Flashback MISTAKES New Writers Make ❌ Avoid These Cliches!

Summary

Dans cette vidéo, l'auteur Abby partage des conseils essentiels sur l'écriture de flashbacks dans les récits littéraires. Elle expose les erreurs courantes à éviter et propose des astuces pour rendre chaque flashback captivant, émotionnel et significatif. Abby insiste sur l'importance d'un déclencheur clair pour chaque flashback, de son impact sur l'intrigue présente et sur l'utilisation de flashbacks pour répondre aux questions des lecteurs tout en stimulant leur curiosité. Elle annonce également une formation en direct approfondissant ce sujet et encourage les participants à s'inscrire.

Takeaways

• 📚 L'épisode de 'Writer's Life Wednesdays' vise à aider les écrivains à donner de la profondeur à leurs personnages et à réaliser leurs rêves d'auteurs.
• 🔄 Les flashbacks, bien utilisés, peuvent approfondir la compréhension des personnages et augmenter l'intérêt pour l'histoire, mais ils sont également faciles à gâcher.
• 🚫 Évitez d'entrer dans un flashback sans un déclencheur clair qui établisse la pertinence de cet événement du passé par rapport au présent de l'histoire.
• 🎭 Ne donnez pas de flashbacks qui n'affectent pas l'histoire actuelle; ils doivent apporter un changement de perspective ou une compréhension nouvelle.
• 📖 Ne utilisez pas un flashback pour déverser des informations sur le monde de l'histoire qui n'affectent pas directement le protagoniste.
• 🤔 Évitez de répondre aux questions que le lecteur n'a pas encore posées; cela peut tuer la suspension.
• ✍️ Utilisez des flashbacks pour répondre aux questions et récompenser la curiosité du lecteur, en respectant un ratio de curiosité-récompense de 2 à 1.
• 🔑 Chaque flashback doit avoir un déclencheur évident, même s'il est petit, pour le rendre pertinent et cohérent avec l'histoire actuelle.
• 🌟 Faites en sorte que chaque flashback change la perception de l'histoire et des personnages une fois que nous en sortons.
• 🧩 Utilisez les flashbacks pour révéler progressivement des informations, laissant un sillage de récompenses pour la curiosité du lecteur.
• 📆 Un entraînement en direct est prévu pour approfondir la technique des flashbacks, abordant différents styles et méthodes avec des exemples concrets.
• 📖 'The Other World', un prochain livre de l'intervieweur, contient des flashbacks bien intégrés qui apportent de la profondeur à l'histoire et aux personnages.

Q & A

Quels sont les principaux sujets abordés dans cet épisode de 'Writer's Life Wednesdays'?

Cet épisode se concentre sur les flashbacks dans l'écriture, expliquant comment les utiliser correctement pour enrichir l'histoire et les personnages.

Pourquoi les flashbacks peuvent-ils être difficiles à maîtriser dans l'écriture?

Les flashbacks peuvent être difficiles car ils nécessitent de bien gérer la transition du récit actuel vers le passé et de présenter des informations pertinentes qui influencent le présent de l'histoire.

Quels sont les 'don'ts' ou les erreurs courantes à éviter lors de l'écriture de flashbacks, selon le script?

Les 'don'ts' incluent d'entrer dans un flashback sans un déclencheur clair, de donner un flashback sans impact sur l'histoire présente, d'utiliser un flashback pour déverser de l'information sans lien direct avec le protagoniste, et de répondre à des questions que le lecteur n'a pas encore posées.

Quel est le risque de ne pas avoir de déclencheur clair dans un flashback?

Sans un déclencheur clair, le lecteur peut se sentir désorienté et ne pas comprendre l'importance ou la pertinence du flashback par rapport à l'histoire actuelle.

Pourquoi est-il important que les flashbacks aient un impact sur l'histoire présente?

