Pulp Fiction Script Say What Again
How to write a flashback in a script.
Wanna know how to write a flashback in a script the right way? Groovy, considering some of the virtually memorable moments in movie theatre history have been flashbacks.
From Alvy's iconic "seems similar one-time times" montage at the stop of Annie Hall, to Cheryl'southward painful memories of her past in Wild, flashbacks tin be a very powerful screenwriting device.
And so forget any advice y'all may have heard to "never use flashbacks." (More than on this later.)
In this post, nosotros're going to show you how to write a flashback in a script that deviates from the linear storyline yet keeps the audition "in the moment."
Below, we'll suspension down:
• What is a "flashback"?
• The "never use flashbacks" myth
• The two biggest mistakes aspiring writers brand with flashbacks
• Emotion: the 3 chief emotions associated with flashbacks
• Style: the 3 main flashback stylistic choices
• Intent: why apply a flashback?
• Screenplay format and the flashback
And, throughout, we'll go over the screenplay flashback examples that got information technology right, and so that your script will also.
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What is a flashback?
Put simply, a flashback is a moment in which the narrative flashes back in time—from the present solar day to some point in the near or distant past.
It'southward a scene that took place in the past simply is inserted into the nowadays narrative in order to accelerate the story, characters and theme.
Typically, a flashback appears during a moment of trauma for a grapheme in the present, triggering a retentivity of the past.
This tin be a cursory wink, a singular scene, or an extended sequence.
Ultimately, a flashback's goal is to help the audience empathise the motives and actions of characters.
The ii chief flashback categories.
Broadly speaking, there are only two categories of screenplay flashback:
Occasional.We deviate occasionally from an otherwise linear narrative as a character remembers a moment (or moments) from the past. This is by far the about common type of flashback in spec scripts and movies alike. It's a simple, brief return to the by to illustrate something meaning while developing the story and characters, before returning back to the nowadays narrative.
Structural. We remain in the past for most of the narrative, or for extended sequences, as a grapheme knowingly explains the story. This sometimes involves trying to figure out a mystery (The Usual Suspects). Or is sometimes autobiographical (The Notebook). Or sometimes both (Citizen Kane).
Many famous movies fall into category #ii and here are some flashback examples from movies built effectually or heavily featuring by events:
• (500) Days of Summer
• Double Indemnity
• Memento
• Saving Individual Ryan
• Titanic
Nonetheless, in this post, we'll only be discussing category #i: occasional illustrative flashbacks in an otherwise linear narrative.
Crafting a non-linear moving-picture show using structural flashbacks is quite a circuitous subject and i that we'll definitely tackle in a later blog post.
The "never use flashbacks" myth.
First, like to address the elephant in the room…
No doubt you've probably heard some screenwriting "gurus" out there say "never utilize flashbacks if you can assistance information technology."
Whenever you hear someone say you "must not do XYZ" regarding screenwriting, it's commonly a practiced indicator that they don't know what they're talking about. And flashbacks are no exception.
If you know how to write a flashback in a script and properly implement information technology so that it enhances rather than detracts from the narrative, then you should definitely practice and then.
In that location are many reasons why a flashback can be a very powerful device in a story.
5 slap-up things about flashbacks.
1. Flashbacks can vividly bring a character's past to life, rather than simply hear about it through dialogue.
2. Flashbacks tin can take united states right inside a character's listen.
3. Flashbacks work as well in all forms of genres.
iv. Flashbacks are set apart from other forms of storytelling, in that they are concerned with memories and the impact of the past on the present.
five. Normally, stories are designed to brand the audience wonder what volition happen, but flashbacks brand u.s.a. wonder what has happened.
The reason why may have heard people say "don't use flashbacks" is probably because they've read many bad scripts containing many bad flashbacks.
But that'south not a good enough reason to avoid flashbacks altogether. A better approach is to learn how to write a flashback in a script the correct style.
The ii biggest mistakes writers make when writing flashbacks.
All the same, beneath y'all'll notice the two about common mistakes writers make when writing flashbacks and why yous'll hear some "gurus" claim you shouldn't use them.
