i think half the time if you imply such trauma instead of revealing it outright, it stimulates the reader more. information can be kept hidden. there’s no rule that says the reader needs to know everything
i read a story in which there is a segment where it's all back to back flashbacks, but it made sense because the person has unlocked thousands of years of memories that he has forgotten and everything is a trigger. the reader is as overwhelmed as the main protagonist, the people around the protagonist is worried and is unsure how to handle it. It's incredibly well-done, i can't believe it's not an original story but a fan made one.
**narrows eyes** I see you've not provided the source, despite multiple kindly asks So I've to assert, "source, or it never happened," to further this along, as it seems to be getting nowhere fast. "show, don't tell," as the maxim goes
My favorite book that uses flashbacks is Toilet Bound Hanako Kun. In short, whenever ghosts are defeated by destroying a precious item of theirs, their domain shatters and a flashback of them is revealed.The BEST one is when a new character's backstory reveals a LOT about the main character, who's been shrouded in mystery regarding his true identity, yet there are several questions left, and even more added! I highly recommend the series! Either way, love the video, Abbie! 😊
OMG yess and that's what makes tbhk one of my absolute favourites! And talking about impactful flashbacks, another story that comes to my mind is demon slayer...the way we see flashbacks about the demons when they're on the verge of death and the way tanjiro helps or puts them to ease unknowingly... It's just too good!
@rosestarofroseclan8094 His name is Hanako-Kun, which is based off a ghost story named Hanako-San of the Toilet, a wish granting ghost that haunts the third stall of the girl's restrooms, usually on the third floor of buildings. Hanako is summoned by knocking on the stall and asking, "Hanako-san, Hanako-san, are you there?", and they'll appear to either grant you a wish or curse you. This version, Hanako-Kun, is explained to be sealed away in the toilet unless summoned or other conditions. I'll stop myself from ranting about the series now😅!
I’m 18, on the second draft of my third novel, and religiously, every draft, every time, i rewatch all your videos because they are unbelievably helpful. GODSEND 🙏
In my personal reader experience, sometimes flashbacks can be too boring, especially if they're too long. I would suggest making the flashbacks shorter and/or if you could work in explanations of the past in present scenes rather than full flashbacks, it might work better.
"Nobody cares 🙄💅" - Abbie Emmons This quote has helped me through life and writing, before I used to write 1 page long stories with too much informations and 0d characters, but once I heard Abbie say "nobody cares", I started writing 3848 page long novels with 5d characters 🤧 Ok but srsly, this channel has improved my writing sm, ty Abbie!!! :D
"Nobody cares". Golden words, writing a story that matters to readers is true art. Your tutorial is perfect, I can already see what I can fix in my story. Thank you!
One of the first flashbacks in my story was when her friends/teammates would find out about her backstory which had a a dark/traumatic for her. I think it was pretty well written and really dove into a part of her story to show her fears and faults, like why she was so mistrusting or lying to them and being secretive.
One I just wrote. Barbra pushes a bough aside and looks at the face of her father's granite marker. It hadn’t changed in all the years that had passed. And she had a memory of her father’s lifeless face as he lay in the open casket at the funeral home. He didn’t look restful, despite the embalmer's hard work, he looked dead. She’d looked at her father's father, sitting beside her during the service, and thinking that dead and old didn’t look the same. You’d think that when you were a child, because only old people died. But it wasn’t only old people. Anyone could die. She could die. That thought terrified her. No matter how much she went to church, she couldn’t believe her fear away. She lost her father and gained a pervasive uneasiness that hadn’t ever gone away.
This might sound like a dumb question, but how would you go about writing flashbacks where it was based on something that happened to you when you were younger?
I loved the flashbacks in The Hunger Games. (Escpecially the bread scene.) The author put so much emotion into it, but didn't overdo the scene at the same time. And also I love how it gives Katniss and Peeta a stronger connection!! (I've been writing a LOT of cringey flashbacks, so this helps a lot) Thanks, Abbie! Your videos have helped me grow so much as a writer! Can't wait to read "the Other World" !! :)
Wish I had discovered Abbie's channel years ago. I've just had my debut middle grade historical fiction published in May 2023, contains A LOT of flashbacks😅 I can't wait to watch this video to see if I did at least manage to get some things right LOL😂
3.5 years ago, I went for the traditional publishing route, and am now wondering if I should have invested in self-publishing🤔 I feel like the marketing dept of my publisher isn't doing enough, isn't as enthusiastic as their editors about my book🤔 I should watch Abbie's videos more, especially on self-publishing and marketing my book😀👍🏾
thanks for this!!!! im currently writing a book about a woman who lost her grandmother to an uknown disease and how it shaped her to want to become a doctor, it has a lot of flashbacks
I really admire Abbie, along with amazing tips she explains us the psychological reasons and aspects of readers and her way to engage with readers and writers are revieting unlike other writers, I love your work Abbie you'll make it biggg one day, Thank you so much for guiding us❤❤❤❤
Talking about flashes, I don’t know if anyone has told you yet, but for me the intro is too flashy for my epileptic-like disease and I always have to took away or skip it. You don’t have to change anything, just saying that it happens 🙈♡ I’m not good in writing flashbacks because they always turn into huge infodumps 🤣 So thanks for this video! ♡
#AskAbbie 1. Can you make a video about making the MC more relatable? I have all the juicy internal conflict, but my protagonist is still not as relatable as I want her to be. I also think that's why I lose my interest in EVERY story I try to write. 2. How do I try to add more suspense in the story? They always seem quite boring These videos are a life saver! Thanks a lot!
I know it’s possible she will answer these but it could take forever. In the meantime I thought I might help. 😅 I think if your character is interesting they don’t have to be relatable. Sometimes people like to read about people with more dramatic personalities than theirs . I like to use things like MBTI and the enneagram for built in personality descriptions. What’s important with stakes is that your character has something real to lose or fight for. Have the character think and worry about it and work toward their best outcome.
Those are issues I had as well. 1. Make your MC more relatable by giving them imperfection. Even if your MC is the most talented person, they will have some flaw, e.g. they stress out about getting everything perfect because they think their talent is the only reason anyone would care about them. Or their ego is inflated. Think about the traits of your MC and give them a correlating flaw. 2. If you specify this question I could probably help you more, but I'll just tell you the way it was for me. My issue with the suspense was that I always resolved the conflicts in no time (which resulted from too perfect and smart characters that always knew a solution to everything). At some point all of the conflicts were solved and I had none left to keep my story going and my story got boring. What's important here is don't focus only on the main conflicts, like a war or bad grades or whatever it is you're writing about, also focus on the conflicts between two characters. Those conflicts are also fueled by their imperfections, e.g. character 1 is a rather bossy person while character 2 is stubborn/likes to do things their way. That would result in 1 telling 2 what to do, but 2 doesn't listen. They will each get annoyed by the other character's persistence, they (or at least the stubborn one) will not be interested in talking about it- they'd rather throw snide comments at each other. And there you have it. A conflict that builds a little suspense by not solving itself quickly (this example is also great to fuel greater issues, e.g. they are forced to work together in an attack) I hope this helped you!