Un flashback doit changer la perception du lecteur sur l'histoire et les personnages après avoir été revu, renforçant ainsi l'intrigue et la compréhension du présent de l'histoire.

Quelle est la différence entre un flashback et une exposition dans l'écriture?

Un flashback est un passage qui transporte le lecteur dans le passé pour révéler des informations, tandis qu'une exposition donne des détails sur le monde ou les personnages sans nécessairement lier ces informations à l'expérience actuelle du protagoniste.

Quels sont les 'do's' ou les bonnes pratiques pour écrire des flashbacks efficaces, d'après le script?

Les 'do's' comprennent de donner un déclencheur clair à chaque flashback, de faire en sorte que chaque flashback change la perception de l'histoire à venir, et d'utiliser les flashbacks pour répondre aux questions et récompenser la curiosité du lecteur.

Quelle est la 'magic ratio' mentionnée pour équilibrer la curiosité et la récompense dans un récit?

La 'magic ratio' est de deux à un, ce qui signifie avoir le double de questions par rapport aux réponses, tout en donnant encore des réponses pour maintenir l'intérêt et la satisfaction du lecteur.

Quel est l'avantage d'utiliser des flashbacks pour révéler progressivement des informations au lecteur?

Cela permet de maintenir l'intérêt du lecteur en offrant des récompenses régulières et en créant un sentiment d'apprentissage et de découverte tout au long de l'histoire.

Pourquoi est-il recommandé d'éviter de répondre à des questions que le lecteur n'a pas encore posées?

Répondre à des questions non posées peut tuer la suspension et réduire la curiosité du lecteur, risquant de les rendre frustrés et de les éloigner de l'histoire.

Quel est l'aspect clé des flashbacks pour les rendre pertinents et émotionnels?

Le fait que les flashbacks aient un impact sur la compréhension et les sentiments du lecteur envers les personnages et l'intrigue, et non simplement pour fournir des informations historiques.

Quel est le prochain livre de l'intervieweur et quand est-il prévu pour sortir?

Le prochain livre de l'intervieweur s'intitule 'The Other World' et est prévu pour sortir le 19 septembre.

Outlines

00:00

😀 Les flashbacks dans l'écriture

Le script introduit le sujet des flashbacks dans l'écriture, expliquant leur importance pour approfondir la compréhension des personnages et pour susciter l'intérêt du lecteur. Il met en garde contre les erreurs courantes, comme l'absence d'un déclencheur clair ou l'impact nul sur l'intrigue actuelle, et annonce une formation en direct pour approfondir cette technique d'écriture.

05:02

🚫 Les 'don'ts' des flashbacks

Ce paragraphe détaille les erreurs à éviter lors de l'utilisation des flashbacks, notamment l'absence de déclencheur, l'impact nul sur l'histoire présente, l'utilisation de flashbacks pour faire un info-dump sur le monde fictif, et la réponse prématurée à des questions que le lecteur n'a pas encore posées. Il insiste sur l'importance de la pertinence et de l'impact sur l'histoire actuelle.

10:02

📚 Les 'do's' des flashbacks et la formation en direct

Le script présente les bonnes pratiques pour écrire des flashbacks, comme donner un déclencheur clair à chaque flashback et assurer qu'ils changent la perception de l'histoire après leur retour à la présent. Il promeut également une formation en direct pour explorer différentes styles de flashbacks et comment les utiliser efficacement dans une histoire, avec des exemples tirés de films et de livres.

15:03

📅 Invitation à la formation et conclusion

Le dernier paragraphe invite les téléspectateurs à une formation en direct sur les flashbacks prévue pour le 3 septembre à 13h, heure de l'Est. Il mentionne également que les participants auront accès à une archive de formations précédentes et encourage les téléspectateurs à s'inscrire, promettant un aperçu approfondi des techniques d'écriture de flashbacks.

