In a post on the Script Lab, Ken Miyamoto offers advice on writing flashbacks. You’ve probably heard a lot of professionals advising writers to avoid flashbacks at all costs, but the problem isn’t the device. The problem is that most flashbacks are unnecessary or poorly written.
However, when used well, flashbacks can help develop character, reveal plot points, or explore your theme. Miyamoto offers five pieces of advice for writing a good flashback:
- Justify the Flashback. “Make sure that the flashback serves a clear purpose in the story,” he writes. “If it doesn’t reveal essential information or enhance the story, reconsider even using it. Remember, don’t use it as a crutch or for bad exposition dumps.” Miyamoto refers writers to the early seasons of Lost to explore the effective use of flashbacks to explore the characters’ lives.
- Make Flashbacks Seamless. Ensure a smooth transition into or out of the flashback. You will always need to transition smoothly into the flashback. “Use visual or auditory cues like a character’s reflective look, a specific sound, or a match cut to signal the shift,” Miyamoto suggests. That good advice for visual media. In prose fiction, enter into a flashback at a natural point, for example when a character’s memory is triggered by something occurring in the present. Use visual or auditory cues to ease them back to the present day.
- Make Them Clear in the Story and in the Format. In fiction, you can’t control the lighting or color, but you can ease your readers into the flashback. Again, something in your story’s present day setting should trigger the memory.
- Keep Flashbacks Concise. Don’t linger! A flashback can be a full chapter or lengthy scene, but it can also be a paragraph or a few lines of text. Consider the timing of your flashback, your novel’s pacing, the importance of the information, and the emotional impact when deciding how long you should run. Don’t interrupt a peak emotional moment with a lengthy flashback. On the other hand, if your flashback reveals critical information or portrays a past moment of high emotion, you may want to give it some room.
- Anchor the Flashback. Connect your flashback to the present moment. “There should be a direct correlation between what’s happening now and what happened then,” Miyamoto says. “This connection can be thematic, emotional, visual, or plot-driven.”
