Penn Group

When you’re writing a book, a play or a movie script, you not only have the power to control the pacing of the plot but also the chronology of events themselves. A mystery, for instance, can start with a murder followed by the investigation or it can begin with the murder but shift to a “prequel” of what happened up until discovery of the body. Example: the Fox series Reunion shifted between 1987 and 2005. Its sustainable secret? The actual identity of the deceased.

            The most common method of storytelling is linear. Linear time is just like real life in that characters start at Point A and move sequentially toward Point B. Another popular method is “bookend” storytelling. In this instance, we initially meet characters after the main event has already occurred; the event itself is told in flashback, followed by a return to the same time period as was shown at the film’s start. Thirdly, we have the “parallel universe” whereby a character’s momentum suddenly splits into two simultaneous journeys which may or may not arrive at the same destination. A fourth strategy is the “maypole,” a device that uses multiple flashbacks and points of view which all revolve — like a maypole — around a common event or theme. Even more complicated is the concept of “reverse engineering” in which the layers of plot and character are revealed in a backwards, repetitive or serpentine fashion.

            The style of exposition you use in your own project depends on your target audience’s comfort level with abstraction and ambiguity. A younger, less sophisticated crowd will be happier with a storyline that simply moves from Point A to Point B. In contrast, those who can juggle multiple concepts and complex transitional details will be excited by plots that don’t adhere to standard formulas.