examples of flashbacks in creative writing

101 Flashback Examples for Writers and Filmmakers

Have you ever wondered how a single memory, a moment from the past, can alter the entire trajectory of a story? Whether you're drafting the first chapter of a novel, sketching out scenes for a graphic novel, or storyboard planning for your next film, the power of a well-placed flashback cannot be overstated.  

Flashback scenes serve as a narrative device that peels back the layers of a character's past, offering the audience new insight and deepening the emotional resonance of the present story. 

From the haunting memories of a main character that drive the plot forward to the brief, external flashbacks that furnish background information on other characters, each flashback example weaves its own thread into the fabric of the narrative. 

They reveal past events, create suspense, and connect two stories across time periods, all while keeping the reader or viewer riveted. 

In this blog, I share 101 flashback examples demonstrating the extensive use of this storytelling device across various mediums—the internal struggles depicted through Harry Potter's memories, the chronological narrative complexity of Citizen Kane, or the suspenseful reveals in Harper Lee's narratives. 

Each example serves as a golden rule for writing flashbacks, showing how they can explain a past event in the present tense, enrich the reader's experience, and ultimately, how flashbacks can be a powerful tool in your own writing to illuminate the plot, context, and mystery of your story .

A long list of flashback examples

1.  A detective, haunted by the unsolved case of a missing child, flashes back to the rainy night he discovered the child's favorite toy in an abandoned warehouse.

2.  A celebrated chef tastes a simple, rustic dish that transports her back to her grandmother's kitchen, where she first fell in love with cooking.

3.  An elderly man, watching children play in the snow, reminisces about a snowball fight with his brother, who went missing in war.

4.  A woman running her first marathon recalls the moment years earlier when her doctor told her she might never walk again after an accident.

5.  A musician hears an old song on the radio, triggering a flashback to his first performance in a dingy bar filled with nerves and excitement.

6.  A successful writer stares at a blank screen, remembering the rejection letter that pushed her to prove everyone wrong.

7.  An astronaut in space looks down at Earth, reminiscing about the childhood night he spent stargazing with his late father.

8.  A professional dancer watches a young girl dance with unbridled joy, recalling her first dance recital and her pure love of dance.

9.  A retired detective revisits an old crime scene , recalling the missing pivotal clue, changing the investigation's course.

10.  A teacher receives a thank-you note from a former student, sparking a memory of the day she decided to dedicate her life to education.

11.  During the harvest, a farmer remembers his first year on the farm, the struggles, and the eventual triumphant first crop.

12.  A couple revisits their old college campus, reminiscing about the day they met during a literature class discussion.

13.  A soldier, returning home, recalls the moment of camaraderie and bravery in a bunker that saved lives, including his own.

14.  An artist looks at a blank canvas, returning to the moment she first saw the masterpiece that inspired her career.

15.  A marathon runner hits the wall and flashes back to the early morning training runs with her father, who always believed in her strength.

16.  A wildlife photographer waits for the perfect shot, reminiscing about the childhood camping trip that sparked her love for nature.

17.  A new parent, sleep-deprived and overwhelmed, remembers the comforting words of their own parent, promising that the challenging times also bring immense joy.

18.  Before a pivotal merger, a CEO recalls the humble beginnings of her startup, starting in her garage with just a laptop and a dream.

19.  A young lawyer preparing for a significant case remembers the injustice his family faced, motivating his career choice.

20.  A grieving person visits the ocean, remembering a conversation with their loved one about the tranquility and vastness of the sea.

21.  An elderly woman teaching her granddaughter to knit recalls the winter nights spent knitting by the fireplace with her own grandmother.

22.  A traveler stands atop a mountain, remembering the promise made to a late friend to conquer the peak they once dreamed of climbing together.

23.  A scientist on the verge of a breakthrough flashes back to the moment of awe and wonder at a science fair that set her on her path.

24.  A pilot flying solo remembers the first time he flew with his mentor, feeling both terrified and exhilarated.

25.  A teacher, setting up her classroom, recalls her first day of school, the nerves and excitement, and the teacher who inspired her.

26.  before stepping onto the stage, an actor remembers his first play in a community theater, the applause, and the feeling of belonging.

27.  A couple, renovating their home, uncovers a time capsule they buried when they first moved in, reminiscing about their dreams for the future.

28.  A journalist writing a story about a local hero remembers the person who inspired her to pursue truth and justice through her writing.

29.  A photographer capturing a sunset recalls when he decided to quit his job and travel the world with just his camera.

30.  A young girl learning to ride a bike triggers her mother's memory of the day she learned to ride, the falls, the scrapes, and the ultimate triumph.

31.  An inventor showcasing a new gadget flashes back to playing in his father's workshop, where his fascination with how things work began.

32.  After saving a family from a fire, a firefighter remembers the first time he saw a fire station as a child, igniting his dream to become a hero.

33.  A librarian organizing a vintage book collection finds a note she wrote as a child, declaring her love for stories and her dream to be surrounded by them.

34.  A graphic designer launching a website recalls the moment she won her first art contest with a simple but creative drawing.

35.  A professional gamer, winning a championship, remembers the days of playing video games with his siblings, where his competitive spirit was born.

36.  Backstage before a performance, a dancer recalls the comforting words of her first dance teacher, encouraging her after a fall during a recital.

37.  A marine biologist observing coral reefs recalls a family vacation at the sea, where her fascination with the ocean's depths began.

38.  A poet, reading at a café, remembers scribbling verses in a notebook as a teenager, finding solace and expression through words.

39.  A hiker, reaching a summit, recalls a childhood adventure in the woods, where the love for exploration and nature took root.

40.  A fashion designer at a runway show remembers sewing clothes for her dolls, dreaming of one day seeing her creations on the catwalk.

41.  Speaking at a rally, an environmental activist remembers the moment they witnessed the destruction of a beloved forest, sparking their commitment to conservation.

42.  A surgeon performing a real-life all-saving operation recalls the science fair project that first introduced him to the wonders of the human body.

43.  A violinist, tuning her instrument before a concert, remembers the first time she heard a violin, mesmerized by its sound.

44.  A social worker helping a family remembers the kindness of a stranger who changed her life, inspiring her to give back to others.

45.  An architect unveiling a new building design recalls building intricate structures with blocks as a child, dreaming of creating real buildings.

46.  A software developer launching an app remembers the first computer his family bought, sparking his fascination with technology.

47.  A teacher, watching students at graduation, remembers her own graduation and her fears and hopes for the future.

48.  A skateboarder, landing a difficult trick, recalls the countless falls and failures and the perseverance it took to succeed.

49.  A photographer, capturing the laughter of a family, remembers the old camera he found in his attic, which introduced him to the joy of photography.

50.  A couple, looking at old photos, reminisces about their adventurous road trip, where they got lost but found unforgettable memories.

51.  A journalist reporting from a war zone remembers the promise made to a childhood friend to tell the stories of those unheard.

52.  A mountain climber facing a challenging ascent recalls the encouragement of a mentor who taught him to face fears with courage.

53.  An elderly painter teaching a young girl to paint remembers the criticism that almost made her give up and the resilience she chose instead.

54.  A nurse, comforting a scared patient, remembers the nurse who cared for her during a childhood illness, inspiring her career choice.

55.  A writer experiencing writer's block remembers the comforting words of her first writing mentor, encouraging her to find her voice again.

56.  A scientist, watching a rocket launch, remembers staring at the night sky as a child, dreaming of exploring the stars.

57.  A teacher starting a new school year remembers the excitement and nerves of her first day as a student, fueling her passion to inspire others.

58.  A documentary filmmaker editing footage recalls the moment he realized stories have the power to change the world.

59.  An entrepreneur who opened a new store remembers selling lemonade as a kid, dreaming of running her own business one day.

60.  A therapist helping a client through a tough time remembers the guidance she received from her own therapist, coming full circle in her career.

61.  A beekeeper tending to his hives flashes back to a childhood fascination with a bee garden, which blossomed into a lifelong passion for bee conservation.

62.  A jewelry designer crafting a unique piece, she remembers finding a beautiful stone on a beach as a child, sparking her love for creating beauty from nature.

63.  A professional diver exploring an underwater wreck recalls his first dive into a pool, the thrill of submersion igniting his future career.

64.  A comedian performing on stage remembers making her siblings laugh during tough times discovering the power of humor to heal.

65.  A cyclist, completing a challenging race flashes back to receiving her first bike, a gift that set her on a path of perseverance and adventure.

66.  A botanist discovering a rare plant remembers exploring the woods as a child, and a curiosity for the natural world takes root.

67.  A sculptor, chiseling away at a piece of marble, recalls molding clay figures with her grandfather, her first mentor in the art of shaping beauty.

68.  A language teacher, introducing students to a new language, remembers the challenge and joy of learning a language while living abroad.

69.  A park ranger leading a trail hike flashes back to a family camping trip, where his love for the wilderness and desire to protect it was born.

70.  A ballet dancer practicing in the studio remembers her first pair of ballet shoes, a gift that danced her into a world of discipline and grace.

71.  On the set of his latest movie , a film director recalls the awe of watching his first cinema masterpiece, inspiring a journey behind the camera.

72.  A mechanic restoring a classic car remembers helping his dad fix up an old truck, sparking a lifelong passion for bringing machines back to life.

73.  A florist, arranging a bouquet, flashes back to her first garden, planted with her mother, where she learned the language of flowers.

74.  A museum curator, setting up an exhibit, remembers a school field trip that opened her eyes to the stories behind artifacts and art.

75.  A chess champion, planning her next move, recalls learning chess from her grandmother, discovering strategy and patience on the board.

76.  A surfer, catching a perfect wave, remembers the fear and exhilaration of her first wipeout and the determination it fueled.

77.  An antique dealer, discovering a rare find, flashes back to treasure hunting at flea markets with his father, sparking a love for history and stories.

78.  A voice coach, helping a shy student find her voice, remembers her own journey of overcoming stage fright with the help of a mentor.

79.  A pastry chef baking her signature cake recalls baking with her family during the holidays when her passion for pastry was born.

80.  A martial artist teaching a class remembers the discipline and respect learned from his first sensei, values he aims to pass on.

81.  A pilot, flying above the clouds, flashes back to making paper airplanes with her brother, dreaming of soaring through the skies.

82.  A veterinarian caring for animals remembers adopting her first pet, an experience that shaped her commitment to animal welfare.

83.  A landscape architect designing a peaceful garden recalls the tranquility of her childhood backyard, inspiring her to create spaces for reflection.

84.  A professional snowboarder hitting the slopes remembers the thrill of sledding down a snowy hill, sparking a love for winter sports.

85.  A choir director leading a rehearsal flashes back to singing in her community choir, where she discovered the joy and power of collective voices.

86.  A furniture maker, crafting a wooden table remembers building birdhouses with his grandfather, where he learned the value of craftsmanship.

87.  An ice sculptor carving a figure recalls the first time she saw an ice sculpture at a winter festival, mesmerized by its beauty and impermanence.

88.  A philanthropist funding a new community project remembers the support she received from her community growing up, inspiring her to give back.

89.  A mountain guide leading an expedition flashes back to his first solo hike, where he found strength and solitude in the mountains.

90.  A costume designer, sewing a period costume remembers dressing up in her grandmother's clothes, where she first played with the idea of becoming someone else through fashion.

91.  A children's book author, drafting a new story recalls the enchantment of hearing fairy tales by the fireside, sparking a desire to weave her own magical tales.

92.  An urban planner sketching a green space within a bustling city remembers playing in a small park as a child, an oasis that fueled his passion for sustainable living spaces.

93.  A professional swimmer preparing for a crucial race flashes back to splashing in a backyard pool under the watchful eyes of her supportive parents, where her love for water first emerged.

94.  A glassblower shaping a delicate vase remembers the fascination of watching a glassblowing demonstration on a family vacation, captivated by the art's fluid beauty and precision.

95.  A forensic scientist analyzing evidence recalls the intrigue of solving puzzles as a kid, a curiosity that paved the way for her career in unraveling mysteries.

96.  A stage actor, memorizing lines for a Shakespearean play, remembers the awe and inspiration of his first theater experience, igniting a lifelong passion for the performing arts.

97.  A wildlife conservationist tracking endangered species flashes back to receiving a book on animals as a gift, which opened his eyes to the wonders and fragility of the natural world.

98.  A sommelier, tasting a vintage wine, remembers the aromas of her family's vineyard, where her deep appreciation and understanding of wine began.

99.  An astronaut, gazing at the stars from the International Space Station, recalls a high school astronomy class that expanded her universe, setting her on a path to explore the cosmos.

100.  A master carpenter teaching apprentices the trade remembers the pride in completing his first woodworking project, a simple box that represented the beginning of his journey in craftsmanship.

101.  An emergency room nurse comforting a scared patient flashes back to a moment of personal crisis, where the compassionate care of a nurse inspired her to pursue a career in healing.

Flashbacks, when used creatively and judiciously, can be a powerful tool in storytelling. They enrich narratives by providing depth to characters, creating suspense, and enhancing the reader's or audience's experience. 

Whether you're writing a novel, crafting a movie, or devising a graphic novel, mastering the art of the flashback can elevate your storytelling to new heights.

Frequently Asked Questions About Flashbacks (FAQs)

What is a flashback.

A flashback is a narrative device used to transport the audience back in time from the present moment in the main story. It reveals past events that have happened and shaped a character's past, offering new insight into their motivations and the story's context.

Why Use Flashbacks?

Create Suspense:  By strategically revealing background information, you can create suspense or solve a mystery.

Develop Characters:  Flashbacks provide depth to characters by showing significant moments from their past.

Enhance Narrative:  They can serve to explain plot points or backstories that enrich the reader or audience experience.

How to Write Flashbacks?

Golden Rule:  Ensure the flashback is essential for the story. It should add something valuable that cannot be conveyed in the present tense.

Seamless Integration:  Introduce flashbacks smoothly without jarring the reader. Transition cues, such as a tense or writing style change, can help.

Keep It Brief:  Unless it's crucial, keep the flashback short. A long flashback risks losing the audience's interest in the main storyline.

What are some Flashback Examples in Literature and Film?

Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird"  uses flashbacks extensively to reveal the  characters' past  and motivations.

Citizen Kane  is a film that extensively uses flashbacks to unravel the mystery of Charles Foster Kane's life.

The Harry Potter  series employs flashbacks to provide backstory and crucial plot points, enhancing the depth of the magical world.

What are the different Types of Flashbacks?

Internal Flashback:  A character's reflection on their own memories, often triggered by a present event or object.

External Flashback:  A full scene from the past inserted into the narrative, showing events the main character may not have experienced firsthand.

How to Craft Effective Flashback Scenes?

Focus on Key Moments:  Only pivotal events that significantly impact the present story or character development.

Maintain Chronological Clarity:  Clearly distinguish between time periods to avoid confusing the reader.

Use Sensory Details:  Make flashbacks vivid and immersive by including sensory details that evoke the character's memories and emotions.

What are some Creative Uses of Flashbacks?

Graphic Novels:  Utilize visual cues to transition between past and present, offering a dynamic way to explore characters' backstories.

Movies with Non-linear Narratives:  Films like Memento use flashbacks to reveal backstories and as the main narrative structure, challenging the audience to piece together the story.

What are Common Pitfalls to avoid when using flashbacks?

Overuse:  Too many flashbacks can fragment the narrative and weaken the main story.

Irrelevance:  Every flashback should serve a clear purpose, either advancing the plot or deepening the understanding of characters.

Disruption:  Flashbacks should not interrupt the flow of the main story. They should feel like a natural narrative part, not a detour.

What is the difference between Flashbacks vs. Flash Forwards?

While flashbacks take the audience back in time to reveal past events, flash-forwards propel the audience into the future, offering a glimpse of what might happen. 

Both are powerful tools in storytelling, for example, but their uses and effects are distinct.

What are some Innovative Flashback Scenes?

Consider the plane crash scene in a movie. An external flashback scene could show the crash from one character's perspective, while an internal flashback reveals another character's emotional response to remembering the event. This dual approach can provide depth and context to the present storyline.

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How to Write Flashbacks: With Examples!

Posted on Aug 2, 2020

Written by Hannah Lee Kidder

Sometimes a story requires a flashback—if you can’t start at the beginning, maybe you just throw the beginning somewhere in the middle.

Do you need to tell the beginning at all? In this blog, we’re going to learn about flashbacks and if your story really needs them.

Some good reasons to use flashbacks:

• To tell your story in a more compelling and clever way
• To allow your reader to get invested before you go back to cover the less exciting requirements of your story
• To postpone revealing information for intrigue or flow

These are all fine reasons to employ a flashback, but let’s talk about when you should and when you shouldn’t use them.

Here’s what we’ll cover for how to write flashbacks:

What are flashbacks?

How to write flashbacks.

• Examples of flashbacks

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Flashbacks are simply flashes back to an earlier event in a story’s narrative. They can occur at any point in a story. Most prologues are flashbacks.

Flashbacks can be tricky little guys to nail, especially in written works. I see a lot of inexperienced writers mess them up big time.

They’re either too frequent, overdone, too long, irrelevant, or awkwardly shoved into a scene they have no business interrupting.

Let’s look at ways to use flashbacks effectively.

So what’s the best way to write a flashback? When do you use them, when do you not use them, and how do you use them well?

Here are five tips to help you write flashbacks.

#1 – Earn your flashback

If you throw in a long flashback too early in the story, you run the risk of your reader not being interested. Are they invested enough in the story to hop back in time with you? If your flashback is longer than a page or two, it may turn readers off if they haven’t grown attached enough to your characters and your story to care about extra information, like a flashback. Save your flashbacks for a point in the story when your readers should be invested enough to time travel.

Smoothly transition into and out of your flashback.

You don’t want a flashback out of nothing. Just like a regular scene, write transitions to help it flow as a cohesive piece. A great way to do transition is with a trigger, like a character hears a word, sees a flash of something familiar, smells, tastes, feels something that reminds them of the time they’re flashing back to. This provides a logical bridge from the main storyline to the flashback. Transitioning back out of it can be as simple as someone in the present-time saying, “Hello?” You need something to jog the character back into the present. Clear edges of the flashback gives your reader the stability they need to follow along. On the flip side of that, negating the transitions is a great way to intentionally make your audience uncomfortable or confused. I’ll explain that in a bit.

#2 – Make sure the flashback is relevant and necessary

Don’t hop around in your timeline for no reason. It’ll make your story more difficult to follow. If you’re using a flashback, employ the same rules we mentioned for prologues :

Is it crucial for the reader’s understanding? If no, don’t use it.

Does it make sense without it? If yes, don’t use it.

Can you weave the information into a regular scene instead? If yes, don’t use it

#3 – Use the flashback sparingly

And use your flashbacks sparingly. Flashbacks are a need-to-include element in a written story because it takes more effort for the reader to settle into a flashback scene.

Carefully critique your flashback scenes for necessity and relevance.

#4 – Keep the flashback brief

You don’t need pages and pages of backstory—most of that should be worked into your regular timeline.

If you’re sure the flashback is relevant and necessary, then you should be able to hit your point quickly and get out before it drags on for too long.

#5 – Make the flashback meaningful

Your flashbacks should carry weight—they shouldn’t just be exposition or a convenient way to pass information to your reader.

Like we said, it takes effort on the reader’s part to keep up with a flashback. Don’t make them do extra work for no payoff.

Types of flashback

There are essentially two main types of flashback: A full flashback scene or a brief in-scene flashback.

For a full flashback, you need transitions, as mentioned above. Something to trigger the beginning of the flashback, something to trigger the end, and likely scene breaks or a chapter change to separate it from the original timeline. These scenes are much longer and cover a lot more ground than an in-scene flashback.

The more common flashback in novels and short stories is the in-scene flashback. Let’s look at a couple of examples to see how they’re woven into scenes without pulling the reader away from the present for a significant amount of time.

I mentioned above that sometimes you may want to confuse your audience. Here’s an excerpt from the short story, Wolverine Frogs (TW: sexual assault):

The warm sun and humidity hit my face like opening a dryer mid-cycle. I step onto the sidewalk and start down the street.

