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mary rosenblum
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Hello, all.
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mary rosenblum
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I hope you had a good week!
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mary rosenblum
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Our fall rains have arrived
with a vengeance and a promise of a VERY wet winter. Good thing I live on a
hill!
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mary rosenblum
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I just got email from Writers
Digest that their most recent contest is open...accepting submissions in
multiple genres.
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mary rosenblum
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I'll put a link up on the
website in New Market Updates after our Forum.
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mary rosenblum
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The deadline is Nov 1, so if
you have a story and are of a mind to submit to a contest, this is a big
one.
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tory
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Send some down to me and geezer!
Fire season hee
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mary rosenblum
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Tory I will certainly petition
our rain gods on your behalf!! :-)
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janecj333
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mary, do they charge entry fees?
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ashton
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Does it cost to enter the
contest, Mary?
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mary rosenblum
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I didn't notice mention of a
fee when I skimmed it, and I don't think WD usually charges fees...
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mary rosenblum
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I'll put the details up in New
Market Updates...didn't have time to look it over carefully. It caught my
eye when I checked my email on my way here.
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mary rosenblum
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I wanted to talk about
flashbacks tonight because a lot of novice writers are confused about just
what a flashback is...
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mary rosenblum
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and it can be both a powerful
tool and a major distraction.
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drakeluvr
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How does one covey simultaneous
action? For example, you hear a conversation, and someone else enters, but
no one notices them...
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mary rosenblum
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Drake if you are using first
person or limited third POV and your POV character does not see that
character enter you are out of luck..unless you break POV to TELL the
reader that the person entered.
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mary rosenblum
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I would do that cautiously.
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mary rosenblum
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It can really weaken your
story if it does not work.
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mary rosenblum
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If it is important for your
reader to know that someone has entered the scene, then figure out how to
let your POV character see them or let another character mention that this
person has entered.
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mary rosenblum
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This is where the work of
writing comes in. :-) Figuring out how to do what you need to do in a
scene.
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mary rosenblum
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I spend a lot of time doing
that. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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This is our After Hours Forum,
with me, Mary Rosenblum, your web editor and we're talking about flashbacks
today. I've published seven novels and more than 60 short stories and will
do my best to answer any questions you have. If you're new here, remember
that you need to click on the 'Ask a Question' button or the 'word bubble'
next to the red question mark at the top of the screen in order to ask a
question. Your regular 'send' bar won't reach me! Or you can use /ask and
type your question into the regular send bar if that works better for you..
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drakeluvr
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Hmm... I have a small chilkd
notice them as a conversation is going on between adults, drawing the
adults attention - not sure how to work that though
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mary rosenblum
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Who is your POV, drake?
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mary rosenblum
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Then let your POV hear that
child...that's all we need.
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mary rosenblum
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Let the child say something
about that person entering. Or the POV notices the kid staring and glances
over...
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mary rosenblum
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there are many ways to do it.
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mary rosenblum
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Sorry...missed putting up
Drake's answer that an adult is the POV.
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mary rosenblum
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Talking about flashback...I
should probably begin by defining what it IS and what it is NOT.
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mary rosenblum
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It is not JUST a character
thinking about the past.
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mary rosenblum
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A flashback is when your
character relives the past.
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mary rosenblum
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That can be done either in
limited third, where we simply travel back in time and replay events as
they happened.
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mary rosenblum
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You write that as if the
action is taking place in the present, and use a strong transition so that
you don't 'unseat' your readers and leave them floundering.
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mary rosenblum
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You can do it in narrative,
too, if you are using a first person POV or writing a narative story.
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mary rosenblum
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Some fiction stories are ALL
flashback, framed by a brief visit to a 'present'.
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mary rosenblum
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For example, we might begin
with an old grandma telling the kids how she escaped from Nazi Germany and
after that first scene where we are in her livingroom...
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mary rosenblum
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with the grandkids, the rest
of the story is told as if it is happening now. Then, at the end, we
transition back to that living room to complete the 'frame'.
