Alternatives to flashbacks?

[itisastarrynight]

So, in my current project, the MC is highly influenced, and misses, his deceased sister, Janet.
(On a side note: is it natural to do this if hes already accepted it?)
So naturally I want to show you, the reader what things where like back then, their relationships, it is explaining current motives– etc.
My sisters and I dislike flashbacks as it feels cheaty to us. So naturally I wanna avoid them. But I really want to show the reader of things that happened years ago. Any tips?

I could start the story early and then go back to present time, but honestly it might ruin the feel of the first scene when I introduce Arlo? (or maybe not, honestly idk Im open to suggestions really)
Or is there a certain way to fade into a flashback that feels more natural? Like if hes asleep, or a triggered memory.. 

So what can I do to avoid flashbacks? If I can’t, is there a way to present them in a way that is natural or less cheaty, and especially less info dumping?
plus it isnt like he would just TELL these things to someone.. could he(?)
Thanks.

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[Anonymous]

@itsastarrynight I think it’s totally natural to still miss his sister even after he’s accepted her death. As far as the flashbacks go, the two things that come to my mind are if he’s a limited third/first person narrator, you could have him remember things about his sister throughout the story. Like if he’s at a restaurant, he could see his sister’s favorite dish on the menu and remember an event in his life involving her and the dish while disclosing info important to the plot.

If you end up sticking with flashbacks, you could make them murkier and less detailed than usual to avoid letting too much info slip.

Sorry this post was so long. Hope it helps though!

[LivGiordano]

@atisastarrynight I personally love flashbacks, and I think they can be great if done well. I’m thinking of a certain person who is really good at doing this, but isn’t on KP, unfortunately. 🙁

But yes, have something trigger a memory. Keep it short. You definitely don’t have to info dump. Just let your character remember something, but not all the details of it.

www.livforhim.wordpress.com

[MNValentine]

I’ve had this same problem before. There are a couple ways to handle it. You can just do flashbacks, which can definitely work if you do them well. But if you don’t like flashbacks, there are a couple other ways. @waterlily mentioned one way – having memories triggered by his surroundings, and just remembering her in his thoughts. You mentioned the other way: he can talk about her sometimes to someone he’s close with. A combination of both and maybe even dream flashbacks, if you want to do that too, might be a good way to shape a good picture of their relationship. And he would definitely miss her and she would have even more impact on him because she is dead.

Hopefully that was somewhat helpful 🙂

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[itisastarrynight]

@waterlily Showing them in a “murkier” way might definitely help! I didn’t even think about changing the feel of it by taking advantage of the visual medium I’ll be using.

@livgiordano I think it is a good idea to have them shorter.. It would feel more natural 🙂 Love to hear your opinions on it from someone who enjoys it. Also glad that most people aren’t against it so I could maybe get away with it after all..

@mnvalentine Yes I think it is going to work out alright, all things you mentioned considered. Especially if it is only a few scenes I want to mention to the reader 🙂

Thanks for the suggestions!

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[itisastarrynight]

I just realized another thing. I don’t like when flashbacks are used as plot devices to dump the reader info. But I enjoy seeing the flashback if I was already told the information. Sure, it seems like a waste of time to show if if ya already know it, but I think it can add a little bit of depth that way. Because the character has a flashback because hes thinking about it. So why not just do it to show the character is thinking about it even though you already know? 
Then again, not sure if that does a lot for me as I am unsure how to pass info to the reader without use of a flashback. But just a thought.

I can't believe it's not butter!

[Daeus]

@itisastarrynight I think one big thing that makes flashbacks seem cheesy is when the chapter before the flashback ends with something like, “he remembered the time thirteen years ago when blakedy blank blank…” If you can avoid that, it should really help.

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[itisastarrynight]

@daeus Yes I agree. thanks!

I can't believe it's not butter!

[Jenna Terese]

@itisastarrynight Well, of course you don’t wanna info dump, but try to weave in parts throughout the story. Maybe just hint at what happened to your MC’s past that’s making him hurt.

I think it’s realistic to be affected like this after someone close to you has died. You never forget them. They visit your thoughts still every so often. Accepting it might start you on the journey to healing, but you still feel the hurt just as sharply.

Hope this helped!

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[itisastarrynight]

@jenwriter17 yeah! 😀

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