Ratatouille
(Originally posted on August 23, 2013. Being an author of third person present tense, I really can’t use these. They would be clunky and emersion shattering. In general, I don’t like using them very often because they require a mental shift for the reader every time they happen. They should be used sparingly and correctly.)
One of the biggest tools for an author is the flashback. These can help reveal information about a character, place, or situation. For the few that don’t know what this is, you move the attention of the book from the current situation to an event of the past. For example, a character is being approached by something he or she is terrified of. They have an exposition of thought that explains the origin of this phobia. A flashback easier to do in past tense writing because it’s awkward and jarring in past tense.
Flashbacks are easy to abuse because, as the author, you know everything about the characters. An event might trigger a funny story from your protagonist’s childhood that you ‘NEED’ to include. The truth is that you don’t always need to include a flashback if it’s not entirely relevant to the plot. It helps with bringing more depth to a character, but you need a believable connection to current events. A character fighting a dragon shouldn’t suddenly flashback to a time when they burned their mouth of fresh pizza. Make flashbacks count and use them sparingly.
I can handle flashbacks if they are used with PTSD, dreaming, prologues, and don’t tear me out of the book. If a character is in the midst of a perilous battle, I don’t want to see a write up of their childhood in the middle. By the time I’m brought back to the action, I need to read the beginning of the fight to get back into it. I think a flashback should be a tool for explanation, but not at the cost of story flow. The phrase ‘location, location, location’ comes to mind here. Let me give you an example of horrific flashback use:
I was in college and a fellow freshman wanted to write a martial arts book. I agreed out of boredom and being too nice for my own damn good. He came to me with a list of actors and actresses to play the movie version. Bad sign, but I started writing the book with him and got to the end of Page 1. Suddenly, he yells ‘Flashback!’ and demands we put in a flashback to the character’s tragic motivational moment. Keep in mind that this was called for in mid-conversation with another character. Terrible and I stopped right there.
I like a flashback to seem natural in appearance as if one could believe a real person would think back to such things. So as an author, I don’t like to plan flashbacks and let them appear as I write.
What do you think of flashbacks?
Legends of Windemere 
There has to be a better way to introduce the past than a flashback, which always jars me out of the story. A prologue is better. And books with multiple flashbacks – ugh!
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I think they can work if one builds up to them or creates a proper transition. The biggest issue is flow, which can be overcome. Maybe a dream, near death experience, drug hallucination, or anything that involves memory recall.
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That might work, but it can’t be contrived.
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Not a fan and yet, I never say never.
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True. Never know when they’ll come in handy.
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I see why you stopped writing a book with that guy. I wonder if some people have a movie montage idea in regard to flashbacks. They’re easier to show in movies, because we can see the scenes. They’re harder to include in a book, because they might pull you out of the story as noelleg44 mentioned.
I agree with the points you brought out, especially about when to include one. I included a flashback when a character was working through the effects of a magical spell. But now I wonder about the location of that flashback. As for what I look for, I look for what you mentioned in the first paragraph: the knowledge you gain about the character, the location, and the situation.
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Good point on the montage concept. Many people probably do think of that and try it in written form.
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I know this technique is common in anime, where they do stop combat to go into a flashback. I suppose it’s a way of showing what’s at stake in the battle. But I dislike the technique and won’t use it.
As you point out, it kills all momentum. I also feel it would confuse the reader about what’s happening. Perhaps this works better in visual media. I still don’t like it.
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It certainly works better in tv and movies. You can show it as the characters thinking about the past, which creates a transition. On paper, it’s too abrupt and would need its own section with a setup.
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I agree. A flashback has to be carefully placed. Personally, I’ve not used one, bug might in the right circumstances. I would keep it short, though.
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Same here. Writing in present tense makes it a clunky and anti-style tool.
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