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mary rosenblum
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You often see a limited third
person flashback, where we transition from the 'present' of the story to a
past event in the POV character's life...
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mary rosenblum
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and we seem to be living that
event with the POV as if it is happening for the first time.
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janecj333
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Mary, in general, how do editors
regard scene-size flashbacks set off from the rest of the text?
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mary rosenblum
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You will find a lot of 'don't
use flashback' advice and 'editors don't like flashback' advice...
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mary rosenblum
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and that is true and false at
the same time. The reason you run into it over and over again...
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mary rosenblum
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in writing courses and books
is that it is HARD to do this effectively and most novice writers will have
a tough time pulling it off effectively.
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mary rosenblum
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BUT...if it serves the story,
that editor has NO problem with it. BUT...it is your task, should you wish
to use that scene length flashback...
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mary rosenblum
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to make it so important to the
story that it never crosses the editor's mind to complain.
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geezer
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So, if the POV is thinking about
a past event that isn't a flashback?
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mary rosenblum
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No, geezer. Not unless he/she
is reliving it or retelling it if this is a first person narrative, as if
it is happening again.
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mary rosenblum
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Let me give you an example.
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mary rosenblum
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"Sure," Karen said,
but her skin crawled as she remembered her first encounter with Ralph. He
was...weird. She wasn't at all sure she wanted to have anything to do with
him again.
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mary rosenblum
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This is not a flashback.
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mary rosenblum
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This is Karen thinking about
when she met Ralph. She thought he was weird.
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mary rosenblum
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But we are NOT meeting Ralph,
we are just overhearing Karen's thought that he's weird.
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mary rosenblum
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I would do this if her first
meeting with Ralph isn't very important to the story.
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mary rosenblum
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We need to know she thinks
he's weird, but the details aren't really going to add enough to the story
to justify including them.
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mary rosenblum
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BUt...say they ARE important.
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mary rosenblum
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Something about that first
meeting with Ralph will help drive the climax of this story, so the reader
needs to SEE it happen.
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mary rosenblum
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I would then use the
flashback:
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mary rosenblum
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"Sure," Karen said,
but her skin crawled as she remembered her first encounter with Ralph.
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mary rosenblum
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"Hey, babe." He had
walked up to her as she was raking the leaves, all lanky redhead, a total
stranger. "Bob told me he'd found himself a cutie, and I guess he's
right."
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mary rosenblum
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"Hello?" Karen
pushed her hair back from her face. "Do I..." She gasped as he
grabbed her, bending her backward, his mouth on hers...
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mary rosenblum
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"Stop it!" She
shoved at him, tried to knee him. "Let go of me!"
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mary rosenblum
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If you'll notice, I started
out with some narrative distance. We hear him say 'Hey, babe', but we have
the narrative distance of 'hea had walked up to her....' She is still
thinking that sentence... Then from 'Hello' on, I wrote it as if it is
happening right now, simply describing her actions and taking the narrative
distance...
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mary rosenblum
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down close to zero, so that we
relive the moment with her.
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mary rosenblum
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I generally use one or maybe
two sentences to gradually reduce the narrative distance from the
character's thought to the actual relived action so that I don't jar
readers with a big 'bump' as we go...
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mary rosenblum
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from the narrative of thought
to the action of the relived scene.
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mary rosenblum
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At the end of that relived
scene, transition back out again. This can be abrupt...sort of like waking
up from a dream.
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mary rosenblum
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With a start, Karen blinked
away the images. "What were you saying?" she asked.
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mary rosenblum
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That gives the effect of
someone lost in thought 'waking up' as she realizes that someone is
speaking to her.
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info
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wouldn't something like skipping
a couple lines help set it off
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mary rosenblum
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You can do that...the same way
you'd indicate any scene change (do center a * on that skipped line to
enforce it for the editor)...
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mary rosenblum
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but that will make an abrupt
transition. Sometimes that works, but other times a gentler transition, as
with the above example, works better.
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mary rosenblum
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Try it both ways and see which
is stronger.
