![]() There’s no right choice, but it’s helpful to consider how using them will affect your story. So, what’s the benefit of telling your story solely in the present? Well, when you place action in the present, it adds urgency to the conflict and characters of your story. That’s because our brains think linearly - from point A to point B. We’re naturally wired to tell stories in flashbacks. Just think about how you might tell a fun story to a friend: “I was doing at in ” you may say. Notice anything about the structure of his storytelling? Vonnegut can’t resist using flashback narratives - and he’s far from the only one. The audio in this video is taken from a lecture Vonnegut gave at NYU. This next video brilliantly demonstrates Vonnegut’s approach to writing, told in his own words through flashbacks: soldier who is “unstuck in time.” Vonnegut brings us into the past of Billy’s time in the war, but he also takes us into the future, with the use of flashforwards. In the novel, we read about Billy Pilgrim, a former U.S. Many of Vonnegut’s works are structured around the use of flashbacks - and Slaughterhouse Five is one of the best. Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five is widely regarded as one of the great novels of the 20th century. ![]() Let’s take a look at a more contemporary example of structural flashbacks in literature. Now in The Odyssey, the present of the story within the linear timeline begins in the middle, which is called 'in media res.'Īs you can see, flashbacks can get a little complicated, especially when dealing with 2,800-year-old epics. This is just one of the different types of flashbacks. “'Cause tonight for the first time/ Just about half-past ten/ For the first time in history/ It's gonna start raining men/ It's raining men, Hallelujah.In many ways, The Odyssey established what we have come to know as structural flashbacks - a narrative structure that is built upon the retelling of stories that lead to the present. “I would fly to the moon and back/ if you'll be If you'll be my baby/ Got a ticket for a world where/ we belong/ So would you be my baby” - To the Moon and Back, Savage Garden “Now there's just no chance/ with you and me/ there'll never be/ don't it make you sad about it?/ Cry me a river/ Cry me a river” - Cry Me a River, Justin Timberlake “California girls/ We're unforgettable/ Daisy Dukes/ Bikinis on top/ Sun-kissed skin/ so hot/ We'll melt your popsicle” - California Gurls, Katy Perry Similar to a well-delivered speech, hyperbole can help paint a vivid picture or express a strong emotion in the lyrics of a song. "Please sit down because having produced nine million award shows, I know the producer's up there saying, 'Hurry, say thanks fast.'" - Daytime Emmy Award Acceptance Address, Dick Clark Only five made the team that year, and I was one of the five." - Pro Football Hall of Fame Induction Address, Larry Rayfield Wright Gil Brandt was signing everybody that could walk. “That year, 1967, the Dallas Cowboys had 137 rookies in training camp. "So first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself." - First Inaugural Address, Franklin Delano Roosevelt "I think this is the most extraordinary collection of human talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered at the White House - with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone." - White House dinner honoring Nobel Prize winners, President John F. ![]() A tiny bit of exaggeration may be enough to perk up the ears of your audience. When hyperbole is carefully placed into a speech, it can help you really punch your points. ![]()
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