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What's up with flashbacks? (S/O of present tense thread)



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DallasIma




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Jul 26 2019, 3:55 pm
When I was growing up, a book would tell a story from beginning to end. Maybe there would be occasional flashbacks, but generally the story was told in a logical, beginning-to-end order.

That no longer seems to be true, in religious or secular novels. (Or in movies, either.)

Why?

Is it our shortened attention span? Is there some other reason?

I find it very distracting and confusing to read a story that jumps around in its time sequence (unless it's a time travel story - I love those!).
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youngishbear




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, Jul 26 2019, 4:06 pm
This is another example of a technique that should be chosen carefully, with the goal of improving the story. Flashbacks can be confusing, but so can unreliable narrators, limited POV, stream-of-consciousness writing, and other techniques. Each of these create specific effects, and must be a deliberate choice by the author intending to create that effect, rather than laziness.
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imasoftov




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Jul 27 2019, 12:13 pm
I haven't noticed an increase in flashbacks. The Wikipedia article on Flashback (narrative) contains examples of literature, film, and television using the technique, some quite old.

Last edited by imasoftov on Sat, Jul 27 2019, 12:21 pm; edited 1 time in total
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LovesHashem




 
 
    
 

Post Sat, Jul 27 2019, 12:16 pm
DallasIma wrote:
When I was growing up, a book would tell a story from beginning to end. Maybe there would be occasional flashbacks, but generally the story was told in a logical, beginning-to-end order.

That no longer seems to be true, in religious or secular novels. (Or in movies, either.)

Why?

Is it our shortened attention span? Is there some other reason?

I find it very distracting and confusing to read a story that jumps around in its time sequence (unless it's a time travel story - I love those!).


I think flashbacks are so necessary. If a story takes places in 2019 but something happened in 2009 that really is important to the story, you need to talk about that in some way.

I do see stories, such as Bring Mordy Home in the Hamodia that drove me nuts with the first 20 chapters being 90 percent flashbacks and things that I found boring or irrelevant. I only found the story to get really interesting later on. I found that story really jumping around and nothing was dated or explained.

If 90 percent of the story takes place in 2019 and there's 10 percent of flashbacks, and they only start happening later in the story and are clearly defined as flashbacks with dates, and context etc - I think that's fine.
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amother
Wheat


 

Post Sat, Jul 27 2019, 12:35 pm
Readers used to have patience for a long, slow buildup. Today they generally don't. Writers have to start in the middle of the action. One way to fill in the backstory is with flashbacks. There are other, more subtle, ways, but they require a lot of skill. Flashbacks are a shortcut. Sometimes they are successful, but sometimes I find myself wishing that the author had taken a little more time to get it right.
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PinkFridge




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Jul 28 2019, 5:37 am
I used to think it was just Judaica thrillers, etc. but I've seen it in secular books too.
I like a linear story too. Sometimes though the flashbacks are done to brilliant effect, like How to Start a Fire by Lisa Lutz. I wasn't sure if this was an onion with layers being peeled to reveal, or layers being added to create the whole, but I saw how it was necessary to tell her story.
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