Flashbacks and foreshadowing are two powerful techniques that can enhance your story by adding depth, suspense, and emotional impact. But how do you use them effectively and avoid confusing or boring your readers? In this article, we'll show you how to edit and revise your flashbacks and foreshadowing to make sure they serve your plot, characters, and theme.
Flashbacks are scenes that show events that happened before the main timeline of your story. They can reveal important information about your characters' past, motivations, or secrets. Foreshadowing is a hint or clue that suggests what will happen later in your story. It can create tension, curiosity, or anticipation in your readers. Both flashbacks and foreshadowing can be subtle or obvious, depending on your style and purpose.
I would add that flashbacks and foreshadowing are not mutually exclusive. Showing a character's past will typically serve the purpose of setting up (or giving more context to) something that happens in the present. In this way, going to the past can give the reader natural hints toward the future.
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Not every story needs flashbacks or foreshadowing, and not every moment in your story is suitable for them. To decide when and where to use them, you need to consider your genre, structure, and pace. For example, flashbacks and foreshadowing are more common in mystery, thriller, or fantasy genres, where they can create mystery, suspense, or worldbuilding. They are also more effective when they are placed at strategic points in your story, such as the beginning, the end, or the turning points. However, you should avoid using them too frequently, too randomly, or too long, as they can disrupt the flow, confuse the readers, or weaken the impact.
It's worth noting that moments for flashbacks and foreshadowing don't necessarily need to be "chosen" ahead of time. Often the writer will know when to move to the past based on when a character would naturally reflect upon past experiences. Similarly, foreshadowing can naturally occur through what a character notices, or dialogue that hints at a character's motives. Foreshadowing isn't always a wink and a nod. Sometimes, it is what would happen naturally, and the "natural" reveals the path toward what will come.
Once you have chosen the right moments for your flashbacks and foreshadowing, you need to write them in a way that is clear and engaging for your readers. To do this, use transitions to signal the shift from the present to the past or the future, such as words, phrases, or sentences that indicate the change of time, or formatting like italics, dashes, or chapter breaks. Additionally, use sensory details, dialogue, and emotions to make your flashbacks or foreshadowing vivid and immersive. Descriptive language, sensory imagery, realistic dialogue, and emotional reactions can bring your flashbacks or foreshadowing to life. Finally, use relevance, consistency, and surprise to make your flashbacks or foreshadowing meaningful and impactful. Make sure that your flashbacks or foreshadowing are consistent with your plot, characters, and theme, and use some surprise or twist to make them intriguing and memorable. Revealing something unexpected, shocking, or ironic, or subverting your readers' expectations can help you achieve this.
Note: flashback and foreshadowing don't always need to be "big" breakaways that require their own section. Sometimes it is a small remembrance of a character's past experience. Sometimes it is the intuition of a character (such as a sense of foreboding) toward what may come.
After you have written your flashbacks and foreshadowing, you need to edit and revise them to make sure they are effective and polished. Ask yourself if they are necessary, clear, engaging, and meaningful. If not, consider cutting them out, adding more transitions, explanations, or clues, adding more details, dialogue, or emotions, or making them more relevant, consistent, or surprising. This will help capture your readers' attention and serve your plot, characters, or theme.
Also keep in mind if your flashbacks/foreshadowing stays consistent with your established point of view. If your story is being told from a specific character's perspective (and knowledge set), are we being told anything by them that they wouldn't be able to know? If so, think about how you can get the same information across without breaking the consistency of the character's knowledge.
To improve your flashbacks and foreshadowing, it is beneficial to get feedback from others. Ask your friends, family, beta readers, or editors to read your story and provide their honest opinions. When you solicit their feedback, you should inquire if they understood your flashbacks and foreshadowing, if they enjoyed them, if they found them relevant, consistent, and surprising, and if they have any suggestions or comments on how to improve them.
If your reader tells you they don't understand something, be willing to listen. Rather than going on the defensive and thinking "they just don't get it," ask how you can make it clearer. As the writer, it is your job to help them "get it."