No sir, I don't like it.

"Specifically, how does an author relate history in a story of another character that isn't the main POV? This was especially important, as he wasn't known to the main character at the point where his actions impacted the plot, and the story was written in third person limited. So there wasn't a logical way to simply introduce him to the reader by showing a scene in the present timeline."

Eh? Depending on the story there are myriad ways of doing this. Subterfuge: Diaries, letter correspondence, snooping on their cellphone. Dialogue brought about by the character who would stand to know something about them. Depending on the genre, police reports, crystal balls, captain's logs, investigation notes, psychic visions, Pensieves, news articles, people gossiping about them. And then there's the simple option of keeping it a mystery and letting the new character reveal it, or force the reveals to happen as the new character interacts.

There is also the option of changing the narration with some sort of drastic plot device or prose trick, which can be gimmicky, but also can be ingenious and fresh for the readers. For instance, you could advance the time many years into the future where the character is already familiar with the new character and it gives a hint of how their relationship progressed, as well as information on what our main character knows now that they didn't when the main timeline progresses; this has the added advantage of introducing a layer of dramatic irony when it goes back to the main timeline.There are plenty of logical ways to incorporate this without using flashbacks.

I think the recent distaste toward flashbacks tends to come from their overuse in movies, TV shows and video games. However, the reason they seem to be so maligned is because many critics are bemoaning the fact that in a visual medium there are much richer ways of conveying character information and increasingly more and more directors are "cheating" with flashbacks, which stunts their growth as directors and cheats the viewer out on a richer visual storytelling experience.

This is not a problem at all in written fiction. The problem in written works seems to come entirely from shifting character perspectives in genre fiction. That is, many readers don't appreciate being thrust suddenly into somebody's elses story or perspective when the reason they started reading is for the main character. It is often overused as a means of creating suspense -- leave on a cliffhanger and switch to another character. While it's true that a story could possibly mean little without readers to read it, it's also true that being slavishly devoted to only pleasing your readers is frequently not the best way of creating the best stories. Simply thinking it through and weighing the pros and cons, and getting a second opinion before it goes public, are the best remedies to this situation, that I've found.

I also disagree intensely with all three of those rules. But this is not surprising for me. There are very few storytelling rules I agree with in the first place.

In the case of number one, I vehemently disagree. One of the strengths of using a flashback is their use as a means to disorient and confuse the reader, at least at the beginning. This can keep the narrative fresh and exciting, preventing it from entering a slump in longer works, if you will. As the flashback continues, the reader begins to understand that A) it is a flashback and B ) where the flashback is coming from. Requiring it to be linked would spoil the surprise. Some of the greatest literary flashbacks I've ever read are when it is not clear at first that it is a flashback until you run into some detail that contradicts the current timeline. Also, personally, I find linking it to a device often comes off as chintzy and tacky and is hard to do well.

As for number two, my personal reaction to that is a strongest possible no! No, a thousand times no. Another reason the flashback has probably fallen out of favor with some is this. It only seems to be used lately to forward the plot. It's not creative usage of a flashback. There are many other great uses that have no function on the plot or story. Sometimes a flashback simply provides a contrast with which the reader can compare the setting or mental state. Sometimes it is simply there to add to an element of the surreal or the bizarre to the narrative -- most infamously used in the "life flashes before your eyes when you die" sequences. Sometimes it is there to help the tone of a sequence, to give it a nostalgic or lyrical quality, this would be the flashback as prose device, not plot device. Sometimes a flashback is used to reveal something that is only relevant to that character's theme, but not important to the plot. Sometimes it is simply there to reflect and further enforce the character's unstable mental state. Sometimes it is used in a particularly ingenius way wherein we don't have the slightest clue why we're having this flash back until many, many pages later when it suddenly becomes blazingly clear why it is relevant and why the character had the flashback at the time. Sometimes the best parts of a novel or a piece of written fiction are areas that practically nobody understands why they are there and argue endlessly over whether they are necessary or not.

As for number three, I find myself shaking my head at that as well. It's simply not necessary and may be a boon to the originality of the storytelling if it isn't used. Say the person has a flashback at the mall, thinks about it the entire way home in the car and we pick up when they enter the house, with a character saying, "Something on your mind? You've been quiet ever since we left the food court." There's nothing particularly wrong with that. Say the flashback is simply the end piece to a long series of paragraphs of internal thought by the character as they cool down on the weekend and when it's over, the story picks up again on Monday. I see no reason to follow this rule, because it doesn't avoid anything particularly bad in storytelling, other than some misguided sense that we need to coddle readers along because they can't think for themselves. The best usage of this is when you're thrown into a flashback and it turns out that flashback memory is actually in the future of the narrative, that the character's future self was just flashing back for a moment. These scenes are particularly tricky to pull off, but they are so wonderfully rich and full of writing pleasures when they are done well.

