Flash Forwards as a Hook

[Steerpike]

If you're going to make a reader feel something in fiction, doesn't that require manipulation? The reader has signed up for it.

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

If you're going to make a reader feel something in fiction, doesn't that require manipulation? The reader has signed up for it.

Yes, exactly. As long as it doesn't feel like dishonesty in writing, manipulation is what it all comes down to. When you read fiction, you're willingly going down the rabbit hole.

 

[Jabrosky]

I have tried this out before myself. I'll start with a scene that I feel sets the whole story's tone, and then afterward have the MC recount the events leading up to that scene. After that recounting, the story continues from where the first "hook" scene left off. Ideally the recounting would be fairly brief, maybe ending at the story's inciting incident, and the opening flash-forward would take place shortly after that point.

I believe this technique can come in handy if the story's setup doesn't match the general tone you're aiming for the whole book. For me, a good hook sets the mood and gives readers an idea of what to expect.

 

[Addison]

I've never read flash forwards in a book. I've read scenes where characters get a premonition but I don't think that's what you're looking for.

But I have SEEN effective flash forwards. This is done a few times in the TV show Leverage. I think the flash forward's effectiveness depends on what is in the flash forward. The episodes "Grave Danger Job" and "The Frame Up Job" Start with a flash forward...although it could be said that a flash forward is the present and the bulk of the story is a flash back. Anyway the reason these two pull off the flash forward is because of what is in the first scene, the flash forward.

In "The Grave Danger Job" we open with the character Hardison waking up with only the light of the ringing cell phone and discovers he's buried alive in a coffin.

In "The Frame Up Job" we see Nate and Sophie running and ducking as an unseen pursuer shoots after them. They're hiding behind a crate next to a pool and are arguing as shots continue to ring. These scenes work because they involve characters we've grown to know and care about and the have the "Holy crap what's going on!?" factor. So if your story is the first you've written then you might not get them to connect to characters, unless they show a deep connection, then go for a mystery/suspense/action/holy crap factor.

There were other episodes, "The Second David Job" and "The San Lorenzo Job", where a Flash forward is used. The reason these works, and weren't listed earlier, is because these two were the finales of long story arcs.

"The Second David Job" opens with the character Nate staring calmly at a furious man who's pointing a gun at his head while a terrified ex-wife and several others watch. In the previous episode the audience learns that the person we see with the gun was both Nate's ex-boss and was the person who refused to sign a medical insurance policy which would have saved his late son. So when "The Second David Job" airs we're already up to date to the characters so we know who wants to kill who, but we're excited because it should be a pissed off Nate aiming a gun at a calm jerk-hole CEO.

"The San Lorenzo Job" is similar, only this story arc took up the entire season. By now we've come to hate the criminal the team is trying to take down, we've followed every leap forward, punch back all the way to the team getting ready to end it. This episode opens with an unknown man rushing off screen in a fury and Nate stares wide eyed as the man grabs him and throws him onto a table, then proceeds to punch him. The criminal, who watched the assault with a smirk, approaches and asks if Nate really thought he stood a chance. Nate says "Honestly? No, we didn't stand a chance in hell." This gets audeince attention because a.) Nate got beat up and Elliot, the muscle, was no where in sight...no one else was. b.) Nate, the mastermind always with a plan, admits defeat! What happened?!

So if you do use a flash forward, or make the bulk of the story a flash back (depends how you look at it) you're in for a tougher battle as the first scene needs to be engaging enough for them to keep reading but then you have to do it again when the flash forward ends and you start explaining how it all really started.

That's my opinion anyway. Good luck, happy writing!

 

[Waz]

I'm heavily considering a flash forward for my WIP. There are two story narratives progressing simultaneously. The first is protagonist's pursuit of a goal, and the second is the buildup of a large war happening all around him. The reader only sees snippets of the buildup through most of the story (book 1 of a series), and each glimpse is limited to a small number of POV characters. The result is smaller narrative eventually getting swallowed up by a much larger one.

The advantage of the flash forward is that the reader, now having certain expectations, is better able to interpret the larger narrative coming together. The smaller narrative becomes a lens by which to watch the development of something greater. I'm hoping that it makes the novel feel more grounded.

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

So if you do use a flash forward, or make the bulk of the story a flash back (depends how you look at it) you're in for a tougher battle as the first scene needs to be engaging enough for them to keep reading but then you have to do it again when the flash forward ends and you start explaining how it all really started. That's my opinion anyway. Good luck, happy writing!

The concern on character connection is valid. As such, I thought keeping the flash forward intro very short, like 2 or 3 pages, might help.

I do think you can get readers to care quickly, if the scene and character are interesting. Maybe not for twenty pages, but for a lead-in of a few pages then into the story proper.

 

[Trick]

The concern on character connection is valid. As such, I thought keeping the flash forward intro very short, like 2 or 3 pages, might help.

I do think you can get readers to care quickly, if the scene and character are interesting. Maybe not for twenty pages, but for a lead-in of a few pages then into the story proper.

That's what I did and I think its brevity really helps. I can't say that I definitely won't change it but for now, it stays. If you've written it, why not post it in showcase?

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

The advantage of the flash forward is that the reader, now having certain expectations, is better able to interpret the larger narrative coming together. The smaller narrative becomes a lens by which to watch the development of something greater. I'm hoping that it makes the novel feel more grounded.

That's kind of what I'm going for too. Place a question in the reader's mind as soon as they switch to the first chapter in the story proper about how the MC got to that point in the flash forward. Then, their expectation is flipped at the story's conclusion for a twist ending.

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

That's what I did and I think its brevity really helps. I can't say that I definitely won't change it but for now, it stays. If you've written it, why not post it in showcase?

I don't really use the Showcase because I have a bunch of writer friends who trade work (several Scribes too) and a live crit group that meets monthly.

I find the in-depth reviews, and give-and-take with people who've learned my vision and style goals more helpful.

Plus, if the forward doesn't work, I cut it, beginning instead with chapter one, as normal. It would be wasting two to three pages...big deal, I've cut over a hundred pages before.

 

[Trick]

I don't really use the Showcase because I have a bunch of writer friends who trade work (several Scribes too) and a live crit group that meets monthly.

I find the in-depth reviews, and give-and-take with people who've learned my vision and style goals more helpful.

Plus, if the forward doesn't work, I cut it, beginning instead with chapter one, as normal. It would be wasting two to three pages...big deal, I've cut over a hundred pages before.

Fair enough. I wish I could find a group like that locally. I've met with a group of older boys who are just breaking into writing and even though it's enjoyable, I am not learning much, taking more of a reluctant mentor role. I need to get in a group with people who know more than me, which a lot of writers do unless their not yet twenty years old.

 

[Incanus]

The best use of this technique I can think of off-hand is from the Denzel Washington movie, Fallen. The first and last scene are identical, its just that the meaning has changed as a result of the events of the story. Fiendishly clever, hooky, and expertly pulled off (In my opinion, of course). It won't work for every story, though, as it is so closely tied to the content. In any case, it's a really cool movie, well worth seeing.

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

The best use of this technique I can think of off-hand is from the Denzel Washington movie, Fallen. The first and last scene are identical, its just that the meaning has changed as a result of the events of the story. Fiendishly clever, hooky, and expertly pulled off (In my opinion, of course). It won't work for every story, though, as it is so closely tied to the content. In any case, it's a really cool movie, well worth seeing.

Yes, that's a great example of the effect I'm going for in this story. It's not the same, of course, but that feeling Fallen's twist ending imparted to the viewer is what I'm hoping to invoke in the reader...an "aha! moment" ending which makes sense, is unavoidable, yet unexpected.