“Maya, wait up!” Andre is buttoning his shirt and running toward me barefoot.

I keep walking. “I have to get back before next period.”

“Wait.” He grabs my arm. “Maya, just look at me.”

I was pinned to the ground in the dim room, fingernails digging into the wooden floorboards, red light blinking in front of my face.

“Just look at me,” the man said through gritted teeth.

I closed my eyes tight.

“Look at me!”

I was on my stomach and he was on top of me and I couldn’t look at him if I tried. My fingers were white, gripping at the cracks on the floor.

I press my hands into the floor and push up as hard as I can. He falls off and I face him. I lunge and dig into his skin, tearing at his eyes with claws I didn’t know I had.

“Maya, stop!” Andre cries.

I’m outside, in the sun. A bird sings somewhere.

This flashback is weaved into the scene because the character is experiencing PTSD in the form of a triggered flashback. She’s confused about when and where she is, so the reader is confused about when and where they are.

The transition is subtle, indicated by switching from present to past tense. The scene is in the present tense, then, “I was pinned to the ground in the dim room,” gives us a time and scene shift. She was outside, now she’s not. It’s confusing, but clear enough to follow.

This scene isn’t set apart by a full flashback with scene breaks because it’s meant to be extremely brief and confusing. The reader is just as displaced and lost as the character.

Let’s look at an example of an in-scene flashback that isn’t intentionally confusing for the reader from Landline by Rainbow Rowell:

Her mom had turned Georgie’s childhood bedroom into the pug trophy room as soon as she graduated from high school—which was irritating because Georgie didn’t actually move out of the house until she graduated from college.

“Where else am I supposed to display their ribbons?” her mom had said when Georgie objected. “ They’re award-winning dogs. You’ve got one foot out the door anyway.”

“Not currently. Currently, I have both feet on my bed.”

“Take off your shoes, Georgie. This isn’t a barn.”

This isn’t a full scene—just a bit of dialogue. It’s triggered by Georgie walking into her childhood room and remembering a conversation she’d had with her mother. It’s indicated with italics and past perfect tense (while the rest of the scene is in the past tense).

The flashback shows Georgie’s dynamic with her mother. It’s much quicker and easier to slip in while Georgie is entering her room, because it was already necessary for her to do so, and to show the relationship with her mom may have required an additional scene. This flashback saves a little time.

Flashback examples

Flashbacks most often occur in visual storytelling, like movies, TV shows, and comic books. Let’s look at some examples.

— Flashbacks in movies examples

Flashbacks are most commonly found in screen media. Many films are nearly entirely flashback, like:

• Forrest Gump , where Forrest tells his life story to random people who sit with him on the bench. This narrative scope serves several purposes: showing how people react to Forrest, how he’s accepted, and how he’s open to being friends with anyone. It’s characterizing and sets the tone for the film.
• Titanic is told in a flashback from the perspective of elderly Rose. This narration leads to intrigue. We know that she survives, but we don’t know what happens to Jack until the end of the movie.
• The Notebook is told in a flashback as Noah reads their story to dementia patient, Allie, from her own journal. This is stupid and serves no real purpose, which fits the quality of the rest of the story.

— Flashbacks in TV shows examples

One of the most popular flashback styles is from the TV show LOST. The audience could keep track of flashbacks by the characters and setting changing appearance, but also by the signature “whoosh” to indicate we were hopping back in time. ( Here it is, if you’ve somehow been able to forget.)

— Flashbacks in books examples

Flashbacks in books aren’t nearly as common as they are in TV shows and movies. It’s much easier to transition between timelines in a visual medium—with books, you really have to work for it.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak flashes back and forward through the character’s story to create suspense and intrigue.

Other stories that famously employ flashbacks are To Kill a Mockingbird, The Five People You Meet in Heaven , and The Odyssey.

Flashbacks are one more tool writers can use to build a compelling and impactful story, but they’re tricky! Use these tips to make intentional choices about the structure of your timeline so you can utilize flashbacks in a way that helps readers connect with the story.

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How to Write Epic Flashbacks: 13 Powerful Writing Tips

Embark on a thrilling journey through time as you master the art of crafting epic flashbacks in your stories. Unleash the power of the past to captivate your readers, evoke emotions, and reveal hidden truths. Are you ready to discover the secrets behind creating seamless, immersive, and impactful flashbacks that will leave your readers spellbound? Dive in and let the adventure begin!

What is a Flashback in a Story?

A flashback is a scene or sequence in a story that transports the reader back in time to reveal important information about a character or event. Flashbacks can be a powerful tool for deepening your story, provide backstory, or reveal pivotal moments from a character’s past.

Types of Flashbacks

Flashbacks come in various forms and structures, each with its unique function and effect on the story. Understanding these different types of flashbacks can help writers select the most suitable approach for their narrative. The following are some of the most common types:

• Straight Break Flashback: This type of flashback involves a sudden shift from the present timeline to a past event. The scene transition is often marked by a line break, a change in formatting, or a clear signal in the text that the story is moving to a different time.
• Dream Sequences: Dream sequences are flashbacks that occur within a character’s dreams or nightmares. They can reveal significant events or emotions from the past, providing readers with a deeper understanding of the character’s psyche.
• Memories: Memories are triggered by a character’s thoughts or conversations. As characters reflect on their past experiences or share stories with others, readers gain insights into the characters’ backgrounds and motivations.
• Foreshadowing Flashbacks: These are brief glimpses of past events that serve to hint at future occurrences in the story. By offering subtle clues about what’s to come, foreshadowing flashbacks can create suspense and intrigue, keeping readers engaged.
• Framed Narratives: In a framed narrative, a character within the story shares a past event or anecdote, effectively creating a story within a story. This technique allows the author to present flashbacks as firsthand accounts from characters, offering an additional layer of perspective to the narrative.
• Epistolary Flashbacks: Epistolary flashbacks use letters, diary entries, or other written documents to reveal events from the past. This can provide readers with an intimate and personal look into a character’s thoughts, emotions, and experiences.

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Why Use Flashbacks in Your Story?

Flashbacks serve as a powerful narrative tool, enabling writers to enrich their stories in various ways. By incorporating them, authors can achieve multiple objectives, such as enhancing character development, revealing important information, building suspense, and strengthening the overall narrative structure .

How to Write an Epic Flashback

Crafting an epic flashback requires careful planning and a thoughtful approach to ensure it adds value to the story and engages the reader. Following these tips can help you create a powerful and effective flashback:

1. Pinpoint the Perfect Trigger

Select a suitable trigger in the present timeline to initiate the flashback. This can be a sensory cue, an object, or an event that reminds the character of a past experience and smoothly transitions the reader into the past.

2. Add Sensory Details

Incorporate sensory details to make the flashback vivid and immersive. By engaging the reader’s senses, you create a more memorable and emotionally resonant experience.

3. Make it Relevant & Necessary

Ensure the flashback is relevant to the main narrative and adds value to the story. The information revealed should be essential to the reader’s understanding or contribute to character development

4. Reveal Backstory

Use flashbacks to reveal important backstory elements that enrich the main narrative and provide context for the reader.

5. Develop Characters

Flashbacks can offer insights into a character’s motivations, relationships, and personal growth, deepening the reader’s connection to the story.

6. Unleash the Power of Dialogues

Incorporate dialogue to bring the flashback to life and create dynamic interactions between the characters within it.

7. Set Up Foreshadowing

Strategically use flashbacks to foreshadow future events, building suspense and intrigue in the story.

8. Keep It Brief

Maintain the flashback’s brevity, focusing on essential details and avoiding unnecessary information that might disrupt the main narrative’s pacing.

9. Choose a Consistent Tense

Maintain a consistent tense throughout the flashback, ensuring a smooth and coherent reading experience.

10. Use a Distinct Narrative Voice

Differentiate the flashback from the main narrative by employing a distinct voice or style, making it easy for readers to distinguish between past and present.

11. Ensuring Chronological Clarity

Clarify the flashback’s timeline to avoid confusion, particularly when multiple flashbacks are involved.

12. Avoid the Info Dumping

Reveal information gradually and organically, rather than overwhelming the reader with excessive backstory at once.

13. Balance Your Flashback Frequency

Utilize flashbacks sparingly and strategically to prevent disrupting the flow of the main narrative.

How Do You Start a Flashback?

Starting a flashback effectively is essential to ensure a smooth transition for the reader from the present narrative to the past. First, you will have to identify an appropriate trigger that naturally reminds the character of a past event. This can be a sensory experience, an object, or a specific incident in the story . Make sure to establish a clear connection between the trigger and the flashback, so readers can easily follow the shift in time.

What Words Signal the Start of the Flashback?

Using words or phrases that signal the beginning of a flashback can help alert readers to the shift in time, allowing them to prepare for the transition mentally. Here are ten example words and phrases that can be used to signal the start of a flashback:

• As if transported back in time…
• Reminiscent of…
• Memories flooded back…
• It all came rushing back…
• In an instant, she was back…
• She couldn’t help but remember…
• The past resurfaced…
• Once upon a time…

Incorporating these words and phrases into your writing can help create a seamless transition into the flashback, ensuring a smooth and engaging reading experience for your audience.

3 Great Flashback Examples

Literary works abound with masterfully crafted flashbacks that enhance the narrative and captivate readers. The following examples showcase the power of flashbacks in storytelling, inspiring writers to explore the potential of this narrative device in their own work.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban , by J.K. Rowling

In the third installment of the beloved Harry Potter series, Rowling employs flashbacks through the Pensieve, a magical object that allows characters to relive memories. These flashbacks unveil crucial plot points, offer insights into the enigmatic Sirius Black, and reveal hidden layers of the wizarding world. Rowling’s skillful use of flashbacks not only adds depth to the narrative but also enhances the emotional impact of the story. ( Learn More )

To Kill a Mockingbird , by Harper Lee

Harper Lee’s classic novel takes the reader on an emotional journey into the past, as Scout Finch reminisces about her childhood experiences in the racially divided town of Maycomb. Through a series of evocative flashbacks, Lee explores themes of injustice, prejudice, and moral growth. These flashbacks serve to deepen the reader’s connection to the characters and underscore the novel’s timeless messages. ( Learn More )

The Great Gatsby , by F. Scott Fitzgerald

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s iconic work, The Great Gatsby , utilizes flashbacks to unravel the enigmatic figure of Jay Gatsby and his tumultuous past. Through these glimpses into Gatsby’s history, Fitzgerald reveals the character’s dreams, obsessions, and ultimate downfall. The flashbacks serve to heighten the emotional resonance of the story, making Gatsby’s tragic fate all the more poignant for the reader. ( Learn More )

7 Common Mistakes When Using Flashbacks

Incorporating flashbacks into your narrative can be a powerful storytelling tool, but it’s essential to avoid common pitfalls. Here are some frequent flashback mistakes and how to steer clear of them:

1. Overusing Flashbacks

• Mistake: Excessive use of flashbacks can disrupt the flow of your narrative, making it confusing or tedious for the reader.
• Solution: Use them sparingly and ensure each one of them serves a specific purpose, such as character development or revealing crucial information.

2. Poor Transitions

• Mistake: Abrupt or unclear transitions between the present and past can leave readers disoriented.
• Solution: Smoothly transition in and out of characters’ memories by using clear signals, such as specific words, phrases, or formatting changes.

3. Lengthy Flashbacks

• Mistake: Overly long flashbacks can disrupt the pacing of your main narrative, potentially losing the reader’s interest.
• Solution: Keep flashbacks concise, focusing on essential details and avoiding unnecessary information that might weigh down the story.

4. Lacking Integration with the Main Narrative

• Mistake: Introducing flashbacks that feel disjointed from the main narrative, resulting in a fractured and disconnected story.
• Solution: Seamlessly weave flashbacks into the story by ensuring they are well-placed, relevant, and enhance the overall narrative structure.

5. Complex or Confusing Structure

• Mistake: Presenting flashbacks in a convoluted or confusing manner, making it difficult for readers to follow the story.
• Solution: Simplify their structure and maintain a clear, linear progression within the flashback itself. If using multiple flashbacks, ensure they are easy to follow and differentiate.

6. Using Flashbacks as an Expository Crutch

• Mistake: Relying on flashbacks to reveal excessive backstory or explain plot points, rather than integrating this information organically into the main narrative.
• Solution: Use them to supplement the main narrative, and avoid overloading them with information. Instead, reveal backstory and plot details through a combination of dialogue, action, and description.

7. Lack of Emotional Impact

• Mistake: Writing flashbacks that lack emotional depth or fail to evoke a strong response from readers.
• Solution: Focus on the emotional aspects of the character’s past experiences, using sensory details and strong character reactions to create an immersive and emotionally resonant journey for the reader.

By being mindful of these common flashback mistakes, you can ensure your use of this narrative device is effective and contributes to a compelling, engaging story.

How Long Should a Flashback Be?

The length of a flashback can vary depending on the purpose it serves in your story and the pacing of your narrative. However, it’s crucial to avoid overly lengthy flashbacks that could disrupt the flow of your story.

Generally, a flashback should not be longer than about 300 to 600 words , which is approximately 1 to 2 pages. This range allows for enough detail to convey its purpose while maintaining reader engagement and preserving the momentum of the main narrative.

How to Format a Flashback?

Formatting flashbacks consistently and clearly can help readers easily identify when they’re transitioning between the present and past. Here are some general formatting guidelines and suggestions for flashbacks:

• Line breaks or separators: Insert a line break, an empty line, or a visual separator (e.g., three asterisks) before and after the flashback to indicate a shift in time.
• Italics: Some writers choose to italicize the entire flashback to differentiate it from the main narrative. However, this can be challenging for readers if the flashback is lengthy, as italics are usually a bit harder to read than regular fonts. Use this technique sparingly and only for short memories.
• Transition words or phrases: Use words or phrases that signal the beginning and end of a flashback, such as “remembered,” “long ago,” or “back in time.”
• Tense changes: Maintain a consistent tense within the narration of the past events (typically past perfect), and switch back to the main narrative tense when the flashback ends.

Frequently Asked Questions

When to use a flashback.

Use a flashback when you need to reveal important information from the past, develop a character, or create suspense.

Can I Start My Story With a Flashback?

Yes, you can start your story with a flashback, but make sure it serves a clear purpose and engages the reader from the beginning.

Can You Write a Flashback Within a Flashback?

While it’s possible to write a flashback within a flashback, it can be confusing for the reader. Use this technique sparingly and ensure clarity in your narrative.

Flashback vs. Backstory: What’s the Difference?

A flashback is a scene or sequence that transports the reader back in time, while backstory refers to a character’s history or events that occurred prior to the main narrative. Flashbacks are one way to reveal backstory in a story.

Can I Use a Flashback to Reveal Information?

Yes, they can be an effective way to reveal information, as long as the information is relevant and contributes to the development of the story or its characters.

Can I Use a Flashback in Any Genre of Writing?

Flashbacks can be used in virtually any genre of writing, from literary fiction to science fiction, mystery, and romance. The key is to ensure this technique is appropriate for the story and contributes to its overall development.

Final Thoughts

As our voyage through the realm of flashbacks comes to an end, you are now equipped with the knowledge and skills to weave captivating and powerful memories into your stories. Carry these 13 potent writing tips with you, and watch your characters come to life as their pasts unfold before your readers’ eyes.

Craft of Writing Quiz (Hard)

Yves Lummer

As the founder of BookBird, Yves Lummer has pioneered a thriving community for authors, leading more than 100,000 of them towards their dreams of self-publishing. His expertise in book marketing has become a catalyst for multiple best-sellers, establishing his reputation as an influential figure in the publishing world.

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How to Write Flashbacks (So They Aren’t Clunky)

Hey there! I bet many of you will already know all about writing flashbacks. But when I first started writing stories, I was confounded by how exactly to handle past tense and past present tense in flashbacks and other passages about things that happened prior to the main narrative. I’ve seen people on writing forums ask about how to format sections like these, so I know I’m not the only one who’s been confused.

Now, some people will tell you there’s no such thing as a properly written flashback–they’re against them, full stop. Although I go along with a lot of the conventional wisdom about writing, I think flashbacks are fine. I write them, and more often than not, I enjoy them as a reader. But even if you’re anti-flashback, you still may run into issues with past tense versus past perfect tense. Although present tense is becoming more popular in fiction, most of it is still written in the past tense. That means when you start talking about something that happened before the current narrative, you need to use past perfect tense.

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Just to be clear: this is past tense. (I’m going to write it based on what’s happening in my apartment right now.)

Outside, a police siren wailed, and Pippin started barking. “Quiet,” Bryn said. She picked up his favorite rubber toy, making it squeak. The dog ran over to her, hoping for a game of fetch.

And this is past perfect tense:

Outside, a police siren had wailed, and Pippin had started barking. “Quiet,” Bryn had said. She’d picked up his favorite rubber toy, making it squeak. The dog had run to her, hoping for a game of fetch.

You’ll notice that I made “she had” into a contraction. When I use past perfect tense in a novel, I usually make “she had,” “he had,” “I had,” “we had,” and “they had” into contractions for a smoother and quicker read—a trick I picked up from my editor.

But if you go on for several paragraphs, all those “hads” are going to sound clunky, even if you make some of them into contractions. You’ll get sick of writing them, and readers will get sick of reading them. So what do you do?

Here’s what I don’t recommend: putting the flashback in italics. Readers may get confused and think it’s describing a dream, which is a more standard reason to format a long passage in italics.

Instead, here’s one easy way to handle verb tenses in flashbacks and long passages about past events.

Write the first paragraph or the first few sentences of your flashback or long passage in past present tense.

Then, slip into simple past tense for most of your flashback. I usually start a new paragraph before I go into the simple past tense, rather than mixing two tenses in a paragraph, but this is a stylistic choice, and it may depend on what you’re writing about and even on the rhythm of the sentences.

You can switch back to past perfect tense for the last paragraph of the flashback. Here’s another option for making the transition from the flashback. If something else jogs the main character’s thoughts and makes them aware of what’s happening around them—for instance, if there’s a knock on the door, or you talk about how the candle on the table burns out—that will shift the reader back into the main timeline as well. In cases like this, you don’t even really need to switch back to past perfect tense at the end.

I’ve noticed that when a few writers are in the middle of a flashback or any passage that happened before the main narrative, they switch into simple past tense, but sprinkle in past perfect in a couple of places. That’s an option, and I think it really depends on the flow of the sentences.

Does that all make sense? I hope so! If you’re thinking about writing a book, check out my book Blank Page to Final Draft . It addresses a lot of issues I see in my day job as an executive editor, and it’s full of mini-lessons to improve your writing style!

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How do you feel about flashbacks? Do you have other tips for making transitions into and out of flashbacks more smooth? Let us know in the comments! Thanks for reading!

Share this:

34 thoughts on “ how to write flashbacks (so they aren’t clunky) ”.

My current project is book two in a four-book series. I’m using the same characters so it’s necessary to explain some of their history from the first book. I want book two to work as a stand-alone. I’m finding dialogue is a good way to do that.

It doesn’t take much. A short sentence here and there, not all at once but throughout the first few chapters. I explained the reason one of the characters was in jail and on a work-release program to help the community by his conversations with other characters, and their conversations about him. It only takes a hint here and there to catch the reader up, and it also makes them curious if the information is fed to them a little at a time.

All of my characters have a history from the first book, of course. I’m reveling it a little at a time, like liquid from an eye dropper. Some of it may take several chapters and some may take the entire novel, depending on how my muse leads me. For now, dialogue and small bits of narrative are working well.

This sounds like a great project, Bonnie! And it sounds like you’re doing a great job of letting readers know where they are in the story.

Thank you, Bryn. I’m having a great time writing this four-book series set in a small town in the Missouri Ozarks. I love my characters. I don’t know what my market will be since there is no sex or murders, yet mystery and romance abound. It has a gentle Christian slant but no preaching—and there are guns. I have three publishers and an agent interested. They’ve asked for the full manuscript of the first book, so that is encouraging. I’m calling it Christian romantic mystery.

I’m revealing a little at a time not reveling. ?

Thanks for the tips Bryn. Flashbacks can be difficult at times.