Thank you Abbie I'm in the midst of being inundated by flashbacks- I have introduced a small rescue team of Navy Seals I did have to give a sizable back-story which I initiated through flashbacks. I suddenly realized that the back and forth between the " Then" and " Now" may not be as seamless as I may have thought it to be. Thanks for getting me thinking along these lines about flashbacks, and for all the other valuable tips you've sent our way with this video. I'm finally rocking on thanks to your inspirations. 🙏🙏🙏🙏
I have always tried to avoid writing flashbacks because I thought they would take away from what was going on in the present. But in my current WIP, which is a trilogy, I found myself needing them in the second book because I revealed a huge and very significant secret a character was keeping with almost zero context at the end of the first book and my writing group confirmed that they needed to know what happened from that character's perspective. It fit the story best to have whole chapters dedicated to that character (who wasn't a POV character in the first) to explain what exactly happened. The hardest part has been keeping the present as interesting as the past, but so far it's going good. According to my writing group, it works because the past is directly influencing our view of the present and there are a LOT of contradictions between the two stories, which makes them want to keep reading to get to the truth. We'll see how it all turns out, but I was shocked that the group unanimously agreed to keep in those longer flashbacks. This video has really helped me understand their purpose and how they work and now writing flashbacks aren't so scary anymore! I think the biggest problem is when they take away from the present rather than add to it
You are an inspiration to me and many other aspiring writers who want to share their stories with the world. You have taught me so much about writing. Thank you for being such a wonderful authortuber .
Another topic that I’m currently working through with one of my stories. You keep hitting all the right topics and I love it. Looking forward to the live training!
I rarely use flashbacks, but found them helpful to reveal more of who the character is and what drives them. Example: In one of the books, villagers are fleeing an approaching threat en mass along the road and he flashes back to his childhood when he witnessed refugees from the war-torn border of his father's kingdom similarly evacuating. It is short and to the point, but reveals something important about not just the character, but part of the eventual stories to come later. The other time was in the 2nd book of the series. The character is 17 and with a group to help find the cause of some grisly killings at a remote mountain village, but is wearing pretty fancy armor for a young man. One of the older members of the group provides the trigger in making light of him, asking how he came by such fine accessories. The moment provided two things: to answer the question and inject some fairly relatable humor. It was a, "what I did for money last summer" moment. It included about five separate memories of relevant, miserable and funny mini-stories that both revealed much about who the character was and how he handled the often unglamorous times in his life to achieve his goals. It also played to the reader's understanding of being a youth and doing crappy work to make some money over summer break from school. I think the key to whatever you are writing has to be purpose and delivery to meet a need. Fluff for its own sake is just hateful.
Thanks to your videos I am picking up writing a story I had almost forgotten about. All of my problems and questions seem to have an answer in one of your videos. I finally feel like I can do this now, and you are the reason. Thank you so much.
Hi abbie! Can't wait for the video! I really needed this video for the antagonist of my story. thanks so much! Also i'm so excited to read your new book! 😆
Hi Abbie. Thanks for your videos. Using your guides I actually wrote a book this summer. I'm hoping to get it published but your outlines and materials helped me a lot.
"it has to make sense now" awesome distinction. I gotta know where to file this information. If it's an open question, I need to know intuitively to file it under open questions.
Thank you for this!! And I’m excited for the live training today! I’m working on a book series where the first book is basically all about unlocking the memory of this one event (that she didn’t even think was gone, she thought she was just unconscious at the time). It starts with very short scenes or almost flashes in her dreams, then they start bleeding into her waking time as images and/or sensations (sort of hallucinations), when she eventually gets knocked out and in that time she remembers the whole event in the form of a flashback, one short evening where a LOT happened. Hope I can pull it off, the suspense and the impact of revealing the whole thing. I’ll be using Abbie’s tips for sure!
@@jasmine_rice aahw thanks! Yes I will absolutely self-publish it, but it'll take some time. I've been creating this story for years but only started my true first draft a few months ago, almost halfway through though. Abbie and this community (especially discord) have been a great help in pushing me to finally go for it too, so I'm very grateful^^
@@jasmine_rice aahw thanks, that's so sweet! Well, if I can contact you on any social media (or you're in Abbie's discord) I could at least show you my, current, blurb and see if the story is your cup of tea. Of course I'd love to have more beta readers in the future or just people who want to read a section and give me their initial thoughts. It's up to you :)
my favorite book has flashbacks that range from --- Trixie couldn’t believe this. The “Boss” Molly had gone on and on about was her dorky, snaggle-toothed cousin. The same guy who burned his tongue when he tried to eat a hot coal at a family barbecue because it looked like “forbidden candy”. “Don’t do that,” her brother had warned him. “ME WANT BITE!” Giovanni replied, crunching into the coal like it was cereal. --- to --- Looking back, Molly now realized her mother had been a ball of high-functioning anxiety. In business meetings she wore a false pair of glasses because she worried people wouldn’t take her seriously without them. A full-on addict of hustle culture. She had her daughters’ whole lives planned out and was devastated whenever an obstacle to that plan presented itself. The only thing that could calm her down was her unendingly lax husband. “It’s fine, Cal, it’s fine! Look at me! I got no idea what I’m doin’ and even a loser like me ended up with a perfect wife and kids! I’m a total failure, but here I am, happy as a clam! See? Bap bap bap. These clam lips want a clam kiss! C’mere! Mwah! Hey, there yah go.” She would laugh and calm herself at his endless stupidity. She found it charming. An oasis of fun for her tight ship to sail in. As a lone parent either one of them might’ve been too much, but somehow her wild workaholism and Marty’s reckless abandon balanced each other out, yin and yang. A happy home balanced on two broken support beams. Together they were almost parents. *Calliope died in a fire when Molly was ten.* --- Calliope kinda hot ngl /hj
I think this channel has given me so much inspiration, she's very straight to the point and has very calm and nice videos and so many free , actual good, tips! ❤
The flashbacks I love the most are in Soman Chainani's The School for Good and Evil: *A Crystal of Time.* Fifth book in the series. It was honestly mind-shattering. A whole arc was dedicated to giving backstory/flashbacks in the most unexpected, mind-blowing way possible. I couldn't imagine how he wrote that, it wasn't boring or mundane or paused the story at all! It had so much twists and turns, I had to stop reading to excitedly gather my thoughts and make my own theories before i continued reading--- knowing the author was about to reward us with some answers. And rewarded us, indeed. I changed my perspective on three different characters TWICE within the same flashback, back to back. It was like I was being tricked right in front of my eyes. So engaging, that i'm sad the series as a whole doesn't have more readers. Although SGE had a hit Netflix movie adaptation (which i sort of disliked), the series AND THE QUALITY OF SOMAN CHAINANI'S WRITING is still much very severely underrated. Book 1, Book 3 and Book 5 blew me away. Book 2 was a good continuation, Book 4 was simply dreadful because the author intended the characters to be placed in very, very unfortunate situations that was funny but very torturous (so in a way, it's a perfected piece of art), and Book 6 was the perfect end that had bits of everything, and even highlighted and reevaluated the main protagonists' flaws. I wish more people read it.