Avoid these 2 mistakes, however, and y'all're on your mode to mastering how to write a flashback in a script.
Mistake #1. Writing flashbacks that don't have a purpose.
Perhaps the biggest reason for flashbacks getting a bad rap is that aspiring writers often include them for no apparent reason.
• Imagine if Get Out opened on Chris and Rose driving to her parents' house, earlier cutting to a flashback of how they met.
• Or if midway through Knives Out, Marta had a flashback of being offered the task as Harlan's caretaker.
• Or if in Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indy gets thrown into the snake pit merely to have a flashback of him being bitten by a snake as a kid.
These flashbacks would experience superfluous considering they'd suck the energy out of the present moment while also failing to serve a specific purpose.
If a flashback doesn't heighten the stakes in some way, advance the story, and/or reveal grapheme and theme then it has no place in the script.
Don't break grade simply for the sake of information technology i.due east. if yous think the pic is getting a tad boring. A badly placed flashback, or a flashback for the sake of it, volition stand out and be nonsensical.
Mistake #two. Adding besides many flashbacks.
Spec screenplays by aspiring writers often contain five, six or more flashbacks, scattered haphazardly throughout the narrative.
But, specially if no new information is revealed, a flashback volition but slow down the pacing.
Continually taking the reader out of the moment like this normally results in confusing and ultimately losing them.
Every bit a general rule, if your script contains more two or three flashbacks, it may hateful yous're over-relying on them as a narrative device. So await at each ane in depth and re-evaluate its importance.
Recall, flashbacks oftentimes occur at crucial turning points, like act breaks and the scenes leading up to and following them.
A flashback when characters are in their almost vulnerable state volition be more effective than if they're adamant and proactive.
This emotional component will impact the audition'southward emotions too— providing empathy, promise, or fear, depending on the genre.
Overall, employ flashbacks sparingly—every bit primal moments you want to highlight in the by, rather than frivolous fourth dimension-jumps back to the past—and you lot'll be ahead of xc percent of aspiring writers.
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How to write a flashback in a script: Emotion.
A flashback should generally but be used when a character experiences a heightened emotion in the nowadays and you lot want to testify the root cause of that emotion in the past.
Recollect of a flashback as a device to accentuate emotion in a character (and audience) past visually showing what happened, rather than have them explain information technology through dialogue.
When you're writing a flashback, consider if it falls into 1 of the iii types below.
Screenplay flashback type #1: Past trauma.
This type of flashback returns to the by to reveal a defining moment (or moments) of distress that'southward behind and so much trauma in the character'southward present.
Information technology's normally concerned with revealing character, as we get to see their painful central flaw—the reason they're in the set they're in now, in the present moment.
Past trauma flashback examples in movies:
• In The twoscore-Year-Old Virgin, Andy remembers his failed attempts at losing his virginity and a adult female tells him he'southward terrible in bed and should surrender forever.
• In John Wick, John is tortured by flashbacks of the happy and not-and so-happy times spent with his wife before she died.
• In The Waterboy, a football game player spits in Bobby'due south h2o cooler and he remembers the aforementioned thing happening to him when he was a kid.
Screenplay flashback blazon #2: Startling revelation.
This kind of flashback is about oft used to illustrate a character's highly emotional reaction to a startling plot evolution in the present.
Sometimes it'southward a stand-alone, illustrative scene. Other times information technology's a flashback montage.
Or the concluding in a series of flashback fragments that have occurred incrementally throughout the picture earlier being finally revealed at the climax.
Startling revelation flashback examples in movies:
• In Parasite, Ki Taek sneaks back into the rich family's abode at the end of the moving-picture show while narrating his actions to his shocked son.
• In Ratatouille, Anton Ego'due south eyes pop as he takes his showtime bite of Remy's ratatouille and is transported back to being a kid, savoring his female parent'due south cooking.
• In The Sixth Sense, Malcolm remembers getting shot and is shocked to discover that he's been dead the entire moving picture.
Flashback blazon #3: Nostalgia.
The most gentle of the three types of flashback is when a grapheme wistfully thinks back to an of import or happy time in their past.
