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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/38871
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/38871
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Think of your flashbacks like you think of any other scene. The fact that this is a flashback shouldn't make a significant difference.

There are five senses you can engage: sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and there are your character's emotions regarding what's going on. Since you are writing a flashback, you can also add the meta-thought - what the character thinks of the past situation from the perspective of the story-present.

So, first, the senses. What does your character see? What does he hear? You can linger over the texture of the clothes on his back, or the pavement he's lying on, etc. Since this is a flashaback, you don't necessarily want to engage all senses. However, smell and taste are particularly famous for triggering memories and flashback (consider the Madeleine effect), so it's not a bad idea to engage those.

Next, what is your character's emotional response to the scene? Fear, anger, pain, loss, or alternatively a rare moment of peace? Flashbacks are usually associated with emotions rather than with thoughts.

You wish to provide characters with personality, without writing dialogue. You can instead describe their actions. Sharing a piece of bread, giving a helping hand, or alternatively laughing at another's weakness, exposing and exploiting it - those can speak louder than words.

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