: Re: A long backstory right at the beginning Just as I heard from various sources, a plot has to start with what the reader will find through most of it. And that's what I did, the first scene

@RJPawlick285

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There are many ways to handle that. Almost too many, to be honest. I can't tell you which to pick, or if the way you are currently doing it is right or wrong.

It all depends on your skill as a writer!

And more importantly, this is why you need beta readers. They can tell you if you are boring your readers to death, or if these flashbacks are super enticing and you shouldn't change a letter to any of it.

Some alternatives that might fit your narrative.

Alternating chapters.

Consider alternating between the story and the flashbacks. Even if the flashback chapters are shorter, this is one tool it takes a master writer to craft just right. One example, from Sydney Sheldon, is to give the protagonist a reason to care about these flashbacks. He had his protagonist reading her grandfather's journal, detailing his life during and after World War II, and what Jews went through during this time.

'Dream sequences'

This is quite common, and a tool I come across sparingly. More common in fantasy settings, likely with characters with 'the sight'. Or perhaps just a narrative tool to flesh out a stoic character, recalling his past and rounding him out and why he's such a stick in the mud now (mostly I find this type with 'army dude' and it usually involves his wife leaving him for some stupid superficial reason).

'Cooldown interjection'

You never want to overload your reader with tension. Because if your scenes are visceral, they will feel the tension in their own body, and may become stressed by your work. Though this only applies to some heavy scenes, not all, it is something to be mindful of. So how to lower the tension without breaking it all to pieces? Let's say your protagonist is in a warzone, and there is no way out. A 'one-way ticket', as it were. Well, in moments of relative peace, let the character think back, give him something to be hopeful for; a loved one that's on his mind (a lover, child, brother, best friend that's too much of a wimp to join the army), and just like anyone would do to self-soothe, insert these flashbacks.

Maybe you can come up with a dozen other options, but these are what I can come up with off the top of my head.

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