How to write a flashback

Although most stories progress chronologically, sometimes it is useful to bring in an incident from your character’s past. The purpose of the flashback is to influence later events, to deepen the story, or to reveal something about the character. A flashback can take the form of a reflection, a memory, a dream or a dialogue. It breaks the normal chronology of the story and throws the reader out of its course. Here are some tips on how to write a flashback.

1)     When you write a flashback: find a trigger

In real life, memories don’t come out of nowhere, they are triggered by something in the present moment. It could be a chance encounter in an elevator with someone wearing the same scent as one of your parents or your ex. This scent will inevitably take you back to times when you lived together with these people.

2)     Write a reason

Show results. Flashbacks in stories should have consequences. If we remember something traumatic or difficult, it will affect us in the present. The reaction to the memory should be commensurate with its severity.

3)     When you write a flashback: be visual

Show, don’t tell, what happens in the flashback. It’s okay to simply summarize past events in your story sometimes. A true flashback, however, should be a powerful scene in itself. Your flashback will be more engaging if it includes specific details, such as images, feelings, emotions, and events experienced by the character from one point of view.

4)     Don’t overuse

A flashback should only be used when there is no other effective way to get an important piece of information. If you use too many flashbacks, it will end up feeling like a storytelling device that seeks to evade the main story. And your readers may become confused about which is the main story, the one told by the flashbacks or the other one in the background.

When you write a flashback wisely, it can add richness, emotion and depth to your story. But you have to know how to put them in the right place and avoid using them as a simple diversion rather than as an element that advances the narrative.