Thanks for reading, Cheryl! Hope you have a great weekend. 🙂

I don’t mind flashbacks as long as they are short and to the point. A couple of paragraphs at most and I like them handled the way you describe. However, my preference is to see history revealed as Bonnie describes above. ?

Thank you, JoHawkTheWriter. It works for me but everyone has their own way.

Thanks for this topic, Bryn. I enjoy flashbacks as long as it’s clear the sequence is a flashback (and, importantly, as long as it serves a purpose). I like the method of starting in past present and switching to simple past…if done well, it’s sneaky and draws the reader in without them noticing. If I ever get to Book Three in my series, there’ll be a mix of present events with one of the main character’s origin story…so whether it’s flashbacks or chapter structuring, I’ll have to figure out what method works best to tell the story. Have a great weekend!! ?

Ohh, I love learning about a character’s origin story once I’ve gotten to know him or her. So much fun! Have a great weekend yourself! 🙂

I’m reading a good novel now that jumps back and forth between 1942 and 1986. The author keeps the flashbacks in separate chapters, so each chapter is labelled 1942 or 1986, freeing the author to use the same verb tense in both parts of the story. I haven’t been confused in the least, especially since the main character is a child in ’42.

I like to use flashbacks when I feel a certain past event needs to be fully dramatized, especially for those big, life altering moments in my characters’ lives.

That’s just my approach, too!

Thank you so much for posting this, Bryn!!! I wish there was a way to save it so that I can go back to it often. Your examples are great.

Maybe try copy and paste?

If you’re a subscriber and receive the blog by email, what I do is move the email to a poetry or writing file on my mail server. But if you search “Bryn Donovan write flashbacks,” it will probably pop up, too.

Thank you, Atenni. I do get it in my email. I could use my brain once in a while, but it’s Friday….haha.

I’m retired, so every day is Saturday.

Savannah, I just subscribed to your blog and invite you to check out mine: alariepoet.com

Oh, so glad it’s helpful! Thanks for reading, Savannah. 🙂

Flashbacks can be tough. Thank you for sharing this.

You did a great job of explaining! I remember when an editor told me to switch to past perfect tense and I had to look online to see what she was talking about! I like your method or the “eye dropper” method. I don’t usually like reading a flashback that pops up in the middle of the action and a character decides at that point to take time out to think back.

Hi, Jena! I agree…flashbacks in the middle of the action are tricky. Sometimes it doesn’t seem plausible that the character would be just standing there, mentally reliving the past… 🙂 And if it’s right in the middle of the action, sometimes you want to get on with the story in the present day! That is such a great issue and I never see people talking about it. Thanks for commenting!

What I have been doing in the novel that I’m working on is separating the flashbacks by chapters. Except for a couple scenes where it wouldn’t make sense to place them elsewhere. I enjoy playing with past perfect and simple past tenses to see which reads more easily. Thanks for your help Bryn 🙂

Oh, I’ve done that, too, Robin–when it’s a long flashback, sometimes it makes sense for it to get its own chapter! I’m glad you mentioned that. Thanks for commenting!

This is a great succinct post about punctuation! I’m an editor, and I find myself trying to fix a lot of tense issues. These are all really solid fixes for moving between a moment in story-present and a moment in story-past. Thanks for putting it clearly 🙂

Thanks, P.R.! Yeah, tense issues are so tricky for writers. Thanks for reading, and for the kind words 🙂

Thx for this info. I love flashbacks. Personally, I’ve always felt that characters have a past, a history I must include when I’m writing. I can’t help myself….lol….A contest judge once told me in a flashback, one “had” in the beginning and one “had” at the ending. This pretty much covers what you said.

I like that perspective on flashbacks, Tabitha—it can give the characters more depth. Thanks for commenting!

I’m gratified to find someone else who thinks the the past perfect is overused and over recommended. Some editors seem to insist that even a simple once clause or sentence memory must be in past perfect, i.e. “When James rode away to join the cavalry I was lost and alone.” Was to be re-written “When James had ridden away….etc.” The past perfect should be used when you want to describe an action that was completed in the past. It conveys a completion not only of the event but its effects. It seems to me when the effect lingers and one is simply remembering, simple past is just fine, even in a memory. For example, When their mother died the children became orphans. Who would insist on “When their mother had died, the children became orphans.?”

I am, however a bit confused by the term “past present tense.” Could you clarify?

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currently writing my first book. i want to explain in flashbacks certain things as to not bore the reader. Keep them intrested in the story to find out how they got to this point.

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How to Write a Flashback (And When You Shouldn’t)

Before asking how to write a flashback, you must ask yourself why you want to write a flashback in the first place.

This storytelling device can be a great way to draw the reader deeper into your character’s inner world or heighten the tension. A well-crafted flashback can reveal riveting information or raise new, compelling questions.

It can also be a gimmick, a bore, or a complete waste of page space.

That’s why understanding how to write a flashback starts with simply understanding how a flashback functions.

And that’s exactly what you’re about to learn.

We’ll discuss the pros and cons to writing a flashback, how to determine if this device is the best way to deliver backstory, and, of course, how to write a flashback like a pro… should you decide to go for it.

Let’s start with the most important question.

Does Your Story Really Need a Flashback?

Allow me to start by clarifying: a flashback is a scene that transports the reader to a moment in the backstory. It’s not just a reference to something that happened in the past but a recreation of that experience.

So, this is not a flashback:

‍ Harold cracked an egg the way his father had taught him back when they made Mother’s Day breakfast together. Then he reached for the bacon.

This is a flashback:

‍ Harold cracked an egg the way his father had taught him the first time they made Mother’s Day breakfast. His dad had gently shaken him awake while his mother still slept, and the two of them tip-toed down the stairs to the kitchen. (Plus a bunch of other stuff that probably includes egg breaking, dialogue, and a strong sense of relationship.)

Now, if you’re familiar with the popular writing advice “Show, don’t tell,” you may be thinking a flashback is always the way to go for revealing backstory. Here’s why it’s not.

The Trouble With Flashbacks

For one thing, flashbacks pull your reader out of the timeline they’re engaged in. This means you want to make sure your flashbacks:

• Are relevant to the story the reader already cares about
• Don’t happen too frequently
• Don’t squash the pace or tension you’re building in the current timeline

Also, flashbacks can be confusing if you don’t nail your transitions. If it’s not clear that your character is looking back in time, your reader will be lost when a character shows up out of nowhere asking for a divorce. 

Most importantly, flashbacks aren’t always necessary. A flashback is not the only interesting way to unload exposition. (In fact, here are several others .) If anything, a flashback is the most disruptive, cumbersome way to get your reader up to speed.

That doesn’t mean it’s bad. It just means you need a good reason to use it.

Excellent Reasons for Including a Flashback

So what are the benefits of writing a flashback?

Well, for one, a flashback can be an effective tool for building suspense or presenting the reader with a mystery . The Bullet That Missed opens with a scene where some woman with Bethany has a gun, knows she might die today, and sends a cryptic text.

Then suddenly we’re in the current timeline where Bethany has been dead for a decade and the Thursday Murder Club is trying to figure out what happen. Because we experienced the flashback for ourselves, it feels like we’re coming into the story already equipped with clues. We’re part of the investigation, which is exactly how a mystery writer wants us to feel.

On the flip side, a flashback can offer meaningful clarity . A Man Called Ove repeatedly flashes back to scenes from Ove’s courtship and marriage. The more the reader understands the bond he shared with his wife, the easier it is to forgive him for raging at the world after her death.

And I’ll let that same example illustrate this next flashback benefit: showing readers who a character used to be. Who was the protagonist before their life-changing trauma—before “The Ghost” ?

You can even use a flashback to dig into the backstory of a side character who wouldn’t otherwise get the protagonist treatment. In fact, this can be a strategy for helping readers sympathize with the antagonist .

Now that we’ve established the good and the not-so-good of this storytelling device, let’s delve into how to write a flashback.

Because whether or not you still plan to do it in your current novel, it pays to be informed.

How to Write a Flashback 

1. Time It Carefully

Now that you know why you’re writing a flashback, ask yourself where to place it in your story to best accomplish your goal.

• Tension - If you’re interrupting a scene designed to build suspense, make sure the flashback adds to the tension. Hold off or put the flashback in a less suspenseful scene if it doesn’t.
• Pacing - Flashbacks often slow the pace of a story. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it’s definitely something to keep in mind. 
• Insight - When will the information the flashback reveals be most impactful for the reader? How does the flashback enhance what’s going on in the current timeline? 

When you know where you want to put your flashback, then you can move on to step two.

2. Transition Gracefully

The transition is everything. Everything . If your transitions into and out of the flashback aren't good, your readers won’t realize they’re in a flashback. Confusion and chaos will follow.

Here are some classic strategies for how to write a flashback transition.

Create a “Door”

This is when you create some kind of magical door that allows a character to see into the past. 

Now, the line between flashback and time travel gets a little blurry here. For our purposes, we’re talking about scenes where a character can observe the past but not participate in it.

Well-known examples of the magical door include Harry Potter looking into the Pensieve or the Ghost of Christmas Past showing Ebenezer Scrooge his regrettable choices.

The transition strategy is pretty straightforward. Your character sticks their head in a bowl or follows the ghost or looks in a mirror or whatever. They see what they need to see and leave the same way they came in.

Trigger a Memory

Signal to your reader the narrative is shifting into the past by showing that your character is remembering something.

Now, if you only need one to three sentences to tell the reader everything they need to know about this memory, it’s not really a flashback. Just say what you need to say and move on.

But if this is going to take a few paragraphs, clarity is key. Phrases like “she thought about” or “he remembered” can help. So can using past perfect tense when you’re easing into the flashback. “It had been a hot summer” rather than “It was a hot summer.” (Side note: if you’re writing in present tense, simple past tense will suffice for flashback transitions.)

Then make your return to the present moment super clear. 

“Now he was stranded on the side of the road feeling miles away from who’d been back then.” 

“But none of that was worth thinking about now.” 

Something like that.

Use Physical Breaks

A simple line break can signal a shift in time. But be aware that most readers will assume the timeline is moving forward. 

So use the final line of the previous paragraph to reference the backstory your reader is about to see. Then give the reader an immediate sense of time and place after the break. For example:

“...This wasn’t who she used to be. She used to be the brightest star in Greenfield.

The day Misty was crowned Corn Queen, cameras seemed to follow her everywhere…”

You can also use a flashback as a prologue . Or, if you want to go big, you can turn flashbacks in entire chapters all their own. 

That’s not the same thing as alternating timelines. If your novel has alternating timelines, you’re telling two stories that carry equal weight. They probably complement one another in some way, but neither story exists purely to explain the other.

A series of chapter-long flashbacks, however, functions to shed light on the conflict of the central story. It can (and probably does) contain its own conflict and character arcs . But as readers, we devour those flashback chapters in search of answers that affect the main storyline.

This is why flashback chapters:

• Tend to be fewer and far between than chapters that focus on the central conflict
• Typically don’t show up until several chapters into the main story, when the reader has had a chance to become invested enough to care about the backstory

There is one time when you can blur the transition between the current timeline and the flashback.

That’s when the line is blurry for your character, too.

Maybe they have dementia or PTSD or they’ve suffered a blow to the head. Whatever it is, something in the present moment has triggered an old memory, and now they’re living it again.

Now, in order to make this work, your reader needs to understand that the character is not experiencing things exactly as they are. 

You can provide that clarity by establishing your character’s memory challenges ahead of time. Another reliable tactic is to put something there that obviously does not belong, like a phonograph in a public restroom or a lover who died twenty years before.

3. Keep It Brief (Probably)

Once you’ve artfully transitioned into your flashback, don’t get too comfortable there.

Give your reader the information they need. No more, no less. Then get them back to the story they came for.

Now, as I give you this advice, I do want to admit that sometimes a long flashback is satisfying. Little Fires Everywhere is the perfect example of a book that features a backstory so juicy (and relevant!) readers don’t mind spending full chapters in the past.

Most of the gasping I did while reading that book was flashback gasping.

But if you plan to pull a Celeste Ng and go long with your flashbacks, you need to follow the golden rule of how to write a flashback:

Know why you’re doing it. And make sure your reason is air-tight.

On that note:

4. Make It Relevant and Revelatory

For us writers, a deep dive into our character’s past makes for a thrilling Saturday night.

But most readers only want to know about your protagonist’s spelling bee humiliation if it helps them experience your novel on a deeper level.

So what new insight does your flashback provide for your reader?

This could be something straightforward, like the revelation that the butler couldn’t possibly be the murderer since he was at the horse track the whole time. 

Or it could be deeper insight into your character—something that stirs empathy, clarifies context, or raises the stakes.

Suzanne Collins does this in The Hunger Games when Katniss remembers the time Peeta tossed her the loaf of bread he’d been commanded to give to the pigs. This person had once saved her family from starvation.

And now she has to kill him in order to keep providing for her family. 

6. Use Concrete Details

Finally, let’s end this guide to how to write a flashback the same way we began it: by acknowledging that flashbacks are a “show, don’t tell” storytelling device.

The entire point of recreating your character’s near-death experience instead of just mentioning it is to help your reader experience it. You want them to feel what your character felt and invest more deeply in the story’s central conflict.

To do that, you have to provide specific, concrete details. What did the air feel like that day? What were the physical sensations that told your protagonist they were feeling a sense of dread?

If you could use a quick primer on your “show, don’t tell” skills, we’ve got some worksheets to help you out.

How to Write a Flashback With Dabble

If this guide was a little more involved than you expected, don’t lose heart. It’s true that a lot of things can go wrong with flashbacks. But when you get your timing, purpose, and prose just right, so much more can go very, very right.

Need a little help thinking it through? Dabble’s got you covered. This writing tool has an adaptable Plot Grid that makes it easy to see how your flashbacks function within the main storyline. 

Plus, comments, stickies, and labels provide an easy way for you to keep track of new ideas or problem areas as you go.

Best of all, you can try every premium feature Dabble offers absolutely free for fourteen days. No credit card required. Click here and start exploring.

Abi Wurdeman is the author of Cross-Section of a Human Heart: A Memoir of Early Adulthood, as well as the novella, Holiday Gifts for Insufferable People. She also writes for film and television with her brother and writing partner, Phil Wurdeman. On occasion, Abi pretends to be a poet. One of her poems is (legally) stamped into a sidewalk in Santa Clarita, California. When she’s not writing, Abi is most likely hiking, reading, or texting her mother pictures of her houseplants to ask why they look like that.

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How to write a flashback.

March 11, 2018 by Randy Ingermanson 14 Comments

in Craft , Fiction Writing

How do you write a flashback without confusing your reader? Aren’t flashbacks bad? Don’t they screw up your story? Or can they make your story better?

Alexa posted this question  on my “ Ask A Question For My Blog ” page:

How can I write a flashback scene of my protagonist without the reader getting lost?Thanks in advance

Randy sez: Knowing how to write a flashback is crucial for every novelist. But knowing why to write a flashback may be even more important.

Aren’t Flashbacks Bad?

Some people say that flashbacks are bad and you shouldn’t write them. It’s worth asking why anyone would say that.

A flashback is a scene that you show in your story in real-time, but which happened in the past. The fact that it’s shown in real-time is good. You’re not showing it in narrative summary or exposition. You’re playing it out like a movie in your reader’s head.

So where’s the harm? Why would anyone complain about that?

The only real issue is that a flashback is part of the back-story of your novel. So you’re stopping your front-story cold so you can tell some other story that happened in the past.

That’s a problem if your reader doesn’t yet care about the front-story. Then you run the risk of boring your reader. She might close your book. She might never pick it up again. Then she loses out on finishing your story. And you lose out on a reader.

But if your reader does care about the front-story, it’s a whole different game. When your reader cares about the front-story, she’s willing to stay with you through a bit of back-story, as long as it’s directly relevant to the front-story.

And back-story is often very relevant to your front-story. Your characters don’t just plop into the world on page 1 without any history. They’ve spent their whole lives preparing to live this story you’re telling. They’ve learned things. They’ve built up a personality. And they’ve been damaged by other people.

Any of those could be relevant to your front-story.

A flashback gives you, the author, the opportunity to let your reader experience that back-story in the same way that your character can experience it at any time—as a memory.

So a flashback is good , and it’s often the very best way to inject that back-story into your reader’s brain.

But you just want to be careful to make sure your reader is truly hooked on the front-story before you spring a flashback on her. A common rule of thumb is to not show any backstory in the first fifty pages of your novel, although you can violate that rule if you’re good enough.

So How Do You Write That Flashback?

A flashback has three parts:

• The segue out of the present and into the past
• The backstory scene itself
• The segue out of the backstory and into the present

Those two segues are the key to solving the problem Alexa asked about. You’ll confuse your reader for sure if you just switch straight to the backstory with no explanation.

You have a lot of options on how to do that segue. In the Harry Potter books, for example, Harry experiences a number of flashbacks involving other characters when he looks into the Pensieve, a magical device that holds people’s memories. The Pensieve is the link on the way into the flashback and on the way back out. That was a very effective way to do it.

The more usual way to do it is to have the character begin remembering something. Then have a scene break and switch to showing the memory as a flashback. At the end of the flashback, have another scene break and return to the character.

As an example , here’s how Ken Follett starts a flashback in The Man From St. Petersburg , a historical suspense novel about a Russian anarchist in the summer of 1914 who’s been sent to London to kill a Russian envoy. He knows that the envoy is negotiating an alliance between England and Russia that will drag Mother Russia into the coming war, and he wants to prevent it.

Our hero is Feliks , and we meet him about twenty pages into the novel. He’s on a train to London, admiring the view. Feliks has loads of attitude, and we pick up that attitude quickly. And then we segue smoothly into a flashback from a few weeks earlier:

And in Geneva, he had made the decision which brought him to England. He recalled the meeting. He had almost missed it…

There’s a scene break , and then the flashback begins with the phrase: He almost missed the meeting.

The flashback tells about a meeting of anarchists who’ve learned that Prince Orlov has been sent to England to negotiate an alliance that will get millions of Russian peasants killed in a stupid and senseless war. The meeting goes on for quite a while, with all sorts of suggestions. At the end of it, Feliks tells the group he knows how to prevent the war. He’s going to London and he’s going to kill Orlov.

The scene ends , and in the next chapter, Feliks is in London. Ken Follett doesn’t even need to segue back to the present, because the end of the chapter signals the end of the flashback. There’s no confusion.

The key phrase  is the two-sentence transition just before the flashback: He recalled the meeting. He had almost missed it…

Those two sentences , plus the scene break, tell the reader to expect a flashback.

This flashback is very recent and it’s critical to the story. It explains why Feliks has come to London. And it radically reorients the story…

The first twenty pages of the novel have introduced us to Lord Walden, the Englishman who will be hosting Prince Orlov and negotiating for the English. So up till the point where we meet Feliks, we’ve had a rather conventional story about a dull political negotiation. Once we meet Feliks and see his flashback, we have a much more interesting story, because we see that this dull political negotiation is about to get millions of innocent people killed. And the only man who can stop it is a Russian anarchist. That’s a nice twist and it makes a great story. It becomes an even better story when you learn that Feliks knows the wife of Lord Walden. Or rather, he knew her when she was a young and wild Russian aristocrat growing up in St. Petersburg. He knew her very, very well, until the night he was arrested and she was married off to an Englishman. All of which the reader will learn through a series of vivid flashbacks.

So if you need a flashback, it’s simple:  Write a sentence or two of transition, then do a scene break, then write the flashback, and then do another scene break. If you need another short transition to get back into the present, write one.

If you’ve got a question  you’d like me to answer in public on this blog, hop on over to my “ Ask A Question For My Blog ” page and submit your question. I’ll answer the ones I can, but no guarantees. There are only so many hours in the day.

March 12, 2018 at 12:39 pm

Thank you for this post. It’s most helpful because I deal with a LOT of characters, coming and going, and they all have a history. Much of it relevant to the book present. I struggle with keeping it to necessary flashbacks, though I’d not exactly thought to do what you suggest. This is great! The best part is it won’t become an info dump to leave me with hours of cleanup…Well, maybe only a few minutes of work? Much nicer.