One of my main characters has trauma from witnessing her father's death at a young age, and she has to relive the moment over and over that therapy. So, I tried to describe this as best I could; please give feedback! The words are spoken, the pictures are shown, and I am strapped to a chair and forced to watch, and rewatch, and rewatch the horror, the grief, and the rage, done for mercy, yet feels like torture. Seeing over and over and over again the day my Omi* was killed. Btw the working title for this book is 'Per Astra'. *Omi means parent (Martian conlang I made 4 the book) and is pronounced OH-mih, with the 'i' pronounced like in 'it'.
i actually did it a little differently. i wrote the first four chapters as flashbacks and the fifth chapter is the moment the narrative actually begins to kick you in the feels
I've found that it's very important to write out (separately) each character's backstory. Then I use ai imaging to create a portrait of that character which also helps me remain consistent (would this guy say that?). Sometimes, I even clone a voice - anything that makes the character seem real and well-defined to me.
this was a really awesome video and handy too because I'm currently completing the edits of one of my books and there are a few flashbacks I now realise don't fit too well...
#AskAbbie Hey Abbie! I was wondering if you could do a video on writing dark fantasy? Preferably on how to create/wordlbuild for dark fantasy? You're videos are awesome and a life saver!
i put flashbacks everywhere haha, like easter eggs. i dont have to write the whole entire backstory of a character right there and then, just a tweaked flashback that is relevant at the moment
I once read a chapter that started with a "flashback" of a morning, but when returning to the story, it was just that morning of that day. I couldn't for the life of me understand why they made it a flashback. It was just that morning. Leave it in, but as the morning, not a flashback! 😡😭😡
This brought back a vague repressed memory of a book that did none of this. I lost a bit of myself when “He-who-is-not-like-other-girls” entered his 5th random flashback for more exposition🥲
I was literally just making back stories for my characters and I was wondering how it'd be told in flashbacks. A lot of my characters have pretty bad upcomings (they are a group of marginalized, shunned people who find solidarity in their crime gang), but I also don't want to bombard readers with flashbacks and trauma every time.
My novel starts (2 section Prologue) with back to back flashbacks/present day perspectives. Basically just to set up how my MC ended up in present day scenario, and to give a quick show of how the background character evolved. BC she is MC in book 2. TBF, those that have read my novel love Ali. Shes a strong female that grew from a mouse. (More backstory in 2, as 1 focuses on the MAIN MC: ie the guy the series revolves around.) Edit: For reference, ALL background characters mentioned in book 1 at some point are a MC in the series.
I'm so glad that I ran across this channel!!! Question? .. How do I format a flash back? What I mean is that how do I go from the action to a flash back?
Action to flashback, you say? That’s complicated for me to answer due to my style of writing flashbacks. I tend to try and keep time flowing normally as my characters are flashing back in order to simulate real thought and the passage of time. My advice, however, would be to find a way to pause the action before the flashback is triggered. Usually, you want your readers to focus on the action, and if you add a flashback in the middle of it, it’s kinda confusing.
Oof. I really need this video. so my book is a fantasy about a guy who wants to heal his wife Mio, who is in a coma. He meets a girl in the first chapter who asks how he managed to bag such an s class Hottie with "that" personality. so near the end of chapter one she'll get him to tell her his backstory so he will explain his entire backstory up until the point that he end Mio were officially dating. they've had no-one but each other since they were 6 years old. but I feel I might be throwing 5 chapters of content in you face. it will help you understand his ties with certain characters and why he is so desperate to heal her. but it feels a little sudden throwing that at you in chapter 2 and only finishing in chapter 6.
I think one of my most memorable flashbacks is also in a similar style that I'm trying to write is in Eragon where Paolini writes about the Elves and the shade there's a fighting over the egg and then it transitions to in the same Forest some distance and time away
I must always leave something in the before chapter that explains why the flashback in the next chapter exists. Having a flashback in the middle of a chapter is a no for me. For the sake of organization I dedicate a whole chapter to a flashback or two flashbacks. A flashback chapter is a must for me. If two flashbacks occur in the flashback chapter always start with the one that came earlier then let the characters grow from there.
my favorite sequence of flashbacks has to be the one that comes from Little Women, I love the way that Greta Gerwig weaved the flashbacks into the movie with each character's backstory and left us asking questions...truly a masterpiece.
I am juggling four groups of characters with a nonlinear storyline. All of these vectors converge at the end, so though there is a lot of "flashback" feel, mostly it is a retelling of contemporaneous events from divergent perspectives. As these storylines are coming together, the flashback feel diminishes gradually. I'm well aware that this could translate as a hot mess to the reader, but I'm trying my damndest to use parallelism and keep the jumping to a logical minimum.
The first two volumes of the series I'm writing each have a major flashback towards the end of the book. The first takes place during the final battle of the book, right after an important character arrives out of nowhere. The flashback explains a hidden plot the character had since the beginning of the story, answering a mystery that had been lingering around for a while. The kidnapped individual orchestrated it themself. The second happens during a fighting tournament, after a main character loses their match on purpose. It reveals the reason why their opponent was able to blackmail them into forfeiting. The event that gave rise to their fame in the royal knights was a sham, and they were actually the cause of the problem in question, albeit by accident. Sorry for the long explanations that probably didn't make enough sense, but I figured I'd give examples of flashbacks in my own writing. I guess what I've learned is, penultimate flashbacks are often a good idea. Something to explain a key detail right when the story reaches its peak.
This is SOOO weird. I'm having like reverse déjà vu. I was watching this video ... and super excited because Abbie was having another Flashback live training. She'd obviously found she hadn't said it all last time. But it was kind of weird she didn't go on to another topic since her catalogue there isn't terribly deep yet - not like this UA-cam channel. I saved my spot and went over to the master page to see the first one... and there isn't another Flashback class. But I could SWEAR I'd already had her masterclass on flashbacks...???? (I checked the videos on the channel for flashbacks...they're not what I'm talking about.) ANYWAY LOL - super excited for Sunday :D
You are really my inspiration! I am a young writer (i am like 11 years old) but i want to publish one of my stories. I have written like 10 or 11 stories, and i am really proud of it but i think they miss something, and waht they miss i learn that from YOUR videos. It you would just reply to me it would mean so much to me, thank you abbie for everything!😊
Her: Don’t use flashbacks to world build Avatar the last air bender: Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, could stop them, but when the world needed him most, he vanished. 😂
I ever used a flashback in two or three short stories. One was a tad too long, otherwise they were pretty well used. I used one merely to give context after an impactful first scene.
