how to write a flashback scene

[lucas83]

I have a story in which I want to add the history of how two of the characters came to be enslaved. Initially, I had planned to have one of the two slaves explain it to a newly added third slave. However, that would be a very long narrative and I would like to add information about his fellow slave that he may not necessarily know. That led me to think that I might just be better off writing the entire chapter as a flashback, which avoids the long narrative, and I can explain the scene out of quotation.

If I do this, should I literally write, "Flashback" at the beginning of the chapter? Or do I begin the chapter like..."It all started for us two years ago..." then write the remainder of the chapter as a flashback?

Thanks,
Lucas

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

John LeCarre is good with flashbacks. His scheme involves a character recollecting the past and allowing the flashback to dominate after a bit. At the end the characters sez something snappy like, AND BOBs YOUR UNCLE!, to return to the present.

 

[talismania]

The most important thing is that the reader know the chapter is a flashback. There are several ways to do this.

One is to end the preceding chapter with the narrator/main character indicating they will be revisiting how things started. The next chapter picks up in the flashback. This works best in novels, less well in serials, where readers joining the story late may not grasp that it's a flashback.

Another is to begin the chapter in the present situation, then make a clear scene break to the flashback, with language that makes perfectly clear the action is happening in the past.

Novels often put flashbacks in italics, indicating the narrative taking place is distinct from the rest of the tale. For long flashbacks, this can be annoying, as italics are more difficult to read for long stretches.

Other methods include having a first person narrator telling another party his or her story, with the flashback chapter/s clearly indicated as being that story, rather than present action.

Always make it just as clear to the reader that you are resuming the present action as you were about leading them into the flashback. Never confuse the reader. If you use a chapter break to introduce the flashback, use a chapter break to end it. Scene breaks are more forgiving, but your language has to be clear as to whether the flashback is continuing or they're now out of it.

Just a few ideas. I've seen many clever ways of working flashbacks. Use what works best for your story's overall structure.

 

[Firebrain]

I often change the tense for a flashback - I will slip into present, as if somebody is recounting the story to a friend. I do this for dream sequences too.

I also open with something that indicates the change in time - don't be afraid to be blunt e.g. "it was the coldest morning in November of 1979." So long as it fits your prose style, it will work.

Separate the scene as you would other scenes - spaces or asterisks.

 

[favoritesgoddess]

I like it when a flashback starts with a particularly strong opening scenario. I like that there's something so disturbing, or delightful, or painful, or {insert strong emotion here} that the character actually can't stay focused in that moment. I like it, too, when the character slides in and out of the flashback due to something that's going on in the present.