Support for Indie Authors discussion

My WIP is about an amnesiac who has a vivid memory/flashback. I thought of separating that section out with italics, but that made the dialogue in it look weird, so I used hashmarks to indicate a scene break. Any advice on how best to handle this would be greatly appreciated.

Joan

It depends on how long the passages are, and how frequent. Italics become annoying in extended scenes. Maybe you could use narrower margins, along with scene breaks, if you have extended passages. In ebooks you don't have much of a choice, but in printed books you can use a different font. Try the various techniques and see how they look to you. If you like it, the reader probably will, too.

A lot of authors who do flashbacks use *** with a paragraph break before and after. Best way to let them know it is a flashback is to make sure the previous scene is time-stamped somehow, and the flashback scene is also. I remember in my first edition of my book, I had my MC drinking a cup of tea and then he was in the middle of a recollection. I did it several times and it appeared to disjoint the reader or suspect there was something in his tea giving him hallucinations. I eventually opted to write all but one scene in chronological order; but you do whatever works for you.

Good ideas you guys.

Amnesiac character writers unite!

For my amnesiac's flashbacks it all depended on what was going on; active remembering or dream sequence.

If it was active remembering I just ended up using italics even if it was a longer bit (I haven't received any complaints about that style yet).

If it was a dream sequence I used a break in the story with tildes (~~~~~~), but that was my own take on breaks.

Morris's suggestion of asterisks works just as well.

I had flashbacks in one book. Each one was a few paragraphs to much longer. I did them all in italics. I also used *** to break up each scene from the present to the flashback. No one has commented negatively about it....yet. *crosses fingers they don't*

Between switching POVs and hopping scenes, I had a bazillion (50+) breaks in my book. I used ♥♥♥ for each one. Shocking, I know haha!

Oh, and I also used a TON of italics.

No complaints...yet. *crosses fingers with Miss Amanda*

Annie wrote: "Between switching POVs and hopping scenes, I had a bazillion (50+) breaks in my book. I used ♥♥♥ for each one. Shocking, I know haha!

Oh, and I also used a TON of italics.

No complaints...yet. *c..."

Now I wanna use hearts:) I love that idea.

♥, ♡, or ❥

Just in case you wanted some different options ^_~

@Miss Joan: You could even separate flashbacks with different margins if you wanted. Like, skinnier, ya know?

I tend to do flashbacks with no breaks but a couple of words at the start of the flashback to indicate the change of scene:

The ship began to sing with the vibration of a clean re-entry.
Jane flicked the display from sub-orbital to re-entry mode. Then, holding the stick lightly, she settled into the new trajectory. The yellow cross on the display wandered around inside the green box—the eighty-footer was running true and stable, finding its own way down into the atmosphere with little help from Jane.
Back home at Hallsfield Farm on Mercia, there was a lake. One winter it had frozen over. She'd tried to scramble down the bank for a closer look at this rare thing called ice, tumbled and ended up skidding yards out onto the frozen surface, flat on her back, kicking helplessly. Her brother Tom, white with fear at her screams, had started to climb down to her but she'd already made her way back on hands and knees.
She'd asked him if she could do it again, please. Only, this time, could she do it the other way up, so that she could see where she was going?
He'd lifted her, blank incomprehension on his face—not understanding how, in that moment, his little sister had begun to tread the path that would take her to the pilot's seat.

Thanks for all the ideas, guys! You were very helpful And I love the hearts also ♥

Sometimes, I do flashbacks seamlessly, and gradually reveal to the reader that the scene is a memory. Other times, I separate the text of the flashback out in some manner such as italics or an indented paragraph that makes it obvious from the beginning that it is something in the character's mind.

My biggest worry is that I fear that I use too many dreams and flashbacks. My MC in the novel I am writing now has very frequent dreams (I was like that when I was young; tons of highly vivid dreams almost every night.) This is a trait of his and not something that happens to a lot of my characters, and also not a writing tool to progress the story. It plagues him and eats away at his conscience as the dreams generally deal with unresolved issues in his life.

I do my flashbacks in italics. Works for me. It seems clear for the reader that we are in a different time or place. I suggest something in the last sentence of the main text that helps the reader know that the character's mind is triggered or sidetracked by a thought or memory.

Joan wrote: "My WIP is about an amnesiac who has a vivid memory/flashback. I thought of separating that section out with italics, but that made the dialogue in it look weird, so I used hashmarks to indicate a s..."

You could also use Then and Now, depending on how long the flashback is. My WIP is about an amnesiac who can't remember anything that happened before her accident, so I write her present state of mind in first person POV. The only time she has a flashback is when her memory actually returns, so it flows as part of the present. I try to limit flashbacks as much as possible.

M. Ray Holloway Jr. wrote: "Sometimes, I do flashbacks ... This is a trait of his and not something that happens to a lot of my characters, and also not a writing tool to progress the story."
I believe conventional wisdom would say, "if it does not progress the story, it does not belong."
I this is very important for any kind of memory/flashback scenario. Make sure it truly serves a purpose in the story. IMHO, it should either be pertinent to an adjacent scene or tell us something vitally important about the character, or it is O-U-T!
As far as notations, I like Tim's suggestion (as a reader) of a header with something like: "TWO MONTHS EARLIER" and "PRESENT DAY" That is, unless you are trying to capture some sort of off-balance dreamlike quality throughout.

Flashbacks or dreams may not advance the story per se but it can help flesh the character(s) depending on how it's done. It can make readers understand the reasons behind the MC's actions for example. Sadly, it's not always seen as such by everyone who reads the book. Still, I believe that just like 'show and tell' (yes, I include 'tell'), it has a place if in it if well done.

K.C. wrote: "M. Ray Holloway Jr. wrote: "Sometimes, I do flashbacks ... This is a trait of his and not something that happens to a lot of my characters, and also not a writing tool to progress the story."
I bel..."

True enough, but in the story I mentioned, the dreams do quite a bit to reveal to the reader what is going through the MC's mind and why he behaves the way he does around other people, so yes, it contributes to the story and beats spending a lot of extra time in trying to explain what is going through his mind through exposition.

Fair enough, Ray. Knowing the MC's mind and justifications completely counts as progressing the story! I also agree with taking whatever process is most expedient to relay that kind of information.