Anna Staniszewski

Flashbacks in writing can be wonderful tools; they help us catch a glimpse of a character’s past in order to clue us into his present (and, possibly, his future). But when done incorrectly, flashbacks can pull us out of the story or create narrative confusion.

For a straight-forward guide to creating effective short flashbacks, I recommend an article by Peter Selgin called “The Anatomy of a Flashback.” Selgin’s main points are applicable to pretty much any type of story:

1. Have a strong scene to depart from.

2. Make sure flashbacks are motivated.

3. When writing in past tense, to make it clear that you’re writing a flashback, dip into the past perfect.

4. Summarize dialogue.

5. Keep flashbacks to one paragraph.

6. Within flashbacks, summarize, don’t dramatize.

7. Avoid flashbacks – unless your story demands them.

I’ve found that when you follow these guidelines, the flashbacks barely even register as flashbacks. It’s a way of weaving in snippets of information without overwhelming the reader and without disrupting the flow of the story.

Of course, Selgin acknowledges that there are times when it might be necessary to break the rules (and he gives examples of when John Updike does just that), but I think it’s important to at least keep these rules in mind as you’re working on putting in those often-pesky flashbacks.

Edited to add: Thanks to your questions/comments, tomorrow I’ll talk about the short flashback’s grumpy older brother: the long flashback.