Randy, as an artist I can’t resist the idea of a triangle-to-snowflake visual, so I’ll designing one as a mindmap of sorts for the series I’m working on, to mat and hang on my office wall. It’s challenge and you are an incredible inspiration.

October 4, 2020 at 6:38 am

My main character arrives at law school. After 2 pages of solid introduction and description of him, I want the reader to know that he used to be homeless but a famous lawyer helped him get off the street and into law school. What do you think about using a flashback to show how this came about after only 2 pages? Thanks, stay safe.

October 4, 2020 at 11:41 am

A flashback so early in the book is almost certainly doomed to lose your reader, unless you have unusually spectacular skills as a novelist. If you do, then go ahead and do it. I never say no to a genius.

If you’re not certain you are that one-in-a-million author who can pull it off, then I’d recommend you communicate this information in dialogue. There are billions of ways to do it, and you can easily find one that will keep your reader engaged.

December 2, 2020 at 8:58 pm

My female protagonist is about to meet the male protagonist. But she won’t really know that she already knows him from childhood. I thought to start off my book with the female protagonist walking around and having a flash back of someone she used to know… Do you think it’s good idea to have a flash back like on the first page? Because, I think it will help the readers understand a little bit more of where both the protagonists stand.. What do you say?

June 25, 2021 at 9:12 am

Ah finally how to do it instead of the usual articles saying “Flashback BAD don’t do it.” Or even worse “Flash back back no kinda good here’s how bla-bla (never shows how just says why they suck again.)”

Seriously frustrating. It’s another tool and should be treated as such. Thank you for our help, I did a merge of what was shown here and had it first start with them talking (the main pov finally deciding to trust her new friends more.)

——————-

A soft whiff of pine and mountain air came through the screens, it for the moment felt so much like home. She clutched the fabric, the memories hidden away for so long… I can’t put this off any longer. Trust, just have to jump in. She pulled in two deep breaths and began.

Mommy and Daddy always had that scent lingering on them when they came back from their missions. It wasn’t fair.

And I end it with:

Someone screamed followed by footfalls. A soft touch of a blanket, as it wrapped around.

A soft furry touch on her back. “It’s me.” Han had come over the soft fur of his arm around her back.

I think it still needs work but am tying to make damn sure readers know it’s a flashback and trying like hell to make it seamless.

(I didn’t do the whole flash back in that chapter a few paragraphs then found a stopping point as they need to get moving.) I’m thinking next time i find a natural rest break in the story to give a little here and there in dialoge and then another short backstory. I don’t want to slow things down to much or ack.. jar readers out of the book.

Still I’ve read a lot of big name author books and never had a problem with any backstory as the writer waits a while before putting any in.

Slightly off topic:

It really irks me when articles are all cookie cutter and can’t even try thinking about backstory but instead bash the hell out of them with out even thinking about all the books they’ve read. I’m on a few online writing platforms and the reality is readers want back story (just not in huge blocks) the only thing that seems to set them off is when a writer fails with the plot, makes boring characters, bad grammar or flat dialogue. Backstory? They get ticked if there isn’t any!

I feel that the writing articles are really out of touch and should offer both options (Backstory usually suck this is why! Backstory can be done -if you’re careful- here’s how…) sure new writers are going to much things up, GOOD then they learn… just give the rest of us and damn guide.

Anyway. thank you I really appreciated the help.

June 26, 2021 at 2:22 pm

Thank you! So I’m writing this book but I want a flashback in it (it’s not really a flashback it happened like two seconds ago) but this is still only the introduction to the book. Ex: He stared at his bloody hands, how did this happen? Where did it all go wrong? Perhaps… it was when he first started going to his new school. Yeah, that was it. Idk if I should put that in though… thoughts?

August 2, 2022 at 3:14 am

August 29, 2022 at 10:21 am

I’m into a memoir as a baby boomer growing up in the sixties. My dad suffers with World War Two stresses and copes with alcohol. I want use flashbacks of my dad’s past to explain our conflicts. The flashbacks occur before my boyhood understanding. Example: he is a newspaper editor. The family takes him breakfast after he has worked all night. He was asleep with his head on his typewriter. I was 8. I now know he was pasted out. I don’t want to make him evil in our many conflicts now that I understand.

September 12, 2023 at 12:25 pm

I’ve got this character, Chase, who is arguably the most important character in my multi-book team story. The problem is, while his personal inciting incident (a car/meteor crash that’s significant to the master plotline) happens in book #2, his story doesn’t dovetail with the team (and therefore give the reader a reason to care about him) until he begins interacting with the team (and eventually replaces their heroic suicide) in book #4 or #5. Not only is this flirting with novella length, but Chase is the only one who was physically there thru the whole thing, and large chunks of his memory are lost due to the crash trauma or unformed in the first place due to drugged stupor/being unconscious.

March 19, 2024 at 8:36 am

This is the transition that takes the reader from the present story into the flashback. As discussed before, the webpage will likely emphasize using triggers like sensory details, emotions, or objects. The Backstory Scene: This is the main part of the flashback, where you depict the past event or scene the character remembers.

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Writing Flashbacks: How To Make Them Work In Fiction

• by Paige Duke
• September 8, 2014
• 28 Comments

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The conventional wisdom about flashbacks goes something like this: use them sparingly, if at all. It’s good advice, because a mishandled flashback can stunt the flow of your narrative, lose a reader’s interest, harm suspension of disbelief ,  create confusion , or cause any number of other problems .

But, don’t be discouraged, flashbacks can work, and they’re worth the risk; a well-constructed scene can add texture to your story, deliver much-needed information to your reader, and provide insight into your characters ’ motives.

Anatomy of a flashback

In The Hunger Games , Suzanne Collins uses a flashback early on to establish the scant but essential backstory between Katniss and Peeta, two of the book’s most central figures. Throughout the story, their relationship fuels both plot and character development , and this moment acts as such a memorable beginning that readers never quite forget it, despite the couple’s amazing and terrifying journey .

Creating a strong framework

Because a flashback halts the forward motion of the narrative, the reader must care about the character before you throw the car in reverse. Collins’ flashback comes in Chapter 2, which might seem early , but we’re already hooked into the action of the story and tied to the fate of the character. Because Katniss has just volunteered to take her sister’s place in the Games — a death sentence for sure. And she’s about to find out who else she’ll have to face in the arena.

Peeta Mellark! Oh, no, I think. Not him… I try to convince myself it doesn’t matter. Peeta Mellark and I are not friends. Not even neighbors. We don’t speak. Our only real interaction happened years ago. He’s probably forgotten it. But I haven’t and I know I never will…

The first sentences

There are two things to note about a strong first sentence of a flashback. First, it’s a transition, so it needs to be strategic. Whether it’s smooth or abrupt, seamless or jarring, it should be that way intentionally. Maybe this flashback comes to your character in a natural way when a sense of smell triggers the memory. Or maybe they’re thrust back into a tense and painful moment in time, caught completely off guard . The effect is different, so use this transition point to full advantage.

Second, signal the reader that you’re going back in time ; if you fail to do this, readers may not even recognize the switch and could be confused. This signal is achieved by changing the verb tense . If your narrative is in past tense, the first sentence of the flashback should be in past perfect. This grammatical change is essential; it tells your reader that they’re going back in time to a specific moment. You only have to maintain it for one or two sentences, and then you can go back to simple past tense so that the reader experiences it in real time.

If you’re writing in present tense, the shift goes from present to simple past. That’s how it’s handled in our example from The Hunger Games . Notice that the opening line of this scene may not seem a remarkable transition sentence; but in the context (unfortunately, too long to post here) it serves as world building . For several paragraphs , Collins develops the bleary, hopeless world of District 12, in which Katniss is failing even to find food for her starving mother and sister, she’s tried selling threadbare clothes for a few coins, but to no avail. It’s the stark stage upon which Peeta is soon to appear.

On the afternoon of my encounter with Peeta Mellark, the rain was falling in relentless icy sheets… I passed the baker’s, the smell of fresh bread was so overwhelming I felt dizzy… I lifted the lid to the baker’s trash bin and found it spotlessly, heartlessly bare. Suddenly a voice was screaming at me and I looked up to see the baker’s wife, telling me to move on and did I want her to call the Peacekeepers and how sick she was of having those brats from the Seam pawing through her trash. The words were ugly and I had no defense. As I carefully replaced the lid and backed away, I noticed him, a boy with blond hair peering out from behind his mother’s back.

The middle action

The meat of a flashback is storytelling , but as with the transition sentence, it should serve a specific purpose. Every word, every line, should be telling your reader essential information about your characters , their world , and the emotional landscape that formed who they have become. Otherwise, it’s a missed opportunity.

Similarly, the way it’s written is just as important as what’s written. If you want your readers to indulge this stalling of the forward motion of the narrative, you need to engage them. An effective way of doing this is to write it as an active scene , put them into the moment rather than summarizing it. In short, show them, don’t tell them . You’ll give them essential information and tie them more strongly to the plight of your character. Look how much new information — about the past, present, and future of both characters — we can glean from this middle section of Collins’ flashback scene:

His mother went back into the bakery, grumbling, but he must have been watching me as… the realization that I’d have nothing to take home had finally sunk in… There was a clatter in the bakery and I heard the woman screaming again and the sound of a blow, and I vaguely wondered what was going on. Feet sloshed toward me through the mud… It was the boy. In his arms, he carried two large loaves of bread that must have fallen into the fire because the crusts were scorched black… The boy never even glanced my way, but I was watching him. Because of the bread, because of the red weal that stood out on his cheekbone. What had she hit him with? My parents never hit us. I couldn’t even imagine it. The boy took one look back to the bakery as if checking that the coast was clear, then… he threw a loaf of bread in my direction. The second quickly followed, and he sloshed back to the bakery, closing the kitchen door tightly behind him… It didn’t occur to me until the next morning that the boy might have burned the bread on purpose. Might have dropped the loaves into the flames, knowing it meant being punished, and then delivered them to me.

The last sentences

The last sentences of the flashback mark another important transition. As with the earlier transition, be strategic in the way you bring your reader back to the main storyline . If it’s abrupt, it should be that way for a reason — is she startled back to the present? What did she miss? If it’s gradual, easing the character and reader back to the present, what is the lingering emotion? Does she feel different in the same space she inhabited before the memory?

Remember your grammar shift from the first transition too; once the flashback ends, you’ll return to the verb tense of the main story.

We ate slices of bread for breakfast and headed to school. It was as if spring had come overnight. Warm sweet air. Fluffy clouds… To this day, I can never shake the connection between this boy, Peeta Mellark, and the bread that gave me hope…

Aftereffects

We’re not quite finished yet. Perhaps the most important consideration is how the flashback affects the reader’s understanding of the story and the character’s motivations. Did it cause the reader to reinterpret what they know of the character so far? Will it inform their view of the character going forward? Whatever the effect, be sure it’s there — whether stated or implied — and that you can identify it as the story goes on.

I feel like I owe him something, and I hate owing people. Maybe if I had thanked him at some point, I’d be feeling less conflicted now. I thought about it a couple of times, but the opportunity never seemed to present itself. And now it never will. Because we’re going to be thrown into an arena to fight to the death. Exactly how am I supposed to work in a thank-you in there? Somehow it just won’t seem sincere if I’m trying to slit his throat.

A flashback scene can be a great tool for setting the stage of your story, informing readers, and taking them deeper into the hearts and minds of your characters. Examine the way you’re using flashbacks in your writing; make the most of each element, and you’ll be on your way to constructing strong scenes that captivate your readers’ attention and draw them deeply into the journey of your characters.

How did this exercise help you reevaluate a flashback in your work-in-progress? What did you find surprising here that you’ll incorporate into future scenes? Let me know in the comments. Or, for more great info on flashbacks, try  The 4 Decisions That Will Help You Write An Amazing Flashback ,  Nail Your Character’s Backstory With This One Simple Tip  and  Passing Time Is The Secret To Improving Your Story .

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28 thoughts on “Writing Flashbacks: How To Make Them Work In Fiction”

Love this article. I have to read Hunger Games, I’ve only seen the movie. Best

Hi boostwriter,

Glad you liked the article! I hope you do get a chance to read The Hunger Games trilogy, it’s a great read.

You really should read it. I mean, not to sound cliched, but the book really is even better than the movie.

Such a grand article! Now I won’t be conflicted in writing flashbacks in my writing class. Hunger games sound good, my friend told me about it but I thought it was some kind of clash of clan or chronicle of a throne but now I know well that it is what it’s name depict. Hope I get a chance to read it’s hopefully mystical words

Thanks for your kind words. I think flashbacks are such a great tool when handled skillfully. I’m a big fan of The Hunger Games series, so I hope you like it. Happy writing!

Thank you for this on chapter 30 the story finally had the right setting and pace for a flash back. Well chapter 30 in wattpad probably more like chapter 5 for 10 in normal book Wattpads chapters have to be kept short no more then 2k words as 80% if the readers read on their iphones.) I’m going to ‘finish’ the chapter first and then go back to where I summarized the past events and do some showing of what happened. Writing is joyI wish I’d have started years ago. It’s hard but well worth the effort. I’m getting better at comma placement but still need some help if anyone has the time I’d appreciate if a few test sentences that I can try to fix were sent to my email: vaporlight AT aol DOT com Thank you if you do.

Hi. Interesting article. If one’s story is written in the past tense, what do you think of flashbacks written in the present tense? My protagonist suffers from PTSD and I am using flashbacks to expose the trauma he suffered. Thanks. Wanjoo

I think the technique of switching from past tense to present tense for a flashback can work very well. A flashback should pull readers in and make them feel some sense of urgency and immediacy, and using present tense is a great way to do that. You just want to be sure you keep a sense of consistency with the narrator, but I think it can work beautiful if done right. Thanks for your excellent question, and best of luck to you!

This was really helpful. Thanks a bunch. Just wondering about a few things. What do you think about doing a flashback chapter/chapters and how would you go about doing a flashback if your story is set in the present and the flashback is several thousand years in the past (for example, the main character is an ancient vampire reminiscing about how they met an old friend/lover for the first time)?

I’m so glad you found this article helpful. I think the idea of using a flashback chapter can work well if used intentionally. The biggest concern is that you don’t want to slow down the forward momentum of the story. For example, a situation in which the flashback chapter or chapters serve to fill in essential backstory or to impart missing information withheld from the main sections of the story can be very successful. The example you describe sounds like it could work well in this regard, as it would be relaying backstory necessary to developing a relationship that’s central to the main story thread. My one caution is to keep to the essentials. An extended flashback scene that strays too far from the necessary details really can slow the pace of the story. Best of luck to you with your book!

Hi Paige Excellent article, thank you (I’ve devoured most of standoutbooks and it is truly brilliant). What are your thoughts on having a ‘flashback’ (to an extent) as an opener, such as a prologue or opening chapter, where the rest of the story is a continuous present tense timeline.

For example, I am writing a story in first person present, but want to have an accident in childhood affect the character in a number of ways which pan out over the story. Could an account of the accident in past tense work as a prologue? Or would it prevent the reader from forming an attachment to the character in the present day?

Thank you Thom

Excellent question. I think a flashback as a prologue could work really well. I would just say, though, unless you’re trying to keep something hidden from the reader, you want as much continuity as possible between the prologue and first chapters, so just be sure to maintain a strong narrative voice from your protagonist so readers can make the jump from past to present. Also, time stamps can be helpful in that instance too if it still feels a bit unclear. Good luck, Thom! This sounds really interesting.

Dear paige, thanks so much,this has helped me with my wrighting!!! yours truly chels.

I’m so glad you found this article to be helpful. Wishing you all the best with your writing.

Hi Paige, I tried to follow the path to learning the verb tense of leading into a flash back, but was led here by the link. There was no reference to writing the opening or closing of a flashback with the correct verb tense. Can you help? //www.standoutbooks.com/improve-your-writing/ was the link. No reference to flashbacks here.

You’re right that the linked article doesn’t have additional information about flashbacks. The link was included because the other article expounds on the idea of verb tense and the way it can change the meaning and impact of a passage. If you’d still like to know more about changing verb tense to introduce a flashback, that’s something we could explore in more detail in a future blog article.

Thank you for your advice! I would like to ask you something, if that’s okay with you. So I am currently writing a book about a killer with supernatural powers. I have reached chapter 19, which happens in the present and we follow the Main Character and his life. So, the chapters 21-25, I have planned on using them as chapters for flashbacks, so we can learn (or get hints) on how the supernatural powers of the characters appeared, and the backstory of the MC, his past that shaped him on who he is today. Those flashbacks that will probably extend up to 15,000 words, are vital for the readers to get a full perspective of what the MC is harboring and why he is like that, the reason he chose to become a killer. The book is part of a duology, but I want to clear some things up on the first book. My question to you is, will that kind of approach work, or should I try something else in order to expose his past? Thank you very much, Agapi

Great question. I like the idea of using flashbacks to impart backstory. My advice to authors about how to develop backstory is usually to use a combination of flashback, exposition, and dialogue and to dole out bits of the backstory over time so that it feels like a well-rounded and natural progression of the story instead of an info dump. I’d be curious to know why this information is coming so late in your story, since it seems like it’s central to your MC’s development. But I do think your idea of using flashback to impart this information could work nicely.

Thank you for your answer and suggestions! To answer your question, I must say that I have tried to use your suggestion in a previous book of mine and it actually worked pretty well, but with this one I am trying to make it all in once so it will have an larger impact. So I will ramble a bit if that’s okay with you in order to make you understand. So as I mentioned beforehand, the MC is a killer with supernatural powers. We follow his life and what he does every day until a gifted girl( a girl with powers) escapes the underground labs that the scientists use in order to experiment on them so they can gain control on them. Probably something like making their own army of indestructible beings and being able to control them anytime, in case they rebel. The MC was the first one to be a success, or the scientists think so, so he is in charge of finding new gifted and killing any person that tries to oppose them. Back to the girl that escaped. She has connections to a group that has recently started to oppose the group the MC is head of and generally the scientists. While the MC tries to kill everyone in that group his interest is also sparked by the girl. Now, the MC does not show his feelings but he loses control of himself when he uses his powers(goes on a killing spree etc) and by the end of ch. 18, he is a depressed, paranoid person, a bit bipolar that tries to kill himself by slicing his own skin. So, the reader is in a constant curiousness as of why he is like that. At ch. 19 the girl and the MC meet again, the girl actually helping him and saving him from certain death, I will not say the reasons as it will take one huge paragraph to do it).She demands explainations and something sparks his memories. Then ch. 20-24 follow. Ch. 20 is when he was young and hints at how he got his powers. Ch. 21 is the dark past that made him like that, and how he was abused by his uncle. Ch. 22 is when he ran away from home and lived on the streets almost dying. Ch. 23 is when the scientists found him and experimented on him. And ch. 24 is how he became the leader of the group and his first mission that began that endless chain of murders. Then from ch.25 the story continues on from the present when the MC is talking with the girl. I don’t know whether or not this will make sense, but I feel that if these chapters were scattered around the book, or if they were just a small paragraph in another chapter they would lose the meaning they hold. Maybe that is just my opinion, but I don’t know whether this will work or not. As of why it comes so late, the MC is in a constant state of numbness and when even the smallest memory resurfaces he keeps it locked in the back of his mind. Now, that the girl has saved him from killing himself he is in a vulnerable state, in a state of mind that he cannot reject his feelings and memories so they all come back in the form of large chunks of information, while the reader is aware that he is telling everything to the girl from the way ch.19 ends. Even though it is in the form of huge flashbacks, taking up almost the 1/4 of the story, I believe that they are in the right place and at the right length.

Now that I have explained it a little better (I hope), what is your opinion on it? Will it work, or should I scatter the chapters all over the book? Thank you, Agapi

Thanks for explaining further. This sounds like such an interesting story concept! Now that I have a fuller picture of what you’re trying to accomplish, I think this approach makes sense and could be very successful. I wish you all the best with your book!

Thank you very much! I was a bit anxious of using that concept, but your words have reassured me!

I wish you all the best, Agapi

Wow! Your explanation of flashbacks was excellent, with clear examples. One of the best. I haven’t read the Hunger Games trilogy, but will look into getting a copy ASAP. Sounds like great storytelling. Thanks again for a wonderful article.