Keywords

💡rétroactivité

La rétroactivité est un outil narratif utilisé pour explorer le passé des personnages. Dans le script, cela est abordé comme un élément clé pour approfondir la compréhension des personnages et renforcer l'intérêt pour l'histoire. L'auteur insiste sur l'importance d'un déclencheur clair pour chaque rétroactivité, comme lorsqu'un événement du présent pousse un personnage à se souvenir du passé.

💡déclencheur

Un déclencheur est un événement ou une action qui suscite une rétroactivité. Il est essentiel pour que le lecteur comprenne immédiatement la pertinence de la rétroactivité. Dans le script, l'auteur souligne que le déclencheur doit être immédiatement compréhensible et pertinent pour le lecteur, même si sa signification peut s'épanouir plus tard.

💡impact

L'impact fait référ à la manière dont une rétroactivité influence la compréhension du présent et de l'histoire globale. Le script met en évidence que chaque rétroactivité doit avoir un effet sur l'histoire actuelle, en changeant la perception du lecteur des personnages et de l'intrigue.

💡curiosité

La curiosité est un mécanisme psychologique essentiel pour maintenir l'intérêt du lecteur. Le script utilise la curiosité pour encourager le lecteur à poser des questions et à poursuivre la lecture pour en obtenir des réponses. L'auteur mentionne que répondre aux questions du lecteur de manière appropriée est un moyen de stimuler leur curiosité et de les récompenser.

💡monologue

Un monologue est une longue tirade ou discours d'un personnage. Dans le script, l'auteur conseille d'éviter les monologues prolongés sur l'histoire du monde, car ils peuvent être ennuyeux et ne pas avoir d'impact direct sur le protagoniste, ce qui nuit à l'engagement du lecteur.

💡exposition

L'exposition est la manière dont les informations sur le monde et les personnages sont présentées dans l'histoire. Le script recommande d'utiliser l'action pour révéler ces informations, plutôt que de les dévoiler par des monologues ou des rétractivités infodump.

💡ratio de récompense de la curiosité

Ce terme fait référence à la balance entre la création de curiosité et la récompense par des réponses dans une histoire. Le script mentionne un ratio idéal de deux à un, où il y a deux fois plus de questions que de réponses, mais où les réponses sont suffisamment fréquentes pour maintenir l'intérêt du lecteur.

💡puzzle

Le puzzle est une métaphore utilisée pour décrire l'intrigue d'une histoire, où les éléments sont progressivement révélés au lecteur, qui les assemble pour comprendre l'ensemble. Dans le script, l'auteur compare la découverte des réponses dans les rétractivités à la recherche de morceaux de puzzle.

💡dopamine

La dopamine est une neurotransmetteur associée à la récompense et au plaisir. Le script explique que répondre aux questions du lecteur et leur offrir des récompenses stimule la libération de dopamine, ce qui renforce leur engagement avec l'histoire.

💡patreon

Patreon est une plateforme où les créateurs peuvent recevoir un soutien financier de la part de leurs fans. Dans le script, l'auteur mentionne Patreon comme un moyen pour les abonnés de se donner accès à des formations en direct et à une archive de formations précédentes sur l'écriture et l'édition.

💡live training

Un live training est une session d'apprentissage en direct, souvent organisée par un expert dans un domaine. Dans le script, l'auteur annonce un live training pour approfondir le sujet des rétractivités et offrir des exemples concrets et des conseils pratiques pour écrire des rétractivités efficaces.

Highlights

Flashbacks can deepen understanding of characters and add emotional depth to stories, but must be carefully executed to avoid disorienting readers.

Backstory is crucial as it shapes characters, but revealing it improperly can bore readers and lose their interest.

Common mistakes in writing flashbacks include lack of a clear trigger, no impact on the present story, and info dumping.

A clear trigger is essential for a flashback to make immediate sense to the reader and maintain relevancy.

Flashbacks should have a direct impact on the present story and change the reader's perspective of current events.

Avoid using flashbacks for world-building exposition that doesn't directly affect the protagonist.

