Flashbacks in longform stories

keii4ii 2016-09-18 05:39:07 UTC #1

What are your thoughts about flashbacks in longform stories? They can provide insights on the characters and/or explain why certain things happened, but at the same time, sometimes it feels like it's stalling the story's forward momentum. How can you avoid that pitfall, and what are some good examples of flashbacks? (Preferably webcomics so I can check them out...)

AnnaLandin 2016-09-18 05:58:19 UTC #2

I've only done a few single-panel flashbacks in my comic so far - when something happens that triggers a character's memory of what has happened previously, but they can't speak it out loud - but I am gearing up to do a much larger one later on in the story, which I will probably handle as its own separate chapter? Like, start it off with a short scene in the present to prompt the flashback, then go through the important bits, and then skip back and wrap up in the present?

I feel flashbacks can be kind of shaky ground, because as you say it CAN feel like stalling - but sometimes, they can also be a very effective way of revealing secrets the character is keeping, etc. I also like the contrast of having the flashback show the true version of events, but then skip back to the present and show the character telling it in another way - i.e: revealing the truth to the reader, while the character still lies to the rest of the cast. It tells you something about the character and the nature of the secret, and stuff.

But let's see, what comics have I read that handle flashbacks well...

The Girl Who Flew Away - admittedly, these are less "flashbacks" and more "visions of someone else's life", but they're handled by having the main character dream scenes from a little girl's life at night. It's basically telling two parallell stories, which I assume will intersect at some point, and even though they have yet to intersect, they thematically play off each other.

Rickety Stitch and the Gelatinous Goo - each chapter of this begins with a dream or a memory in black and white of the main character's past life, that he in his waking life can't properly recall. Piece by piece, they're coming back to him, confusing him, and being the spark and the fuel for his continued quest. They're woven in as an integral part of the story, and become part of the hero's motivation, instead of just being info-dumps.

She Dwarf - Has had one flashback so far that took place as the main character passed out, and it was only a few pages long. In terms of pacing and plot, it was placed at precisely the right time.

Mare Internum - handles its flashbacks as Interludes between chapters, giving you relevant bits of the main character's backstory piece by piece, in short chunks. [warning: contains mentions of childhood sexual abuse].

Shanny8 2016-09-18 06:45:03 UTC #3

I used flashbacks as a device in my story to give insight to the main character. I tried to limit too much flashback because I didnt want to veer from the current story and have readers lose interest. It seemed more viable to use flashbacks to build support for the current happenings & history in pieces as opposed to trying to tell the story and the have readers question as to why the character is the way that they are, or try to set up a origin that takes too long to chronicle the character, thus having readers bail out on the story.

keii4ii 2016-09-18 06:46:19 UTC #4

Ooh, The Pride of Baghdad did this beautifully.

I wonder if one of the most flagrant issues is not that there's a flashback, but that the flashback itself is uninteresting -- or insufficient. e.g. Stories that try to explain a genocidal villain's motive/nature with a childhood sob story. It's okay to have a genocidal villain with a tragic childhood, but it's not okay for the narrative to treat it like an excuse, or as the only factor.

AnnaLandin 2016-09-18 06:54:25 UTC #5

Probably this, yes. If it feels like the flashback is furthering the story, then I don't mind them at all. If it feels like the flashback is either a.) not getting anywhere and slowing things down, or b.) providing explanations I find insufficient ("oh no, this villain is evil because his mom didn't hug him as a child!" or "I swore eternal vengeance against this character because they stole my pencil in kindergarten!" or whatever), THEN I don't like it.

As long as they're told well, and placed at an appropriate place in the story, then flashbacks are a good storytelling tool.

KSlinger 2016-09-18 16:19:50 UTC #6

I don't know how I feel about flashbacks. On the one hand they provide a lot of insight and reveal historic plot information, which I love. On the other, they can be a bit overkill depending on the frequency and sometimes (not always) seem a bit over dramatic. I suppose It depends how the creator uses them. They are a tool, after all, and when used well they can be very effective.

Unfortunately I can't think of a particular comic that does a really good job with flashbacks, or even a bad example to show you. I just know when a flashback puts me off. I suppose it's a case of when you do something well no one will be sure you've done anything at all? Maybe that's the key. Flashbacks should be a seamless part of the story, not stalling it as you say or injecting unnecessary angst at inappropriate times.