It's worth noting, though, that the character is notwithstanding grappling with some profound problem and this trip down memory lane shows us how it's affecting them.
Nostalgia flashback examples in movies:
• In Airplane!, Ted bores an elderly lady on the plane by describing the nighttime he met Elaine in a seedy bar.
• In Crimes and Misdemeanors, Dolores thinks back to jogging on the beach with Judah when their matter was fresh and exciting.
• In Silence of the Lambs, a shaken Clarice leaves a meeting with Hannibal and her listen flashes dorsum to being a child, rushing to greet her policeman father.
Bear in mind that these flashback types aren't set up in stone. Their interpretations can be fluid and/or overlap every bit you lot see fit.
Think of them more as a general guide to aid you arroyo how to write a flashback in a script, and bend the "rules" appropriately to suit your needs.
How to write a flashback in a script: Fashion.
Now that nosotros've covered the emotion backside each type of flashback, it'south time to look at how to write a flashback in a screenplay stylistically.
While some of this will ultimately exist decided by the director, information technology'southward upward to you to communicate how you envisage the interlude playing out on screen.
Style #1: The retention hit flashback.
A memory striking (or "quick flash" as it's also known), is used to bear witness a graphic symbol's emotional reaction to a by result in the class of a cursory flash or series of flashes.
Sometimes in that location's some other piece to a puzzle that they're trying to work out in the present. Or merely a vivid recollection of a memorable incident. Frequently there'southward no dialogue involved.
Memory hit flashback examples in films:
• In Ordinary People, we speedily wink dorsum and forth between Calvin sitting on a train, thinking, and his two sons playfully arguing when they were boys.
• In Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Neal waits in the departure lounge and—with a quick flash of Del's face—recognizes the man who stole his cab.
• In X2: X-Men United, Wolverine experiences a series of retentivity hits as he explores the laboratory, remembering being tortured and escaping.
Way #2: The flashback montage.
A flashback can also traverse unlike times or locations within the same scene in the form of a montage or series of shots. It tin leap around unlike times of the aforementioned day or motility effectually the aforementioned location.
Again, this is treated in the exact aforementioned way every bit a regular montage or serial of shots—it just so happens to have occurred in the past.
Flashback montage examples in films:
• In Casablanca, Rick daydreams about his love affair with Isla, remembering the romantic times they shared together around Paris.
• In Proficient Time, Ray narrates the story to Connie behind how his confront got messed up, as we intercut between the present and a montage of his crazy antics.
• In Inception, Cobb tells Ariadne almost experimenting with the dream-sharing technology, every bit nosotros see him with Mal in various locations while in limbo.
Style #3: The full-scene flashback.
A full scene that'due south a flashback is typically used to give the audience a more detailed account of what happened in the past and/or a deeper psychological insight into the characters.
This mode can range from half a folio in length to 2 or more, move into a new scene that's besides ready in the past, and almost always contains dialogue.
If yous detect yourself writing a flashback in a script that so continues on in the past to another flashback scene, and some other, yous have a flashback sequence on your hands.
Yous might choose to remain in the past for an extended catamenia of time, moving from full scene to full scene, but this is usually found in flashback-structured screenplays.
The extended flashback sequences in Manchester past the Sea, for case, indicate that we're in a flashback-structured motion-picture show, not a linear one containing the occasional dip into the past.
Manchester by the Sea spends so long in the past for a reason: to represent Lee'southward disability to escape his past.
Full-scene flashback examples in films:
• In Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Listen, Joel's flashback to Clem not recognizing him in the bookstore lasts around forty seconds and takes upward one-half a page in the screenplay.
• In Lurid Fiction, Butch dreams virtually Captain Koons' golden sentinel story, told to him when he was a kid—an all-dialogue scene that lasts iv minutes.
• In Shutter Isle, Edward returns home to discover that his wife has tragically drowned their three children in a scene that lasts a total six minutes.
There are no "rules."
Again, these categories aren't immutable categories that tin can't be played around with. In Sea'southward Twelve, for example, when Isabel thinks back nostalgically to how she met Rusty, nosotros see a retention hit within a flashback that morphs into a flashback montage.
