iUniverse suggests ways to write a book using Flashbacks

iUniverse publishing says flashbacks can be very important to the development of a story. They tell us about a character’s backstory, which is everything that has happened to a character, including all their experiences, up until the point that they are introduced in a book.

Many inexperienced writers make the mistake of putting flashbacks in the wrong place. Others allow their flashbacks to last too long, which distracts readers from the actual story, and seems like more of a diversion than a way to advance the story.

Many writers use the second chapter of a book as a flashback in order to tell a character’s backstory. Other writers like to make the first chapter a flashback and, then, jump forward to the present in the second chapter. Still others like to alternate the chapters of a book and use two separate timelines to tell their story, e.g. one chapter is set in the past and the next is set in the present throughout the story or vice versa.

Triggering Memories

Think about how you remember things from the past. Memories come from somewhere. They are usually triggered by something happening in the present. It is important to trigger flashbacks by having something happen to your character in the present which shows the reader the obvious reason for the flashback or why the character is remembering the past.

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