I am busy writing a scene where the protagonist is walking down the street for a chance to catch a creature he has been trying to locate for a long time. Is it bad to have him notice something in the environment that reminds him of an incident and describe the scene he remembers before returning to his journey? The "sub-scene" is about fifteen hundred words and is not related to what he is trying to achieve. Would this be a distraction from the point of the chapter?
I mean, it depends, does any of the story in the flashback have any significance? Will it come to play later in the story? If the answer is no then yes, that is absolutely be a distraction. If the answer is yes, then you either need to shorten the flashback or find a different place to put it or try to make the transition as seamless as possible. If it doesn't come to play later and isn't related to what he's trying to achieve then, as proud as you are of those words, scrap em.
I agree with Lili it should have some relevance on the timing. Kootz did this a lot in Intensity his mc Chyna kept having flashbacks even when she was being stalked by a serial killer and then turned the tables on him. It was in part to show that her hostile childhood made her the survivor that could take on a serial killer and it was partially to draw out the tension. For me it should have a connection like in Intensity Chyna is hiding under a bed and her memory is when she hid under the bed from her stepfather. So you're character should be possibly remembering either some event that mimics the feeling he's experiencing, or another hunt, a soon to be success or possible failure, not just specifically the place.
That's a healthy chunk of words. More than a gag, aside, or one-off, so it better serve some purpose. Or be wildly entertaining.