Thank you Abbie! Your insight is always awesome..and the shameless plug of your book in the background is divine 😂😂 When will it be on audiobook? I just recently listened to 100 days of sunlight and I loved your character developments, your gripping backstory telling was excellent. Weston is awesome btw! I'm half way through the christmas book sequel...might have to give it another listen though cause I put it on hold over a month ago lol sorry but life happens and I'm trying to write my own novel! Which I will have questions for you on..and would love your input on my first chapter at some point but anyway...my only question right now is When is the other world audiobook coming on amazon! I must pick it up!
I normally use flashbacks to confuse the reader, make them think that the story is badly written and just random inputs that do not seem to be a part of the same story, thrn near the end it is pointed to that it was a part of the main caracters life, his past. also one story i am working on, a man is talking to his ******* and telling his story, from time to time throughout the story the otger persone speaks over the narrator, a sound is heard in his enviorment, the story stoops and slows doen for 2-3 sentences then gets back into telling thr story, it is not a flashback, but he is talking of what happend to him, and instead of flashbacks, he is where he is, telling the tale of what has already happend.
The problem with this is that if your reader is me for instance, they will skim read till they come to one of these flashbacks, say hah, badly written crap, and give up.
@@dianacoles1017 not really a flashback. Moreso it gives the reader insight about what is happining around the main caracter in present time, stuff that interupts him. But I do understand that not everyone likes these random things popping in. After all it is a pycological horror, not youre standard story.
Hello dear professor What you present is really interesting and crucial,i do appreciate your job,i wish you peace and happiness under the sky of prosperity,all the best. Take care and have a good time. Your Student from Algeria
I actually just wrote a flash back about this girl who was forced to kill her friend cause she disobeyed the antagonist for the beginning of that story, Is that a good thing or do I need to put it in the middle of the story?
It depends what place it has on the protagonist's arc. It is the root of her Misbelief, or is it a turning point that brings her closer to her Aha moment?
What if there's a big story in fash back that we want the reader to know? like writing about the history of two people who met and how they fell in love, etc ???? How we should do that? Write a new chapter about it ?? Thanks for this video btw, it is helpful 💙💙
Doing a flashback is the biggest struggle I am having right now over a character I have in my book. He is from the past, but very important to things that happen in the future. I don't know if I should start the book with him in the past showing who he is and what happened to him, then skip to the future, or start in the future then flashback to him. He is a very important part of the whole book even though he existed in the past. Chapter 1 could be starting with him in the past. Then do a time skip in Chapter 2 which would be a discovery being made in the future that involves him and the things in the future, or Chapter 1 starts in the future where they find out about him, then Chapter 2 flashes back to who he was. I am 70k words in and started questioning the beginning. I have both versions. My book is about Ancient Egypt. He is an Egyptologist from 1906, she is an Egyptologist in 2023. He was responsible for a lot of translations that change how the Ancient Pharaoh's are viewed today, but they weren't found until 2023 because, unfortunately, they were hidden within a tomb with him. Or, I could just work the past into the dialogue of the present. Without a flashback on its own. The struggle is real......
Do you have a video on 1st person writing? My book is in the 1st person but the main character is a very stoic and somewhat emotionless guy. It's like having Season 2 thorfinn from Vinland saga or Sasuke Uchiha from Shippuden read you a bed time story
Suggestion on how to start out a reincarnation-based romance? I was considering having it start with a "dream flashback" of the moment the heroine died in her past life, then having her wake up. She's had these dreams all her life, and wonders why. Later in the story, she meets a man who was her husband in her former life-- but he has been alive the whole (very long) time. He is an immortal (no, not a vampire). He tries to help her remember who she was, and remember their love. Or... Should I start it somewhere else?
When you see an annoying urchin on the street, you can put it in an orphanage, but you really would be insane to take it home and feed it when your boyfriend isn’t ok with it.
I find some authors don't understand the real impact of flashbacks. They insert one (or three) in every damn chapter of a scene 'earlier that day' or 'a few days ago' to set the chapter up instead of starting there and working their way up. I stop reading these fics for this reason. There's no reason they can't start at the beginning.
Thank you! One main character of mine had a traumatic childhood but I didn’t want to shove so many flashbacks down the readers’ throats.
What's the title of your novel?
I found this comment funny😂😂
i think half the time if you imply such trauma instead of revealing it outright, it stimulates the reader more. information can be kept hidden. there’s no rule that says the reader needs to know everything
This reminds me of my wolf who’s sister got murdered by a fox and you don’t learn that till the second book
@@gregahunt how could I do that?
i read a story in which there is a segment where it's all back to back flashbacks, but it made sense because the person has unlocked thousands of years of memories that he has forgotten and everything is a trigger. the reader is as overwhelmed as the main protagonist, the people around the protagonist is worried and is unsure how to handle it. It's incredibly well-done, i can't believe it's not an original story but a fan made one.
I want to know what fan made story you're talking about now! I won't judge i promise 😅
i want to know too! i love fanfiction 🥺
**narrows eyes** I see you've not provided the source, despite multiple kindly asks
So I've to assert, "source, or it never happened," to further this along, as it seems to be getting nowhere fast.
"show, don't tell," as the maxim goes
My favorite book that uses flashbacks is Toilet Bound Hanako Kun. In short, whenever ghosts are defeated by destroying a precious item of theirs, their domain shatters and a flashback of them is revealed.The BEST one is when a new character's backstory reveals a LOT about the main character, who's been shrouded in mystery regarding his true identity, yet there are several questions left, and even more added! I highly recommend the series! Either way, love the video, Abbie! 😊
OMG yess and that's what makes tbhk one of my absolute favourites!
And talking about impactful flashbacks, another story that comes to my mind is demon slayer...the way we see flashbacks about the demons when they're on the verge of death and the way tanjiro helps or puts them to ease unknowingly...
It's just too good!
Wtfrigg why is it named that? XD
@@rosestarofroseclan8094 I do have that same question…
@rosestarofroseclan8094 His name is Hanako-Kun, which is based off a ghost story named Hanako-San of the Toilet, a wish granting ghost that haunts the third stall of the girl's restrooms, usually on the third floor of buildings. Hanako is summoned by knocking on the stall and asking, "Hanako-san, Hanako-san, are you there?", and they'll appear to either grant you a wish or curse you. This version, Hanako-Kun, is explained to be sealed away in the toilet unless summoned or other conditions. I'll stop myself from ranting about the series now😅!
@@rosestarofroseclan8094I assure you that it was absolutely nothing to do with gross toilet stuff LOL this anime is really good and I recommend it!
