Mastering Flashbacks (Voice-Over Version)
5 Tips for Writing Powerful, Seamless Timeline Shifts in Fiction
Flashbacks, when done correctly, are a powerful tool in your writer’s toolbox. They can help explain to the reader why a character is the way they are, or what made them think the way they do.
However, it’s important to note that flashbacks inherently interrupt the current story. They stop whatever is happening in the current moment in order to tell you about something that’s already happened, something the characters have already dealt with, for good or ill. Because of this interruption, it’s imperative that the flashback is crucial to the telling of the story. The information provided cannot be conveyed in any other way, nor can it be left to the reader’s intuition and intelligence to determine what happened.
Which brings us to our top 5 tips.
Tip 1: Try writing around the flashback first.
The best way to avoid an unnecessary flashback is to avoid the flashback all together. Remember, writing is rewriting, and sometimes the best way to figure out what works for your story is to try writing it in different ways.
Explore other ways to convey what you want to include in the flashback, such as through dialogue. Could a conversation about what has happened be an interesting character building moment between two or more characters? That could be more powerful than outright explaining what happened.
If you do this and you find it’s still not as impactful as an actual flashback, then go ahead and write the flashback, secure in the knowledge that you tried other options and this is still the best choice for your story.
Tip 2: Follow the Segue, Scene, Segue formula.
It is important that your reader is aware that what they are about to read isn’t set in the current timeline of your story. If you don’t alert them to this shift, they’re likely to become confused or even bored, as things aren’t making sense to them.
The first step in structuring your flashback is to use a segue, or a trigger. This is most commonly done through something reminding the character of a memory. For example, they may see a hated rival walking down the street towards them and suddenly remember a time when that rival bullied them in high school. While this is the most common method, there are other, more innovative ways you could segue into the flashback. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire introduced a device called a Pensieve that allowed people to see into memories belonging to other people.
Once you orient the reader to the past, write your flashback.
Finally, at the end of the flashback, you need something to pull the reader back to the present. With Harry Potter and the Pensieve, the memory simply ends, but Harry experiences some of the same disorientation as the reader, so this still works. If the first segue was a lapse into a memory, try linking up the memory with something that occurs in the present. For example, maybe someone in the past slams a door, and the protagonist hears a bang right at that moment that jerks them back into the present. Or it could be as simple as someone trying to grab their attention.
By following the segue, scene, segue formula, you ensure that your reader doesn’t get lost or disoriented when changing the timeline of your story.
Tip 3: Don’t linger too long.
No matter how tempting it can be to fill the reader in on everything related to the flashback, resist the urge! If a flashback is too long, you risk the reader forgetting what happened in the present and, even by following Tip 2 of segue, scene, segue, there is a feeling of adjustment that the reader needs to make when coming back to the present.
Shorter flashbacks not only make it easier for the reader to avoid confusion, but they are also more powerful and more memorable.
Tip 4: Use a specific memory.
Anchor the flashback to the character who’s telling the story. It should be a specific memory of something they experienced. If you make it too broad, say the overall history of a previous battle or head hop between different character’s point of view, then, again, the reader will be bored. They won’t see what the point of the flashback is if it’s not directly related to their character. It is the characters that drive interest in the story, so if you need to cover the history of a battle, ensure it’s told from the point of view of someone who was actually there and focus on how they felt and reacted to the situation.
Tip 5: Location, location, location.
Where in the story you place the flashback is just as important as what it covers. It needs to be at a point in the plot where it is critical that the reader know the information contained within. Right on the tipping point of a scale.
Placing a flashback too early in the story causes the reader to forget the details by the time they become relevant, or they just won’t care, not having not built up enough of a connection to the protagonist yet.
Too late in the story, and the impact is lost; it feels like the author went “oh yeah, that’s right, this happened then” and just dropped it in there instead of where it is most beneficial.
Bonus Tip: Use flashback when creating your characters
When you’re creating your characters, it can be a good idea to write the pivotable moments in their backstory as a flashback. These are not necessarily going to be included in your novel, but they are beneficial to you as the author to know exactly what happened, how, and why.
And, if you’re an author on Substack or Patreon, these extra details can be things to tease your readers with.
Final Thoughts
So there you have it, five tips, plus a bonus tip, on how to use flashbacks successfully in your story without frustrating or disorientating your reader.
Do you have any tips about writing flashbacks? Share them below!
References
Brown, D. (2021, November 19). How to write flashbacks: 4 flashback writing tips. Master Class. Retrieved March 12, 2025. https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-write-flashbacks
Ingermanson, R. (2018, March 11). How to write a flashback. Advanced Fiction Writing. Retrieved March 12, 2025. https://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/blog/2018/03/11/how-to-write-a-flashback/
Matesic, A. (n.d.). How to write a flashback scene: dos and don’ts. Alyssa Matesic Your Story Stronger. Retrieved March 12, 2025. https://www.alyssamatesic.com/free-writing-resources/how-to-write-a-flashback-scene
O’Connell, D. (n.d.). The 5 rules of writing flashbacks effectively. Write to Sell Your Book. Retrieved March 12, 2025. https://writetosellyourbook.com/the-5-rules-of-writing-effective-flashbacks/
Richardson, R. (n.d.). Writing flashbacks. Good Story Company. Retrieved March 12, 2025. https://www.goodstorycompany.com/blog/writing-flashbacks