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janecj333
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what is the biggest mistakes
writers make in using this technique?
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mary rosenblum
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The biggest mistake Jane is
using it too often or in the wrong place.
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mary rosenblum
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If the scene is not CRITICAL,
then let the character remember it briefly.
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mary rosenblum
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The problem is that it does
two things.
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mary rosenblum
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It sends the reader BACKWARD
and stops the forward momentum of the story entirely.
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mary rosenblum
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It also sends the reader into
another fictional universe...the universe of that scene.
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mary rosenblum
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And if that universe is more
interesting than the one you left...you are in trouble!
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mary rosenblum
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That is the danger of a very
long flashback.
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mary rosenblum
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Your reader gets comfortable
in your flashback universe and doesn't want to come back to your 'present'.
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mary rosenblum
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I tend to use flashbacks very
sparingly. Mostly I use them...
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mary rosenblum
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when the impact of those
events on the character is critical to the story.
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mary rosenblum
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Otherwise, I just let my
character remember them.
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archer
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Does the symbol you use to set
off the skipped line matter, Mary? My instructor told me to use # sign
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mary rosenblum
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Nope. It just tells the editor
that your printer didn't hiccough and skip a line. :-) And sometimes that
skipped line is the last line on the page.
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robastor
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Are there times when going
backward is a good idea?
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mary rosenblum
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Sure.
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mary rosenblum
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If those events are critical
to the power of the story.
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mary rosenblum
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For example, if your POV's
behavior are because she was raped as a young girl, a flashback to that
event at a critical point in the story...
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mary rosenblum
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may explain and justify her
bahavior at the climax of the story.
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mary rosenblum
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It can be VERY important to
the story.
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mary rosenblum
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Since it allows us to share
those events and what we discover for ourselves is much stronger than
something a character (or the author) tells us.
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mary rosenblum
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Saying 'I was abused as a
child' isn't going to impact the reader...
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mary rosenblum
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nearly as much as sharing that
girl's terror as her mother's boyfriend corners her in the bedroom and
breaks her wrist as she tries to escape.
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mary rosenblum
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Sharing that will have a LOT
more impact on us.
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drakeluvr
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so, can I have a story start as
a flashback? A dream told in third and then the character wake up and go
through the day of what happened, then return to the present as though they
had been caught up in a memory of that time? Would that work?
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drakeluvr
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Okay, in the story I am working
on, the flashback is the beginning of the story. You see a dream on the MC,
and relive the day that follows, including what happened with the character
they interacted with in their dream -
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mary rosenblum
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That can work quite well,
drake.
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mary rosenblum
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The only danger here is that
readers are searching for clues about your universe when they begin your
story...
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mary rosenblum
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and if they think your 'dream
world' is the real world you will give them a nasty jolt when your POV
wakes up!
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mary rosenblum
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You might want to let your POV
briefly realize he/she is dreaming so that you don't mislead readers.
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janecj333
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I have noticed that a lot of
modern fiction uses multiple pov and each scene must be alternated with
others. Is this a recent phenomenon, and does it indicate weak fiction?
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mary rosenblum
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Just depends on the 'fad of
the moment'. YOu can see stylistic trends in all genres of fiction if you
look back over a few decades. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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Right now there is a trend to
large narrative distance in literary fiction with a strong focus on style
and narrative...
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mary rosenblum
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where characters are observed
and we don't really share their stories.
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mary rosenblum
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And that style does get copied
in other genres at times.
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mary rosenblum
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And it an work...depends on
what effect you are trying for and where the strength of your story lies.
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mary rosenblum
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This is our After Hours Forum,
with me, Mary Rosenblum, your web editor and we're talking about flashbacks
today. I've published seven novels and more than 60 short stories and will
do my best to answer any questions you have. If you're new here, remember that
you need to click on the 'Ask a Question' button or the 'word bubble' next
to the red question mark at the top of the screen in order to ask a
question. Your regular 'send' bar won't reach me! Or you can use /ask and
type your question into the regular send bar if that works better for you..