I’m 18, on the second draft of my third novel, and religiously, every draft, every time, i rewatch all your videos because they are unbelievably helpful. GODSEND 🙏
Lol the universe is trying to send me a message because I'm about to write a two-parter flashback to explain my character's origins
Lol!! Same
In my personal reader experience, sometimes flashbacks can be too boring, especially if they're too long.
I would suggest making the flashbacks shorter and/or if you could work in explanations of the past in present scenes rather than full flashbacks, it might work better.
"Nobody cares 🙄💅"
- Abbie Emmons
This quote has helped me through life and writing, before I used to write 1 page long stories with too much informations and 0d characters, but once I heard Abbie say "nobody cares", I started writing 3848 page long novels with 5d characters 🤧
Ok but srsly, this channel has improved my writing sm, ty Abbie!!! :D
Omg
"Nobody cares". Golden words, writing a story that matters to readers is true art. Your tutorial is perfect, I can already see what I can fix in my story. Thank you!
That why I stick to world building these days. I care about all the details too much ❤😂 Writing sometimes seems complex and restricting.
One of the first flashbacks in my story was when her friends/teammates would find out about her backstory which had a a dark/traumatic for her. I think it was pretty well written and really dove into a part of her story to show her fears and faults, like why she was so mistrusting or lying to them and being secretive.
One I just wrote.
Barbra pushes a bough aside and looks at the face of her father's granite marker. It hadn’t changed in all the years that had passed. And she had a memory of her father’s lifeless face as he lay in the open casket at the funeral home. He didn’t look restful, despite the embalmer's hard work, he looked dead. She’d looked at her father's father, sitting beside her during the service, and thinking that dead and old didn’t look the same. You’d think that when you were a child, because only old people died. But it wasn’t only old people. Anyone could die. She could die. That thought terrified her. No matter how much she went to church, she couldn’t believe her fear away. She lost her father and gained a pervasive uneasiness that hadn’t ever gone away.
This might sound like a dumb question, but how would you go about writing flashbacks where it was based on something that happened to you when you were younger?
Where can I read your book 🧍♂️
The flashbacks in 100 days of sunlight were so well done and written well. Perfect pace
I loved the flashbacks in The Hunger Games. (Escpecially the bread scene.) The author put so much emotion into it, but didn't overdo the scene at the same time. And also I love how it gives Katniss and Peeta a stronger connection!! (I've been writing a LOT of cringey flashbacks, so this helps a lot) Thanks, Abbie! Your videos have helped me grow so much as a writer! Can't wait to read "the Other World" !! :)
Wish I had discovered Abbie's channel years ago. I've just had my debut middle grade historical fiction published in May 2023, contains A LOT of flashbacks😅 I can't wait to watch this video to see if I did at least manage to get some things right LOL😂
Congrats on the publishing!! ^^
Congratulations! 🎉
3.5 years ago, I went for the traditional publishing route, and am now wondering if I should have invested in self-publishing🤔 I feel like the marketing dept of my publisher isn't doing enough, isn't as enthusiastic as their editors about my book🤔 I should watch Abbie's videos more, especially on self-publishing and marketing my book😀👍🏾
@@nikkinewbie6014 Thank you!
@@SecondFloor2311 Thank you!
thanks for this!!!! im currently writing a book about a woman who lost her grandmother to an uknown disease and how it shaped her to want to become a doctor, it has a lot of flashbacks
I really admire Abbie, along with amazing tips she explains us the psychological reasons and aspects of readers and her way to engage with readers and writers are revieting unlike other writers, I love your work Abbie you'll make it biggg one day, Thank you so much for guiding us❤❤❤❤
Talking about flashes, I don’t know if anyone has told you yet, but for me the intro is too flashy for my epileptic-like disease and I always have to took away or skip it. You don’t have to change anything, just saying that it happens 🙈♡
I’m not good in writing flashbacks because they always turn into huge infodumps 🤣 So thanks for this video! ♡
Such a beautiful book cover.
#AskAbbie
1. Can you make a video about making the MC more relatable? I have all the juicy internal conflict, but my protagonist is still not as relatable as I want her to be. I also think that's why I lose my interest in EVERY story I try to write.
2. How do I try to add more suspense in the story? They always seem quite boring
These videos are a life saver! Thanks a lot!
I know it’s possible she will answer these but it could take forever. In the meantime I thought I might help. 😅
I think if your character is interesting they don’t have to be relatable. Sometimes people like to read about people with more dramatic personalities than theirs . I like to use things like MBTI and the enneagram for built in personality descriptions.
What’s important with stakes is that your character has something real to lose or fight for. Have the character think and worry about it and work toward their best outcome.
Those are issues I had as well.
1. Make your MC more relatable by giving them imperfection. Even if your MC is the most talented person, they will have some flaw, e.g. they stress out about getting everything perfect because they think their talent is the only reason anyone would care about them. Or their ego is inflated.
Think about the traits of your MC and give them a correlating flaw.
2. If you specify this question I could probably help you more, but I'll just tell you the way it was for me.
My issue with the suspense was that I always resolved the conflicts in no time (which resulted from too perfect and smart characters that always knew a solution to everything).
At some point all of the conflicts were solved and I had none left to keep my story going and my story got boring.
What's important here is don't focus only on the main conflicts, like a war or bad grades or whatever it is you're writing about, also focus on the conflicts between two characters. Those conflicts are also fueled by their imperfections, e.g. character 1 is a rather bossy person while character 2 is stubborn/likes to do things their way. That would result in 1 telling 2 what to do, but 2 doesn't listen. They will each get annoyed by the other character's persistence, they (or at least the stubborn one) will not be interested in talking about it- they'd rather throw snide comments at each other. And there you have it. A conflict that builds a little suspense by not solving itself quickly (this example is also great to fuel greater issues, e.g. they are forced to work together in an attack)
I hope this helped you!
Literally writing a flashback today. Questioning everything. Thanks, man!
Thank you Abbie I'm in the midst of being inundated by flashbacks- I have introduced a small rescue team of Navy Seals I did have to give a sizable back-story which I initiated through flashbacks. I suddenly realized that the back and forth between the " Then" and " Now" may not be as seamless as I may have thought it to be. Thanks for getting me thinking along these lines about flashbacks, and for all the other valuable tips you've sent our way with this video. I'm finally rocking on thanks to your inspirations. 🙏🙏🙏🙏
My favorite flashback of all time is from The Hunger Games, when Katniss is remembering when Peeta gave her the bread XD
YES i like that one too, there is a new one coming out on November 17th this year.
@@Stacy_McDuff Yeah! I read the book early this summer and can't wait for the movie!
@@Stacy_McDuff i'm sorry, there's a new Hunger Games coming out??? Where have i been???
@@JhadeSagrav its called the songbird somthing I forgot the rest of it
The Thrawn and Thrawn Ascendancy trilogies by Timothy Zahn has wonderful flashbacks.