Exposition through action is recommended, where the world is revealed as the protagonist interacts with it.

Do not use flashbacks to answer questions that the reader has not yet asked, to maintain suspense.

A balance must be struck between revealing enough backstory to make readers care and leaving enough mystery to keep them curious.

The 'Curiosity to Reward Ratio' suggests maintaining a balance of twice as many questions as answers to keep readers engaged.

Flashbacks should be used to reward reader curiosity by providing answers piece by piece.

A special live training is offered to delve deeper into the topic of flashbacks and backstory.

The live training will cover various flashback styles and how to make them work effectively in stories.

Examples from movies, books, and the author's own writing will be provided to illustrate the discussed methods.

Joining the live training also grants access to an archive of previous live trainings on writing and publishing.

The author's new book, 'The Other World', utilizes flashbacks to enrich the narrative and will be released soon.

Pre-orders for 'The Other World' are available, and the author invites readers to join the community for more writing insights.

Transcripts

what's up my friend Abby here and

welcome back to another episode of

writer's life Wednesdays where we come

together to help you make your story

matter and make your author dreams come

true flashbacks are one of those aspects

of writing that can be tricky to master

a well-timed well-written flashback can

deepen our understanding of the

characters and help us to care so much

more about the story but flashbacks are

also easy to mess up backstory is the

foundation of your characters right it's

what has happened in the past that

shaped the person they are today however

if you go about revealing this backstory

the wrong way you're in danger of boring

your reader and losing their interest

that's why in this video I'm going to be

sharing the do's and don'ts of writing

flashbacks common mistakes that I see

many writers make and how to avoid these

pit Falls so that you can make every

single flashback in your story

compelling and emotional and meaningful

why does your story matter good question

what if I told you that there's a

science behind every great story

I don't just teach you how to write I

teach you how to change the world with

your story and make your author dreams

come true

okay first things first we're going to

explore the don'ts and then we're going

to look at the do's so first number one

don't go into a flashback without a

clear trigger a flashback means hitting

pause on the current story to go into

the past and show us something that's

going to matter to us the thing about

the human brain is that our subconscious

mind is constantly searching for

relevancy and meaning in what we're

looking at so if your reader can't

immediately see the reason why we're

going into this flashback at this

specific moment they're going to be

disoriented I see so many writers make

this mistake they'll be like oh don't

worry it's going to all make sense later

no no no no no

it has to make sense now it can take on

deeper meaning and greater significance

later but it has to make sense to my

brain right now I have to understand why

I'm looking at what I'm looking at I

have to see the relevancy even if I

don't see the significance until later

number two don't give the reader a

flashback that has no impact on the

present story you know what's even worse

than going into a flashback that has no

obvious Trigger or reason for being

there

coming out of a flashback that has

absolutely no impact on the story and

does not change the way we see things in

the present day at all we're just left

reeling and disoriented kind of like

waking up from a dream that made zero

sense and you're like what was that did

that mean anything to me I I don't think

so like I said before relevancy is so

vital when it comes to flashbacks we

want to keep the dopamine firing in your

reader's brain keep them curious keep

them asking questions and then keep

answering those questions so we are

triggering that Curiosity reward system

in your reader's brain and answering the

questions that they're silently asking

themselves maybe those questions are

something like what happened in the past

to make this character believe their lie

what tragedies or struggles have they

faced to make them so in certain

negative character trait here what

secrets of their past are they keeping

hidden in the present day number three

don't use a flashback to info dump your

world building if you are going to use a

flashback to tell us long ago in this

world there were this group of people

who fought with that group of people and

this magic did this and that magic did

that and then this government was

established and then this Army fought

with that Army and nobody cares if this

information is not directly impacting

the protagonist then we don't know why

it matters to us see the protagonist is

the character We Care the most about so

we end up measuring the importance of

everything by the protagonist as in how

important is it to the protagonist

because that's how important it is to me

