Group items tagged

Argument: Flashbacks, if utilized efficiently, can be a revealing part of a story. Claim: Flashbacks have to have a proper transition in and out of the story. They connect with the story and give more exposure however cannot deter from the main story itself so much that events are overshadowed. Make sure flashbacks are motivated Evidence: "By all means use flashbacks, but for good reason: not because you want to use them, but because your story demands them. Ask: Does the flashback deepen our understanding of a character or a relationship? Does it provide needed background? In the end, it comes down to what a story needs."

Argument: While flashbacks are helpful, often times incorporating important background information in present time storyline plays off better and keeps the reader engaged. Claim: There is no such thing as too much back story but only with certain ways of revealing the information. Flashbacks tend to slow down the story and drag out. "Less is more," find ways to cut down words to paragraphs instead of pages when explaining. Evidence: "keep background information on a need-to-know basis. Figure out what readers really, truly need to know to understand a character and her motivations--and let the rest stay underwater."

Argument: Structure choices, such as narration and flashbacks, are the main components in Ninteen Minutes, and withour those components, the character deveopment and plot line would have suffered. Claims: Picoult uses her mulit-perspective narration in order to show how a tragedy can effect many different people. Also, Picoult uses flashback in order to develop the characters before and after the tragedy. In eliminating a protaganist, Picoult allows the reader to form their own opinion on the plot like and characters. Evidence: "Significant details from the past enhance the experience of learning about the present, and this also illustrates Picoult's use of selection of detail. " "Picoult uses these flashbacks to develop many of the characters from way before the event in question to show how they became who they were and point out what past events may have led to the disaster. " "Without the unconventional narration, flashbacks, and writing excerpts, many of the characters would be poorly developed and the story would be much less powerful"