Montage is common in films. It is a device that uses flashbacks of images that show a past sequence of events. This is a method for compressing information of time, backstory, and point of view. It is a tool used by writers to show pacing and how the past is related to the character’s present. Montage helps writers save time by abridging the past.

It is always important to show the movie audience what is happening, and this applies to readers as well. If we are to tell a detailed story of a woman training to become assassin, from the time she fumbles through handling firearms and feeling inept may not be interesting enough for the reader to follow throughout. Readers would like to see the female assassin in action. Most of the time how she came to be a killer would be accomplished effectively through a montage.

Example: Whenever I walked into that warehouse, David would greet me with cold, indifferent eyes. Each day he would introduce me to a new weapon and teach me how to use it. How many times I have broken a nail, I could no longer remember. But I did not complain. David knew I was struggling, and he would often remind me: “Don’t forget what they did to your husband and daughter.” That was enough to keep me going. In six months, I mastered special weapons, practical self-defense, and demolitions. Most of all, I developed a kill-switch mode.

If the above example were a movie, we would see vignettes of David and his protégée going through training, with the female assassin breaking a nail at every step, getting reprimanded, looking at the photograph of her husband and daughter and visiting their graves when she’s not in training. Along the way, she improves in handling weapons.

We can also use montage when relaying a backstory. When a past event is essential to the plot, say, a traumatic event or a need to explain how a character became a sociopath, the writer can go into a montage and keep the story flow uninterrupted.

Example: At the age of six, Ross shot his first squirrel using her mother’s compact revolver. In his teens, he often got sent to detention for stalking his female classmates in the washroom. In college, he got away with arson when he burned a frat house, but spent half of his life in prison for smothering his roommate with a pillow. Now released and in his forties, Ross lurks in the shadows, waiting for his next unsuspecting victim.

Sometimes we present characters with differing points of view. The montage is effective in presenting narration of what is taking place inside the head of each character, so the reader may understand their sentiments.

Example. Scarlet and Trish sat at the opposite ends of the long table as they waited for the family lawyer. While deep in thought, Scarlet swept her eyes at the line of books resting on the shelves. She will not hesitate to protest if her late father had bequeathed half of the family wealth to Trish. This gold digger poisoned my dad. I know there’s something in that coffee she serves him in the morning. You will not get a cent from my dad, bitch!

Trish was drumming her fingers on the table. She was agitated. This is not looking good for me. It’s bad enough that this brat thinks I married her dad for the money. Worst is to be suspected of killing Dale. I’ve been watching you all this time, Scarlet. You and this family lawyer are in cahoots. Try to question your dad’s last will, and I will spill out everything my detective has collected!

The montage presents new information--including secrets that make the story more interesting, as it lets us know something that the characters do not.