Era: Past and present - Writers Forum

Vanessa · 07-23-2004, 08:07 PM

Can a story be started in the middle of the characters life and be related in flashbacks in the sense that when a situation arises, their past can be brought up. Or should it be done that the past should be introduced and then the 'real' story begins?

Also I have read that you should have one main character, but I have two, a brother and a sister and although I can change them to be just one, I really want them both to be as important as each other?

Sam · 07-23-2004, 08:50 PM

I think using flashbacks is fine, but bear in mind that such sequences should not be too lengthy. And what is ‘too lengthy’? I’d say that if the longevity of the interlude makes you forget what is going on in the present then it is time to reach for the scissors and glue.

I do not see why you should be constrained to a single main character. However, you should question whether two are needed. Is it so they can play off each other, bypassing the often lengthy process of a main character’s inner monologue? Or do they have independent parts in the story, splitting up and switching back and forth?

Basically, as long as you have a good reason for doing something you should do it. (Note that this does not stretch to crime, so you just tuck away that crowbar, eh?)

Talia_Brie · 07-25-2004, 09:58 PM

I can think of lots of books that have more than one main character, LOTR stands up immediately.

But a good measure is do you need two main characters, as described by Sam.

Flashbacks, however, have a tendancy to be overused on this forum, just from my opinion. Someone said if the flashbacks are lengthy or common, then you might be starting the story in the wrong place. I don't know. Just be careful with them I suppose.

eleutheromaniac · 07-25-2004, 10:06 PM

There was a thread earlier that discussed flashbacks (how would you do this?). I suggest that before you ask a question you do a search to see if it's already been answered. I find that a lot of people are asking basically the same questions over and over.

Talia_Brie · 07-26-2004, 12:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eleutheromaniac

There was a thread earlier that discussed flashbacks (how would you do this?). I suggest that before you ask a question you do a search to see if it's already been answered. I find that a lot of people are asking basically the same questions over and over.

OT: I think this is probably true, which led to my previous comment, but searching through over 200 pages of questions can become daunting. I say don't be afraid to ask a question. If its been asked before, someone will either point you to the thread or summarise it for you. And if you don't want to re-state your case (which is fair enough), then ignore the question. You're not going to offend anyone.

IMO

eleutheromaniac · 07-26-2004, 12:51 AM

You don't have to search through all the posts, let the search engine do it for you. Just type in 'flashbacks' or whatever in the search text box (top left corner), hit go, and there it is. And if you go to advanced search you can even specify which forum you want to search in. It's pretty easy actually, probably easier than typing in the question yourself. So it saves everybody time and energy, and keeps the forums from getting cluttered with redundent questions.

Talia_Brie · 07-26-2004, 02:44 AM

I'm not disagreeing with you. I just did the search and there were only 12 responses. But other searches might not come back with such a small result.

I guess I've just had bad experiences with forum searches. :shrugs

Airborneguy · 07-26-2004, 05:55 AM

ONLY twelve results? I think that is far to many considering most of your questions were probably answered in those twelve.

Talia_Brie · 07-26-2004, 09:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Airborneguy

ONLY twelve results? I think that is far to many considering most of your questions were probably answered in those twelve.

Whoa nelly. They're not my questions. I don't use flashbacks, and I wouldn't need advice if I did. What I was saying is that searching through a forum's search engine is not always efficient. In this case it was, those 12 threads probably would have covered everything. But on other forum's I've put in a topic to a search engine and received over 200 responses, so I am distrustful of the process.

But this has gone way off topic now, and I'm beginning to feel like I'm getting ganged up on, so we should probably stop now.