The Gateway Method for Writing Flashbacks

 

The verb tenses in a flashback are like a doorway. 

 

A NOTE on the AWKWARDNESS of PAST PERFECT VERBS:

Using past perfect verbs for an entire flashback is grammatically correct, but it’s clunky. It creates distance, and it can feel awkward. The had–had–had verb construction—e.g. "had travelled, had arrived, had visited" wears on readers. By shifting to simple past verbs inside a flashback, you create a vivid and immediate scene rather than a distant recollection. This brings the flashback to life.

 

Think of past perfect as the doorframe. You can use it to step into the flashback and to step back out (optional). Once your readers are in the flashback scene, when you’re writing in the flashback itself, use the simple past.

 

Step 1: Shift to past perfect verbs to “enter” the flashback.

Use past perfect verbs (had + past participle) to "enter" flashbacks. For the first sentence or two of your flashback, use the past perfect verb tense (had + past participle) to signal to the reader that you’re moving into the deeper past—a time further in the past.

 

Step 2: Shift to simple past verbs inside the flashback.

Shift to simple past verbs for the "main event" in the flashback. Once the reader is firmly anchored in the flashback time period, shift back to the simple past tense for the duration of the scene.

 

Step 3 (Optional): Use past perfect verbs to "exit" the flashback. 

When returning to the main narrative, you can shift back to past perfect verbs to "exit" the flashback, by using a quick past perfect phrase or a clear transition to reorient the reader, then shift back to the simple past of your main story.

 

EXAMPLE 1:

If your main narrative is written in the simple past tense, use a past perfect verb to enter the flashback doorway. When you exit the flashback, you can return to the main narrative smoothly by continuing to write in the simple past tense. For example:

       (using simple past in the main narrative)

I sat in the sterile silence of the hospital waiting room, clutching a cold cup of coffee. I couldn't stop thinking about my father.

       (transition using past perfect to enter the flashback)

My mind drifted back to a summer day years before. He had taken me to Coney Island. The air had been thick with the smell of salt and frying oil.

       (using simple past in the flashback)

He bought me a hot dog and a root beer. We walked along the boardwalk, and he pointed at the roller coaster. "Someday you'll be brave enough for that," he said, squeezing my shoulder. I laughed, feeling utterly safe.

       (staying in the simple past to exit flashback & return to main narrative)

A door slammed shut down the hall, jolting me back to the present. The memory faded, but the feeling of his hand lingered on my shoulder.

 

EXAMPLE 2:

If your main narrative is written in the simple past tense, you can use past perfect verbs to enter the flashback doorway, use simple past verbs in the flashback scene, then use past perfect verbs to exit the flashback, before re-anchoring the reader in the simple past tense of the main narrative. For example:

       (using simple past in the main narrative)

I stared at the cracked spine on the shelf. A fine layer of dust made the gold lettering on “The Great Gatsby” seem dull, but the sight of it still tightened my throat.

       (transition using past perfect to enter the flashback)

It had been my high school English teacher, Ms. Laurent, who had given it to me. On the last day of my senior year, she had called me to her desk after the final bell.

       (using simple past in the flashback, then shifting to past perfect to exit the flashback)

"This one is for you," she said, her voice soft but firm. She pressed the book into my hands. "Don't just read it. Argue with it. Write your thoughts in the margins." I flipped it open right there and saw her own neat, precise annotations filling the whitespace—questions, exclamations, connections to other books. It was the greatest gift I had ever received.

       (using past perfect to return to main narrative, then bridge to simple past & progressive '-ing' verbs)

I had forgotten the surge of possibility I felt that afternoon. Now, standing in my quiet apartment twenty years later, I reached for the book again, dust falling from its edges like a veil being lifted. My own voice, it seemed, was still waiting in those margins.

 

Using past perfect to enter and exit the flashback acts as a frame. The past perfect clause, "I had forgotten the surge," comments on the memory from the perspective of the main narrative in the present moment. This creates a bridge. The word "Now," after that, is a strong temporal marker that helps shift the reader back to the main narrative. Then, the narrative resumes in the simple past tense of the main story with "I reached for the book," moving the action forward. 

 

This flashback structure is particularly effective when you want to emphasize the contrast, or emotional distance, between the deeper past of the flashback and the present moment of the narrative. It slows the pace to create a moment of reflection before propelling the story forward again.