I have always tried to avoid writing flashbacks because I thought they would take away from what was going on in the present. But in my current WIP, which is a trilogy, I found myself needing them in the second book because I revealed a huge and very significant secret a character was keeping with almost zero context at the end of the first book and my writing group confirmed that they needed to know what happened from that character's perspective. It fit the story best to have whole chapters dedicated to that character (who wasn't a POV character in the first) to explain what exactly happened. The hardest part has been keeping the present as interesting as the past, but so far it's going good. According to my writing group, it works because the past is directly influencing our view of the present and there are a LOT of contradictions between the two stories, which makes them want to keep reading to get to the truth. We'll see how it all turns out, but I was shocked that the group unanimously agreed to keep in those longer flashbacks. This video has really helped me understand their purpose and how they work and now writing flashbacks aren't so scary anymore! I think the biggest problem is when they take away from the present rather than add to it
You are an inspiration to me and many other aspiring writers who want to share their stories with the world. You have taught me so much about writing. Thank you for being such a wonderful authortuber .
Another topic that I’m currently working through with one of my stories. You keep hitting all the right topics and I love it. Looking forward to the live training!
This really come out at the right time, plan to include lots of flashback in my story
I rarely use flashbacks, but found them helpful to reveal more of who the character is and what drives them. Example: In one of the books, villagers are fleeing an approaching threat en mass along the road and he flashes back to his childhood when he witnessed refugees from the war-torn border of his father's kingdom similarly evacuating. It is short and to the point, but reveals something important about not just the character, but part of the eventual stories to come later. The other time was in the 2nd book of the series. The character is 17 and with a group to help find the cause of some grisly killings at a remote mountain village, but is wearing pretty fancy armor for a young man. One of the older members of the group provides the trigger in making light of him, asking how he came by such fine accessories. The moment provided two things: to answer the question and inject some fairly relatable humor. It was a, "what I did for money last summer" moment. It included about five separate memories of relevant, miserable and funny mini-stories that both revealed much about who the character was and how he handled the often unglamorous times in his life to achieve his goals. It also played to the reader's understanding of being a youth and doing crappy work to make some money over summer break from school. I think the key to whatever you are writing has to be purpose and delivery to meet a need. Fluff for its own sake is just hateful.
Thanks to your videos I am picking up writing a story I had almost forgotten about. All of my problems and questions seem to have an answer in one of your videos. I finally feel like I can do this now, and you are the reason. Thank you so much.
i just discovered wattpad and it's a good tool. if you post on there and copy your link here, i'll go give it a read!
I love those videos :) They are such wonderful motivation for writing :D
This is excellent! Flashbacks are such a pivotal piece of good literature and writing, so I find this truly priceless advice! Thanks, Abbie!
Hi abbie! Can't wait for the video! I really needed this video for the antagonist of my story. thanks so much! Also i'm so excited to read your new book! 😆
Perfectly timed video. The next time I'm writing something flashback related I will make sure to have some flashbacks of what you said in this video
Same I'm doing a flashback now
A flashback within a flashback within a flashback
Hi Abbie. Thanks for your videos. Using your guides I actually wrote a book this summer. I'm hoping to get it published but your outlines and materials helped me a lot.
"it has to make sense now" awesome distinction. I gotta know where to file this information. If it's an open question, I need to know intuitively to file it under open questions.
Abbie, you re saving my story. (10 years old story but...)
Thank you for this!! And I’m excited for the live training today!
I’m working on a book series where the first book is basically all about unlocking the memory of this one event (that she didn’t even think was gone, she thought she was just unconscious at the time).
It starts with very short scenes or almost flashes in her dreams, then they start bleeding into her waking time as images and/or sensations (sort of hallucinations), when she eventually gets knocked out and in that time she remembers the whole event in the form of a flashback, one short evening where a LOT happened.
Hope I can pull it off, the suspense and the impact of revealing the whole thing. I’ll be using Abbie’s tips for sure!
Oh my gosh, that sounds amazing! Are you going to publish it?
@@jasmine_rice aahw thanks! Yes I will absolutely self-publish it, but it'll take some time. I've been creating this story for years but only started my true first draft a few months ago, almost halfway through though. Abbie and this community (especially discord) have been a great help in pushing me to finally go for it too, so I'm very grateful^^
@@SecondFloor2311 I'm so glad!! Please tell me when it's published so I can buy a copy!!!
@@jasmine_rice aahw thanks, that's so sweet! Well, if I can contact you on any social media (or you're in Abbie's discord) I could at least show you my, current, blurb and see if the story is your cup of tea. Of course I'd love to have more beta readers in the future or just people who want to read a section and give me their initial thoughts. It's up to you :)
Thank you for all your tips and I wished to watch the live video, but it’s my baby boys 1st bday. Thank you for putting a replay on it.
These tips were very insightful. Thank you so much for sharing!
Best book riddled with flashbacks: The Lies of Locke Lamora. It never lets tension down, genious.
my favorite book has flashbacks that range from
---
Trixie couldn’t believe this.
The “Boss” Molly had gone on and on about was her dorky, snaggle-toothed cousin. The same guy who burned his tongue when he tried to eat a hot coal at a family barbecue because it looked like “forbidden candy”.
“Don’t do that,” her brother had warned him.
“ME WANT BITE!” Giovanni replied, crunching into the coal like it was cereal.
---
to
---
Looking back, Molly now realized her mother had been a ball of high-functioning anxiety. In business meetings she wore a false pair of glasses because she worried people wouldn’t take her seriously without them. A full-on addict of hustle culture. She had her daughters’ whole lives planned out and was devastated whenever an obstacle to that plan presented itself. The only thing that could calm her down was her unendingly lax husband.
“It’s fine, Cal, it’s fine! Look at me! I got no idea what I’m doin’ and even a loser like me ended up with a perfect wife and kids! I’m a total failure, but here I am, happy as a clam! See? Bap bap bap. These clam lips want a clam kiss! C’mere! Mwah! Hey, there yah go.”
She would laugh and calm herself at his endless stupidity. She found it charming. An oasis of fun for her tight ship to sail in.
As a lone parent either one of them might’ve been too much, but somehow her wild workaholism and Marty’s reckless abandon balanced each other out, yin and yang. A happy home balanced on two broken support beams. Together they were almost parents.