Thanks, Penelope! I’m so glad you found the article helpful.

I have struggled with backstory and flashbacks on my current project. I have read in numerous places that dreams are a no-no. I had started my novel with my main character trying to go to sleep, wary of a repeating dream which explains how she has ended up being immortal and her backstory, i.e. when she was born etc… Through reliving the dream I attempt to dive into her story. Not sure if I should continue in this way or jump into the story, which is a crime novel, and she is the lead investigator, then work it in backstory later.

Your book sounds interesting! Most crime novels start with a strong hook related to the plot then work in backstory later. I recommend this approach, as it gets the reader invested in the story immediately, and they’ll be even more intrigued as they uncover information about your protagonist. There are exceptions, of course, but they require very skillful, well-paced writing. If you try out several different approaches, consider getting feedback from a writing group or beta readers. Wishing you all the best with your book!

Thank you for your response. I will take your suggestion.

Hi loved the article! I was wondering what your thoughts are on using a present tense flashback while writing the whole story in present tense as well. For example, saying something like ‘he remembers that day. He takes himself back there. He’s driving his ‘76 Blazer up the highway. It’s late and he can barely keep his eyes open…. etc.

Do you think something like that can work? Staying in present tense for the flashback?

Great question! I think what you’re proposing could work. The most important thing with flashbacks is to make it flow seamlessly. You want readers to know where the character is at each moment. You don’t want them to have to stop and read the text again to figure out what’s going on.

Best of luck to you! Paige

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Blogs / Writing Tips / How to Write a Flashback: Flashback Writing Tips

Write a Novel Readers Love

How to write a flashback: flashback writing tips, what is a flashback in a story.

Flashbacks take the reader from action in the narrative’s present to action in the story’s past .

Flashbacks:

• Play out as ‘shown’ action scenes, live on the page—as opposed to backstory, which is ‘told’ by the narrator.
• Vary in length, and can be as little as a one-sentence snapshot, or as long as a full scene or chapter.
• Often include action, description, thought and dialogue.

If you find flashbacks consuming your story’s forward momentum, consider:

• Whether a dual timeline narrative might be more appropriate?
• Whether the story should start earlier?

Sometimes, the boundaries between dual timelines and flashbacks are unclear.

Flashback in a Story Example

Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale has a fragmented, disjointed narrative structure, reflecting the narrator’s traumatised psychology. The ‘past tense’ timeline is often instigated by present time thoughts and events, and thus has the feel of PTSD-induced flashbacks.

Why Use Flashbacks in Writing

In general, use flashbacks to show important events which precede your novel’s main action. An event may be important if it has a substantial impact on your characters’ motivations or the plot’s conflict.

How to Write Flashbacks in a Book

Here are two failsafe tips for writing flashbacks in your story.

Ho to Start a Flashback in a Story

  A well-written flashback can completely engage a reader—but only if you’ve already fully hooked them into caring about your characters and story.

This is because flashbacks pull your reader out of the story’s forward motion.

Therefore, be exacting on yourself when assessing whether or not a flashback is necessary in your story.

The decision for where to position a flashback is a careful balancing act.

Since flashbacks often illuminate aspects of a character’s past which influence their motivations and their emotional reactions to scenes, you should weigh the advantages of delaying them (keeping readers intrigued as to a character’s history) against the risks of doing so (readers won’t connect with characters they can’t understand).

Generally, if a reader is unable to engage with the scene’s conflict or grasp the stakes without seeing a flashback, then the flashback may be justified.

Choosing between using flashback or backstory exposition depends on the importance of the reader ‘living’ that part of the story, versus the dangers of halting the narrative’s momentum.

While you certainly can hook a reader with questions about the past, beware taking this so far that the reader has absolutely no idea what’s happening or why.

Flashbacks can be invaluable tools for providing plot twists—e.g., in cases where we’ve thought we understood a character’s motivations, but have actually only seen part of the full story.

You may see advice such as:

• No flashbacks before the Inciting Incident
• No flashbacks within the first fifty pages
• No flashbacks after Plot Point 2

The basis of of this advice is sound.

Flashbacks impede the story’s forward motion, and you don’t want to do this early or late in your story.

I hesitate to give this as a hard-and-fast rule, because so many exceptions exist in successful novels. Let’s examine one case of a novel breaking these guidelines successfully, to see why it works.

How to Start a Flashback Example

Elizabeth’s MacNeal’s historical novel The Doll Factory provides a flashback on page 31, immediately prior to the Inciting Incident.

Why does this flashback work, despite it’s early placement?

The flashback is short at only two paragraphs.

It’s appropriately contained within a longer sequel (reaction) scene in the protagonist’s point of view. There’s no clear scene break for this flashback, which helps prevent narrative disruption.

Our protagonist and point-of-view character here is Iris.

Iris remembers watching her sister Rose’s engagement dissolve, after Rose caught smallpox and lost her beauty.

Rose’s fiancé didn’t want a scarred wife.

MacNeal has already hooked our curiosity regarding the relationship between the two sisters, telling us ten pages earlier that Iris would sometimes wake up and catch Rose staring at her with a frighteningly cold expression.

It reveals motivation, so this flashback promises to show the reasons for this hatred.

The short pause in the story’s forward motion is acceptable, because it begins to answer one of our burning questions.

We already care about Iris at this point.

We’ve seen her compassion towards Rose, despite Rose’s frosty behaviour to her. We’re emotionally engaged in their relationship.

This flashback hints at the novel’s theme.

Which is the objectification and commoditization of female beauty under the male gaze.

This flashback, showing a man discarding a physically unpleasing woman as damaged goods, is strategically placed right before the Inciting Incident, in which Iris becomes the target of another man’s obsessive stalking.

Its placement helps us quickly grasp the novel’s primary theme as we read on.

In summary, well-written flashbacks should:

• Show us something we’re already desperate to understand, and;
• Help us better understand the story’s characters, themes and world.

Flashback Transition

Ensure it’s clear to your reader when a flashback begins and ends.

Senses can provide useful transition tools. In The Doll Factory example above, Iris is brought out of her flashback by heavy footsteps.

A long flashback, comprising an entire scene, often benefits from a scene break. For example:

The waft of CK One sends Daniel back to the day when he first met Kate—back in 1992, when they were both fifteen. Daniel couldn’t stop staring at the extraordinary girl slouching next to him in those chunky Doc Martens and garish pink lace. Her citrusy perfume made him want to sneeze.

You may write your flashback in a different tense to the present action.

If the present action is present tense, you could put flashbacks in past tense, or vice versa. Beware writing long flashbacks in the past perfect: this can be clunky.

In these cases, it’s often better give a line or two of past perfect, then transition to simple past. Changing tenses isn’t essential.

How to Do Flashbacks in Writing Conclusion

Flashbacks are useful tools when you use them skilfully, and in moderation. Read widely, examining how novels in your genre use flashbacks, and explore incorporating their methods into your own work.

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How to Write Flashback Scenes (21 Best Tips + Examples)

Flashbacks are evocative trips down memory lane that can transform our stories and tug at a reader’s heartstrings.

Here is how to write flashback scenes:

Write flashback scenes by making clear transitions, grounding readers in time and place, maintaining character voice consistency, and using sensory details. Avoid exposition dumps and aim for emotional resonance. Flashbacks can be brief or full chapters, but always serve the story’s narrative.

In this guide, you’ll learn everything you need to know about how to write flashback scenes.

21 Tips for Writing Flashback Scenes

Table of Contents

Flashback scenes allow readers or viewers to delve deeper into a character’s past, motivations, and emotional arc.

But as with any tool, using flashbacks requires finesse.

Poorly handled, they can jolt readers out of a story, leaving them confused or disengaged.

After decades of writing, here are my 21 tips for how to weave flashback scenes seamlessly into your narrative.

1. Establish a Clear Trigger

Flashbacks shouldn’t just happen at random.

Your readers need a logical reason to be taken back in time. This reason is what we call a “trigger.”

Whether it’s a photograph, a scent, or a piece of dialogue, something in the present scene should prompt the character to remember.

Think of triggers as breadcrumbs leading your readers back into the past.

The trigger should be relevant to the flashback and easily recognizable to the reader when they encounter it again in the future.

For example, the aroma of just-out-of-the-oven bread might whisk a character back to days spent in their grandma’s cozy kitchen.

2. Make Sure It’s Relevant

Not every past event needs a spotlight.

A good rule of thumb?

If the flashback doesn’t progress the plot, deepen a character’s development, or provide critical information, consider cutting it.

Use them sparingly and only for the crucial moments.

Imagine a detective recalling an old case that mirrors the current one, or a protagonist remembering a childhood promise that motivates their present-day actions.

In both cases, the flashbacks add layers to the narrative and aren’t merely a stroll down memory lane.

3. Keep It Short and Sweet

A quick jaunt to yesteryears can be refreshing — a prolonged stay might get tedious.

Remember, flashbacks are interruptions.

They halt the forward momentum of your story, so ensure they’re concise and serve their purpose quickly.

While it’s important to keep flashbacks short, you also need to ensure they convey the necessary information or emotion.

This might sound like a tightrope walk—and it is! But with practice, you’ll get the hang of it.

Consider it a fun challenge to relay the past with brevity and flair.

4. Use Distinctive Transitions

Transitioning smoothly into and out of a flashback can make all the difference.

The last thing you want is for your reader to be three sentences deep into a flashback before understanding the setting or POV.

Techniques can range from a simple line break to a change in tense or a sensory detail that ties to the flashback’s trigger.

Consider phrases like “She remembered a time when…” or using italics for the entire flashback.

You can also transition through sensations, such as “The icy wind took him back to…”

Whatever you choose, consistency is key. Pick a method and stick with it.

5. Ensure Historical Accuracy

If your flashback dips into a different era, make sure you’ve got your facts straight.

Nothing jolts a reader out of a story faster than an anachronism in a period piece. Put on your historian hat and dive into some research!

Beyond mere facts, consider the attitudes, slang, and even the mundane details of the era you’re writing about.

Did they have cell phones? What was in fashion?

These little details will make your flashback scenes feel authentic and immersive.

6. Maintain Character Consistency

Characters can undergo significant growth in your story.

But when you plunge into a flashback, it’s essential to depict them as they were at that time.

This means considering their age, mindset, and the experiences they hadn’t yet encountered.

It’s a delicate dance, dialing back a character’s development.

For instance, a wise old sage might’ve been impulsive in his youth.

Ensure that these earlier versions of characters still align with the people they become, offering hints of the growth that lies ahead.

7. Play with Perspective

Who says flashbacks need to stick with the protagonist’s viewpoint?

Dipping into the memories of secondary characters can:

• Provide fresh insights
• Reveal hidden motivations
• Even cast the main plot in a new light

Different characters remember events differently.

Playing with these subjective memories can introduce unreliability, tension, and depth, as readers grapple with what really happened versus individual interpretations.

8. Use Flashbacks Sparingly

Flashbacks are like a rich dessert; too much can be overwhelming.

While it’s tempting to frequently delve into the past, especially if you’ve created a detailed backstory, use moderation to maintain the story’s pacing.

Resist the urge to include every backstory detail.

Sometimes, a brief, poignant flashback can be more effective than a lengthy dive into the past.

By choosing moments that truly matter, you make each flashback scene impactful.

9. Highlight Emotional Beats

Flashbacks often pack an emotional punch.

When revealing a tragic backstory, a joyful memory, or a moment of transformation, make sure your flashbacks resonate with emotion.

Tie the emotions from the flashback to the character’s present situation.

If a character recalls a painful betrayal, how does that inform their trust issues now?

Use the past to deepen readers’ understanding of characters’ present struggles and choices.

10. Beware of Flashback Fatigue

While it’s exciting to explore your characters’ pasts, don’t let flashbacks overshadow the main plot.

Readers are primarily invested in the present story, so use flashbacks to enhance, not detract from it.

If readers or critique partners mention being confused or feeling like the main plot is stagnating, it might be time to revisit and trim some of those flashback scenes.

It’s all about balance and ensuring the main story remains in the spotlight.

11. End with a Hook

Just as chapters often end with a cliffhanger, consider ending your flashback with a compelling hook.

This not only keeps readers engaged but also bridges the transition back to the present, maintaining story momentum.

A cleverly placed flashback can hint at events to come, keeping readers guessing and turning the pages.

By teasing future developments, you’re essentially getting a two-for-one: illuminating the past while creating anticipation for the future.

12. Maintain Voice and Tone

While flashbacks offer an opportunity to explore different times and settings, it’s crucial to keep a character’s voice consistent.

The way they perceive and relay their past should align with their established voice, though their maturity and perspective might differ.

The tone of a flashback should be appropriate for the memory.

A traumatic event will have a somber, reflective tone, while a happier memory might be imbued with lightness and warmth.

However, ensure the tone is not jarring compared to the surrounding narrative.

13. Introduce New Characters Thoughtfully

Flashbacks can introduce characters who don’t exist in the main timeline.

Perhaps old mentors, lost loves, or deceased family members.

Introduce them in a manner that underscores their significance to the protagonist or the story.

Though these characters might only appear briefly, they should have a lasting effect on the main narrative.

Their influence or the lessons they imparted can echo throughout the protagonist’s journey, making them memorable despite their fleeting presence.

14. Use Sensory Details

Engage readers fully by diving deep into sensory details.

Sensory cues can make a flashback vivid and relatable.

It could be the nostalgic scent of a childhood home or the haunting echo of a song from a pivotal moment.

The more readers can see, hear, taste, touch, and smell the past, the more immersed they’ll be.

It’s these tangible details that will pull them in and let them experience the memory as if they were there alongside the characters.

15. Avoid Exposition Dumps

Flashbacks offer a tempting opportunity to dump a lot of background information all at once.

However, this can be overwhelming or boring for the reader.

Instead of spelling everything out, let events unfold naturally, showing rather than telling.

Remember, you don’t have to reveal everything in one go.

Sometimes, the mystery of not knowing every detail adds intrigue.

Allow readers to piece together the past from various snippets provided throughout the narrative.

16. Consider Flashback Sequences

Instead of a singular, isolated flashback, consider a sequence of flashbacks that reveal a broader narrative arc from the past.

This can be particularly effective in stories where past events closely mirror or influence present circumstances.

If opting for a sequence, ensure there’s a clear and logical progression between each flashback.

They should build upon one another, gradually painting a comprehensive picture of the past that holds significance for the present story.

17. Reflect on Flashback Aftermath

Once a flashback concludes, let your characters (and readers) digest it.

The memories unearthed should provoke reflection, decisions, or even confrontation in the story’s present timeline.

The fallout from the flashback should have tangible consequences that drive the narrative forward.

18. Fine-tune with Feedback

Once you’ve penned your flashbacks, share them with beta readers or critique partners.

Fresh eyes can offer insights on clarity, relevance, and emotional impact—ensuring your flashbacks resonate as intended.

Feedback is gold. Use it to refine your scenes, cutting unnecessary details, enhancing emotional beats, or clarifying transitions.

The goal is seamless integration that enriches your overall narrative.

19. Explore Non-linear Storytelling

Who says stories need to be told in a straight line?

Flashbacks offer a unique opportunity to play with non-linear narratives, weaving past and present together in innovative ways that defy traditional storytelling structures.

Some of the most memorable tales use flashbacks not as brief interludes.

But as integral, recurring segments of the story.

Think of movies like “Memento” or novels that jump between timelines that readers or viewers the puzzle pieces in a non-chronological order.

It’s a bold move, but when done right, it can be incredibly impactful.

20. Use Flashbacks for Contrast

One of the most potent uses of flashbacks is to highlight the stark contrast between a character’s past and present.

Perhaps they were once naive and are now cynical, or they once faced hardship and now live in luxury.

By juxtaposing these differences, you underscore character development and growth.

Conversely, you can use flashbacks to draw parallels between past and present.

You can underscore recurring themes or cyclical patterns in a character’s life.

This can amplify the emotional weight of recurring challenges or decisions they face.

21. Embrace the Emotional Core

At their core, flashbacks are about emotion.

They’re deeply personal slices of a character’s life, imbued with joy, pain, longing, regret, or a myriad of other feelings.

To truly resonate with readers, flashbacks should tap into these raw emotions, making them relatable and real.

Think about your own most vivid memories.

They’re likely tied to strong emotions. When crafting a flashback, dig deep into the emotional core of the scene.

What does the character feel? How can you convey that intensity to readers?

By anchoring flashbacks in emotion, you ensure they leave a lasting impact.

Here is a good video about the dos and dont’s of writing flashback scenes:

How Long Should a Flashback Scene Be?

There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to flashback length.

Like any other scene, a flashback should be as long as it needs to be to convey its message and no longer. It’s more about content than length.

A flashback should serve the story, whether it’s a single evocative sentence or several pages.

Be mindful of how the flashback affects the pacing of your narrative.

If a long, meandering flashback slows things down too much, it may be time for some trimming.

Conversely, if you’re skimming over important details, you might need to flesh it out more.

What Is a Full Flashback Scene or Chapter?

Sometimes, a brief flashback just won’t cut it

An entire chapter dedicated to a flashback allows you to dive deeper, exploring events, characters, and emotions in a comprehensive way.

This can be especially effective when a past event significantly influences the main storyline.

Starting a chapter with a clear indication that it’s a flashback is essential.

You don’t want readers to be several pages in before realizing they’re in the past.

Use clear cues, whether through dates, distinctive settings, or character age hints. And, as with any chapter, it should have its own arc, building to a meaningful conclusion or revelation.

30 Good Words for Flashbacks

Here is a list of some of the best words to use when writing flashback scenes:

• Bring to mind

30 Good Phrases for Flashbacks

Words are good but flashback phrases are even better:

• Cast my mind back to…
• Lost in a sea of memories…
• As if it were yesterday…
• Time seemed to rewind…
• A memory came flooding back…
• In the recesses of my mind…
• A moment frozen in time…
• Ghosts from the past revisited…
• Echoes of yesteryears…
• As the mists of time cleared…
• Memories, sharp and poignant…
• A bygone era beckoned…
• Whispers from days gone by…
• Time’s tapestry unravelled…
• Shadows of the past emerged…
• The sands of time shifted…
• Nostalgia’s gentle tug…
• The echo of old tunes…
• The ghost of memories past…
• Wading through the waters of the past…
• A sepia-toned memory…
• Unearthing forgotten moments…
• The relics of memory arose…
• Journeying down memory lane…
• The pendulum of time swung back…
• As history’s pages turned…
• The corridors of the past echoed…
• Sifting through mental archives…
• Time’s kaleidoscope spun…
• An old wound reopened…

3 Flashback Examples (in Different Genres)

Here are three examples from different genres to help you learn how to write flashback scenes.

As Detective Lana walked into the old mansion, the ornate chandelier, draped in dust, triggered a memory.

Years ago, as a rookie, she’d been here with her mentor. The room had been alive with partygoers, laughter echoing. But by night’s end, a scream had silenced the festivities, marking her first case – one that remained unsolved.

The scent of lavender wafted through the air, and Clara was immediately transported back to that summer in Provence.

The sun had cast golden hues on everything, and Jean-Luc, with his sun-kissed skin and mischievous smile, had stolen her heart amidst the blooming lavender fields.

3. Science Fiction

As Captain Aria gazed at the distant nebula from her spaceship’s bridge, memories flooded in.

She remembered the first time she’d piloted a ship, a tiny vessel compared to this behemoth, through that very nebula. The awe, the danger, the aliens she’d encountered – it had been her maiden voyage, the one that had ignited her passion for the stars.

Final Thoughts: How to Write Flashback Scenes

As we — fellow storytellers — dance between past and present, let’s craft flashbacks that not only shimmer with nostalgia but also pulse with the heartbeat of our tales.

Happy writing!

Related Posts:

• How to Write Filler Scenes (25 Best Tips, Types, & Examples)
• How to Write Fast-Paced Scenes: 21 Tips to Keep Readers Glued
• How to Write Two Simultaneous Scenes (Explained + Examples)
• How to Write Bullying Scenes (Ultimate Guide + 17 Examples)

15+ Flashback Examples (from Popular Literature, Film & TV)

by Ali Luke

on Jun 13, 2024

You’re sitting back in your seat, munching popcorn… and then it happens. Begin flashback…

The scene shifts. You’re in a character’s past. In just a few minutes — perhaps even a few seconds — of vivid action, you’re gripped.