Flash backs will happen in West for one or two characters but they aren't involuntary, like they don't stem from trauma or triggers. Jed has bad dreams, but they're unrelated to his past or anyone else's that he knows, and flashbacks will also be narrated by the person having them, so it's more like a graphic retelling or a short chapter devoted to a moment in time. Hopefully (because they're rare) these flashbacks will provide answers to questions that have built up over the course of the story and by the time they come along it'll be like 'finally!' rather than 'just get on with it'. Won't know how well that works till I do it, I suppose! Fingers crossed.

alaingrey 2016-09-18 18:10:50 UTC #7

I think sometimes flashbacks are really critical to a story. I see more stories making the mistake of having no flashbacks but blocks of dialogue explaining past events which is a HUGE drag.

Here's a good example of an explanatory flashback from Drugs and Wires that's still quite text heavy but serves as a bit of context to add to a mystery. This is less an emotional flashback, but does serve to do a little bit of character/setting development while still pushing forward the main plot. This scene is important to the story, but it wouldn't make sense to suddenly have a character arc about this guy- the story isn't about him.

Here is an example from my comic of a flashback, that's starting out the new chapter (warning for some Heavy Stuff) I thought a flashback was appropriate here since the last story arc has finished, so its the start of a new story that has a bit of character insight before there's any 'action' that it will stall. I also thought it provided an insight into why someone might choose to go on a months long drug binge alone. It was tricky to figure out how to make 'flashback' apparent in my story since most flashbacks I see rely on an art style shift. Also, flashbacks tend to be quite wangsty and mine's a sad scene, but I tried to make it not too teen angst... in a comic about teen angst...

I can see flashbacks being annoying if it's the middle of a fight scene and someone suddenly remembers a quiet moment where their grandfather hands them a sword or something. (I'm just spitballing, I've never seen this in practice.)

I would rather see a flashback in a story than have the story start at the genesis to prevent flashbacks. That's a lot of time to go through x _ x

mariusthered 2016-09-19 09:07:18 UTC #8

i'm going to have to start using them in a small way because I have such a bit cast it's hard to not slow down some story lines that should have been and gone by now. one or two frames at the start of a chapter will help refresh this

sarrowsmith10 2016-09-19 14:57:55 UTC #9

In Goblins of Razard we have flashbacks here and there. Most often I show hints of the flashback while people are taking about their past. So you see their past rather than just hearing about it. My favorite scene with a flashback however is one where the main character Reign has been poisoned and he is hallucinating while his friend is fighting a merchant.

I think as long as the flashback isn't this whole drawn out scenario, and it is perfectly clear that it is a flashback, then I have no problems with it. If the flashback is like a bunch of pages long and doesn't have action and its all talking heads... that's boring!

TrialAndError 2016-09-20 00:21:33 UTC #10

I decided to do a twist with my story. It does a flash forward in the beginning, so the whole story is a flashback leading up to current events. I too think flashbacks stall progression (even within the right context of the story), but like prequel movies, I'm more interested in forward momentum

joannekwan 2016-09-20 00:29:33 UTC #11

I think flashbacks can be a useful tool, I use them myself. I don't think they stall forward momentum as long as they reveal new relevant information to which the audience isn't privy yet. The only time I think they really stall forward momentum is if there's a flashback every other episode or something ridiculous like that.

Kura 2016-09-20 00:40:56 UTC #12

I enjoy flashbacks when used properly. As mentioned before when done incorrectly or overused they can annoying, but when used properly as a way to move the story or characters forward or bring reader epiphany. I do really enjoy them.

The idea that these characters lives were still relevant to them or the story BEFORE the story started for me as a reader just makes the characters and story more appealing to me, and makes the characters feel more real and the story feel more deeper than 'watch it happen' I guess.

keii4ii 2016-09-20 00:52:46 UTC #13

Been thinking about something...

My previous comic had a rather long flashback scene spanning over at least two chapters (I'll need to check exactly how long it is). But the response was very positive, and looking back, I think it was well done, too. It's got tons of unrelated flaws, but as far as all the relevant points are concerned, it did very well.

Possible factors for the successful execution:

The past was shown, not merely narrated. (This is kind of a no-brainer.)
It was character A telling/showing (telepathically) the past to character B. THE FACT that A would reveal this to B was very interesting. Why is she telling B? What is her ulterior motive? What is she planning? And then there's B -- what would B do with this new knowledge, because it was certainly going to affect his decisions.
Almost every character in the flashback did not behave the way they do in the present (so it felt fresh; it didn't feel like rehashing of the present). Yet it didn't feel inconsistent; it felt more like a believable change in demeanor/personality, given the circumstances.

2 is particularly interesting. By showing the flashback, the comic moved the plot forward. It didn't put the plot on pause for the sake of extra insight.

TrialAndError 2016-09-20 01:11:37 UTC #14

It all depends on the story. For instance, flashbacks in the middle of an action scene can really jolt the reader out of the action, but during disposition can give extra insight. Too often though I see flashbacks for the sake of flashbacks, and not for the sake of story.