Friday, November 15, 2019

Timetravel - Flashbacks with Björn


Hello fellow toads and tadpoles, as this is my last prompts for toad I wanted us all to remember and
looking back. But not only remembering but the harsh reality of flashbacks. 

Copyright Björn Rudberg


A flashback is a memory that is so strong that it pulls you back in time to another moment, maybe
more pleasant than present or more horrific. That means that you stay in the same tense as the
rest of your poem (often present tense) 


To be able to pull you back you need to add a magic time-turner, a sensation that creates such a
vivid memory that you actually have traveled in time. 


For instance the scent of your grandmother’s cologne might pull you back into a childhood memory,
or a song on the radio might place you in the time you fell in love on the dance-floor. 


A soldier with PTSD can be back in the trenches again at the snap of a twig. 


It is crucial for flashbacks to define that trigger, What would pull you back in time?


To travel back into today I imagine you are pulled back with the same sense.


As you well know flashbacks are something we all experience from time to time. So also question
yourself… how did it change your present state of mind? Did it help you make a difficult decision?
Did it make you happier, sadder or angry?


When I took a class in creative writing I remember a fellow attendant remarking that a flashback
relates to a mere memory in the same way as a metaphor relates to a simile.


Your poem (or flash-prose) could be fiction or real. Any perspective as long as it's new for the
prompt.


Swim with care, the pond is deeper than you think.

13 comments:

brudberg said...

Hello all... I know that this prompt might be a real challenge... but i recommend that you start to think about that sensation that will move you into such vivid memories so you are actually there... reliving a childhood memory... words being said... things that really affects you today.

Fireblossom said...

Loved doing this one, Bjorn.

Kerry O'Connor said...

This is a very challenging prompt, Bjorn. I shall give it some thought over the weekend and hopefully produce something worthy of your final prompt on Real Toads.

Revived Writer said...

Thanks for the prompt, Bjorn!

Vivian Zems said...

Great prompt Björn!

Helen said...

What I love about your prompt is how I simply sat without any noise surrounding me ... and let my mind wander back, way back. At 78, that’s a lot of flashbacks! Thank you Bjorn.

Frank J. Tassone said...

Good Morning, garden dwellers! Thanks, Bjorn, for your compelling prompt!

Linda Lee Lyberg said...

Good Morning all- I recently had a situation where my long deceased mother received a registration to vote, and this took me back to her. Amazing how something as simple as that can bring tears.

Jim said...

Bjorn, I love writing Flashback stories. Guess that's a privilege of us elderly, I can't hardly remember what I had for lunch but can remember eating my first Taco. Chili Relleno, Corn Dog, Grits, and a lot other. What, when, where, and who with. For about a year on my other active blog I wrote memes with a group doing Friday Flashbsck posts.
I'd love to write one for you here, maybe I will later. An aside, but I am on sabbatical until the second week of December or so. I might sneak a write to post or two before and will read. My other active blog on Fridays is running the alphabet and I'd like to post that if I can.
..

The Bizza said...

I put a bit of a spin on this prompt, but I think it still works.

Bjorn, you're the 2nd person leaving Real Toads... is the site shuttering? I'd hate to see it go.

RedCat said...

Thanks for this prompt. It really got me thinking and writing. And yes, the pond is much deeper that it first appears.

Sorry to hear there will be no more prompts from you.

Jim said...

Bjorn, I can see no reason for you to leave. Have you thought of slowing down some bits? Maybe you are like me, just like to write. Just now and last night I could not resist, I wrote. Probably my last post until second week of December or later.
(E = mc²) and (E=IR),
..

Lori said...

Scent stirs and awakens so many memories for me. I had to write about a recent one.