: How do you get a character to tell a short story? Writing noobie here. I'm at a point in my story where one of the characters recalls a memory from their past and talks about the impact

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There are some ways I've seen it written.

Pure narrator
Pure dialog (telling it to someone else)
In between

1) This one really depends if you're writing in first or third person perspective. Writing in first person, you would write it almost like a conversation, but only to the character themselves. So something like:

Oh, how did I get into this situation? That's right, it happened back then. Back when I decided humanity over barbarism. Back when I first met her, those eyes... so sweet and innocent. I couldn't have know back then. No. My heart wouldn't have let me know.

... and then go on to tell the story.

If it's in third person you could say the same thing, but with a less personal description and more of an observation description:

He wondered how he found himself in such a predicament. "That's right", he remembered, "it happened back then." Back when he decided humanity over barbarism. Back when he first met her, and fell in love with those eyes that were ever so sweet and innocent. He couldn't have know back then, or rather, his heart wouldn't have let him know.

2) A pure dialog would be somewhat similar to the first in first person, except you'd probably want someone to interject every now and then to actually make a conversation.

3) For this one, you would purposefully omit the character telling everything to their listener, while filling in the audience with narration. So like:

"What happened to her?" she asked.

"She died," he replied simply. And a horrible one too, he knew. And worst of all, it was by his hand.

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It's not awkward at all. The key is to tell it in a way that keeps the reader engaged, and doesn't detract from the rest of the story. You could put it as part of a dialogue, let the character talk for two pages, or you can have the story told by the narrator; it's been done in all three of those ways at one point. You just have decide which way fits into your story better.

I've used all three though I normally gravitate to letting the character do the talking, but if your story isn't dialogue-heavy throughout it might not be the best choice for you.

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