Drafting in Sequences

As an LA native, most of my in-person writing buddies are screenwriters. I’ve learned so much from them. The way they break down story is fascinating to me. One of the things they swear by is a method that involves constructing a story in sequences. I started using sequences (albeit clumsily) in my first published novel, and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the first book I wrote using sequences was the first book I sold.

Screenwriting wisdom on this topic can be quite prescriptive (see links below for more detailed reading on this subject). Many experts talk about eight sequences, and  correlations are drawn between the eight sequences and standard three-act structure.

Imagine you’re writing on a TV show. Each episode needs to have an arc, and the episodes need to work together into a greater season arc. Now apply that to a book, imagining each sequence as an episode and the entire novel as the season. Thinking about it like this reframes a novel as a series of sequences, each contained within the overall arc of the novel.

Deconstructing this: In the beginning of the book, you have an introductory, or setup, sequence, that is usually a few chapters long and ends with an inciting incident. Within this sequence, you should have an arc. The next sequence contains the inciting event and ends with the break into act 2, etc. When you’re considering these as sequences, you’ll start thinking of them as cohesively linked scenes that combine to create a small story within a story.

Each sequence should stand relatively on its own; it should have its own conflict, character arcs, and plot arcs. You should be able to answer all your usual book questions inside each sequence. i.e. “How is the main character different at the end of this?” and “What stakes-raising event happened at the midpoint?”

No sequence should leave the protagonist in the same place she occupied at the beginning. No sequence should end without the stakes being significantly raised. Each sequence should have its own tone, too. For example, one sequence might be about questioning witnesses to a murder and would contain a number of scenes where an FBI agent travels from place to place, interrogating people. The tone of this sequence could be dark, suspicious, uncertain, as the detective learns new and disturbing information.

One way to unify these scenes as a sequence could be with weather, imagery, etc. Each sequence should begin with the feeling that this is a whole new world. Imagine that your protagonist walked out of one room at the end of the last sequence, and into a new room at the beginning of a new one. 

If a sequence is about running from the newly discovered villain, the protagonist is living in a whole new world where the identity of the villain is now known and the villain has determined to kill him. If the sequence is about a newly minted couple discovering their feelings for each other, think about how different in tone this sequence would be from the one before, which was likely about searching and uncertainty.

Each sequence carries dangers of its own, and each sequence needs to both resolve things and create new problems. The only sequence that generally doesn’t create new problems is the final one.

Let’s look at an example. For fun, let’s choose the movie Ghostbusters. I’ll break down a few sequences within the acts. 

Act 1: 

Sequence 1: Strange things happening in the library

Sequence 2: Ghostbusters being formed: The origin story 

Act 2: 

Sequence 1: The harsh realities of being a ghostbuster–environmentalist issues, university conflict

Sequence 2: The haunting of Sigourney Weaver’s apartment 

Sequence 3: Fun times chasing ghosts 

…and so on, culminating of course in being chased by a woman in a sparkling suit made entirely out of pantyhose and a building-sized marshmallow. 

In summary, sequences are (for me) a helpful way to break a story into bite-sized pieces, both for the writer and the reader. Here are some links in case you’d like to do some more reading on the subject: 

https://www.nyfa.edu/student-resources/screenplay-sequences-underpin-three-act-structure/

https://www.scriptreaderpro.com/screenplay-structure/

https://thescriptlab.com/screenwriting/structure/the-sequence/45-the-eight-sequences/

https://www.storymastery.com/story/screenplay-structure-five-key-turning-points-successful-scripts/

http://savethecat.informe.com/viewtopic.php?t=2952&highlight=ghostbusters

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THE KILL CLUB

The Kill Club. Wendy Heard

Jazz will stop at nothing to save her brother.

Their foster mother, Carol, has always been fanatical, but with Jazz grown up and out of the house, Carol takes a dangerous turn that threatens thirteen-year-old Joaquin’s life. Over and over, child services fails to intervene, and Joaquin is running out of time.

Then Jazz gets a blocked call from someone offering a solution. There are others like her—people the law has failed. They’ve formed an underground network of “helpers,” each agreeing to eliminate the abuser of another. They’re taking back their power and leaving a trail of bodies throughout Los Angeles—dubbed the Blackbird Killings. If Jazz joins them, they’ll take care of Carol for good.

All she has to do is kill a stranger.

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