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speckledorf
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I was told readers have a low
tolerance for the "lure them in with a dream or flashback" then
back to the boring present. Have you heard this or was I told wrong?
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mary rosenblum
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The boring present is ALWAYS a
problem, speck.
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mary rosenblum
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This is one of those risks I
was talking about in terms of using flashback.
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mary rosenblum
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If you give your readers a
really COOL start and then drop them into a boring office cubicle...make
way for the stampede out of your story. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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If your present is less
engaging than your flashback then you must make it more compelling...
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mary rosenblum
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and you can do that with a
strong sense of drama...
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mary rosenblum
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a threat..a powerful plot
device.
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mary rosenblum
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A boring scene that offers
little is not a good way to follow a powerful flashback !
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mary rosenblum
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And this is why writing books
tell you not to use 'em. :-)
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sallyk
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In Bond movies, we have the
intro to adjust past to present
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mary rosenblum
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Well, movies are generally
poor examples, sally...
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mary rosenblum
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An intro that does not hook a
reader generally does not sell your book.
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mary rosenblum
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The reader puts it back on the
shelf and picks up the next one.
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mary rosenblum
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Now if that reader knows your
work, you're a favorite author, she/he'll forgive you that intro. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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If you go to a Bond movie, you
know what to expect right?
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janecj333
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Since it's the beginning of
drake's story, maybe the flashback could stand as a Foreword?
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mary rosenblum
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Once upon a time I would have
said yes, jane.
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mary rosenblum
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And theeeennnn....I started
polling fans at conference about their reading habits...
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mary rosenblum
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and was SHOCKED at how few
people read the prologs!
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mary rosenblum
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I have stopped putting
anything important in a prolog.
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mary rosenblum
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If it is necessary for the
reader to have this information, I put it in the main story.
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mary rosenblum
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I use them as brief teasers
and that's it.
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drakeluvr
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later, in the present, you find
out that they felt betrayed by that person, and after a fight with their
SO, they meet that person again and find out the truth
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mary rosenblum
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Hard to say how that works,
drake. Without reading the story. Give it to a couple of good readers and
ask 'em afterward if the dream was good or if they'd rather have skipped
it.
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mary rosenblum
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This is our After Hours Forum,
with me, Mary Rosenblum, your web editor and we're talking about flashbacks
today. I've published seven novels and more than 60 short stories and will
do my best to answer any questions you have. If you're new here, remember
that you need to click on the 'Ask a Question' button or the 'word bubble'
next to the red question mark at the top of the screen in order to ask a
question. Your regular 'send' bar won't reach me! Or you can use /ask and
type your question into the regular send bar if that works better for you..
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zubbycat
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What is the best way to show
that you are entering a flashback, especially if it is a lengthy one?
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mary rosenblum
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I have found over the years
that a verbal transition works best... that 'Karen remembered her first
meeting with Ralph'...sort of start.
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mary rosenblum
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Never underestimate a reader's
ability to miss a transition.
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mary rosenblum
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A simple skipped line can
leave a lot of readers floundering as they find themselves in a different
time and place with no warning.
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mary rosenblum
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If you think your transition
is clear enough, a good rule of thumb is 'make it clearer'. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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And always find a way to
indicate the return to the present clearly, too.
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marzipan
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What about paralell construction
instead?
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marzipan
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Is that OK in short stories?
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mary rosenblum
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Instead of flashback, marz?
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mary rosenblum
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Well, if you find that you are
using nearly as much flashback as main story, then yes, you might want to
consider a parallel construction.
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mary rosenblum
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Lore, you want to send your
question with an /ask?
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mary rosenblum
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It won't show up here
otherwise.
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fyredrago
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what is a parallel construction?
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mary rosenblum
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That is when you have two main
characters and plots in the story, independent of each other.
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mary rosenblum
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You might, for example, follow
two brothers as they are parted and pursue their own paths...
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mary rosenblum
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and usually the plots converge
at the climax and end.
