A Man Called Ove repeatedly flashes back to scenes from Ove’s courtship and marriage. On the flip side, a flashback can offer meaningful clarity. We’re part of the investigation, which is exactly how a mystery writer wants us to feel. Because we experienced the flashback for ourselves, it feels like we’re coming into the story already equipped with clues. Then suddenly we’re in the current timeline where Bethany has been dead for a decade and the Thursday Murder Club is trying to figure out what happen. The Bullet That Missed opens with a scene where some woman with Bethany has a gun, knows she might die today, and sends a cryptic text. Well, for one, a flashback can be an effective tool for building suspense or presenting the reader with a mystery. So what are the benefits of writing a flashback? Excellent Reasons for Including a Flashback It just means you need a good reason to use it. (In fact, here are several others.) If anything, a flashback is the most disruptive, cumbersome way to get your reader up to speed. A flashback is not the only interesting way to unload exposition. Most importantly, flashbacks aren’t always necessary. If it’s not clear that your character is looking back in time, your reader will be lost when a character shows up out of nowhere asking for a divorce. Don’t squash the pace or tension you’re building in the current timelineĪlso, flashbacks can be confusing if you don’t nail your transitions.Are relevant to the story the reader already cares about.This means you want to make sure your flashbacks: The Trouble With Flashbacksįor one thing, flashbacks pull your reader out of the timeline they’re engaged in. Now, if you’re familiar with the popular writing advice “Show, don’t tell,” you may be thinking a flashback is always the way to go for revealing backstory. (Plus a bunch of other stuff that probably includes egg breaking, dialogue, and a strong sense of relationship.) His dad had gently shaken him awake while his mother still slept, and the two of them tip-toed down the stairs to the kitchen. This is a flashback: Harold cracked an egg the way his father had taught him the first time they made Mother’s Day breakfast. So, this is not a flashback: Harold cracked an egg the way his father had taught him back when they made Mother’s Day breakfast together. It’s not just a reference to something that happened in the past but a recreation of that experience. The Things They Carried is a collection of war stories, often with the details bent or changed from one story to another, that creates several flashbacks of Tim O'Brien's experiences as a soldier during the Vietnam War.Allow me to start by clarifying: a flashback is a scene that transports the reader to a moment in the backstory. In between, the lessons he learns from his five people are peppered with flashbacks that enhance the reader's understanding of why those people are there, and why Eddie needs to learn these lessons to find peace. The Five People You Meet in Heaven follows Eddie's story, from the moments leading up to his death to his journey through Heaven. These two places are crucial moments in later events, which reveal their importance. He is there to visit 2 specific sites: a tree and a set of marble stairs. The novel begins with Gene Forrester returning to his high school, the Devon School, 15 years after he graduated. The second half of the poem deals with what has happened to Odysseus' home and wife while he has been gone, and is told in the present. He is telling the story to King Alcinous in return for ships to bring him back to Ithaca. Odysseus has valiantly fought in and helped win the Trojan War, and has had many adventures on his way home. Name: Holden Caulfield Dx: Anxiety, Depression, PTSD The events flash back to the previous winter around Christmastime when he had a mental breakdown. The novel starts with Holden Caulfield telling his story from a rest home in California. That discussion leads the reader into the past, when Scout was almost 7 years old and Jem was about 10. The narration begins many years in the future, with Scout and Jem discussing who was at fault for breaking his arm many years ago.
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