the most natural way to do them is in the case where the protagonist is not aware of the back story until some critical juncture in the story. Telling it then is natural and it is what the reader wants and expects.

I think personality flashbacks similarly need to be used where they are critical in the development of the character's personality. The key thing is, though, that they should not cause a reset of the reader's view of the person. They should explain, not reset, what we have already seen of the character's behavior.

In both cases, timing seem to me far more important than method. When I see it done badly, it always seems to me that the problem is the author's impatience to get all the pieces on the board, resulting in flashbacks as the wrong time, not the particular narrative technique that was used to convey them

Original score: 1