If you lot want to write something similarly unconventional, by all means, go for information technology!
How to write a flashback in a script: Intent.
Although a flashback reveals moments in the past, the apply of a flashback should ever be with an intention of raising the stakes, advancing the story and/or revealing grapheme.
In other words, just like a regular scene.
We have a ton of information on how to write a scene in a script, and information technology all comes dorsum to this:
Every unmarried scene in a screenplay must raise the stakes past either advancing the story, revealing grapheme or revealing theme. Preferably all iii.
If it doesn't, information technology has no place in the story. And the exact same thing is true for flashbacks.
There is not necessarily the "perfect timing" of a flashback. Earlier you answer the "when," focus on the "why."
Here are the 3 principal reasons for including a flashback in a script:
Reason #one: To accelerate the story.
Information technology may seem contradictory that flashbacks can motion a story forward. Yet, a well-placed flashback can modify the unabridged scope of the narrative.
These types of flashbacks typically support act breaks, at the midpoint, in act iii or at the climax.
• In The Bourne Identity, we see a serial of jagged cuts betwixt the present and the by equally Bourne's memory of being sent to impale Wombosi comes back to him.
• In Fight Lodge, The Narrator realizes through a series of quick flashes back to moments already shown in the movie, that he is actually Tyler Durden.
• In The Tall Man, Mrs. Johnson thinks back and relays the story of how she spotted her lost son in the window of a house in the wood.
Reason #2: To reveal graphic symbol.
Sometimes, questions of graphic symbol motivation tin can get left unanswered. Flashbacks tin be helpful in fixing that by giving insight into how they got to a certain betoken.
A judiciously placed flashback to the past can be a great fashion to evidence what's causing a character's distress and motivations in the present.
They can too assistance the pacing of a story past breaking up the action where needed and are often cued by a trigger—either sound or visual.
• In First Blood, nosotros get an insight into Rambo's crazed behavior when he breaks out of the police station via flashbacks of him being tortured by the Viet Cong.
• In Silver Linings Playbook, Pat'south flashback of coming home to find Nikki in the shower with another man gives united states of america a deep agreement of why he went off the rail.
• In Wild, we are introduced to Cheryl at the start of her hike, only don't know why she's on it. All is revealed through flashbacks, showing u.s.a. some other glimpse each time of her difficult past.
Reason #iii: To reveal the theme.
Merely like in every scene you write, every flashback yous write should as well explore the theme in some mode.
The theme should reverberate what your story'south really about—not your protagonist's "A-story" outer goal, just their "B-story" inner goal: the insight that yous want them to learn in club to grow and, by association, the audition as well.
You tin can read more than on how to express a theme in a script here and this applies in exactly the same manner to a flashback too.
• In Casablanca, Rick's flashback to his romance with Isla in Paris visually shows us what he must ultimately give upward for "the greater skilful."
• In The Truman Show, Truman's flashback nearly his simulated father "drowning" in the bounding main shows the crux of his character's trauma and the main theme: reality is false.
• In Spider-Homo 2, Peter considers giving up his superpowers and thinks back to Uncle Ben's thematically-charged words: "with cracking power comes great responsibility."
Screenplay format and the flashback.
Now let'south briefly go over how to indicate a flashback in a screenplay and then that they're clear, curtailed and effective.
Here are some general guidelines:
How to format a retentivity hitting flashback.
This can exist formatted with a mini-slugline as, most likely, in that location is no dialogue involved. Start with either a mini-slugline such every bit:
MEMORY HIT
FLASH TO
QUICK FLASHES
Then enter the series of flashes, listed by dashes, followed past an indicator that we've ended the action, such every bit:
END QUICK Wink
BACK TO SCENE
BACK TO PRESENT
Here's an case from The twoscore-Year-Old Virgin:
How to format a flashback montage.
Format equally you would a regular montage except add together the modifier FLASHBACK somewhere in or before the slugline.
This tin can mean writing out the total slugline with each new location, or simply adding em dashes or CUT TOs for each new moment.
Here'south an example from Wanted:
How to format a full-scene flashback.
