So-Called Screenwriting ‘Rules’: Part 11
There are conventions. There are expectations. There are patterns. But the simple fact is… THERE ARE NO SCREENWRITING RULES!
There are conventions. There are expectations. There are patterns. But the simple fact is… THERE ARE NO SCREENWRITING RULES!
Awhile back, I posted this about an occurrence that happens with irritating regularity in the online screenwriting universe: The contentious specter of so-called screenwriting ‘rules’. More below.
What happens is pretty much this:
- Somebody posts something about how there is a rule against doing this or that.
- That circulates as people bat around the idea.
- Professional writers catch wind of it, then lambaste the shit out of the thesis in question.
- The ‘debate’ fades away…
- Until the next time it arises.
- Again…
- And again…
So it occurred to me, why not just deal with it once and for all! Get every single supposed screenwriting rule out on the table, then go through them, one by one, to see if we can take all the heat that typically gets generated when one of these online snits breaks out and collectively create some actual light.
In other words, let’s make this a real learning experience and hopefully in the process, put some of this nonsense to bed for good.
I asked for your help in aggregating these ‘rules’ and as always, the GITS community responded. I’ve gone through them all, thought about it, and here is my plan: Do a 3-week series on “So-Called Screenwriting ‘Rules’”.
Week 1: As long as we’re going to take the time to go through this stuff, I figured we might as well put it all into some perspective: historical, theoretical, and practical. I’m going to start that process today:
Part 1: The Organic Nature of the Screenplay
Part 2: The Emergence of the Selling Script
Part 3: The Evolution of Screenplay Format and Style
Part 4: There are no screenwriting ‘rules’
Part 5: There are expectations
Week 2: I’ve sorted out five real nuts-and-bolts items which I will analyze and discuss one per day in our second week:
Part 6: We See / We Hear
Part 7: Unfilmables
Part 8: Action Paragraphs — 3 Lines Max
Part 9: CUT TO (Transitions)
Part 10: Parentheticals
Week 3: Readers made several suggestions that are about larger narrative choices, so let’s take those on as well:
Part 11: Flashbacks
Part 12: Voiceover Narration
Part 13: Sympathetic Protagonist
Part 14: Protagonist and Shifting Goals
Part 15: Certain Events By Certain Pages
Before we jump into this, a caveat: Everything I post in this series is my opinion. I think it’s safe to say it’s a pretty well-informed take seeing as I’ve been writing scripts since 1986 and teaching since 2002. But again, I’m simply expressing my perspective. It’s incumbent upon you to sort out your own approach to screenwriting style and the single best thing you can do in that regard is read scripts, especially screenplays written within the last 5 years as they represent the latest trends.
With that, forward into the breach!
Part 11: Flashbacks
I have gone through this subject at length previously, so I’m going to pull content from those posts and provide links to examples of flashbacks in movies that are used well. First this, a blast from the past that sets the stage for both flashbacks and voice-over narration:
So we all know the conventional wisdom is both voice-over narration and flashbacks are no-nos in screenplays. Indeed the Robert McKee character in the movie Adaptation flat-out states:
God help you! It’s flaccid, sloppy writing. Any idiot can write voice-over narration to explain the thoughts of a character.
Similarly screenwriting ‘guru’ Michael Hague expresses the common negative opinion of flashbacks in a response to one of his columns here.
And yet check out this list of movies [their IMDB ranking in parenthesis]:
VOICE-OVER NARRATION
Fight Club [#10]
Goodfellas [#15]
Apocalypse Now [#35]
A Clockwork Orange [#64]
To Kill a Mockingbird [#70]
The Apartment [#98]
FLASHBACKS
The Godfather [#2]
Inception [#14]
The Silence of the Lambs [#24]
Casablanca [#25]
The Usual Suspects [#26]
Memento [#33]
Gladiator [#63]
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind [#76]
Rashomon [#91]
VOICE-OVER NARRATION AND FLASHBACKS
The Shawshank Redemption [#1]
Forrest Gump [#18]
It’s a Wonderful Life [#30]
Sunset Blvd. [#32]
Citizen Kane [#46]
American Beauty [#54]
Double Indemnity [#57]
That’s just me scanning through the top 100 movies, I probably missed some. Even if I did, this is a list of over 20 notable movies that used either or both of this supposedly unworthy pair.
I take this to mean the problem isn’t with the narrative devices themselves, it’s with how writers use them.
My guess is if we asked people who read scripts professionally for a living, they would roll their eyes and grab their stomachs at the mere mention of voice-over narration and flashbacks. Why? Because they have seen them used poorly over and over and over again. Yes, it’s true, both can come off badly on the page. I’ve seen it with my own eyes as well.
Yet the fact remains some of the greatest movies of all time use these narrative devices. Does it mean simply because a lot of aspiring or novice writers use voice-over narration or flashbacks poorly, that precludes us from employing them in our stories, particularly if that’s what the story absolutely dictates?
That would be most unfortunate.
Tragic, indeed, because a flashback can be a great narrative device — if used well. To wit, here are five examples of movies that incorporate flashbacks to great advantage:
Hell, at least 3 of the 9 Oscar nominated movies for Best Picture in 2014 make liberal use of flashbacks: American Hustle, Her, and The Wolf of Wall Street. Fact: Flashbacks ain’t going away!
Yes, we are well advised to bear in mind the general prejudice of Hollywood readers against the use of flashbacks in a selling script, but I assure you — there is no rule outlawing them.
Again embrace the mantra: Tools, not rules.
If flashbacks are essential to the telling of your story…
If you can use them in a unique way…
If you can create compelling moments with them…
If they help make your story kick major ass…
Use them.
But make sure you know what you’re doing. How? Read scripts. Dozens and dozens of scripts which use flashbacks. When they work, determine why. When they don’t, figure out why not. And watch movies. Same thing. What works. What doesn’t.
Know this: If you employ flashbacks in a lazy way, simply to provide exposition, a pair of talking heads, no visual distinction, making for a flat scene… you will not be doing your script and yourself any favors.
A flashback is a tool. Use it well and it can help you construct a more entertaining story.
If you have any questions or observations, please head to comments. Again, as long as we are taking such a comprehensive approach to this content, let’s do it to the max. I want to hear your thoughts and am glad to make this an extended conversation with a goal of putting this subject into a more helpful perspective.
Check out the Bitter Script Reader (Puppet!!!) video on the subject of flashbacks here.
Next: Voice-Over Narration.