Secrets of Writing: Sequences
Sequences are a section of the story, composed of scenes, relating a major incident in the act. In THE GODFATHER, the first sequence is the Wedding. It’s composed of myriad scenes which show different things happening at the Wedding of Vito Corleone’s daughter. The second sequence is the Hollywood Deal. Tom Hagan goes to Hollywood to try to convince a producer that he must hire an actor friend of the Godfather’s. The producer refuses and wakes up the next morning with a severed horse’s head lying between his legs. These sequences tell us a section of the story which are building toward act’s climax. They serve to narrate a progression of events that the scenes have constructed.
Sequences are generally thematically linked. They form a bigger picture than the scene. The scene is only showing us one event that happened. A sequence tells us how a series of events formed a greater whole and this is the end result.
Like scenes and acts, the sequence builds toward a climax. It has it’s own resolution. It follows the general formula of A>B
Just as scenes should follow a logical order, sequences need to construct the story in a pattern that makes sense. Some stories tell sequences out of order, but this is done to fill in the story different parts at a time until the whole picture is complete. If a sequence is something that takes place out of the continuity of the previous and following sequence, you may want to put it somewhere else. Remember that you are building towards something and the choice of appropriate scenes and sequences are essential.
REMEMBER: Sequences build toward the act’s climax. Order them well.
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