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FEATURE ARTICLE: Recollection as a Fiction-Writing Mode
by Mike Klaassen
Recollection is the fiction-writing mode whereby a character calls something to mind. A character may recall any information to which he has been exposed. That information may be from earlier in the story (as with a detective recalling a clue from the crime scene). But a character may also recall information from before the beginning of the story.
To fully appreciate the role of recollection, a novelist must first understand the timeline of a story. Aristotle is credited with being the first to recognize that stories have a structure based upon their timeline: beginning, middle, and ending. Today, that timeline should be updated: backstory, present story (beginning, middle, ending), and future story.
Backstory consists of events, including a character's background, that precede the beginning of the story. Future story isn't limited to science fiction, where characters may travel to and from the future; it may include an implied future for characters (such as when they ride into the sunset, presumably to live happily ever after).
Backstory may be viewed as a subset of information communicated through exposition (the fiction-writing mode for conveying information), which may be delivered via three different methods:
- by direct narration (from the all-seeing, all-knowing narrator)
- with expository devices (props, such as a diary, a message in a bottle, a treasure map)
- through characters (via dialogue, introspection, recollection)
Recollection may be used to pull backstory into "the present" of a story simply by having a character recall information or events. As with most tools of fiction-writing, however, there are numerous issues related to the presentation of recollection:
- Prompting recollection
- Verbs of recollection
- Recollection in scenes
- Recollection vs. flashbacks
- Recollection in sequels
- Recollection and epiphany
- Partial recollection
- Choosing recollection
PROMPTING RECOLLECTION
If recollection isn't appropriately triggered, the reader might justifiably ask "Why didn't the character think of that earlier?" To make recollection seem believable, rather than contrived, it needs to be adequately prompted.
Along this line Orson Scott Card, in Characters & Viewpoint, observes that "If it's a memory the character could have called to mind at any point, having her think about it just in time to make a key decision may seem like an implausible coincidence . . . ." Furthermore, "If the memory is going to prompt a present decision, then the memory in turn must have been prompted by a recent event."
Everyone has almost-forgotten information squirreled away in the nooks and crannies of the mind, but it takes some sort of stimulus to prompt recollection, to bring the information forth. Recollection may be prompted by anything that stimulates the character's mind to recall the information. That stimulation may be in a variety of forms (such as the dialogue of another character or a sensory experience, as with sight, sound, taste, smell, or touch).
Examples of prompted recollection in fiction abound. In my young-adult novel Cracks, the main character is frustrated in his attempt to climb out of a cave by a layer of rock that is too smooth for him to climb. He studies the wall and recalls tilted rock layers along roads cut through hills. This newly recalled information helps him devise a revised tactic for escape.
VERBS OF RECOLLECTION
As with other fiction-writing modes, there are specific verbs associated with recollection. Examples of verbs and phrases that may be used to bring forth a memory include:
- Remembered
- Recalled
- Called to mind
- Thought back to
Example using a verb of recollection:
Cisco paused before stepping into the livery stable. He recalled hearing something about how Black Bart had killed a cowpoke in Dodge City. A derringer.
RECOLLECTION IN SCENES
A scene, as outlined by Jack M. Bickham in Scene and Structure, is a unit of drama where a character attempts to achieve an objective.
Depending on the nature of the story, a character may recall something at almost any point in a scene. That something may be information that helps him achieve his objectives or it may complicate, or even thwart, his efforts. Because scenes are largely about action and are relatively fast paced, moments of reflection in scenes tend to be brief, even fleeting.
Regarding recollection, Orson Scott Card notes that "If these quick references to the past are pertinent to the present events in the story, they won't feel like they're much of a break in the action . . . ."
RECOLLECTON VS. FLASHBACKS
Recollections are easily confused with flashbacks, and have even been referred to as mini-flashbacks. While it is accurate that recollection and flashbacks occur within the mind of the character, and they may both expose backstory, and both need to be prompted, the similarity ends there.
A flashback stops the forward progress of the story while the reader is taken back in time to experience a scene from the past. In order for flashbacks to work, they must:
- Be significant enough to justify taking the reader on a detour.
- Use prompts to transition the reader into the backstory.
- Use a change of verb tense from simple past tense (He stopped by his friend's house.) to past perfect (He had stopped by his friend's house.).
- After transitioning the reader back in time, the character relives (in simple past tense) the scene in a dreamlike state.
- The reader is then transitioned back, with a brief return to past perfect tense and a sensory reminder that alerts the reader that the character's mind is back in the present of the story.
Recollection differs from a flashback in that recollection:
- Does not involve a change in time from the story present to the backstory
- A recollection does not relive the past
- Recollection is not in a dream-like state; it is closer to the surface of the character's mind
- Although they can be quite lengthy, recollections may also be very short
- Flashbacks require transitions both in and out of the backstory scene, but recollections do not
- Recollection may be accomplished merely through verbs and verb phrases of recollection
- No change of tense (from simple past tense to past perfect tense) is required to assist the transition
RECOLLECTION IN SEQUELS
While a scene shows a character attempting to achieve an objective, a sequel is what follows. And since the character is usually unsuccessful in a scene, a sequel often begins with a character experiencing frustration. As outlined by Jack M. Bickham, recollection may be an important part of the thinking phase of sequels, where the character attempts to "make sense" of his predicament.
Sequels present a potentially huge role for recollection. While recollection is usually brief in scenes, recollection may be as long as necessary in sequels.
EPIPHANY
Epiphanies are the "Ah-hah!" moments that put information in new light. According to Jordan E. Rosenfeld, in Make a Scene, "An epiphany is a moment when awareness or a sharp insight dawns suddenly on your protagonist . . . ." Such moments may be used to facilitate turning points in plot or to facilitate a change in character.
"In many cases," states Rosenfeld, "revealing an epiphany through interior monologue is necessary, as it is hard to demonstrate an epiphany through behavior, and even dialogue can be a stretch, because epiphanies are usually quiet, intimate affairs."
Along this line, Orson Scott Card notes that " . . . it should be a memory of something that the character never understood; new information or a new experience has changed the meaning of that event in her mind, so she isn't just remembering, she is also revising. Then the memory isn't passive, it's an active part of the story."
In my young-adult novel The Brute, the main character recalls a conversation with his football coach that leads him to an epiphany about controlling his violent temper.
PARTIAL RECOLLECTION
Sometimes it may be useful to have the character recall only part of a situation or event. In The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum, the main character is an amnesia victim who recalls only portions of his former life as an assassin. In some cases, partial recollection is portrayed with flashes of recollection, creating a strobe-light effect.
CHOSING RECOLLECTION
The craft of fiction is largely about making choices, and the decisions of how and when to use recollection are no exception. In general, recollection may be the most appropriate tool when:
- The writer wishes to avoid direct narration
- Expository devices aren't practical
- A flashback scene isn't warranted
- Disruption of the story's momentum needs to be minimized
Recollection is a relatively simple means by which a writer can bring information into the "now" of the story. The relative simplicity of using recollection (as opposed to other fiction-writing modes) may contribute to its underuse and under-appreciation as a writing tool.
WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEBSITE? You may, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Author Mike Klaassen publishes "For Fiction Writers," a monthly e-zine.
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