Q

FFNet does not always create a friendly reading atmosphere for italics or bold text.  When transitioning to a different perspective or a flashback, what are some alternatives, and what are some tips you can give for using them effectively? 

A

It isn’t just on fanfiction.net that you want to avoid writing whole paragraphs in italics or bold text. Editors working on soon-to-be-published manuscripts will change those paragraphs to a non-italic, non-bold font to make them easier to read.

1) WRITING A FLASHBACK.

When writing a flashback, you need three things: the segue in, the flashback itself, and the segue out.

The segue in is the transition between present and past; it is the thought or action that incites the flashback. While wandering through Number 12 Grimmauld Place, Sirius could come across a chipped vase and remember how he damaged it.

It’s generally a good idea to follow the segue in with a line break, a visual aid to strengthen the transition.

Write the flashback scene as you would the rest of the story and make sure that it adds to the narrative. Flashbacks disrupt the flow of a scene, so ask yourself if including one is necessary to advance your plot.

You can change the story’s tense in the flashback by using the past simple if the rest of your story is written in the present tense, or the past perfect if your story is in the past simple.

Be careful when using the past perfect. It’s a bulky tense, so limit how often you use it to the first sentence or paragraph of the flashback.

The segue out needs to be more subtle that the segue in. It isn’t as simple a matter as saying, “Sirius remembered breaking that vase.” followed by a line break. The flashback needs a conclusion.

At the end of the flashback, a young Sirius could put the vase back where he found it after having fixed it, smiling despite his shaking hands. After the line break, the sentence indicating a return to the present could include present Sirius smiling and noting his steady hands.

You won’t need a segue out if the flashback ends the chapter, but the flashback will still require a conclusion.

2) CHANGING PERSPECTIVE.

Changing perspectives can be jarring for readers, so only do it if you absolutely must.

Before you write the scene, decide who your POV characters are and why. Ask yourself why you need more than one and if you can’t limit yourself to a single character’s experience.

If you need more than one POV character, try to keep it at two per chapter. More than that is likely to confuse readers.

Use a line break every time you change POV and include the new POV character’s name in the first sentence so that readers can easily follow whose head they are seeing the story from. If you find yourself with a line break between every paragraph, you’re switching too often.

The flashbacks are parallel for me. You experience two storylines at the same time, and I’m not switching from one time to another.

EMMA THOMPSON