Flashback or backstory is commonly used to describe the events of a point before the start of the book. In a way, a writer can establish some history of the main character or secondary characters through the use of backstory. It also provides some uses for the author to tell about a time that might be hard to articulate.
There is a limit to backstory. The three sentence/paragraph rule. In this, you want to weave your backstory through the main event happening in the scene.
For example: Jack poured the coffee, the smell taking him back to the early mornings when his mother used to make it. He sat down to drink.
But is this always the best way to do a flashback? New York Times best selling author Karen Traviss gives whole chapters to backstory in her Gears of War book series. Those chapters serve to show the readers that some events in the present mirror those in the past. This is also a helpful way to practice the "Show, Don't Tell" rule of writing.
But doing the backstory this way might cause some writers to tell/show that story more than the main event, which then makes them wonder if the backstory is more interesting than the main story. All too often, the past is more interesting than the present, but there are ways to work around that.
There is a limit to backstory. The three sentence/paragraph rule. In this, you want to weave your backstory through the main event happening in the scene.
For example: Jack poured the coffee, the smell taking him back to the early mornings when his mother used to make it. He sat down to drink.
But is this always the best way to do a flashback? New York Times best selling author Karen Traviss gives whole chapters to backstory in her Gears of War book series. Those chapters serve to show the readers that some events in the present mirror those in the past. This is also a helpful way to practice the "Show, Don't Tell" rule of writing.
But doing the backstory this way might cause some writers to tell/show that story more than the main event, which then makes them wonder if the backstory is more interesting than the main story. All too often, the past is more interesting than the present, but there are ways to work around that.
- If you have a secondary character with ore interesting backstory than your main character, try giving subtle hints about his or her past. Such as the case with Marvel's X-Men character, Wolverine. Sure, we know of some of the events that made him what he is today, but the rest he either doesn't talk about or gives an offhand comment to.
- Try writing the backstory alongside your main story. In a separate document is always wise. This allows you to have the backstory at your fingertips and choose what elements get referenced or summarized in paragraph/sentence form.
- Change your story's character and setting. All too often, the secondary characters steal the show for new writers. The challenge is to tell them "No." If you feel the story would be more interesting through their eyes, show it.