*Calliope died in a fire when Molly was ten.*
---
Calliope kinda hot ngl /hj
I think this channel has given me so much inspiration, she's very straight to the point and has very calm and nice videos and so many free , actual good, tips! ❤
Omg can not wait, that is what I struggle with. I am so happy that I found you girl, really
The flashbacks I love the most are in Soman Chainani's The School for Good and Evil: *A Crystal of Time.* Fifth book in the series. It was honestly mind-shattering. A whole arc was dedicated to giving backstory/flashbacks in the most unexpected, mind-blowing way possible. I couldn't imagine how he wrote that, it wasn't boring or mundane or paused the story at all! It had so much twists and turns, I had to stop reading to excitedly gather my thoughts and make my own theories before i continued reading--- knowing the author was about to reward us with some answers. And rewarded us, indeed. I changed my perspective on three different characters TWICE within the same flashback, back to back. It was like I was being tricked right in front of my eyes. So engaging, that i'm sad the series as a whole doesn't have more readers. Although SGE had a hit Netflix movie adaptation (which i sort of disliked), the series AND THE QUALITY OF SOMAN CHAINANI'S WRITING is still much very severely underrated. Book 1, Book 3 and Book 5 blew me away. Book 2 was a good continuation, Book 4 was simply dreadful because the author intended the characters to be placed in very, very unfortunate situations that was funny but very torturous (so in a way, it's a perfected piece of art), and Book 6 was the perfect end that had bits of everything, and even highlighted and reevaluated the main protagonists' flaws. I wish more people read it.
another substantive video. thanks abbie❤
One of my main characters has trauma from witnessing her father's death at a young age, and she has to relive the moment over and over that therapy. So, I tried to describe this as best I could; please give feedback!
The words are spoken, the pictures are shown, and I am strapped to a chair and forced to watch, and rewatch, and rewatch the horror, the grief, and the rage, done for mercy, yet feels like torture. Seeing over and over and over again the day my Omi* was killed.
Btw the working title for this book is 'Per Astra'.
*Omi means parent (Martian conlang I made 4 the book) and is pronounced OH-mih, with the 'i' pronounced like in 'it'.
Freaking, gotta love Abbie.
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
i actually did it a little differently. i wrote the first four chapters as flashbacks and the fifth chapter is the moment the narrative actually begins to kick you in the feels
The end of 'the couple at no.9' by Claire Douglass the writer uses a big flashback that totally amazes me 😃
Thank you! All your videos are so helpful to me as someone trying to write my first book as well as possible.
Oh... That's why I was so disoriented with flashbacks in Andor 😅
Thank you 🤍
Thank you!
I've found that it's very important to write out (separately) each character's backstory. Then I use ai imaging to create a portrait of that character which also helps me remain consistent (would this guy say that?). Sometimes, I even clone a voice - anything that makes the character seem real and well-defined to me.
this was a really awesome video and handy too because I'm currently completing the edits of one of my books and there are a few flashbacks I now realise don't fit too well...
Those voice changes just made it funnier to listen to the mistakes
#AskAbbie
Hey Abbie! I was wondering if you could do a video on writing dark fantasy? Preferably on how to create/wordlbuild for dark fantasy? You're videos are awesome and a life saver!
i put flashbacks everywhere haha, like easter eggs. i dont have to write the whole entire backstory of a character right there and then, just a tweaked flashback that is relevant at the moment
I once read a chapter that started with a "flashback" of a morning, but when returning to the story, it was just that morning of that day. I couldn't for the life of me understand why they made it a flashback. It was just that morning. Leave it in, but as the morning, not a flashback! 😡😭😡
This brought back a vague repressed memory of a book that did none of this. I lost a bit of myself when “He-who-is-not-like-other-girls” entered his 5th random flashback for more exposition🥲
I've been writing a story and almost every character has some tragic backstory and i needed a way to explain some
I was literally just making back stories for my characters and I was wondering how it'd be told in flashbacks. A lot of my characters have pretty bad upcomings (they are a group of marginalized, shunned people who find solidarity in their crime gang), but I also don't want to bombard readers with flashbacks and trauma every time.
My novel starts (2 section Prologue) with back to back flashbacks/present day perspectives. Basically just to set up how my MC ended up in present day scenario, and to give a quick show of how the background character evolved. BC she is MC in book 2.
TBF, those that have read my novel love Ali. Shes a strong female that grew from a mouse. (More backstory in 2, as 1 focuses on the MAIN MC: ie the guy the series revolves around.)
Edit: For reference, ALL background characters mentioned in book 1 at some point are a MC in the series.
Thank you Abbie, amazing advice. Now, my problem is to use this powerful knowledge with due diligence. Fay ☘️
I'm so glad that I ran across this channel!!! Question? .. How do I format a flash back? What I mean is that how do I go from the action to a flash back?
Action to flashback, you say?
That’s complicated for me to answer due to my style of writing flashbacks.
I tend to try and keep time flowing normally as my characters are flashing back in order to simulate real thought and the passage of time.
My advice, however, would be to find a way to pause the action before the flashback is triggered.
Usually, you want your readers to focus on the action, and if you add a flashback in the middle of it, it’s kinda confusing.
Your videos are helpful. Do you have a video on how to write a book with a time jump
Oof. I really need this video. so my book is a fantasy about a guy who wants to heal his wife Mio, who is in a coma. He meets a girl in the first chapter who asks how he managed to bag such an s class Hottie with "that" personality. so near the end of chapter one she'll get him to tell her his backstory so he will explain his entire backstory up until the point that he end Mio were officially dating. they've had no-one but each other since they were 6 years old. but I feel I might be throwing 5 chapters of content in you face. it will help you understand his ties with certain characters and why he is so desperate to heal her. but it feels a little sudden throwing that at you in chapter 2 and only finishing in chapter 6.
Better Call Saul makes a good use of flashbacks
Love your videos so insightful. Can you do video on narrative summary. I struggle so much with this.
I think one of my most memorable flashbacks is also in a similar style that I'm trying to write is in Eragon where Paolini writes about the Elves and the shade there's a fighting over the egg and then it transitions to in the same Forest some distance and time away
I must always leave something in the before chapter that explains why the flashback in the next chapter exists.
Having a flashback in the middle of a chapter is a no for me. For the sake of organization I dedicate a whole chapter to a flashback or two flashbacks. A flashback chapter is a must for me.
If two flashbacks occur in the flashback chapter always start with the one that came earlier then let the characters grow from there.
my favorite sequence of flashbacks has to be the one that comes from Little Women, I love the way that Greta Gerwig weaved the flashbacks into the movie with each character's backstory and left us asking questions...truly a masterpiece.
I write flashbacks for a back story
Ah, that curiosity-reward ratio was obviously something that the writers of 'Lost' were unaware of!
I am juggling four groups of characters with a nonlinear storyline. All of these vectors converge at the end, so though there is a lot of "flashback" feel, mostly it is a retelling of contemporaneous events from divergent perspectives. As these storylines are coming together, the flashback feel diminishes gradually. I'm well aware that this could translate as a hot mess to the reader, but I'm trying my damndest to use parallelism and keep the jumping to a logical minimum.
The first two volumes of the series I'm writing each have a major flashback towards the end of the book. The first takes place during the final battle of the book, right after an important character arrives out of nowhere. The flashback explains a hidden plot the character had since the beginning of the story, answering a mystery that had been lingering around for a while. The kidnapped individual orchestrated it themself.