Flashbacks can be used to fill in the plot quickly and efficiently, to establish greater sympathy for a character, or even to tell a complex, multi-layered story.

So, in this article we’ll take a look at what exactly flashbacks are before running through some great flashback examples — and digging into why these work.

Let’s begin.

Flashback Definition

A flashback is a literary device where a story breaks away from the present narrative to delve into the past, by showing us a past event or a scene from the past.

Essentially, It’s the opposite of foreshadowing , which is more of a flash forward that reveals a future event.

For instance, this narrative device lets the reader experience:

• A character’s past traumatic,
• A backstory that conveys some pertinent background information, or
• Some relevant intrusive thoughts that distract the character from the present moment.

They can be brief or extended and may even make up the majority of a work.

Flashback Examples in Literature Throughout the Ages

Now let’s look at some flashback examples from some notable pieces of literature:

1. “The Odyssey (Book 9)” by Homer (around 725-675 BCE)

[…] But come, I will describe the miserable journey back which Zeus arranged for me when I returned from war. From Troy my ships were carried by the wind to Ismarus, land of the Cicones. I destroyed the city there, killed the men […]

The first flashback example is from Book 9 of the Odyssey, where Odysseus dramatically describes his adventures after leaving Troy in an extended monologue to Lord Alcinous.

Odysseus continues speaking throughout Book 9 and Book 10, with the storytelling returning to the present day of the narrative part way through Book 11, in the lines “Odysseus paused. All Phaeacians sat in silence / saying not a word, spellbound in the shadowy hall.”

2. “Wuthering Heights” by Emily Brontë (1847)

Before I came to live here, she commenced — waiting no farther invitation to her story — I was almost always at Wuthering Heights; because my mother had nursed Mr. Hindley Earnshaw, that was Hareton’s father, and I got used to playing with the children […]

Wuthering Heights begins with Lockwood, the new tenant of Thrushcross Grange, narrating in the first person.

He asks his housekeeper Nelly Dean to tell him the history of Wuthering Heights, particularly of his inhospitable landlord Heathcliff. Nelly then becomes the narrator of the past narrative — which takes up the bulk of the book.

At various points, we return to the present day before flashing back to the past again. This structure adds complexity and richness to the novel .

3. “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger (1951)

“I’ll just tell you about this madman stuff that happened to me around last Christmas just before I got pretty run-down and had to come out here and take it easy. […] Where I want to start telling is the day I left Pencey Prep. Pencey Prep is this school that’s in Agerstown, Pennsylvania.”

The Catcher in the Rye is framed by Holden, the main character, talking from a psychiatric hospital.

We return to this framing narrative at the end of the novel, after Holden narrates the experiences that led to him needing to “take it easy.”

The framing narrative gives context to Holden’s storytelling, told in a subjective and sometimes rambling way, as he recounts his adolescent experiences. 

4. “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1925)

One October day in nineteen-seventeen- (said Jordan Baker that afternoon, sitting up very straight on a straight chair in the tea-garden at the Plaza Hotel) — I was walking along from one place to another half on the sidewalks and half on the lawns.

In this novel, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses flashbacks to convey Gatsby’s long-running obsession with Daisy. Here, Jordan Baker tells Nick about Daisy as an 18-year-old woman in 1917, when Jordan was 16.

The flashback example is introduced quite suddenly, with a change in narrator. The details that Jordan shares give us a better picture of the love triangle between Tom, Daisy, and Gatsby.

5. “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee (1960) 

Calpurnia evidently remembered a rainy Sunday when we were both fatherless and teacherless. Left to its own devices, the class tied Eunice Ann Simpson to a chair and placed her in the furnace room. We forgot her, trooped upstairs to church, and were listening quietly to the sermon when a dreadful banging issued from the radiator pipes, persisting until someone investigated[…].

To Kill a Mockingbird is essentially one long flashback, with the older Scout narrating the events of her childhood. As a flashback, Scout recounts an incident from that time in Chapter 12, and adds a touch of humor .

Flashback Examples in Film That We All Remember

Here are some memorable flashback examples from motion pictures:

6. Forrest Gump (1994)

In the first scene of the movie, Forrest Gump tries to strike up a conversation with a lady who sits on the bench next to him; eventually, he gets a response when admiring her shoes.

As Forrest closed his eyes, remembering his first pair of shoes, we cut to a doctor’s office with young Forrest closing his eyes tightly, too.

Flashbacks are used throughout the movie, with most of the story told retrospectively, with Forrest narrating.

7. The Titanic (1997)

We first see Rose as a very elderly lady, listening to a news report about items salvaged from the Titanic — including a drawing of herself as a young woman.

After a number of brief flashback scenes that Rose remembers, we go back to 1912, as she’s being interviewed about her time on the Titanic.

The bulk of the story is set in the past, but the end of the movie returns to the framing narrative in the present day.

In this clip, Rose remembers how she gave Jack’s surname when she arrived in America.

8. The Notebook (2004)

The Notebook is another example of a framing narrative.

Noah (who goes by Duke in his later years) is an elderly man reading the titular notebook to Allie, who now has dementia, to remind her of how they fell in love. The notebook is the journal that Allie kept of their life together.

At the 1:26 point in the clip above, the story shifts from the flashback scene into the present-day narrative, and we see the older Allie saying, “This is a good story […] I think I’ve read it before.”

9. Citizen Kane (1941)

Citizen Kane is famous for rejecting a chronological narrative but instead using different narrators to tell Kane’s life story through flashbacks while waiting to find out the significance of media mogul Charles Foster Kane’s dying word, “Rosebud.”

The characters are Kane’s contemporaries, elderly and forgetful, so we’re not certain how accurate these flashbacks are.

10. Manchester by the Sea (2016)

Manchester by the Sea uses unannounced flashbacks: we don’t get the visual indications that other films often use.

The clip above is the opening scene, a flashback from the main narrative — with Lee (the film’s protagonist ) and Patrick (Lee’s nephew, aged about 9 here), playing around on a small fishing boat.

Right at the end of this clip, we cut abruptly to the present day.

Memorable Flashback Examples from TV Shows

Other than movies, flashbacks were also used on these noteworthy TV shows:

11. LOST (2004 – 2010)

Whether you found Lost fascinating or maddening, you probably noticed its use of flashbacks — usually accompanied by a “whoosh” sound effect.

Most episodes only feature flashbacks from one character, though there are some exceptions, and most go back to events before the plane crash.

To establish this extensive use of flashbacks, episode 1 starts with Jack Shepherd waking up after the plane crash, and later includes a flashback to him aboard the flight (seen in the clip above).

12. How I Met Your Mother (2005 – 2013)

How I Met Your Mother starts and ends each episode with Ted (Josh Radnor) telling his children, in 2013, how he met their mother.

We sometimes see the children on a couch — as in the clip above, with Ted setting up the whole series. We also hear Ted’s narration to them during the flashback scenes that are being shown: check out the 1:16 mark in the clip for an example.

As with some of the film examples, the “past” is the bulk of the story, with Ted’s narration of it to his kids forming the framing story. How I Met Your Mother also uses flashbacks within these flashbacks, particularly in Season 8.

13. The Wonder Years (1988 – 1993)

The Wonder Years tells the story of Kevin Arnold’s childhood, from the 1960s onwards — with the adult Kevin narrating in voice-over, as seen from the start of the first clip above where the adult Kevin narrates:

“I went down to the big climbing tree in Harpers Woods. I didn’t admit it to myself until years later, but in my mind was the shadow of a thought that Winnie might be there.” 

14. CSI (2000 – 2015)

Montages and flashbacks are used extensively in CSI to show viewers how a crime was committed — making the scenes more interesting and compelling than simply having a description of the crime.

Flashbacks are memorably used in the 300th episode , Frame by Frame, which links a present-day case to a cold case from 14 years ago.

In this clip, Conrad’s flashback begins just after the 0:17 mark. Note how the flashback is indicated with desaturated colors, a tilted camera angle, and a slight fuzziness.

15. Grey’s Anatomy (2005 – ongoing)

In the season 8 finale of Grey’s Anatomy, a number of characters were involved in a plane crash.

The clip above is from the second episode of season 9, Remember the Time, where flashbacks from several characters are used to establish exactly what happened in the aftermath: how Mark dies, how Arizona’s leg is amputated, and more.

The preview above shows snippets of flashbacks, with a muted, blue-filtered color scheme. 

What Is the Purpose of Flashbacks?

Flashbacks can be used to:

Support Character Development

A flashback can give us more insights into a character by showing us their past experiences — perhaps what they’ve endured or overcome.

Forrest Gump has many examples of this type of flashback, showing Forrest’s life as a child, adolescent, and young man.

Incorporate Different Time Periods

Flashbacks let writers draw on different time periods, potentially contrasting social attitudes and technological developments — or alternatively showing how human nature never really changes. 

Improve the Connection Between the Audience and the Characters

Flashbacks often serve to help the target audience feel more sympathetic toward the characters or be more engaged with them.

In Lost , for instance, we feel more connected to the characters as we learn more about their lives before the plane crash.

Help Explain the Current Conflict

Two characters might be at odds in a story, without the reader fully understanding why.

Flashbacks can fill us in on the ugly history between those characters or on the circumstances that have led them to pursue incompatible goals.

Two Types of Flashbacks

Flashbacks can be broadly divided into two types:

1. Full Flashback

Most of our examples are full flashbacks. This is where a full scene — or more — takes place in the past tense.

Some flashbacks are so extended that they essentially become the primary story, with the present-day narrative serving as a framing story.

2. Brief In-Scene Flashback

A brief in-scene flashback is much shorter — perhaps a few paragraphs, or even just a few lines.

The short excerpt from To Kill a Mockingbird is a good example: we just get a little snippet of the past.

How Are Flashbacks Triggered?

Usually, a flashback will be triggered by the present tense, perhaps through:

Dream Sequences

Sometimes, a flashback is presented as a dream flashback sequence: a character falls asleep and then dreams about a powerful memory.

This memory might be presented with altered coloring, a camera tilt, or other visual cues.

Flashbacks are also commonly triggered by memories.

Perhaps a character is talking about something — such as when Forrest Gump talks about shoes in the opening scene we discussed above, triggering the memory.

Straightforward

Often, flashbacks are triggered by a character simply reminiscing. There might be a line of dialogue like “Let me tell you about…”

The opening of How I Met Your Mother is a good example of this type of trigger.

Now That You Know About Flashback Examples, Go Write Some!

Got your head around these flashback examples? Great!

Now, it’s your turn to embed them into your creative writing . 

Whether you’re a novelist, short story writer, or screenwriter , flashbacks can be a powerful tool to reveal character, develop your plot , and construct a compelling narrative for the reader.

Need a bit more help?

Take a look at the above examples again — and look up the stories and where they come from.

Watch out for flashbacks, whether that’s a seconds-long flashback to present a brief memory, or a full framing story that starts a piece off before it flashes back to the past.

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Using Flashbacks Effectively in Fiction Writing

Flashbacks in fiction are like windows into a character’s past, offering glimpses that can illuminate the present story. They hold the power to enrich narratives, adding layers of depth and complexity that straightforward storytelling might miss.

Flashbacks can be a bit like spices in cooking – used well, they enhance the flavor of a story, but overused or misplaced, they can overpower everything else. In exploring how to use flashbacks effectively, it’s all about finding that balance and weaving these snippets of the past into the fabric of the current narrative. This exploration aims to guide writers in harnessing the potential of flashbacks, ensuring they add value to the story and resonate with readers.

Understanding Flashbacks 

A flashback is essentially a detour from the main timeline of the story, transporting readers back to a previous moment in the characters’ lives. It’s a narrative technique that peeks into the past, often shedding light on events or experiences that have shaped the characters and the story’s current trajectory. Flashbacks serve varied purposes. They can fill in critical backstory, letting readers in on secrets that deepen their understanding of the plot or characters. Sometimes, they’re there to unveil motivations, revealing the whys behind a character’s actions in the present. They can also be a tool for building suspense, dropping hints, or setting up revelations that pay off later in the narrative.

However, flashbacks are not without their challenges. If not handled carefully, they can jolt the reader out of the story, creating confusion rather than clarity. Disrupting the narrative flow or overloading a story with too many flashbacks can disengage readers. It’s like trying to watch a movie that keeps jumping between different scenes too rapidly; it can be disorienting. The key lies in using flashbacks sparingly and ensuring they’re integral to the story, not just decorative add-ons.

Crafting Effective Flashbacks

Creating flashbacks that blend seamlessly into a story requires a thoughtful approach. The introduction of a flashback should feel natural, almost like a conversation where someone suddenly remembers a relevant incident from their past. It’s about finding the right moment when a peek into the past can illuminate something crucial about the present.

The challenge is to maintain the story’s momentum even as the narrative shifts temporarily to the past. A well-placed flashback can enhance the main storyline, adding suspense or depth, but it shouldn’t halt the forward progress of the plot. It’s a delicate balance to keep the readers engaged with the current events while simultaneously drawing them into a past moment.

Flashbacks can be a powerful tool for character development. They allow writers to show, not just tell, the formative experiences shaping a character’s personality, fears, hopes, and dreams. When readers understand a character’s background, their actions and decisions in the present become more meaningful and impactful.

However, it’s important to be judicious in the use of flashbacks. They should serve a clear purpose and contribute something significant to the understanding of the plot or characters. A flashback that feels forced or unnecessary can disrupt the flow of the narrative and distract the reader. Keeping flashbacks concise and relevant is key to their effectiveness.

In crafting flashbacks, the goal is to enrich the narrative without overwhelming it. It’s about striking a balance between the past and the present, ensuring that each flashback adds a piece to the puzzle of the story, making the overall picture clearer and more compelling.

Examples of Successful Flashbacks in Literature

Flashbacks have been skillfully used in many well-known works of fiction to add depth and intrigue. For instance, in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby , the story of Jay Gatsby’s past with Daisy Buchanan is revealed through flashbacks. These glimpses into Gatsby’s earlier life are essential, not only for understanding his character and motivations but also for framing the tragic irony of his unfulfilled American Dream. The flashbacks in this novel are seamless, gradually peeling away the layers of Gatsby’s persona to reveal the vulnerability beneath his wealthy façade.

In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, flashbacks are employed to provide context to the current events in Maycomb, Alabama. These moments from the past contribute to the moral and social fabric of the story, enriching the reader’s understanding of the characters and their motivations. The flashbacks are woven into the narrative in a way that feels organic, enhancing the story’s impact without detracting from its present-tense narration.

Another example is Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights , where the narrative itself is structured around flashbacks. The story of Heathcliff and Catherine is told through the memories of housekeeper Nelly Dean. This method creates a sense of intrigue and allows the reader to slowly uncover the deeply rooted tensions and passions that drive the story’s dramatic events. In each of these examples, flashbacks are not just stylistic choices but integral to the storytelling, deepening the reader’s engagement with the characters and the plot.

Final Thoughts 

In summary, flashbacks are a dynamic narrative tool that, when used thoughtfully, can significantly enrich a story. They offer a window into the past, shedding light on characters’ motivations and adding layers of depth to the narrative. Effective flashbacks should integrate seamlessly, maintain narrative tension, and contribute meaningfully to character development. Literature abounds with successful examples, demonstrating how flashbacks can be integral to storytelling. Writers are encouraged to explore the use of flashbacks in their work, keeping in mind the balance and purpose they need to serve. With careful handling, flashbacks can transform a simple story into a captivating, multi-dimensional experience.

Further Reading...

Creating Villain Backstories: Exploring the Psychology of Antagonists

The Secrets to Creating Compelling Villains in Fiction

Epistolary Writing: Crafting Stories Through Letters and Diaries

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What is a Flashback? Examples, Definitions, and How to Create Them

A flash back is a literary device that takes the reader back in time to a scene that happened before the current point in the story . It ‘s a great way to fill in details that add depth to the narrative . Plus , it ‘s a nice excuse to throw in some unnecessary “ Back to the Future “ references .

Why Use a Flashback in Writing?

Flashbacks can serve several purposes in a story. Some of the key reasons to use them include:

Flashbacks: A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Them

Writing a successful flashback can be as easy as following these simple steps:

Examples of Flashbacks in Literature

Flashbacks are a powerful literary device that can add depth, suspense, and intrigue to a story. By understanding their purpose, choosing the right moment, transitioning smoothly, keeping the flashback focused, and returning to the present, writers can create engaging and effective flashbacks that captivate readers.

And remember, while time travel might still be the stuff of science fiction, a well-crafted flashback can transport readers to the past, revealing hidden depths and adding a touch of magic to any narrative.

Tips for Writing Effective Flashbacks

For more professional tips on how to write flashbacks, check out the Masterclass or the Self-publishing School ‘s advice articles.

Flashback Pitfalls to Avoid

When using flashbacks, it’s important to avoid these common pitfalls:

Flashbacks in Different Genres

In Mystery or Thriller novels, flashbacks can provide vital clues that add up to the bigger picture of the plot. They’re often used to hint at a character’s hidden past or reveal significant events that explain the current mysterious circumstances. For instance, in a detective story, a flashback might reveal a snippet of an unsolved crime, giving readers a clue while deepening the plot’s enigma.

In Romance novels, flashbacks often serve to build emotional depth and establish a character’s relationships. For instance, a flashback might take the reader back to the moment when two characters first met, establishing the roots of their love story and making their relationship more believable and compelling.

Historical Fiction makes excellent use of flashbacks to bring historical events to life or offer insights into a character’s past life. By transporting the reader back in time, the author can paint a vivid picture of a bygone era, tying it to the character’s present predicament.

Therefore, understanding how to utilize flashbacks effectively in different genres can add nuance to your writing and enhance your storytelling prowess.

Comparing Flashbacks vs Foreshadowing

A flashback transports the reader back in time, offering a glimpse into past events that have shaped the present narrative or character development. As discussed earlier, flashbacks can reveal crucial backstory, offer insight into a character’s motives, or explain the origin of a particular circumstance. They enable readers to better understand the current story context, enriching their reading experience.

On the other hand, foreshadowing hints at future events in the story. It is a way of planting clues or building up anticipation about what’s going to happen next. The primary purpose of foreshadowing is to create suspense, tension, or prepare the reader for a plot twist. Unlike flashbacks, foreshadowing doesn’t change the narrative timeline but rather drops subtle hints about future events.

Exercises to Practice Writing Flashbacks

Remember, the key to a good flashback is relevance and emotional resonance. It should not merely serve as an exposition tool, but rather, it should add a new layer of depth to your characters or plot.

By keeping these tips and pitfalls in mind, any writer can master the art of the flashback, taking readers on a captivating journey through time and adding new layers of depth to their stories. And who knows, maybe with enough practice, even “Back to the Future” references can be seamlessly woven into the narrative.

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A Step-by-Step Guide to Writing Flashbacks That Work

Time-disruptive techniques depend greatly on the author’s intuition. flashback is the more structured of them all..

JazzFeathers

The Cogs and Gears Storyteller

Like all Time-Disruptive techniques, flashback is vastly intuitive. The way we organise it and use it in the story depends a great deal on our personal style, the way we build the story, the way we reveal themes. In short, on our narrative voice. And nobody can teach us how to do it. We have to discover it by ourselves through test and trial.

Unlike most of the other Time-Disruptive techniques, which only offer a definition and a set of best practices, flashback also offers a blueprint. It is still only guidance, but indeed there’s a way to plan it out that is largely acknowledged by most authors.

Flashbacks: A Few Tips on Making Them Truly Useful

Flashbacks can be very tricky to use. let’s have a hard look at them.

Here is a step-by-step guide on how I go about it.