that's why I always always encourage

writers to use Exposition through action

as in we learn about the world as the

protagonist moves through and interacts

with the world what is happening to them

right now we can see why it matters to

them and we can see why it matters to us

by extension so please save your world

building for the present moment and try

to avoid really lengthy monologues about

the history of things as we get deeper

into the story it might become vital for

the protagonist to learn more about the

history of their world but let us see

that through their eyes that way we are

immersed in their perspective and we're

making these discoveries along with them

and not just being force-fed a bunch of

information that we're just going to

skim through and probably forget number

four don't use a flashback to answer

questions we haven't asked answering

questions before your reader asks them

is a Surefire way to kill suspense you

want to keep your reader curious

engaging with the story and finding

those puzzle pieces and putting them

together solving the mystery of the plot

you want them to ask questions now this

is not to say that you shouldn't lead

with backstory to set up where your

character's internal conflict came from

you know me I'm a huge advocate for

opening with backstory opening with a

flashback to your character's past where

maybe their misbelief took root or their

fatal flaw took root and they started to

believe this lie that then

springboards into all their internal

conflict in the present day opening with

a backstory scene like this can be a

really powerful way to hook readers and

pull them into your story so it's a

balance it's a balance between showing

us enough to make us care about this

character and empathize with them and

still giving us room to ask questions so

if you're struggling to find this

balance here's my rule of thumb give me

enough to care about the characters but

leave out enough to keep me curious

about them okay now before we dive into

the do's of writing flashbacks I want to

quickly interrupt myself here to tell

you guys that I'm going to be hosting a

special live training this weekend

diving even deeper into the topic of

flashbacks and backstory so in this

video right now I'm giving you some

quick tips ways that you can avoid some

common mistakes that writers make with

flashbacks and make your flashbacks more

engaging and powerful and memorable but

in this live training we're going to

take it one step further we're going to

go even deeper into this and look at

actual styles of flashbacks and how to

make them work for your story step by

step

with examples so in this training we're

going to cover it all I'm going to show

you how to write parallel flashbacks

mirroring something in the past with

something happening in the present

bite-sized flashbacks and how to weave

them seamlessly into your narrative

dual timeline flashbacks for when you

want to include lots of backstory in

your book without distracting from the

present story

flashbacks from mysterious narrators and

how to do this without confusing your

reader we're also going to explore how

to Leverage The Curiosity reward magic

ratio to keep your reader addicted to

learning about your character's past

and I'm going to give you guys tons of

story examples to help you visualize

what these methods look like in writing

so we're going to look at movie examples

book examples I'm also going to share a

little bit of my own writing to show you

some examples of how these different

flashbacks can weave seamlessly into

your story and make your story and your

characters that much more layered and

Vivid and relatable so if you want to

take your flashbacks to the next level I

invite you to join this live training

it's going to be amazing it's happening

Sunday September 3rd at 1 pm Eastern

Standard Time click the link below this

video to save your spot and if you can't

make it to the live stream don't worry

you will still have access to watch the

replay as many times as you want and

remember when you join my patreon at the

live training pass level to get access

to watch this event you also get access

to all my previous live training so

that's an entire Archive of live

trainings diving deep into topics on

writing and Publishing I think you'll

love it I think you'll find a lot of

value in that Vault Archive of live

trainings and I think you're going to

love the live training I'm doing this

weekend on flashbacks so space is

limited save your spot links below this

video okay let's get back into our do's

and don'ts of writing powerful

flashbacks let's look at the things you

should do when writing flashbacks number

one do give every flashback a clear

trigger like I said at the beginning of

this video our brain is constantly

searching for relevancy why does this

matter why am I looking at this right

now what trigger has led me here and

remember the trigger doesn't have to be

something huge it doesn't have to be a

big explosive event it could be

something very small that triggers your

character your point of view character

to have a memory about something that

happened in their past sometimes what I

do is I write all my characters

