From the course: Writing: The Craft of Story
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Story check: Flashbacks, subplots, and foreshadowing
From the course: Writing: The Craft of Story
Story check: Flashbacks, subplots, and foreshadowing
- The writer's job is to weave in subplots, flashbacks and foreshadowing so the reader sees them for what they are, necessary information, rather than what they're not, deadly digressions. Here are questions to ask of your story to be sure you've done just that. First, does each subplot or flashback in some way affect the main storyline? What specific information does it give that the reader needs to know? It might be factual information. It might give us insight into the protagonist or both. But whatever it is, it must be relevant. Second, does the reader need to know the information at this very moment? Make sure the logic is on the page and not just in your head. When you leave the main storyline, you want the reader to follow you willingly, not kicking and screaming. Third, when you return to the main storyline, will your reader see things with new eyes from that moment on? You want readers to come back to the main storyline feeling…
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