Creative writing - Mike Sanders 2014
Employing backstory and flashback
The longer story: The novel
Long-form genres
When you invent characters for a novel, you need to know all about them, including where they grew up, their childhood fears, their dreams, and more. Where does this information go?
In most cases of backstory, new information is filtered through the main viewpoint character. Specific terminology, even if alien and unfamiliar, is helpful because what’s named is no longer so confusing. Implication is essential. Terms can be understood partially in context with the reader (hopefully) waiting for more.
Backstory deepens inner conflict. It can provide motivation for the conflict, deepen the emotional effects, and let the reader empathize with even a villain.
It also increases tension. Hinting at backstory but not telling all makes your readers long to know the secrets, too. They read on to find out what secret is so terrible it provides the motivation for this conflict.
IDEAS AND INSPIRATION
Usually backstory, especially flashbacks, should be put at a point where it enhances the tension and conflict of the story. You can think of a collection of scenes, followed by characters reflecting upon a given scene and deciding what to do next, which leads to the next scene. Scene, reflection, decision, scene. Often the backstory needs to come in that in-between stage where the character is reacting emotionally to the events of the scene that just happened.
For example, Gloria slaps Joe. So what? What are the readers supposed to make of that? What does it mean? We don’t know, so the author must interpret the action in some way. The scene could progress without the explanation until Joe turns around and makes a fast exit. Then, Gloria has the time to react emotionally. That’s the point for a flashback that explains that Joe once accused Gloria of embezzling money and let her stand trial, even though it was Joe who had stolen the money.
Now the backstory explains and deepens the tension. But an early chapter that goes into a long story of how Gloria and Joe worked together for many years and Joe was Gloria’s mentor and they even had a brief affair that Gloria’s husband still doesn’t know about—that’s boring stuff. It doesn’t help Gloria make a decision about what to do next. It doesn’t add to the present conflict, even if it does explain it somewhat.
Remember, backstory is there for its emotional weight. The story’s current situation is emotional, but for some reason, you want to raise the stakes. By adding backstory, you can strengthen the character’s motivations and make events mean more. Backstory should add irony, poignancy, regret, hope, or other strong emotions.
That means you put backstory at the point where it most directly impacts the emotions of the characters and/or the reader and impacts the emotional weight of the story. For example, can you interrupt a scene with backstory? Yes. But you’d better have a strong emotional reason to slow down the story at that point.
Here are some ways backstory can impact a novel’s emotional weight:
Interpret actions/dialogue/events Some scenes, such as action scenes, are better left intact with any flashbacks or backstory coming later as the character reflects on the events. Then, the flashback helps the character interpret the scene’s importance or outcome.
Help make a decision Sometimes, though, a scene leads up to a character making a decision. Flashbacks provide needed information and emotion to help the character make the best (or worst) decision.
Change relationships If the backstory comes in dialogue, instead of as a flashback, it can change relationships.
Provide a story twist If your plot is too straight-line, a good bit of backstory can add an interesting twist on events.
Flashbacks, scenes or partial scenes of something that happened before this moment in the story timeline, are the best way to insert backstory. In other words, a flashback is a scene that’s presented out of chronological order. The flashback relates to the current scene, deepens character motivations, or otherwise illuminates the current action of the novel.
When working with backstory and flashbacks, first write the scene with the current action, and make it as fully developed as possible. If you’re going to interrupt the ongoing action of the novel to insert this backstory, then at least give the reader a full scene that will keep their interest.
Then, write the flashback as a fully developed scene. Again, if you’re messing with the timeline or chronology of the novel, do it in such a way that you keep the reader’s interest. This doesn’t mean it has to take up pages; a paragraph of a mini-scene might be perfectly reasonable. On the other hand, the flashback might need to be several pages long in this particular novel. Do what works.
Next, integrate the two scenes. Figure out where exactly in the novel the reader needs this bit of backstory in order to understand the story’s action or to create a deeper emotional response. Put the flashback as close to that point as you can. Then smooth out the transitions.
IDEAS AND INSPIRATION
The trickiest part of a flashback is getting into in and out of it. Try to do it with a single sentence both times. One transition opening sentence should signal a time shift and then go straight into past tense like you would in any scene of a novel.
Remember, a flashback scene needs to be a high point or a low point in a character’s life, something worthy of a dedicated flashback. There also needs to be some emotional hook.