How do you write a gripping flashback?
A flashback is when the author shows an event or situation that happened in the past, outside the timeline of the current story.
Are they necessary? Not always. In fact, I would argue that they’re not necessary at all; however, there are certain genres where the reader expects them. Romance novels offer the most flashbacks, as romance novels have a slower pace and are often focused on human relationships and intimacy. Flashbacks in this genre add to the intimacy part of the equation, giving us more details and insight into the characters’ development over time.
On the other hand, I would be surprised to find a slew of flashbacks in an action or thriller novel. The high suspense doesn’t allow the space for as many flashbacks as a romance novel; and because the reader is picking up the book for something fast-paced and exciting, a flashback probably isn’t going to satisfy him.
But this doesn’t mean that flashbacks are useless. There are a couple of reasons flashbacks are important.
The first reason is they show an event that affects the relationship between the characters now in the current story.
Why would our character never betray his older brother, even if he has gone to prison? Or why would our main character and his daughter not have spoken to each other for twenty years?
For big life events of our character, a flashback will give us more of an emotional tie to why our characters act a certain way around other characters. To say, “My brother saved my life when I tried to commit suicide” has far less impact on the audience than reading a full scene of our character climbing up on a bridge in the middle of winter, jumping into the icy water below; his brother risking his own life in the icy waters to pull him out.
Another reason to write flashbacks because an event from the past affects the conflict of the story happening currently.
Prologues are a good example of this. In my current work in progress, I have a prologue that is a flashback between the two main characters when they are children. The boy saves a lost girl from the forest, and in return for his help, he tells her that she has to marry him when they get older. This sets up the premise for the book, where the girl grows up to be betrothed to the little boy, who turned out to be the prince of the country. This is an example of the flashback being both relevant and also interesting enough to include in the main story.
While flashbacks can add some layers of depth to a story, it can also take away from the story. A good flashback makes us fall in love with the characters more, a bad flashback makes us put the book down.
There are a few common mistakes when writing flashbacks:
Too many flashbacks
Giving the reader background information through flashbacks is not a sin, but ultimately, you want to keep your reader in the current story as much as possible. Using flashbacks takes readers out of the current story and presents them with a second story that they may or may not want.
If you have a flashback every chapter, there might be an issue with your current story. Perhaps the conflict isn’t strong enough or there isn’t enough tension. Rework your story to make sure the flashbacks are necessary.
You can also consider breaking up the flashbacks into separate chapters of their own if they are absolutely vital for the story, or consider making a spin-off prequel story.
Bad Timing
If your character is tied to a chair, mouth gagged, looking down the end of a gun barrel, don’t start a flashback about the time his dad got mad at him for crashing the car. Immediate danger requires immediate focus by the author, the character, and the audience. Flashbacks are slow-paced. So save them for slower scenes with little tension and suspense.
Irrelevant to the current story
If the flashback is not relevant to the current story, we don’t need to see it. Don’t show us the time our main character won a bicycle competition if the story is about him being a firefighter looking for an arsonist.
Your character may have lived a whole life, but your readers are not interested in that. They are only interested in your character at the present time, overcoming the problem they’re having right now.
Although you may discover new and exciting things about your characters’ pasts, not all of it will be necessary for the story. Write it all out in your rough draft, but cut it in the final draft. Make sure all of your flashbacks are relevant to the current story that your readers are committing to. If your character’s background is so fascinating that you have to share it with your readers, make it a short story for sale or for free download, or make a full length prequel novel or novella.
No clear entrance and exit
This is where grammar is extra important in your writing career. If you are going to have a flashback, you must change the narrative in some format to create a clear start point and exit point. Take a look at this example:
The hot chocolate was sweet and spicy, a kick of cayenne pepper, just like her Aunt Anita used to make.
“I like to imagine that I’m an Aztec god when I drink it this way,” Aunt Anita said. “Watching all the poor mortals shake in pain from the pepper.”
This has no clear entrance or exit, and it’s confusing whether or not Aunt Anita is talking now or in the past. Let’s add a couple of words to make sure our readers know when Aunt Anita is speaking:
The hot chocolate was sweet and spicy, a kick of cayenne pepper, just like her Aunt Anita used to make.
“I like to imagine that I’m an Aztec god when I drink it this way,” Aunt Anita had always said. “Watching all the poor mortals shake in pain from the pepper.”
Or let’s add an even better entry point:
The hot chocolate was sweet and spicy, a kick of cayenne pepper, just like her Aunt Anita used to make.
Whenever Jacqline visited her aunt in San Diego, she would add double the recommended amount of pepper to every batch.
“I like to imagine that I’m an Aztec god when I drink it this way,” Aunt Anita had always said. “Watching all the poor mortals shake in pain from the pepper.”
Now we have the proper entry point for the flashback. Make sure the exit point is just as clear, so that the reader isn’t confused when they are.
Bad exit:
“I like to imagine that I’m an Aztec god when I drink it this way,” Aunt Anita had always said. “Watching all the poor mortals shake in pain from the pepper.”
But it didn’t taste the same. It didn’t have Aunt Anita’s love in it.
Good exit:
“I like to imagine that I’m an Aztec god when I drink it this way,” Aunt Anita had always said. “Watching all the poor mortals shake in pain from the pepper.”
But this cup in front of Jacquline now didn’t taste the same. It didn’t have the love of Aunt Anita in it.
So how do we write a flashback or series of flashbacks that keep the reader engaged?
First, use a sensory trigger. It’s not enough that the character simply remembers something. We need a reason why. And the best way to trigger memories in real life is through the senses: sight, smell, taste, sound, or touch.
I would advise to use sight sparingly unless the trigger is strong. If your character lives by the beach and sees the ocean every day, using the ocean as a trigger seems odd. However, if your character comes across their mother’s gold necklace that she thought had been lost, that will trigger a strong memory.
The best senses to use for triggers can be perfumes, songs, traditional dishes around the holidays, etc. Think of the things that trigger flashbacks in your own life.
Second, write flashbacks that deepen or complicate the current conflicts between characters. The conflicts can be internal or external. A flashback can show why our main character is struggling to turn his brother into the police, even though his brother just murdered someone. A flashback in a romance can show us why the main character is in love with a married man. These types of flashbacks show the internal struggle of the characters, complicating the current story more.
Third, decide if your flashback is worth a full-fleshed flashback, or if it’s better off as a sentence or two. Some details from the past you can state in a simple sentence: Jaquine’s Aunt Anita used to put cayenne pepper in the hot chocolate. This would be a perfectly fine line if Aunt Anita is not a main element in the conflict now. However, if the story is about our main character grieving the sudden death of her Aunt Anita, we want to extend this flashback to show what a wonderful woman she was. We want the readers attached to Aunt Anita. So we’re going to flesh out a full scene to tug on the reader’s heartstrings.
Lastly, write flashbacks shortly and sparingly. Don’t write a fifteen-page flashback. That’s a story, not a flashback. Also, don’t write a flashback every chapter. Keep the focus on the conflict happening now, on the story happening now, on what the characters are doing now.
Remember that flashbacks are tools to enhance the current story. They are not meant to be character biographies, or bonus stories amidst the current conflict. Use them well and sparingly, and they should enhance your stories in a way that improves the tension and intimacy of your story.
Need help writing flashbacks? Download my WRITING FLASHBACKS WORKBOOK for FREE at BuyMeACoffee.