Step 1: decide if you really need a flashback

Let’s admit it, flashback is a device we authors incline toward by default. It shows…

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What is a Flashback? Definition and Examples in Literature and Film

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F lashback is a term that we hear nearly every day in life — but what is a flashback in writing? A flashback is sometimes used to give context to the past, but there’s a lot more to the technique than that. We’re going to break down flashbacks by looking at how they’re used by writers, with examples from classical literature like The Odyssey and recent films like Manchester By The Sea . But before we jump into our examples let’s define flashback.

Flashback Definition

Flashbacks in literature.

Do you ever get an overwhelming sense of the past? Characters in fiction also experience flashbacks. The difference is that you, the writer, are in complete control of what they are and how they fit into the overall storytelling. Let’s take a look at a quick video that answers the question: what is a flashback in literature?

What is a Flashback?  •  Flashback Definition Literature

Now that we know what a flashback is and what the general purpose is, let’s put our flashback definition down on paper. Then we get into some classic flashback examples in movies and literature.

FLASHBACK DEFINITION

What is a flashback.

A flashback is a writing device that’s used to interrupt the present storyline for a brief return to past events. Most of the time, flashbacks are not literal; the characters are not actually traveling into the past. Instead, they’re recalling a certain experience, visualized by the writer, with the intent of contextualizing or giving backstory to a character, event, or relationship.

Characteristics of a flashback:

• Establishes a narrative through-line
• Juxtaposes aspects of character or actions
• Re-contextualizes the present story in some way

Flashback Definition Literature

How to write a flashback in literature.

Over the centuries, we’ve seen hundreds of books and short stories use them. Perhaps one of the first stories to use a flashback, also referred to as an analepsis , was Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey .

In The Odyssey , Odysseus harks back on his journeys in long-winded speeches. But instead of just hearing these stories, we’re actually brought back to them with Odysseus in a series of flashbacks.

Let’s listen to John Green explain the importance of The Odyssey , not only as a relic of literature’s past, but as a text that still has lasting importance for writers.

Flashback Examples  •  Homer’s Odyssey

In many ways, The Odyssey established what we have come to know as structural flashbacks — a narrative structure that is built upon the retelling of stories that lead to the present. This is just one of the different types of flashbacks.

Now in The Odyssey , the present of the story within the linear timeline begins in the middle, which is called 'in media res.'

As you can see, flashbacks can get a little complicated, especially when dealing with 2,800-year-old epics. Let’s take a look at a more contemporary example of structural flashbacks in literature.

Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five is widely regarded as one of the great novels of the 20th century. Many of Vonnegut’s works are structured around the use of flashbacks — and  Slaughterhouse Five is one of the best. 

In the novel, we read about Billy Pilgrim, a former U.S. soldier who is “unstuck in time.” Vonnegut brings us into the past of Billy’s time in the war, but he also takes us into the future, with the use of flashforwards.

This next video brilliantly demonstrates Vonnegut’s approach to writing, told in his own words through flashbacks:

Flashback Examples  •  Blank on Blank

The audio in this video is taken from a lecture Vonnegut gave at NYU. Notice anything about the structure of his storytelling? Vonnegut can’t resist using flashback narratives — and he’s far from the only one.

Just think about how you might tell a fun story to a friend: “I was doing [something] at [a place] in [the year x]” you may say. We’re naturally wired to tell stories in flashbacks. That’s because our brains think linearly — from point A to point B.

So, what’s the benefit of telling your story solely in the present? Well, when you place action in the present, it adds urgency to the conflict and characters of your story. There’s no right choice, but it’s helpful to consider how using them will affect your story.

Flashback Examples in Movies

The art of a cinematic flashback.

No matter how you cut it, pulling off a flashback in film is always going to be harder than it is in literature. A flashback in literature requires nothing "extra," but a flashback in film might require additional resources. For example, if the flashback goes back decades, an entire new set of props, costumes, and locations would need to be acquired. Keep this in mind when writing a flashback in a script. 

Think about a time where you’ve watched something and it goes into a flashback. How do you know the film-world is now in the past? Usually, it starts with visual tone.

Let’s use Tim Burton’s Big Fish as an example. Big Fish is structured around the death of a man named Edward. On his deathbed, Edward tells his life story through a series of flashbacks. Burton does an excellent job of making them instantly recognizable.

Let’s take a look at how he does it:

Flashback Examples in Movies  •  Big Fish

There are 5 key reasons why can infer this scene is a flashback:

• Hair/Makeup
• Vernacular/Accents
• Visual Tone

Everything in this scene stands out, from the choice of words in the script, to the wardrobing of the characters, to the fuzzy film grain on the picture. Remember, don’t be afraid to exaggerate aspects of your production design or script to make your flashback stand out. Just look at the excellent job Burton does in Big Fish .

Big Fish does a tremendous job of showing us how to communicate a flashback visually, but how do we go about writing a flashback in a script? Let’s take a look at a couple scenes from   Manchester By The Sea to see how writer Kenneth Lonergan does it.

Manchester By The Sea Script  •   Read ‘Flashback’ Scenes

Flashbacks are always written above the scene location in ALL CAPS BOLD lettering. This helps the reader to know where they are in the timeline of the story in a very clear, and purposeful way. Lonergan uses a lot of them in Manchester By The Sea .

It’s not an easy thing to do, but he does a masterful job of tying past arcs back to the present. One way to bind your timelines together is to address shared themes. A theme is a commentary on a topic that pervades throughout a story. In Manchester By The Sea , one major theme is overcoming the challenges of fatherhood.

We see this addressed in several examples, first in Lee’s time on the boat with Patrick, then in the horrific scenes with his own children in Manchester. This next video shows us in further detail how Lonergan layered theme into these scenes, both in the script and the final cut:

Flashback Examples in Movies  •  Manchester By The Sea

So, what’s the purpose of using a flashback? Well, they let us know what to expect in a story. They also allow writers to subvert our expectations by offering a twist in the present. When done well, they can give emotional context to something that we never would have understood without them. Just take cinematic masterpieces Sunset Boulevard and Citizen Kane   for example.

Flashback Meaning

Flashback vs flash forward  .

What does flashback mean when compared to a flash forward? Every story exists linearly, but that doesn’t mean they have to be told in a linear fashion. Flashbacks and flash forwards allow writers to bring us into the past or the future. And, of course, for there to be a past and a future, there has to be a present.

Perhaps the simplest way to think about flashbacks vs. flash forwards is to look at a story that begins in media res (in the middle).

Let’s use Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol for example. This video shows us that we can still learn a lot from Dickens’ yuletide classic.

Flashbacks vs. Flashforwards  •  A Christmas Carol

How does A Christmas Carol use flashbacks and flashforwards? To answer that question, we have to start at the linear present, in which Ebenezer Scrooge laments the death of his business partner Jacob Marlay and takes his anger out on the world.

Scrooge is visited by The Ghost of Christmas Past and taken into, you guessed it, the past. Ah, a brilliant use of the flashback. But what will come of Scrooge should he choose not to change his ways? That’s where The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come comes in, and whisks Scrooge into a nightmarish future. He shows Scrooge that if he doesn’t start acting nicer, he’ll die all alone, without a single tear shed.

By showing us the past, present, and future, all tied together by a theme of living life to the fullest, Dickens created an all-time classic.

Explore more literary devices

The flashback is just one of many literary devices and types of figurative language , including exposition , symbolism , and story beats . If you're a writer and want to develop your craft fully, do yourself a favor and continue this exploration. The next article on literary devices is a gateway to many of these tools that help add substance and style to any type of written work.

Up Next: Literary Devices Index →

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Flashback Examples in Narrative | What is It and How to Use

• by Andrea Feccomandi
• February 1, 2024

One powerful technique that writers often employ to enhance their narratives is the use of Flashbacks .

Flashbacks allow writers to take readers back in time, providing essential background information, adding depth to characters, and building suspense.

In this article, we will explore the definition of flashbacks in literature, their importance, and how to effectively incorporate them into your writing. We will also see some great flashback examples in literature.

Definition of Flashback in literature

A flashback is a literary device that presents a scene or event from the past within the current timeline of a story. It is a way for writers to provide context, reveal character motivations, and create a multi-layered narrative.

By using flashbacks, authors can give readers a deeper understanding of the story and its characters, making the reading experience more immersive.

FLASHBACK LITERARY DEFINITION What is Flashback in narrative? A flashback in narrative revisits past events, offering context and character insights. It temporarily shifts the story to the past, enhancing the audience’s understanding of the plot and characters by revealing earlier occurrences.

Importance and purpose of using Flashbacks in storytelling

Flashbacks serve several important purposes in storytelling.

• Revealing crucial information . They help in revealing crucial information about a character’s past, explaining their actions, and providing insights into their motivations. By delving into a character’s history, readers can develop a stronger connection and empathy towards them, making the story more engaging.
• Creating tension and suspense. Flashbacks can create tension and suspense by introducing unresolved conflicts or unanswered questions from the past. By revealing snippets of a character’s history, the writer can build anticipation and keep readers hooked, eager to discover how these unresolved issues will impact the present and future events.
• Exploring different perspectives and time periods . Flashbacks allow writers to explore different perspectives and time periods, adding depth and complexity to the narrative. They can provide contrasting viewpoints, challenge readers’ assumptions, and offer a more comprehensive understanding of the story’s themes and messages.

Different types of Flashbacks in narrative

Flashbacks can take various forms in narrative writing. Here are some common types.

• Dream Sequences . Dreams can serve as effective flashbacks, revealing subconscious desires, fears, or memories. They allow writers to explore the inner workings of a character’s mind and provide valuable insights into their psyche.
• Narrative Interruptions . Sometimes, a character may interrupt the current narrative to reminisce about a past event. This type of flashback can be used to highlight the significance of the memory or to create a reflective moment for the character.
• Letter or Diary Entries . Incorporating letters or diary entries within the narrative can be an excellent way to present flashbacks. These personal written accounts provide firsthand insights into a character’s past experiences and emotions.
• Triggered Memories . Certain events or stimuli can trigger memories in characters, leading to flashbacks. This type of flashback can be used to explore the emotional impact of a particular event or to unravel hidden secrets.

Flashback techniques and how to use them effectively

When incorporating flashbacks into your writing, it is crucial to use the right techniques to ensure a seamless and compelling narrative. Here are some techniques to consider:

• Transition Words and Phrases . Use words and phrases such as “ remember ,” “ as I recall, ” or “ in the past ” to signal the beginning of a flashback. This helps readers understand the shift in time and prevents confusion.
• Vivid Descriptions . Paint a vivid picture of the past by using descriptive language and sensory details. Engage all the senses to transport readers back in time and make the flashback feel real and immersive.
• Selective Use . Be selective in your use of flashbacks. Too many flashbacks can disrupt the flow of the story and confuse readers. Use them strategically to reveal essential information or heighten the tension at crucial points in the narrative.
• Smooth Transitions . Transition smoothly between the present and the past to avoid jarring the reader. Introduce the flashback gradually and ensure a smooth return to the present timeline to maintain the flow of the story.
• Relevance : Every flashback should serve a purpose in the narrative. Avoid including flashbacks solely for the sake of adding excitement or complexity. Each flashback should contribute to the overall story progression.
• Character Development : Use flashbacks to deepen your characters’ development and reveal their motivations. Ensure that the flashback adds depth and complexity to the narrative rather than being a mere detour.

The function of the flashback is Freudian…You have to let them wander like the imagination or like a dream. Sergio Leone

Flashback examples

To better understand how flashbacks are used in literature, let’s explore some famous examples.

One of the most famous and important of flashbacks examples is in the “ Odyssey .” Ulysses tells his past vicissitudes at the court of Alcinoo, king of the Phaeacians.

In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “ The Great Gatsby ,” the protagonist, Jay Gatsby, reminisces about his past encounters with his love interest, Daisy Buchanan. Through these flashbacks, readers gain insight into Gatsby’s motivations and his relentless pursuit of wealth and happiness.

Another notable flashback example is Harper Lee’s “ To Kill a Mockingbird .” The character of Scout narrates the story, and through her childhood memories, we learn about the racist history of Maycomb County and the impact it has on present-day events.

In Emily Brontë’s “ Wuthering Heights ,” the character of Nelly Dean narrates the story and recounts past events involving the passionate relationship between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff. Through Nelly’s flashback, readers gain insight into the origins of the intense love and obsession that drives the narrative.

In these flashback examples, the flashbacks serve to deepen the readers’ understanding of the characters and their motivations, while also shedding light on the socio-historical context of the stories.

Mastering Flashbacks: enhance your narrative with bibisco’s writing tools

Explore the narrative technique of Flashbacks with bibisco novel writing software. Craft seamless transitions between past and present, weaving intricate layers of storytelling that captivate readers.

With bibisco’s intuitive interface and organizational tools , you can effortlessly incorporate flashbacks into your narrative, adding depth and complexity to your story.

Discover how bibisco’s features, like Timeline , can help you effectively incorporate flashbacks into your narrative.

Conclusions

Flashbacks are a powerful tool in the writer’s arsenal, allowing them to transport readers back in time and reveal crucial information. By incorporating flashbacks effectively, writers can deepen their characters, build suspense, and provide valuable context to the narrative.

However, it is crucial to use flashbacks judiciously, ensuring they serve a purpose and seamlessly integrate into the overall story. With careful execution, flashbacks can captivate readers and leave a lasting impact. Read some of the most famous flashback examples for inspiration.

Now it’s time to apply these techniques to your own writing. Experiment with different flashback techniques, find the right balance for your story and watch as your narrative takes on a new dimension. Happy writing!

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How to Write a Flashback Scene: Dos and Don'ts

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Most novels include some amount of flashbacks to provide more context for what happened in the characters’ lives prior to the start of the story. If done right, a flashback can make your story much richer, your characters more complex, and your reader care more about what will happen to them. 

However, if done poorly, flashbacks can turn the reader off entirely. In this article, I'm going to go over my top dos and don'ts for how to write a flashback scene that will enhance your story, rather than detract from it.

Do: Be Relevant

When learning how to write a flashback scene, the first step is to make the content of the flashback highly relevant. Before writing that flashback passage, take a step back and make sure you have a good reason for including it. 

Because it’s such a specific kind of scene to have, you never want to use a flashback as filler or fluff. There should be a specific purpose justifying its inclusion in your book. 

One reason to use a flashback scene is that the reader needs to learn some details of a character's relationship with another character. This can be helpful especially if a character is not presently available in the narrative. For instance, perhaps the character's mother is dead in the present narrative but you want to show a memory that gives us insight into their past relationship.

Additionally, you want to make sure that something in the scene actually triggers the flashback. You don't want it to just pop out of nowhere, because then it will seem less relevant to the main story. There should be a clear reason for your character to be reminded of the memory. 

You can have the character hear, see, or even smell something in the present scene that then jogs their memory. That way, it will be clear to the reader how the flashback scene actually relates to what the character is experiencing in the present day. For example, as your character is out and about, someone calls them by a nickname that only their late mother used. This would offer a nice transition into the character describing a memory with their late mother.

Don’t: Linger Too Long

Don’t linger too long in any flashback scene. This is critical for writing effective flashbacks, as flashbacks get a bad rap for detracting from the urgency, sense of momentum, and pacing that has been built in the present narrative. So, like with any other scene in your manuscript, you want to make sure all flashback scenes are impactful and contained.

If the flashback goes on for more than a few pages, the reader will likely lose interest or begin to forget what was happening in the present narrative, making the return to the present disorienting.

To keep your flashback scenes tight, avoid including unnecessary details that aren’t relevant to the main point being conveyed. For instance, there isn’t a need to describe what the characters are wearing in a flashback unless it is directly related to the moment at hand. 

What might be world building and imagery in the present narrative will come off as clutter in a flashback scene. This is because you have to justify every word in a flashback scene, as you are intently bringing the readers into a different time period from the main story.

If you do feel like you need to show a longer flashback passage, consider potentially breaking it up into multiple segments. Then, the reader can get a small taste of the flashback, return to the present memory, and then get a little more of the flashback later on, and so on. This can be an effective technique if you need to show the reader a longer stream of events in the past without dumping them all at once.

Do: Write Smooth Transitions

Writing smooth transitions is important to learning how to write a flashback scene that works. An effective flashback requires a seamless transition into as well as out of the scene . When you first dive into a flashback, you want to use a different tense than what you are using for the events of the main narrative so that it’s clear to the reader what’s happening in the past vs. the present. 

For example, most stories are written in the simple past tense, meaning you will write the flashback in the past perfect tense. It’s a simple but effective way to communicate to the reader what is happening in the distant past in the flashback, as it’ll contrast the simple past tense used for the present narrative. I go over this particular issue in my article on common amateur grammar mistakes , so check that out for a specific example of past perfect vs. simple past.

To go from a flashback back into the present narrative, you have to reorient the reader back to what’s going on in the current scene. This can be done by using a signaling device, such as a character in the present moment continuing their conversation with the protagonist. That will allow the reader to continue with the present action.

Just make sure that this transition isn't too abrupt and that you have tied up your flashback neatly before jolting the reader back into the present scene. Plus, make sure that you re-establish where the character is and what they are doing now that we are out of the flashback.

Don’t: Disorient the Reader

Flashbacks have to be very clearly rooted in a specific time and place. If we don't know where or when it happened, it is going to be very difficult to register its significance to the present narrative.

You should also give the reader any important context for when the flashback took place along the milestones of their life so we can see where it fits with what we already know has happened in their life. For instance, in this example of the character having a flashback of their late mother, you could say something like, “Two months before she died, she gave me her wedding band. I was 14 at the time and still living in the Atlanta suburbs.”

We're getting a lot of great information in those sentences. First, we know that the mother gave the narrator the wedding band two months before she died, helping us register the timeline of events and the significance of this moment. We also know that the narrator was 14 and living in Atlanta, showing us how young they were when this event happened. This information will help the reader contextualize the flashback and ultimately register its significance and implications on the narrator.

Do: Describe a Specific Memory

Each flashback should center on a single, specific memory. You want to avoid using a flashback passage to describe repeated events of the past or abstractions of the past in general. 

By focusing on a specific memory that exemplifies what the character was experiencing at that time, it will be so much more engaging for the reader to experience. Instead of reading a general description or info-dump, they will see a single, memorable scene.

For instance, instead of saying something vague like, “When I was in high school, every week my father would come home drunk and scream at my mom,” you could describe a specific instance where the narrator's father came home drunk and screamed at their mom and then explain that instances like this continued to happen once a week. That way, the reader can experience for themself the emotional tension of the scene, further immersing them in the story.

Don’t: Misplace the Scene

Learning where to place a memory sequence is one of the keys to figuring out how to write a flashback scene that adds to the story rather than detracts. If the flashback scene is misplaced, the reader is likely going to skip over it or forget what is going on in the present narrative. 

For instance, you typically don't want to include a flashback scene when there is a lot of dramatic action happening, such as during the middle of a fight scene. Since fight scenes are so attention grabbing, the reader will skim over the flashback to see how the fight pans out because that feels more urgent. 

I would recommend placing the flashback right after the main drama of the fight scene or whenever the action subsides in the present narrative. Then, at that point the reader will actually crave a little bit of a break and will be more open-minded to the temporal reflections.

The main point is to be strategic with the placement of your flashbacks, as they can be an effective tool for giving your narrative a cadence and flow to explore the emotional landscape of your characters at opportune moments. In general, placing them just after a major dramatic plot development is good, as it allows you to step back and dive into some reflection after a major climactic moment.

I hope these tips help you learn how to write a flashback scene that is effective and engaging! By being intentional with their placement, content, and transitions, your flashback scenes will enhance the emotional landscape of your story and make your scenes more poignant.

If you’re interested in strengthening other aspects of your story, check out this overview of plot mistakes to avoid .

Thanks so much for watching and happy writing!

Looking for an expert developmental editor to strengthen your story? I’ve got a service just for that! Learn more here .

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How to Write a Flashback

Last Updated: January 26, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was reviewed by Gerald Posner and by wikiHow staff writer, Megaera Lorenz, PhD . Gerald Posner is an Author & Journalist based in Miami, Florida. With over 35 years of experience, he specializes in investigative journalism, nonfiction books, and editorials. He holds a law degree from UC College of the Law, San Francisco, and a BA in Political Science from the University of California-Berkeley. He’s the author of thirteen books, including several New York Times bestsellers, the winner of the Florida Book Award for General Nonfiction, and has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History. He was also shortlisted for the Best Business Book of 2020 by the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing. There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 45,551 times.

