The Problem With Flash Forwards as an Opening Scene

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

If you have to flash forward to hook a reader, you’re not starting in the right place.

I admit, flash forwards are a big pet peeve of mine. I find them awkward and pointless, because they’re trying to get me interested in “an exciting part” of the story without doing any work to actually create that emotional connection. Obviously, taste vary, but for me, they’re a trick, a bait and switch, and they fail more times than work.

For those unfamiliar with the term, a flash forward is a device that starts with a scene from later in the story, then jumps back in time to show how the characters ended up in that situation. On TV shows, it’s the “twenty-four hours earlier” text that shows up after the opening scene where we see the hero in dire straits.
 
In novels, it’s the “Here’s an exciting scene to grab your attention, and now I’ll jump back to the real beginning and show you how we got there” device.

Readers need time to care about the characters before you throw them into trouble.

Which is why flash forwards don’t work very well.

I’ve only seen a flash forward done well once—in the movie, Deadpool. But I think it works there because it’s used more as a framing device than an actual flash forward. Plus, Deadpool’s narration of the scene is full of voice and character, which draws you in and sets up who he is even if you don’t know what’s going on yet. It also establishes him as someone who breaks the fourth wall (speaking directly to the viewer), which is a major part of his character.

One quick note…I’m not referring to retrospective novels that say, “Here’s a story from my past,” such as Stephen King’s Stand By Me. Retrospective novels typically start in the present and then jump into the past and use the jump back as a framing device, and that’s fine. It’s an entirely different technique.

(Here’s more with Circle Your Writing with Bookends)

The flash forward scene is problematic for several reasons:

1. It’s not as exciting as you think it is.

By the time the flash forward scene actually happens in the novel, readers have had chapters and chapters to get to know the characters and care about their story. The scene matters to them, because of all that emotional investment they’ve put into it.

But when you open with that same scene, readers have no idea who those characters are or what’s going on, so they don’t have the same emotional connection that the writer does, and thus the scene typically falls flat. The elements that make the scene work in act three don’t exist if it’s an opening scene. Readers haven’t had time to connect and care.

Imagine turning on the TV at a random scene in a movie you’ve never seen before. Do you care what’s going on? It might have car chases or people in trouble or something dramatic happening, but there’s no context for what's happening and no emotional investment in the characters or the situation. In most flash forwards, it’s just action for the sake of action, because action is “exciting” and will hook readers. But that’s not what actually hooks readers.

(Here’s more with Why "Start With the Action" Messes Up So Many Writers)

2. It gives away part of the story.

A flash forward scene is usually from a big moment later in the book (that’s why you moved it forward). It often contains an important reveal or clue, and seeing it first robs the reader from discovering that “something” and anticipating it happening.

For example, if you see on page one that the protagonist winds up trapped in a submarine about to explode, it’s no surprise when that happens later. Even worse, readers might spend time wondering when that scene will occur, which steals focus from the rest of the novel.

Clearly, the protagonist survived to get to that point, so nothing that happens until then puts the protagonist in actual danger. The flash forward scene signals “this is when the story really starts and the rest is just setup.” This can make the novel feel slow, even when it’s not.

(Here’s more with Why Your Novel Isn’t Hooking Your Reader)

3. It tricks the reader.

Most times, a flash forward gets added because you’re not sure your opening scene is strong enough to hook readers. You worry you need something more exciting to grab them and make them want to read the novel. Your instincts are on target, but instead of making your opening scene stronger, you tack on the flash forward.

Which means you show readers a scene they have no connection to, then yank them out of the story’s timeline and make them read through a scene you know isn’t strong enough to grab them, and then expect them to become invested in the story when you haven’t really given then any reason to care.

Or, if you happen to get lucky and the flash forward scene actually does grab a reader’s interest, then you yank them out of the story and make them start over with a less interesting scene, and risk losing them anyway.

More times than not, the reader stops reading at this point, confused, disconnected from the tale, and already bored.

(Here’s more with 4 Signs You Might Be Confusing, Not Intriguing, in Your Opening Scene)

Flash forwards sound like a great idea, but be wary when one tempts you in the moonlight.

 
Odds are that “should I flash forward?” question is your writer’s instinct telling you that something is lacking in the opening scene and nudging you to fix it. Trust yourself, but take a step back and think about ways to strengthen or change that opening scene and improve the novel as a whole. A scene that doesn’t work, doesn’t work, and that won’t change because you put something exciting before it.

EXERCISE FOR YOU: Take five minutes and examine your opening scene. Is it strong enough to hook your reader all on its own?

How do you feel about flash forwards? Have you ever read/seen any that worked? What about ones that didn’t work? 

*Originally published July 2015. Last updated September 2023.

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Janice Hardy is the award-winning author of the teen fantasy trilogy The Healing Wars, including The Shifter, Blue Fire, and Darkfall from Balzer+Bray/Harper Collins. The Shifter, was chosen for the 2014 list of "Ten Books All Young Georgians Should Read" from the Georgia Center for the Book.

She also writes the Grace Harper urban fantasy series for adults under the name, J.T. Hardy.

When she's not writing novels, she's teaching other writers how to improve their craft. She's the founder of Fiction University and has written multiple books on writing.

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