backstory in a separate document and I

save it on the side and then I just go

ahead and write the story the present

day story and then I go through and look

for areas where I can naturally weave in

these triggers and weave in these

flashbacks in a way that feels seamless

so that's another thing you can do is

write all the backstory ahead of time

separately and then later search for

places where you can add these triggers

and add these flashbacks do make every

flashback change the way we see the

story going forward when we step out of

the flashback we should find ourselves

looking at the present day story and the

characters in a new light even if it's

just a slight shift what makes a

flashback powerful is how it affects the

way we see the current day story it's

not important so much because it

happened once but because it's happening

still the effects of this moment in your

character's past are like ripples on a

lake they're continuing to have an

effect on your character's life and an

effect on how we see the story

long after the thing actually happened

so when you come out of the flashback

ask yourself does this change the way my

reader sees the protagonist does it shed

light on something we've been curious

about this whole time does it help us

see where the character's present

internal conflicts came from do use

flashbacks to answer questions and

reward our curiosity in my studies as a

story scientist I've found that there

seems to be like this magic ratio of

curiosity and reward when it comes to

answering your readers questions this is

especially true of stories that have

like some sort of mystery element to

them or an unreliable narrator or

protagonist that maybe is morally gray

and maybe their motivations aren't

entirely clear I've found that the

Curiosity to reward ratio that seems to

work the best is two to one so basically

we have twice as many questions as we we

have answers but we're still getting

answers to our questions we are still

being continuously rewarded with little

bits and pieces of information

that is making that dopamine fire in our

brain see if you never reward your

reader with the answers and you're just

building up and up and up to this big

reveal at the end your reader might not

even make it to the end because they

might give up they might become so

frustrated because they're not getting

any rewards they're not getting any

satisfaction they're not getting any

answers that

you lose them so flashbacks can be a

wonderful way to sprinkle in those

answers piece by piece and sort of leave

this cookie trail of rewards for our

curiosity okay it's not fully satisfying

we want to get to the next one we want

to always find another answer because we

have twice as many questions as we have

answers but we're still getting that

reward of the answers we're slowly

finding all these little pieces of the

puzzle and as we put them together

that's where the real satisfaction comes

from that's where that dopamine hit

comes from is that we're starting to see

the bigger picture as we put together

the pieces of the puzzle so remember

make your reader care about the

character by revealing enough of their

internal conflict but keep them asking

questions keep them curious leave enough

of a mystery that your reader wants to

turn the next page they want to stay up

just a few more minutes reading because

they need to know the answer okay boom

there you have it the do's and don'ts of

writing flashbacks if you want to take

your flashbacks to the next level and

bring your characters backstory to life

in a powerful and meaningful way then

you don't want to miss my live training

happening this Sunday we're going to

dive deep into writing flashbacks and

all the different methods and styles

that you can use and what this looks

like in action in real stories so that

you can then go forth and write some

amazing powerful flashbacks for your

book that live training is happening on

September 3rd at 1 pm Eastern Standard

Time I hope to see you over there and

remember when you unlock this training

you also unlock the entire Archive of my

previous live trainings and I hope to

see you there because you're going to

love it so click the link below this

video to save your spot and I can't wait

to dive even deeper into the topic of

flashback with you comment below this

video and tell me what are some of your

favorite examples of flashbacks in books

one of my favorite examples is my new

book the other world which is coming out

September 19th I'm so excited to share

this book with you guys there are lots

of flashbacks in this book not as many

as 100 days of sunlight which is my

previous book but there are some really

lovely flashbacks in this story and I so

enjoyed writing it and I cannot wait to

share it with you guys you can actually

pre-order this book right now by

clicking the links below this video as

well if you want to check it out smash

that like button if you liked this video

and be sure to subscribe to this channel

if you haven't already because I post

writing videos every Wednesday and I

would love to have you here in the

community until next week my friend rock

on

[Music]

thank you