Flashback the Flashbacks
The book started with an attention grabbing first paragraph and
continued showing the reader what happened and how. The writer
brought me into the story and held me captured. Then suddenly I
was confused, lost, and wondering what I had missed. The author
used a flashback without warning, transition, or notice. He
continued to commit the same error throughout the book:
disrupting the unity, the flow of the story. If flashbacks used
incorrectly in a novel can disrupt the unity, the flow, the
focus of the story, just image what incorrectly used flashbacks
can do to a short story. Flashbacks can be effective in novels,
when used correctly, but long flashbacks aren't recommended in
short fiction and, if used, should be used carefully.
Perhaps we should discuss flashbacks first. These are brief
scenes of past occurrences, before the main action of the story,
that are inserted to explain motivations, character histories,
background influences or information that cannot told during the
chronological sequence of a story.
Edgar Allen Poe believed the unity of focus in a short story was
paramount. Flashbacks interrupt the unity of a story. Therefore,
if one is absolutely needed, it should be short and with smooth
transitions.
In novels, prologues can be used to "set the stage" with
information that won't fit into the story line but which is
needed for the reader to understand certain elements of the
book. Short stories don't have that option. However, according
to Nancy Kress, in "...And My Whole Life Flashed Before My
Eyes..." Writers' Digest, October 2000, The advantages of
flashbacks can be maximized by following a few guidelines:
1. Flashbacks should follow a strong scene. They should never be
the first scene or even a second scene after an introductory
scene. The flashback should also show, not tell. It needs to be
a vivid action scene in active voice. Dialogue is a good tool to
use in flashbacks.
2. Smooth, clear transitions are a must. Readers should never
have to stop and decide where a flashback begins or ends.
Letting the reader know who, what, and when helps keep him or
her from becoming lost.
3. Using verb tenses wisely helps the transition of a flashback.
If the story is written in present tense, then a flashback
should be in past tense. If the story is written in past tense,
then starting the flashback in past perfect tense, then moving
into simple past tense, then finishing the last few verbs in
past perfect will give verbal signals to the reader.
4. Avoid jumping from one flashback into another. In fact, more
than one flashback in a short story may be too much.
The most effective flashbacks have a catalyst such as a song,
place, person, an aroma, a sight, a sound, or an event that
causes a memory for a character. The flashback needs to be
integrated into the plot while adding to an issue or character.
The flashback must be related to the present action.
Remember that since flashbacks stop the story, use them rarely
and then with smooth transition. The plot, characters, and
conflict should be thoroughly introduced before using a
flashback. Be brief. Illustrate the information before quickly
returning to the story.
Certain places in a story should never include a flashback:
never in the middle of an emotional or eventful action; never in
climatic scenes. Also don't use flashbacks to characterize and
replace dramatic scenes.
A final note, an emphasis actually, remember to use smooth,
clear transitions and use flashbacks only when absolutely
necessary. As James V. Smith wrote: "When you reach a moment
of truth in such a story, you realize that that literary instant
results from a confluence of a hundred facts and circumstances
you've read earlier in the story. Every iota is a related,
orderly part of a whole that cannot be taken out without
damaging the overall structure. When you read a work that gives
you this feeling, you know it was written by a master of
transition."
Sources:
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