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mary rosenblum
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And yes, marz, you can do it
in short form, although the shorter the story the tougher it would be.
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mary rosenblum
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For say, a novelette, you
could probably pull it off well.
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lore alley
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Can you use a flashback to lead
into a parallel plot that will tie in with your present plot?
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mary rosenblum
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YOu could use it to 'cross
connect' those two main characters, lore.
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janecj333
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I have also read an editor's
claim that he usu finds the foreword, after finishing the manuscript, not
necessary :)
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mary rosenblum
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They often are not necessary.
:-) But again, jane, beware of these generalizations. If you have a
foreward that adds to the story it's fine.
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mary rosenblum
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Most of the time, you can skip
them and it won't matter to the story.
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mary rosenblum
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Don't do a foreward or a
flashback JUST to do it. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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Do it because the story
demands i6t.
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fyredrago
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Would that be preferred over
flashbacks?
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mary rosenblum
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Paralell construction, fyre?
Not really.
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mary rosenblum
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They do different things.
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mary rosenblum
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But if you had a LOT of
flashbacks, you might be able to run a story that occurs in past and
present at the same time. Now there's a challenge for you. :-)
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marzipan
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How about using it to tell you
POV's past?
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mary rosenblum
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That's how most novice writers
use it, marz, and it's not generally a good idea.
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mary rosenblum
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There are plenty of more
compelling ways to give us a character's past without stopping the story to
feed us backstory.
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zubbycat
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Is it a parallel construction if
you have two plots with one story in the past and one in the present?
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mary rosenblum
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Sure, zubby.
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mary rosenblum
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The stories are occuring
simultaneously for the reader. That makes 'em paralell.
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mary rosenblum
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Even if they are occurring
chronologically.
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mary rosenblum
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I have a very talented student
who is working in that form.
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mary rosenblum
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He's telling one story in his
character's childhood and one in his character's middle age...
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mary rosenblum
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And they converge eventually.
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mary rosenblum
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They are separate stories and
if you think about it, separate characters, since the ten year old is not
the same person as the 40 year old.
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geezer
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I guess Walter Mitty is the
ultimate parallel construction.
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mary rosenblum
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Hmmmm...that's an interesting
interpretation of Mitty. I think they don't really qualify as paralell,
though.
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mary rosenblum
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Mitty is the same person in
his dream adventures as in his boring real life, he just does different
things.
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mary rosenblum
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Instead of flashbacks, he
drops into vivid daydreams that we live along with him as if they ARE
flashbacks...
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mary rosenblum
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and they ARE much more
interesting than the real world and that is the author's intent.
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mary rosenblum
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So here is a case of breaking
the rules about 'don't do a more interesting flashback' and it works...
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mary rosenblum
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because it is that which
powers the story.
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mary rosenblum
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Remember...
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mary rosenblum
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don't take 'rules' too
seriously.
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mary rosenblum
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The are good 'this is an easy
path, that one is hard' guidelines as you learn craft...
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mary rosenblum
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but ultimately you grow as a
writer by doing...or at least trying...stuff that books on writing tell you
not to do. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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You won't always succeed, but
if you don't try, you won't grow.
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robastor
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Can they also be past and
present related events/stories?
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mary rosenblum
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They can be, robastor.
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mary rosenblum
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I've seen some stories where
one plot took place, for example, in ancient Rome and the other in the same
space in 20th century Rome.
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mary rosenblum
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And they converged at the end.
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mary rosenblum
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Think of flashback like this.
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mary rosenblum
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If your reader simply needs
the information, find another way to convey it...
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mary rosenblum
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through your POV's thoughts,
dialogue, a diary, whatever.
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mary rosenblum
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If we need to share the
emotional effect of the event on your character, then take us back to that
moment and let us live it with your POV again.
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seigfried007
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Is it normal to only use
flashbacks for severely emotional scenes--like when a person would do it in
real life?
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mary rosenblum
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Exactly, seig.
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mary rosenblum
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Flashbacks are not a good way
to convey normal backstory, for the most part.
