Flashbacks vs. Backstory

Flashbacks and backstory can both be used to enrich a reader’s experience, explain important information that has already happened, and reveal the character’s motivations. But many authors get confused about the difference between flashbacks and backstory.

To put it simply, both are moments in the past that have already happened, but while all flashbacks are backstory, not all backstory is a flashback.

Show vs. Tell

Transitioning with Flashbacks

Flashback vs. Backstory

Best Practices

Show vs. Tell

A flashback is shown, written as an independent scene complete with dialogue, details, and action, while backstory is simply told within a current scene as exposition. Either way, these are usually tighter and shorter than the current narrative to avoid pulling your reader out of the present story.

Transitioning with Flashbacks

Use time-related words or a specific date in a subheading
- Three Days Prior . . . or Two Years Ago . . .
- July 28, 2007 or March 1987
Use italics after a time-related subheading
- It felt like any other day as she walked into the coffee shop on Valentine’s Day. Only this day would be different. This day would change her life forever.
Use the narrator to tell the reader they are moving into the past and use the past-perfect tense had (as opposed to present tense or simple past tense)
- She thought back to Valentine’s Day two years ago when she had walked into the coffee shop on what had felt like any other day. But that day had been different. That day had changed her life forever.
Don’t forget to have a clear transition back to the present story too!

Here’s a personal memory used as an example to show the difference between flashbacks and backstory:

Flashback

(date stamped and italics)

July 28, 2007

It was a typical hot summer day in Mendocino County as my gaggle of ladies and I stood in front of the fan with our arms over our heads, trying to keep the sweat at bay for just a little longer.

“It’s time,” my mom said, a proud smile on her face as she stood near my white dress hanging on the full-length mirror.

I glanced at the clock. 4:45pm. In fifteen minutes, I’d step outside the door, take my dad’s arm, and walk toward my husband-to-be waiting at the end of the aisle. Then, in front of our closest family and friends, we’d say our vows, committing to each other forevermore as husband and wife.

Backstory

(past-perfect tense)

“Happy anniversary,” I said when Lane joined me in the living room where I had been reading a book in the quiet of the early morning hours.

He smiled. “Happy anniversary.” He leaned down and kissed me, and for a moment, I was a twenty-year-old bride again.

I thought back to our wedding day in the summer of 2007 and how hot it had been, laughing at the memory of all of us women standing in front of a fan to keep from sweating before the ceremony.

Eighteen years ago, Lane and I had committed to forever, and after all we’d been through together, I knew that vow would never be broken.

Best Practices

Flashbacks can be a fun way to immerse your reader directly in the memory, and backstory is often important to help develop your protagonist’s motivations, but be aware that using them poorly can pull your reader out of the present story line and slow the pace. Here are best practices for including backstory, whether in exposition or flashback form:

Use them sparingly
Keep them short and tight
Weave them throughout the story rather than doing an info-dump which can slow the pace and lose your reader’s attention
Ensure each one serves a purpose, ideally tying directly into the current part of the present story line
Be sure to transition in an obvious manner that prevents your reader from becoming confused on where and when they are in the story