In the story I'm currently writing, I've had a mysterious group of soldiers attack a peaceful settlement for seemingly no reason. The survivors don't know who they were, where they came from, or why they were there. As one of the survivors searches for answers, he's trying to retrace their steps and trace them back to their source. I'm almost 50,000 words into the story, and I've only given a slight hint at who they were, but I was thinking of having a chapter that's basically a "from the journal of..." that's basically written from the perspective of one of the soldiers. I'm hoping to use this to give them some humanity and show that they weren't inherently evil (the attack on the settlement wasn't exactly intentional). It would also explain some of the things the survivor encounters along the way (i.e. a bridge is out; the journal will reveal that there were two transport vehicles, and one of them crashed through the bridge and fell). The only way I can kind of explain the slow decay of the soldiers' health and morale is from their perspective, but I wanted the settlement's encounter with them to be the readers' first encounter as well, so I didn't want to introduce them first. Hence the only way I can think to explain this is via video logs or journals. However, the story hasn't really done anything like this so far, so i'm afraid that this chapter would appear disjointed or detached. I'm actually toying with the idea of interjecting various diaries and journals earlier in the story from the MC and others, so that it wouldn't be so jarring to all of a sudden have one from an otherwise unimportant character. What do you guys/girls think?
It will be jarring to suddenly have it in there. Set a precedent for it. Or you have to rework your novel to make some revelations come sooner. Move the plot along faster. You could also try writing out the story of the soldiers so you have a better idea of the pacing of what you want to reveal and when. Really nail down how you want to write this story before you continue. Consider elements you want to tell your story with and make them consistent. There's nothing worse then an inconsistency. Another thing. Exposition via flashback is not a good device to use (in my opinion). If you can't show me the information another way then it probably doesn't need to be in the story. If it is necessary information then find a way to show it. As much as possible, show it don't tell it.
That would be my take as well. Why do you need the reader to know? From what you write, it sounds like the settlers encounter the soldiers later anyway. They could explain why they did what they did, as soon as the animosity on both sides has died down; if it's a peaceful confrontation. Or you could let the survivors encounter a hurt soldier who got left behind somehow. Maybe even when this vehicle crashed the bridge. Whatever. Reality is full of freak accidents.
I have both flashbacks and a journal situation in my own WIP, and I agree, they are tricky. I'm writing in first person, so I didn't know how else to reveal backstory without some lame "As you know..." situation. I finally decided to have my characters find the journal as part of the plot, and then read it aloud to each other in small bits as the rest of the plot continues. It works ok, I think... but the it wouldn't work at all, IMO, if the journal itself were not an organic part of the story. You definitely need to find a way to make the new perspective fit smoothly into the rest of the prose, or it will be a major shock to the reader. I agree with @Lifeline.. brainstorm ways to intertwine the characters and their storylines on more than one level.