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mary rosenblum
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The cost to your forward
momentum and the risk of reader confusion is pretty high.
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mary rosenblum
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Save flashbacks for that
emotion we MUST share.
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mary rosenblum
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There are many tools in
writing that come at a fairly high cost in terms of reader engagement.
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mary rosenblum
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So you use them when the
benefit to the story outweighs the cost.
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fyredrago
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So would you recommend avoiding
flashbacks if you can find a different way that still shows the emotions
without the backstory?
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mary rosenblum
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If you do not have to use
flashback, I would not use it.
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mary rosenblum
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Save it for when it is the
BEST way to do something.
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robastor
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Can stories get too intense? I
write roller coaster rides.
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mary rosenblum
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Well, robastor, readers are
like amusement park goers...some will ride the kiddie coaster and others
will line up for the Killer Drop.
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mary rosenblum
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You'll get the readers who
love the Killer Drop is all.
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mary rosenblum
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REmember, you are not writing
for every person on the planet.
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mary rosenblum
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You are writing for people who
like the stories you write. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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And those that want you to
write something different will read someone else.
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lore alley
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If doing a parallel
construction, would it be better to start the story with the past
(flashback) or the present?
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mary rosenblum
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Lore, whether your parallel
construction involves different times or simply different plots in the same
segment of time, you have to decide which of the two stories to start
with...
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mary rosenblum
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and there is no rule for that.
It's the one that works better. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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This is our After Hours Forum,
with me, Mary Rosenblum, your web editor and we're talking about flashbacks
today. I've published seven novels and more than 60 short stories and will
do my best to answer any questions you have. If you're new here, remember
that you need to click on the 'Ask a Question' button or the 'word bubble'
next to the red question mark at the top of the screen in order to ask a
question. Your regular 'send' bar won't reach me! Or you can use /ask and
type your question into the regular send bar if that works better for you..
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seigfried007
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i found it easier to put in a
few senences of flashback for very traumatic events--especially the
super-intense scenes of childhood abuse
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mary rosenblum
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Beware though, seig. You can
overdo that very quickly.
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mary rosenblum
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Think of the splatter movies.
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mary rosenblum
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A score of people get
chainsawed or disemboweld and by the end of the movie, the watchers are
bored.
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mary rosenblum
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Readers also desensitize very
quickly.
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mary rosenblum
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One vivid scene is MUCH more
powerful than ten similar scenes of violence.
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mary rosenblum
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In a VERY few repetitions the
effect is 'oh, not another on'e.
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mary rosenblum
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fyredrago, you need to type
/ask in front of your question so that it shows up on the stage here...
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mary rosenblum
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othewise I can't post it.
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geezer
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In stories with parallel
construction, I generally like one and get annoyed that the other one
interupts
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mary rosenblum
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Oh, that is a REAL risk.
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mary rosenblum
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Parallel form is VERY hard to
pull off.
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mary rosenblum
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You are constantly
interrupting the story to switch to the other story.
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mary rosenblum
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Even if they are equal in
weight, it is hard not to have readers lose interest iwth all that 'back
and forth' stuff.
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mary rosenblum
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It is not a casual solution to
'gee I'd like to do more with this character'.
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mary rosenblum
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It is a TOUGH challenge.
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mary rosenblum
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There are a lot of
things...like multiple POV in short fiction, parallel construction,
omnsicient POV...that CAN work very effectively, but that does not mean...
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mary rosenblum
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that you will do it well. IT
is hard to do things that way,and do 'em WELL.
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robastor
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I wrote a story where there is a
building collapsing, something prior to 9/11. Now, I am unsure if I should
continue the story, because it is very intese. What are your thoughts?
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mary rosenblum
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Robaster, intense is never
wrong as long as that intensity is for a reason.
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mary rosenblum
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If it's just gratuitous
violence and we get nothing from it...well enough said.
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mary rosenblum
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But if that story matters in
some way, intense is just fine.
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fyredrago
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I could see why someone might do
parallel, but I think it would probably confuse a lot of readers. It would
probably confuse me to keep going back and forth.