The second happens during a fighting tournament, after a main character loses their match on purpose. It reveals the reason why their opponent was able to blackmail them into forfeiting. The event that gave rise to their fame in the royal knights was a sham, and they were actually the cause of the problem in question, albeit by accident.
Sorry for the long explanations that probably didn't make enough sense, but I figured I'd give examples of flashbacks in my own writing.
I guess what I've learned is, penultimate flashbacks are often a good idea. Something to explain a key detail right when the story reaches its peak.
This is SOOO weird. I'm having like reverse déjà vu. I was watching this video ... and super excited because Abbie was having another Flashback live training. She'd obviously found she hadn't said it all last time. But it was kind of weird she didn't go on to another topic since her catalogue there isn't terribly deep yet - not like this UA-cam channel. I saved my spot and went over to the master page to see the first one... and there isn't another Flashback class. But I could SWEAR I'd already had her masterclass on flashbacks...???? (I checked the videos on the channel for flashbacks...they're not what I'm talking about.) ANYWAY LOL - super excited for Sunday :D
Uhhh yeah, buddy, you just jumped timelines. Your matrix has glitched. 😳
it's the creepiest thing in the world. has happened twice to me.
@@JhadeSagrav LOL not even close to the creepiest thing in the world - but I think it's fun when these things happen.
You are really my inspiration! I am a young writer (i am like 11 years old) but i want to publish one of my stories. I have written like 10 or 11 stories, and i am really proud of it but i think they miss something, and waht they miss i learn that from YOUR videos. It you would just reply to me it would mean so much to me, thank you abbie for everything!😊
Her: Don’t use flashbacks to world build
Avatar the last air bender: Long ago, the four nations lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, could stop them, but when the world needed him most, he vanished.
😂
This introduction is actually not a flashback
I ever used a flashback in two or three short stories. One was a tad too long, otherwise they were pretty well used. I used one merely to give context after an impactful first scene.
Can you do a video on writing scenes that happen in the same time frame?
When I am not feeling motivated to write, I am like… let’s watch Abbie Emoons a little.
Thank you Abbie! Your insight is always awesome..and the shameless plug of your book in the background is divine 😂😂 When will it be on audiobook? I just recently listened to 100 days of sunlight and I loved your character developments, your gripping backstory telling was excellent. Weston is awesome btw! I'm half way through the christmas book sequel...might have to give it another listen though cause I put it on hold over a month ago lol sorry but life happens and I'm trying to write my own novel! Which I will have questions for you on..and would love your input on my first chapter at some point but anyway...my only question right now is When is the other world audiobook coming on amazon! I must pick it up!
I’m gonna have flashbacks inside flashbacks.
In my novel, there is a flashback 3 paragraphs into the story. It is necessary to explain how he arrived in his current predicament.
I normally use flashbacks to confuse the reader, make them think that the story is badly written and just random inputs that do not seem to be a part of the same story, thrn near the end it is pointed to that it was a part of the main caracters life, his past. also one story i am working on, a man is talking to his ******* and telling his story, from time to time throughout the story the otger persone speaks over the narrator, a sound is heard in his enviorment, the story stoops and slows doen for 2-3 sentences then gets back into telling thr story, it is not a flashback, but he is talking of what happend to him, and instead of flashbacks, he is where he is, telling the tale of what has already happend.
The problem with this is that if your reader is me for instance, they will skim read till they come to one of these flashbacks, say hah, badly written crap, and give up.
@@dianacoles1017 not really a flashback. Moreso it gives the reader insight about what is happining around the main caracter in present time, stuff that interupts him. But I do understand that not everyone likes these random things popping in. After all it is a pycological horror, not youre standard story.
Hello dear professor
What you present is really interesting and crucial,i do appreciate your job,i wish you peace and happiness under the sky of prosperity,all the best.
Take care and have a good time.
Your Student from Algeria
I’m gonna make my traumatized character have flashbacks. Poor thing is still going through the abuse since he isn’t 18 yet
I actually just wrote a flash back about this girl who was forced to kill her friend cause she disobeyed the antagonist for the beginning of that story, Is that a good thing or do I need to put it in the middle of the story?
It depends what place it has on the protagonist's arc. It is the root of her Misbelief, or is it a turning point that brings her closer to her Aha moment?
i’m so guilty of all of these haha, i need to somehow finish the first draft and then edit it lol
What if there's a big story in fash back that we want the reader to know? like writing about the history of two people who met and how they fell in love, etc ???? How we should do that? Write a new chapter about it ?? Thanks for this video btw, it is helpful 💙💙
Talking about flashbacks, what about time skips? What if I have 2 bigger time skip right in the beginning? Well... Almost.
Sergei has access to my thoughts. Abbey will talk to him online.
Do you have any tips to keep from being super repetitive and using the same lines all the time?
Doing a flashback is the biggest struggle I am having right now over a character I have in my book. He is from the past, but very important to things that happen in the future. I don't know if I should start the book with him in the past showing who he is and what happened to him, then skip to the future, or start in the future then flashback to him. He is a very important part of the whole book even though he existed in the past. Chapter 1 could be starting with him in the past. Then do a time skip in Chapter 2 which would be a discovery being made in the future that involves him and the things in the future, or Chapter 1 starts in the future where they find out about him, then Chapter 2 flashes back to who he was. I am 70k words in and started questioning the beginning. I have both versions.
My book is about Ancient Egypt. He is an Egyptologist from 1906, she is an Egyptologist in 2023. He was responsible for a lot of translations that change how the Ancient Pharaoh's are viewed today, but they weren't found until 2023 because, unfortunately, they were hidden within a tomb with him.
Or, I could just work the past into the dialogue of the present. Without a flashback on its own.
The struggle is real......
Do you have a video on 1st person writing? My book is in the 1st person but the main character is a very stoic and somewhat emotionless guy. It's like having Season 2 thorfinn from Vinland saga or Sasuke Uchiha from Shippuden read you a bed time story
Suggestion on how to start out a reincarnation-based romance? I was considering having it start with a "dream flashback" of the moment the heroine died in her past life, then having her wake up. She's had these dreams all her life, and wonders why. Later in the story, she meets a man who was her husband in her former life-- but he has been alive the whole (very long) time. He is an immortal (no, not a vampire). He tries to help her remember who she was, and remember their love. Or... Should I start it somewhere else?
Dont answer what the reader didnt ask was so useful
If I Stay - now that's something.
My book starts with flashback 😂
When you see an annoying urchin on the street, you can put it in an orphanage, but you really would be insane to take it home and feed it when your boyfriend isn’t ok with it.
I find some authors don't understand the real impact of flashbacks. They insert one (or three) in every damn chapter of a scene 'earlier that day' or 'a few days ago' to set the chapter up instead of starting there and working their way up. I stop reading these fics for this reason. There's no reason they can't start at the beginning.
I think this the first time ever seeing Abbie wearing black