The clearest way point that nosotros're in a flashback scene is to add a modifier at the end of the slugline. For example:
EXT. ALLEYWAY – Nighttime (FLASHBACK)
Then add an End FLASHBACK, BACK TO SCENE or like transition to reconnect the narrative dorsum to the present day.
Some writers adopt other methods such as adding FLASHBACK at the get-go of the slugline, like and so:
FLASHBACK – EXT. ALLEYWAY – Nighttime
Others prefer to signal a flashback in a screenplay by writing BEGIN FLASHBACK before the slugline and END FLASHBACK at the finish of the scene.
Here'south an example from Going the Distance:
If you desire to write a total-scene flashback that continues into another scene, yous tin can write FLASHBACK or FLASHBACK SEQUENCE at the get-go of start scene.
Or the time menstruation that this sequence takes identify, i.eastward. INT. RECORDING STUDIO – Twenty-four hour period (10 YEARS EARLIER)
However, for each subsequent slugline, you don't need to signal that we're still in the by.
Simply confirm that the flashback sequence has ended past either including Cease FLASHBACK SEQUENCE or a modifier in the nowadays twenty-four hours scene, i.e. INT. OFFICE – Twenty-four hour period (BACK TO PRESENT).
For more info on how to indicate a flashback in a screenplay we recommend checking out these resources:
• The Hollywood Standard by Christopher Riley
• The Screenwriter's Bible by David Trottier
• Main Screenplay Format past Script Reader Pro
A note on that "flashback" scene at the start of a picture show.
Sometimes films starting time with what appears to exist a flashback. After the scene or sequence, we then jump alee to properly get-go the narrative in the present.
• In Ted, John receives Ted as a Christmas souvenir as a boy and makes a wish that inadvertently causes the conduct to come alive.
• In Up, Carl's entire relationship with Ellie plays out in one long flashback montage—from meeting her every bit a kid, to saying goodbye when she dies.
• In You Can Count on Me, Sammy and Terry's parents are both killed in an machine accident.
But are these really flashbacks? Can you lot wink back to the past when we oasis't been in the present?
A better style to think of these scenes is purely equally the inciting incident to the movie—the spark that had to be lit in society for the story to exist.
But it doesn't really matter whether you recall of this opening hook every bit a flashback or not. Merely don't label it as one.
Instead, make information technology articulate once we're in the nowadays that we've skipped ahead in time with a "super" and/or through description.
An alternative opening scene, popular in Action/Run a risk and Thriller movies, is the one that jumps back in time when it'southward done to start the narrative in the past, earlier communicable upwardly to the same moment later in the film.
For example, in Fe Man we open on Tony Stark getting kidnapped by Islamic terrorists before we jump back to "Las Vegas, 36 hours earlier."
So technically the opening scene is in the present and only becomes a flashback in one case the narrative has defenseless upwards with it. Simply the same rule applies: it's simply an inciting incident. A claw to grab the audience and kick-offset the story.
Conclusion.
Ultimately, the very best way to acquire how to write a flashback in a script is by reading and studying the screenplays that utilize them.
Here are some resources where you can download and read screenplays for free:
• l Best Screenplays to Read
• 20 Best Drama Screenplays to Read
• xx Best One-act Screenplays to Read
Likewise, accept note of flashbacks as they occur in movies as you scout them.
• Was the flashback triggered in a character past an audio or visual cue? Or was it placed objectively into the narrative by the filmmakers?
• How does the flashback accelerate the story, character or theme and raise the stakes?
• What happens earlier and later the flashback? How do these scenes impact the flashback, and how does the flashback impact them?
This research volition requite you a well-rounded idea about when, why, and how to use flashbacks.
And finally, practice is everything. Ultimately, information technology'southward all up to you and how much you write.
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Has this post helped in your understanding of how to write a flashback in a script? If and so, how? Nosotros'd dear to know your thoughts in the comments below.
If you want to become into one-act screenwriting, you must make reading funny scripts part of your weekly routine. Blot as much as you lot can and put information technology into your own comedy screenplay. Skilful luck.
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