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After reading up on flashbacks, both on this site and others, I learned that flashbacks should be used sparingly since most readers enjoy a story from A to Z. I feel very strongly about having a form of a flashback, but can't decide which would be more appropriate. I want to hook the reader by displaying the danger and darkness of my world, but I don't feel that's possible starting off with a relatively safe adolescent child.
Full Flashback - My protagonist starts off during some event and something triggers the story to flash back to when her drama began (a number of years earlier).
Framing the story - My protagonist starts off during some event, reflecting in how she got into this situation, and the story starts many years prior.
The problem I feel I will have is that the flashback/framing point is during the middle of my story, lets say point "M".
I could use the first method, flashback to reveal the beginning of the drama, point "A", then back to M, then from N to B,C,D and back to N. You can see how I might end up with too many jumps and turn off the reader.
The second method would be more linear, starting at M to frame her current, dark situation, jump to A. I would then tell the story linearly until point M, then continue on to point Z.
Which method would work better?
EDIT: Examples given to better express my thoughts.
Example 1: For the first method, the story would start with the character in the middle of some mess (call it conflict A). She would have a full flash back that would take her years into the past and give the read her origin, background, introduce her and other characters, but not show how she got into conflict A. The story would then come back to the present, and the plot would continue, she would go about resolving her current mess, with the reader understand a lot more about her motivation and abilities.
At some point later, she would have another full flashback, explaining more details, maybe introducing the antagonist and leading up to conflict A. Coming back to the present once more, she resolves the conflict/defeats the antagonist.
Four time jumps, roughly equal in time (years).
Example 2: Character is in conflict A and goes through a chapter's worth of plot. Story flashes back several years before conflict A, origin is explained, characters are introduced, etc. Story progresses normally until character enters conflict A. The story skips the already covered story from chapter 1, continues on as the character resolves the conflict/defeats the antagonist.
Two time jumps, one years in the past and one a couple hours into the future
(2)More posts by @Carla500
2 Comments
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Two Things To Focus On
There are two things that come to play here:
In Media Res : In the middle of the action
What Is Your Actual Story?
In Media Res
As I'm sure you know, In Media Res is the idea that to draw the reader in you must start right in the middle of the action.
Readers don't want to sit through 50 pages of backstory to get to the story. That leads us directly to the 2nd -- and most important point -- the summary of your story.
What Is Your Story?
If you flashing back to show why the world is so dark, it is likely the reader doesn't really care until later anyways. Really consider your story at hand and tell that story.
Darth Vader Is A Great Example
When Star Wars : A New Hope was originally released Darth Vader showed up on the screen within the first 15 minutes of the movie (I think less actually. Viewers did not know his name, his purpose, his backstory, nothing. And we didn't care. We knew he was the bad guy (he was scary looking and dressed in all black).
We did care about the story though. We wanted to know what his part in the story we were watching would be. But we absolutely didn't care about his back-story.
Only later, after 20-odd years did they make a movie about his back-story.
Tell Your Story As It Happens
I suggest you put the character in the middle of the trouble and start telling the story that the character is going through right now.
If there is plot point that needs back-story then explain it at that moment.
Here's a melodramatic example:
Alvin paused and stared down at the lever. This lever would turn the
lights back on. After 10 years of the overlords forcing darkness upon
the world, flipping this one lever would change it all. It would
liberate the people!
Back-Story Can Be Like Grandpa Talking About Good Old Days
The back-story can occur along the way of the main story. A salient point might even be to consider how often a story becomes boring and how disinterested readers become when an author descends into detailed back-story.
"Back in the day when the overlords forced us into darkness, we had to
walk five miles in the snow..."
Yes, yes, grandpa.
:)
I never use flashback, I always use a frame, so obviously I think that works better.
There are several ways to use a frame; as a report to a superior, a story to a friend or lover, explaining something to a new acquaintance, business or work partner, or lover, even a letter or briefing: Your MC reads a letter, or attends a briefing, that informs them of a situation they must address. In Star Wars, the hologram of Princess Leia is one such framing:
General Kenobi. Years ago, you served my father in the Clone Wars. Now he begs you to help him in his struggle against the Empire. I regret that I am unable to present my father's request to you in person, but my ship has fallen under attack and I'm afraid my mission to bring you to Alderaan has failed. I have placed information vital to the survival of the Rebellion into the memory systems of this R2 unit. My father will know how to retrieve it. You must see this droid safely delivered to him on Alderaan. This is our most desperate hour. Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope. Star Wars; 1977, George Lucas.
Such things can be used to increase intimacy (bring people closer together), or even cause a rift (drive them apart). In this case, this new knowledge causes Luke to refuse this call to action, to Obi-Wan's chagrin. (Obviously not for long).
That Said, +1 Mark:
Darkness and danger are not interesting unless they happen to someone we care about.
All of my stories open with the main character doing relatively unimportant things and dealing with a relatively unimportant issue, as my route to introducing the reader to the MC, who has a problem (so there will be some conflict to sustain reader interest) but in a non-life threatening situation: Their status quo world. That is how I get them into the story, not with a flash-bang, which I found always falls flat. You can do that pretty quick, just not (for a novel or movie with all new characters) in the first 5% of the story; typically not in the first 10%.
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