A flashback in a story or a film is a way to show action that took place prior to the main events of the story. Flashbacks can be useful for giving the reader or viewer background information or shedding light on a character’s motivations. For a flashback to be effective, it must move the story forward in some way, feel immersive and interesting, and be clearly recognizable to the reader or viewer as a flashback.

Writing a Flashback in Prose Fiction

• Provide information about a character’s past that sheds light on their current actions, beliefs, or attitudes (such as revealing a past trauma or other formative experience in the character’s life).
• Give context or information about events that are happening during the present plot (such as an important clue to a mystery plot).
• Helping the world of the story feel deeper and richer (e.g., providing historical background for the setting of a fantasy story).

• If you feel you must provide past information in order for the start of the story to make sense, simply begin the story at a past point in time and then skip forward to the main timeframe.
• Avoid using flashbacks during intense action scenes, since they can slow down the action and make it feel choppy.

• Don’t feel confined to writing your flashback in the past tense. If your main timeframe is written in the simple past, you might make the flashback feel more immediate and engaging by putting it in the present tense.
• For example: “Harold lifted the perfume bottle to his nose, feeling the brittle paper of the label beneath his fingers. That smell . . . It’s 1922. His mother sits at her vanity, brushing her hair. The room smells faintly of oranges and vanilla.”

• Maybe you want to show how your character came to pursue their current career. Instead of giving a lengthy account of how their interests developed, show a single moment that inspired them.
• For example, if your character is an archaeologist, your flashback might describe them visiting a museum as a child and being awed and captivated by a particular artifact.

• For example, instead of setting a flashback at some vague point during your character’s childhood, you might set it in August, a few days before their 6th birthday.
• It can also help to think about how specific details might differ between your flashback and the present day. Do your characters look, act, or speak differently? How has the setting changed? Is the cultural context different? [5] X Research source

• Specify the date of your flashback (e.g., “It was a warm August night in 1979.”)
• Set the flashback apart by using a different tense from the main narrative (e.g., past perfect instead of simple past—“He had been eating far too much chocolate, and his stomach had begun to ache.”)
• State overtly in the text that your point-of-view character is remembering a past event. (E.g., “Harold was suddenly gripped by a memory—he saw his father silhouetted in the doorway, holding the cat in his arms.”)

• For example: “At the sound of Wilfred’s voice, Bob froze. It was all coming back to him. Wilfred was standing beside him on the corner of 59th and Strauss. An icy, driving rain was falling, and neither of them had an umbrella. ”
• For longer works, such as novels, you can also separate flashbacks into their own chapters, alternating with chapters set in the present timeline.

• For example, instead of saying, “Bertha remembered the time when she fell off her bike going down a hill,” you could write, “Bertha remembered the feeling of her blood rushing to her temples, the tightness in the pit of her stomach. One moment she was flying down the hill at what felt like an impossible speed. The next, she was in the air, and the hard asphalt was rushing up to meet her.”

Using Flashbacks in Screenplays

• For example, maybe your character is afraid of water. You could flash back to a terrifying moment a few years earlier when she nearly drowned.
• A flashback can also reveal key information about the plot. For example, perhaps your character is a detective at a crime scene. She might see a key piece of evidence, such as a hat left behind by the suspect, and then flash back to a memory of seeing a man wearing the same hat.

• Even if it’s not spelled out explicitly for the audience, you can indicate when the flashback takes place in the script (e.g., after the scene heading, you might say, “It is 10 years earlier. Julio is 17.”)

• For example, you might start the flashback with a scene heading like: “FLASHBACK—EXT. SIGMUND’S CHILDHOOD HOME, DAY.”
• Label the end of the flashback, too. You could use a scene heading such as “BACK TO PRESENT DAY—INT. SIGMUND’S DINING ROOM, NIGHT.”

• Include superimposed text to appear on the screen that clarifies the timeframe of the flashback (e.g., “SUPER: Esmond’s 30th birthday, 10 years earlier.”).
• Describe differences in the appearance of the characters and/or setting that indicate the passage of time. For example, if the main action takes place in summer, a snowy backdrop will clearly indicate that the flashback takes place in a different season.

• For example, your character might see a trout on ice in the grocery store and stop to look at it. The scene then transitions to a memory of a fishing trip where she caught a gigantic trout.

• “Martha puts the trout into her cooler. She stares at the gigantic fish on the ice, awed by her catch. Faintly, she hears someone say, ‘May I help you, ma’am?’” BACK TO PRESENT DAY—INT. GROCERY STORE. Martha looks up from the fish on ice behind the glass of the display counter. The GROCER is smiling at her, waiting for an answer.”

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• ↑ https://self-publishingschool.com/flashbacks/
• ↑ https://www.writermag.com/improve-your-writing/fiction/dos-donts-flashback/
• ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqHs2UkXufA
• ↑ https://literaryterms.net/flashback/
• ↑ https://www.pala.ac.uk/uploads/2/5/1/0/25105678/rong2011.pdf
• ↑ http://www.scriptologist.com/Magazine/Formatting/Flashbacks/flashbacks.html
• ↑ https://scriptmag.com/screenplays/ask-the-expert-all-about-flashbacks

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Captivating Flashback Examples in Literature

• DESCRIPTION flackback memory examples in literature
• SOURCE Jan Hakan Dahlstrom / Stone / Getty Images

When you start a story, you learn about the characters. A key way that you learn about characters or understand context to their traits is through flashbacks. These little snippets of memory or dreams can give you vast insight into a character’s psyche. Learn more about flashback by getting a dictionary definition and exploring captivating flashback examples.

What Is Flashback?

Flashbacks in literature are all about discovering a character's past to help build the story. Take this flashback example:

The backfiring of the bus sent the older man spiraling back to his youth. He could hear the guns firing and his comrades shouting. Adrenaline rushed through him, taking his breath. Leaning against the sign for the bus stop, he covered his ears trying to staunch the flow of memories.

In just that short little flashback, we learned about the character’s past as a soldier in combat. Now, the author could have simply stated he was a soldier, but would that be as interesting? Probably not.

Since you’ve seen a flashback in action, you can clearly see the definition of a flashback being a past moment in time. Typically, this is a moment before the story has even begun.

How Is Flashback Used in Literature?

Flashbacks are a great literary device authors use to give the reader a bit of background information in a creative way. For example, knowing the character was a soldier who had experienced combat is important. However, rather than just tell the readers, they show you through a flashback to give context. Flashbacks don’t just happen in memories either; you might see them through dream sequences or even psychic powers.

Take for example, the flashback in Chapter 17 of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows . Using their psychic connection, Harry Potter sees a memory from Voldemort's perspective of the night his parents were killed. This gives Harry a unique look into what happened the night his parents died because he sees it play out through their killer’s eyes. Talk about captivating and a bit horrifying.

Examples of Flashback in Literature

While J.K. Rowling effectively used flashback in all the Harry Potter series to give us background and clues, she’s by far the only one. View a few other captivating flashback examples that have taken the literary world by storm.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Possibly one of the most famous uses of flashback in literature is in Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights . Why? Because the whole story is just one big flashback. When you meet the characters in the start of the novel, Catherine is already a ghost. Therefore, the love story between Heathcliff and Catherine is developed through flashback as Nelly Dean tells their love story. Time has no limits on love, especially in Wuthering Heights .

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

In Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games , the author uses flashbacks to create a pivotal connection between Katniss and Peeta. When Peeta is called to the podium, she distinctly remembers Peeta giving her the bread when her family was starving. This created an instant connection between these two characters that led them through the entire series. Not only does Katniss feed him because he fed her, but she never gives up on the boy with the bread.

Twilight by Stephenie Meyers

Bella was pretty sleuthy when it came to figuring out Edward was a vampire in Twilight . However, this might not have been possible without flashbacks. Bella connects all her odd moments with Edward through a flashback of Jacob and her on the beach talking about the cold ones. It helps the reader to put all the pieces together and give context to the moment.

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

The famous classic, The Outsiders , also uses flashback in chapter 2 to give us insight into Johnny and why he always carries a knife. Through Ponyboy's telling of the story, the reader learns what happened to Johnny and how he almost died, as well as his rival with the Socs. This flashback works to give insight into the character and understand his motivation a bit further.

The Importance of Flashback

As you can see through the flashback examples, flashback is an important tool writers use to weave their story. Not only does it give the reader more insight into the characters, but it provides context for a situation. It can also be pivotal in figuring out key clues like in Twilight . Ready to learn more fun literary devices? Give foreshadowing examples a whirl.

Literary Devices

Literary devices, terms, and elements, definition of a flashback, common examples of flashback, significance of flashback in literature.

Some authors have chosen to tell their stories entirely in flashback, such as in Homer’s Odyssey , in which Odysseus tells his story to a listener, or Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness , in which the character Marlow tells his fellow sailors about a journey he once took up the Congo River. Other authors, like Kurt Vonnegut in Slaughterhouse Five and Julio Cortázar in Rayuela , choose to tell their stories completely out of chronological order. Thus, it’s more ambiguous where the “present moment” really is, and thus it’s harder to say what is flashback, what is present, and what is flash-forward.

Examples of Flashback in Literature

We looked on, waiting patiently—there was nothing else to do till the end of the flood; but it was only after a long silence, when he said, in a hesitating voice, “I suppose you fellows remember I did once turn fresh-water sailor for a bit,” that we knew we were fated, before the ebb began to run, to hear about one of Marlow’s inconclusive experiences.

( Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad)

In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since. “Whenever you feel like criticizing any one,” he told me, “just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.”

( The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald)

This excerpt from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gastby is the very opening line of the novel. Much of the first chapter occurs in flashback as the narrator Nick Carraway thinks about what has brought him to the East Coast and how out-of-place he feels there. His father’s quote stays with him, and it’s an interesting example of flashback that also carries some element of foreshadowing in that Nick will spend much of the book considering privilege and how it changes people in different ways.

Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice. At that time Macondo was a village of twenty adobe houses, built on the bank of a river of clear water that ran along a bed of polished stones, which were white and enormous, like prehistoric eggs. The world was so recent that many things lacked names, and in order to indicate them it was necessary to point.

This is another example of flashback that occurs as the opening line of a novel. In fact, the first line of Gabriel García Márquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude is one of the most famous opening lines in all of literature. In it, we meet one of the central characters of the book, Colonel Aureliano Buendía, and know some important factors about him right away. We know that later in the book he will face a firing squad, and we also know that his life seems to predate history. García Márquez does an interesting job here of spanning many decades in just a few short words, and setting up tension and curiosity on the part of the reader.

When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow. When it healed, and Jem’s fears of never being able to play football were assuaged, he was seldom self-conscious about his injury.

“But this is touching, Severus,” said Dumbledore seriously. “Have you grown to care for the boy, after all?” “For him?” shouted Snape. “Expecto Patronum!” From the tip of his wand burst the silver doe. She landed on the office floor, bounded once across the office, and soared out of the window. Dumbledore watched her fly away, and as her silvery glow faded he turned back to Snape, and his eyes were full of tears. “After all this time?” “Always,” said Snape.”

( Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling)

This is one of many examples of flashback from J.K. Rowling’s final book of her seven-part Harry Potter series. In the final book Rowling must fill in a lot of information about many events that occurred before Harry was even alive. She does this in an ingenious way. Rowling introduced the device of a “pensieve” earlier on in the series, in which a character can enter another person’s memory. When Harry views this memory of Snape’s, he is still able to understand a vital piece of his own history. In this excerpt, Snape reveals that while he never came to care for Harry, he had always loved Harry’s mother, Lily.

Test Your Knowledge of Flashback

I graduated from New Haven in 1915, just a quarter of a century after my father, and a little later I participated in that delayed Teutonic migration known as the Great War. I enjoyed the counter-raid so thoroughly that I came back restless. Instead of being the warm centre of the world, the Middle West now seemed like the ragged edge of the universe — so I decided to go East and learn the bond business.

What is the point of this flashback from the narrator Nick Carraway? A. There is no real point; Fitzgerald just wrote it because he thought he should. B. This is a moment that happens in the regular chronology of the story and shows a current thought of Nick’s. C. This small paragraph adds to the characterization of Nick in that we see how he has given up his home in the “Middle West” and is in search of a new fortune out East. [spoiler title=”Answer to Question #3″]Answer: C is the correct answer.[/spoiler]

5 Mistakes When Writing Flashbacks in Memoir (and Fiction)

Today’s guest post is by freelance editor  Sarah Chauncey  ( @SarahChauncey ).

Flashbacks are scenes that take place prior to the narrative arc of a story. They can illuminate any number of story elements, from revealing the origins of an unusual habit to new information about a relationship. Flashbacks can give the reader a depth of context not available in the primary narrative.

Alternately, flashbacks can help the reader understand your reaction to an event in the primary timeline. For example, maybe you had a fight with your spouse, and the exchange reminded you of how you used to cower in your closet when your parents fought. While you can tell with that line, showing via a flashback can be more engaging for the reader.

However, flashbacks can be tricky to write. Written unskillfully, flashbacks can leave a reader disoriented and disengaged.

What follows are the five mistakes I see most often in memoir manuscripts, though these principles are also relevant to fiction. If you’re writing fiction, just substitute “your main character” for “you.”

1. Including irrelevant flashbacks

When used properly, flashbacks can be illuminating. When used haphazardly, they detract from the primary narrative and leave the reader confused (or worse, bored).

You should understand how each flashback enhances the story. If it doesn’t, cut it. Flashbacks should be earned, just as any plot development is earned.

Ask yourself these three questions about every flashback in your current draft:

• How does this flashback serve the story?
• Could the information be revealed chronologically within the time frame of the primary narrative?
• Is there a direct relevance to the present-day scene?

Writers sometimes pepper their manuscripts with flashbacks to appear more “literary,” though from my perspective, there is nothing intrinsically literary about a flashback. I’m a big fan of chronological structure, because it keeps the reader clearly oriented. However, you may want to reveal certain information from the past at a specific, strategic point in your narrative.

A related mistake is the use of multiple flashbacks to shine light on one particular issue. For example, let’s say that you had a job as a dog walker in college. If that’s relevant to your (primary narrative) decision to adopt an English Springer Spaniel 20 years later, it might warrant a flashback. Write one compelling flashback that gives the reader a taste of your experience, but don’t create five or six different dog-walking flashbacks to make your point.

2. Writing a flashback “because it really happened”

Sometimes, especially in memoir, writers want to include everything interesting that happened, and they rationalize including an irrelevant flashback by saying, “But it really happened!”

With memoir in particular, it can be difficult for a writer to discern which events are relevant to the story and which aren’t. Implausible, mind-boggling experiences that defy logic happen every day. It’s very cool that you (or the character) had that experience, but that alone is not a reason to include it in your story.

Often this tendency comes from a well-meaning place: Memoir writers typically want to be as truthful and as clear as possible. Some writers I’ve worked with have wondered whether omitting X flashback makes the story less honest or clear. It all depends on the bigger context, but in general, memoir is like carving: You start with a huge block of marble (your life experience to date) and then carve the story out from there. There’s nothing dishonest about cutting an irrelevant flashback, any more than it’s “dishonest” not to mention that you accidentally overfed your goldfish when you were five. In most cases, it’s simply not relevant to the story.

3. Forgetting to anchor

One of an author’s tasks is to keep the reader oriented in the time frame of your story. Inserting flashbacks randomly, or without “anchoring,” can leave readers adrift and confused.

To “anchor” is to use a phrase or sentence to introduce the flashback: “Twenty years earlier…”, “Before my sister was born…”, “The sound of the fire sirens took me back a decade…” The strongest anchors help the reader follow the narrator’s train of thought and connect the dots about why you’re transitioning to another time and place: Your new coworker has a vocal tic similar to your abusive mother’s. The smell of a clove cigarette takes you back to your semester in Paris. You hear a songbird from that time you went camping in northern Michigan.

Depending on the length of the flashback scene, you may need to anchor on the other side, too, to re-orient the reader to the primary narrative. Better to err on the side of anchoring too much—a beta reader or editor can tell you if you’ve overdone it—than to leave readers wondering where in your world they are.

4. Leading the reader by the nose

Nearly all of us—myself included—have a strong need to be understood. That often translates on the page into a final, punctuating (and telling ) sentence that reiterates how you felt or one that explains your actions. For example, “My father’s stubbornness that morning infuriated me” or “I figured I was better off without Ben, anyway.”

I call this “leading the reader by the nose” and—surprise!—readers, like all of us, don’t like being told how they should feel or what they should think.

The trick is to create the scene in a way that the reader’s emotional or cognitive response is virtually inevitable. If you write it well, using characterization , action and dialogue to bring the reader into your experience, the reader will feel what you felt.

Also, no matter how much you cringe at your past behavior or worldview, resist the urge to rationalize or justify your behavior—that only comes across as defensive, and then the reader will wonder why you’re so defensive.

5. Writing recollections instead of flashbacks

A recollection is a thought. A flashback is a scene. Reading about a character’s thoughts can be less compelling than giving readers the opportunity to have an experience with them. Flashbacks bring the reader into the moment with you, whenever that moment happened.

On the page, what makes something a “recollection” rather than a flashback is point of view. If you’re writing a recollection, you retain your present-day POV and reflect on an event that happened in the past. Here’s an example of a well-written recollection from Mira Bartok’s The Memory Palace :

The last time I visited my mother in a hospital, it was over 20 years ago. She was in a lockdown ward at Cleveland Psychiatric Institute (CPI) and had asked me to bring her a radio. She had always needed a radio and a certain level of darkness. In her youth, my mother had been a musical prodigy. When I was growing up, she listened to the classical station night and day. I always wondered if her need for a radio meant more than just a love of music. Did it help block out the voices in her head?

In a flashback, you create a scene as though it were happening in real time. By this, I don’t mean write it in the present tense. Rather, I mean that the scene should immerse the reader in your flashback experience . Flashbacks retain your POV at the time , rather than superimposing your present-day POV onto the memory.

Here’s an example of a skillful flashback from Huda al-Marashi’s memoir, First Comes Marriage :

In the fifth grade, I had a sleepover for my birthday (my parents’ rule was that I could have friends over, but I couldn’t spend the night at anyone’s house). When the conversation turned to my friends’ on-screen crushes, I wanted to shush them. In my house, there was nothing innocent about girls discussing boys. It wasn’t long before Mama picked up on the topic and called me out of the living room and into the kitchen to ask, “Are your friends talking about boys?” I nodded, mortified and ashamed, and then added, “But they’re not real boys. Just actors.” She didn’t meet my gaze. “Already?” she said, as if she were addressing herself. “These are eleven-year-old girls. What’s wrong with this country?” That I could feel so much shame just being in the company of girls talking about boys made it clear—this was a taboo unlike any others.

Some literary memoirists skillfully weave recollections into their stories in a way that creates the same emotional impact as flashbacks. For the average memoirist—let’s say those who have yet to win a major literary prize—I believe flashbacks should be shown, rather than recounted. However, there is a place for recollections in both memoir and fiction, and not every glance backward has to be a fleshed-out flashback.

Sarah Chauncey   is a veteran writer, freelance editor and writing coach, as well as the author of P.S. I Love You More Than Tuna . She helps her clients enhance their creative flow through a variety of practices. Subscribe to her newsletters: Resonant Storytelling  (writing) and   The Counterintuitive Guide to Life  (inner peace).

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[…] Sarah Chauncy: 5 Mistakes When Writing Flashbacks in Memoir (and Fiction) […]

Thank you. David Morrell wrote advice about “flashbacks” that is also valuable to read and follow. When I did “flashbacks” in my memoir I made a point to anchor the “flashbacks” in the present before and after so that readers would not feel they were lost and abandoned.

It sounds like you handled it well. Thank you for your comment.

[…] M. Story shares 5 mistakes to avoid if you want to finish your book, Sarah Chauncey gives us 5 mistakes when writing flashbacks, and Jami Gold explores the pitfalls of our stories having unintended deeper […]

Thanks for these useful tips.