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mary rosenblum
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I haven't read an example
where I didn't wish that the author had stuck with one POV. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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It is distracting.
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mary rosenblum
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It's another tool that you use
'in spite of the price'.
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janecj333
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Speaking fo getting bored, in
multiple pov, one character's pov is usu unreadable and I generally skip
over it
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mary rosenblum
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That's a problem with multiple
POV and why it rarely works well.
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mary rosenblum
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Mostly it works in very plot
driven stories where you have a lot of narrative distance anyway.
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robastor
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I worte a parallel with
interwoven dream sequences that included memories of past events. I think
it was one of my best. I can see how they are interesting when written
well.
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mary rosenblum
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Just keeping the reader on
track in that complex story is an achievement, robastor. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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Actually, 'Snow Falling on
Cedars' is an excellent example of a story that is mostly flashback...
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mary rosenblum
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The main story is the muder of
the fisherman..
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mary rosenblum
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but the real story is how
internment affected the community.
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mary rosenblum
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The author does an amazing job
of keeping readers on track as he skips all OVER the place in flashback.
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mary rosenblum
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For a fine example of breaking
all the rules with flashback and making it work, read it.
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archer
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I did several short flashbacks
in assignment 12 that my instructor said were effective. My POV was being
tortured psychologically. The POV thought her captor's voice/laugh was
familiar, but couldn't remember from when. During an intense point in the
mental torture, the captor's laughter triggered the POV's flashback to when
they'd heard the same laugh as a child. Then the POV realized her captor
was her childhood playmate/best friend out for revenge. POV came back to
the present when the captor slapped her etc... the flashbacks showed how
the POV put the pieces of what was happening to her together. Her mind was
jumbled by the mental torture in the present so the flashing back fit with
that. But again, the flashbacks were short.
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mary rosenblum
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And that sounds like it fits
fine, Archer.
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mary rosenblum
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In Cold Mountain, much of the
book's front is flashback as the POV lies in a hospital camp and flashes
back to battlefield scenes and bits of his past.
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mary rosenblum
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It's the same sort of
device...
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mary rosenblum
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here, instead of torture you
have a man in pain, delerious, drifting in and out of lucid dreams.
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mary rosenblum
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It was a way for the author, I
suspect, to give us a ton of battlefield backstory as vivid action.
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mary rosenblum
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But since the story really
starts as he leaves the hospital, it allowed him to start there instead of
earlier.
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mary rosenblum
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Again...what works, works.
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mary rosenblum
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Don't be afraid to play with
flashback, but don't view it as the 'quick and easy way to do lots of
backstory'.
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mary rosenblum
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That will bite you. :-)
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robastor
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I'm doing a fictionalized
re-writing of a myth. In the story, Zeus is no longer the ruler of Olympus,
Athena is. I wrote a prologue to explain Zeu's absence. Do you think I
should have, so that readers aren't confused by the artistic licence I
took?
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mary rosenblum
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Hard to say without seeing it
robastor. It certainly could work...it sort of depends on the style you're
writing in, how you approach this telling...
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mary rosenblum
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See what readers have to say.
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mary rosenblum
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Sounds like a fun turnaround,
though! :-)
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mary rosenblum
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Well, this has been a fun
Oregon hour.
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robastor
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I was also writing a sort of
theseis to go along with the story. :)
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mary rosenblum
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Cool. :-)
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mary rosenblum
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Do join us on Sunday...same
time as this forum..
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mary rosenblum
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when we get together to just
talk about writing, and what have you.
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robastor
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Night Mary!
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mary rosenblum
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Night all!
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mary rosenblum
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I'll post the transcript in
the usual place:
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mary rosenblum
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Writing Craft: Forum
Transcripts.
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mary rosenblum
|
Have a great week!
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janp
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Thank you, Have an entertaining
week end.
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mary rosenblum
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You, too, all!
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mary rosenblum
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I"m off to plot the next
novel.
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mary rosenblum
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Good night !
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