Incorporating Backstory and Flashbacks

Backstory - the history of the characters and their world. Backstory takes the story backward.

Balancing backstory with real time action is a challenge for many writers. You have all of these awesome ideas about your characters' histories and what brought them to this point, and you want to share all of it with your readers. Most writers know there is a point where backstory becomes too much, but that point can be hard to identify. Here are some tricks to help you decide when backstory has become too much.

Now vs Then: The 'now' of your novel is anything that happens in the moment (regardless of whether the novel is written in past or present tense). The 'then' of your novel is anything that happened in the past. Now look at the ratio of 'now' to 'then'. You should never have a chapter or scene that has more 'then' than 'now'. It's normal to have a few chapters that are backstory heavy (up to 50% of the chapter), but for the majority of chapters, you want the backstory cut down to far less.

Too Much Too Soon: It's important to hook your readers from the start and keep them engaged in the story until they are invested in your protagonist and their goals. For this reason, be careful how much backstory you share at the beginning of the story. Your readers will have more fun learning about your characters and their world as they go along. They don't need to know why a character has an unreasonable fear of taxi cabs before they step into one. They can find this out later when the character has a meltdown and shares the frightening experience with a friend, giving your readers that 'Ah ha' moment. 

Where to Begin: If you find that you have so much backstory there is no way to convey it without info dump after info dump, this could be a sign you started the story too late. You may want to revisit chapter one and decide if that is really where you want to introduce your protagonist to the reader.

Is it Necessary: Think critically about whether or not the information in the backstory is important. Ask yourself if the reader's ability to understand the story will be damaged if the backstory is cut. Can the reader be allowed to come to their own conclusions about certain events or aspects of a character's past?

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Flashback - a scene or event that happened before the story.

A flashback is backstory in the form of a memory, and provides an interesting way of introducing past events. Writers often deliver flashbacks through a large chunk of narrative, which can feel like an info dump. This does not have to be the case. When done well, flashbacks can feel like any other engaging scene, transporting the reader to another time through the eyes of the protagonist or another POV character. A flashback can also come in the form of a recalled conversation. So, while the dialogue is not happening in real time, we still have the feel of forward momentum.

Since a flashback scene is "old news" and lacks imminent action or tension, there must be compelling reasons for its presence because it interrupts the pace of the story. Two reasons for including flashbacks are to give insight into a character's current motivation and emotional state - Or to show an event that happened before the story which is vital for the reader to know in order to understand the circumstances of the story.

Although flashbacks can be hard to pull off and should be drafted and placed with utmost care, don't shy away from using them. Done well, a flashback adds depth to a protagonist's struggle and insight into their actions and emotional responses in the story. 

* 7 Tips for Using Flashbacks *

1. Write it as a complete scene.

2.  It must be written in a way that keeps readers engaged.

3.  Place your flashbacks carefully. Try to avoid them when you are still introducing the main characters and building the action. Otherwise, flashbacks can confuse readers and interrupt the action before they're hooked.

4.  Insert a flashback after a powerful scene in the novel. Make sure the flashback directly impacts the current action of the story; meaning there should be some sort of event that triggers the flashback.

5.  Ease readers into the flashback with proper transitions. Readers will become frustrated if they have to concentrate on trying to figure out where and when the flashback scene is taking place, and they may disengage from your story or stop caring about your characters. 

6.  Use correct verb tense for the entire flashback to clarify for readers when the flashback begins and ends. If your main storyline is told in past tense, your flashback needs to be written in past perfect. If your main storyline is present tense, your flashback needs to be in past tense.

7.  Time your flashback to the moment readers absolutely must have the backstory information before they can move ahead to follow the action. Flashbacks should never spoil the mystery or give readers answers too early.

Below is a flashback example and analysis from the novel Trapped by Sally Mason:

On the way home, I fight the nausea while Luke rants and rages about the injustice. Most of his words fall on deaf ears. I'm captured in my own little world, thinking back to the moment when I first woke up after my abduction (transition to the flashback: MC Kelsey just ran into her abductor at the gas station and can't get the encounter out of her mind).

It was dark (note the change of tense from present tense to past tense), the scent in the air musty. A cold breeze drew out a shudder, the goosebumps springing up on every single part of my body. I realized I was naked. My throat was so raw that it hurt every time I swallowed, and a foul taste coated the inside of my mouth. A pounding headache crushed the rest of my senses.

I turned my head toward the screeching door and instinctively curled into a ball when a dark figure entered. The light came on. I blinked; my eyes teared from the sudden brightness.

"Good, you're awake."

My heart cringed in my chest at the slyness in Jed's soft voice.

"Why did you bring me here?" I bit my trembling lip, trying to give my words some firmness. Though I wanted to scream, my instincts told me that getting myself all worked up wouldn't get me anywhere.

The flashback scene develops like any other scene in the story. It has elements of show, characterization, dialogue, narration, emotions, and so on. The key is to go back in time with your character and write the scene as if it were happening at that moment.

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POV Transitions (Bonus Content)

POV transitions do not fall into the true flashback or backstory category, however they should be thoughtfully considered when trying to stay on topic or continue the mood, especially when following up an intense scene or cliffhanger.

A common issue in dual-POV stories is 'catching up' a character when the POV switches. If a chapter ends on a cliffhanger, be careful not to start the next chapter with a bunch of unrelated exposition. 

For example, if you're writing a romance and the chapter ends with MC #1 being kissed, you will want to carry that mood into the next chapter, perhaps where MC #2 is reeling from the experience of kissing his best friend's girlfriend.

POV #1: Totally unexpectedly, he lowered his head and pressed his mouth to mine. [end chapter]

POV #2: Those doubts I had earlier? They were wiped clean under the feel of her lips. I just couldn't help myself. After dropping Mike off, I wasn't waiting any longer. He was planning to ask her out tomorrow, and I would lose my chance. 

📌 PRO TIP: Keep a notebook for writing down backstory and flashbacks. Separate these parts into bullet points or numbered sections. As you're plotting or writing the first draft, you can refer to the bullet points whenever you come across a scene where a relevant piece of backstory might fit in, or where the protagonist could experience a flashback.

On to Part 4...