The only advice I would give any writer about flashbacks don't have any rules attached to them:

1) If you're writing a piece where suspense (what will happen next) is the only thing keeping the reader from stopping, because your story has no other redeeming elements, and you're afraid of adding flashbacks because they will ruin it, consider rethinking the whole thing before that, so that there are other redeeming elements to your story.

2) If you're concerned flashbacks will slow down the pace you've set for the story, pay particular attention to their length and the ease of which we slip and slide out of them.

3) If you find yourself wondering whether you use flashbacks too often, ask yourself why you're putting them in. If there is no answer, it might be prudent to simply set your story in multiple time periods and ditch the constant flashbacks.

And I don't mean to be a Grinch, but I find the example above to be in bad taste, because it sounds like some in-joke or meet cute from a third-rate romantic comedy that flops at the box office and only your babysitter who smells of cat litter ever watches. It also violates the author's own rule, in that I can't see how it forwards the story at all (not that I think it needs to, but if you're going to write an example...). If you write the same scene and let the reader knit their eyebrows at why anyone would laugh at such a corny line, and it becomes obvious later that the couple enjoys repeating corny lines they've used in their relationship as part of their character portrayal, that's a classier way of approaching the same subject matter, at least to me.

To me, there should be very few writing rules. Flashbacks need not be used sparingly, or with any particular adherence to any kind of rule or guideline. Doing so can remove the fun and spontaneity of the device.

I'm more or less guilty of using flashbacks.  Well, more. "blushes"..Most of the time, mine is in the form of a letter.  Some would call it a flashback, I just use it for explanations to move my story along.  If I'm trying to convey an actual flashback, that the character is thinking, I just italicize it.  Might be poor writing, but I hope I don't do it much.  Any and all help in writing, I appreciate.  There's always something to be learned to improve your skills.  That's why other people's forms and styles are fun to read.  Some you like, some you don't, and some you take for you own use.  That's how I feel about it.  So, right or wrong, I guess everyone has preferences.

Personally, I think it varies.  I've read stories where a flashback just totally disrupts the story and confuses me as the reader.  On the other hand, one of the best movies I've seen is Sunset Blvd., which starts with a dead body in the pool and proceeds to tell the story of how it got to this point.  When you get to the end of the movie - sometimes you forget how it started and are startled (I know I was the first time) - but it just makes you want to see it again and again.

I don't view writing rules as hard, must be followed.  But I do think they help explain the viewpoint of some writers and readers - and understanding your audience is always an important part of writing (IMHO).

i don't use flashbacks... i think ever, i use "out of timeline scenes" some of which double as flashbacks.

Flashbacks?  I can take 'em or leave 'em.

Stephen King uses them brilliantly in "It" and fit in almost seamlessly with the story, and I've probably used them to some extent or another in stories.

I find it useful to have rules on writing.  They are like a recipe.  It's only after religiously following a recipe (or the rules of writing) that someone becomes adept enough to be able to start playing around and experimenting with what can be changed and what can be left out.

I have no problem with using flashbacks. Their success or failure is completely in how the author used them in relation to the story. I've read many where the flashback was disjointed and removed the reader from the plotline in a disruptive fashion. I've seen others where the transition smoothly went from the current story into the flashback and back again with no disruption whatsoever.

And returning back exactly where you started from? Why? I don't see any need to follow a rigid timeline if that's not how your story is constructed.

Write what you want. Doing it successfully, like any artform, is part of the craft. Rules are made to be bent or even broken if you do them right.

I tend to shy away from flashbacks.  They never seem to come out right.  This has been great advice though and I think MAYBE I will attempt one again in the near future.  Confidence booster in the form of a GA Wacky Wednesday?  Who knew

flashbacks aren't for everybody.  I've read some stories where they are used atrociously and have ruined the story for me. They gotten into the flashback and never seemed to get out of it. But on the other hand have read stories where the flashback done with italics or a typed warning saying such and such is a flashback and it was like a light bulb clicking on and cleared up a lot of questions. So really in my opinion flashbacks can be friends if used judiciously and sparingly, but if used willy nilly and over pages if not chapters then are definitely foes.  having the flashback being warned of . different typeset to set it apart visually helps in using them I think also keep them relatively short you don't want them to go on and on like a bad Sunday drive with granny at the wheel, by the time you get done with the flashback you have forgotten about the real time event which kinda puts a downer on the chapter don't ya think?

I've seen some flashbacks that were done very well and some that really stopped the flow of the story.  It depends on how it's applied.  You can hand 2 different people paintbrushes and let them get creative, you might end up with a masterpieces and something that looks like money-shit-finger-art.  It's a great tool if done well.

Personally, I don't do many flashbacks, but when I do, they are usually in the form of a dream scene.  That's my preferred method of a flashback.