"Memory Hits/Visions" in fiction

[Jerry]

I guess they are written like mini flashbacks, but how best to approach/write/introduce small 'memory hits' or 'visions' a character may experience? This wouldn't be a full on flashback sequence, by small flashbacks, perhaps a few paragraphs or more, quick memory hits from the past, that would happen during a scene. I called them 'memory hits' from a screenplay term, where somebody recalls something or can see into the future or past. I'm trying to avoid words like 'suddenly, she saw a vision...' or things like that. Is there a novel, YA where this occurs that I can refer too or any advice on how to best write-approach it - as it may happen several times within the novel. Much appreciated!!

 

[Mad Swede]

OK, writing this as a veteran who suffers from flashbacks...

What I do when I write scenes like that is to first describe what triggers the flashback (e.g. he saw the gate arch loom up out of the darkness) and then how the character sees the memory (e.g. and suddenly he was back in the dungeon, the moans in the dark filling his ears...). In my view that's all you need to do.

 

[pmmg]

I think if I was doing this, I would want to trigger, and possibly have a recurring device to show that what followed was a flash back.

I am pretty sure if I was to include them in this way, it would be similar to what Mad Swede posted.

 

[BearBear]

OK, writing this as a veteran who suffers from flashbacks...

What I do when I write scenes like that is to first describe what triggers the flashback (e.g. he saw the gate arch loom up out of the darkness) and then how the character sees the memory (e.g. and suddenly he was back in the dungeon, the moans in the dark filling his ears...). In my view that's all you need to do.

The only thing I've experienced is panic attacks and there was no discernable trigger.

Have you had a panic attack and how would it differ?

 

[Finchbearer]

Are you talking about a ptsd type of flashback, or just something in the story that prompts a flashback to a time in the characters past to better tell the story?

When I’ve read books, especially the 1st person perspective, the character talking about memories from their past can have a powerful effect on the story and often it just starts without dramatisation in the next paragraph. 3rd person is similar but would need to be crafted slightly differently.

 

[Prince of Spires]

I would simply put them in Italics.

Especially if this happens a lot in the story, then the first few times you can start with "He saw X which dragged him back to Y. The walls closed in on him and..." This will teach the reader that blocks of italics mean flashback / vision. Then later you can simply have a trigger occur and you can launch straight into the italics.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

As someone who has PTSD among other things, I find tense changes can do a really good job of communicating that we aren't in Kansas anymore. Changing from past tense to present tense can give you not only a signal to the reader that things are about the change, but you can also play with the changes in the senses. Adrenaline like pennies on your tongue. Lactic acid burning across your shoulders. Your heart racing impossibly fast. Time dilation. Hands shaking uncontrollably. Depending on the form your character's PTSD takes, they can find themselves back in the trauma. Dissociation. Mind-numbing panic. It all depends on you, your character, and the needs of your story.