Scenes, Sequels, and Sequences = Screenplays
In your favorite flicks, there’s a hidden framework holding all that emotion, action, and drama together. And no, it’s not just good luck or a room full of caffeinated writers. It comes down to three core building blocks: Scenes, Sequels, and Sequences.
These are the foundational building blocks behind every screenplay that keep you hooked. And if you're scribbling scripts, it’s critical to understand how these parts work together to become greater than the sum of their parts.
Scene: The Engine of the Moment
A scene is where something happens. A choice, a clash, a revelation, whatever it is, moves the story forward. Scenes are the heartbeat of your script. Each one should pulse with character, energy, tension, and change.
Take The Social Network. The opening scene between Mark Zuckerberg and Erica Albright is fast, sharp, and awkward. When it ends, the relationship is broken, and the wheels are set in motion for everything that follows. One scene. Two characters. Huge impact.
Questions to ask yourself while scribbling scenes:
Whose perspective are we in?
What’s the conflict? Is it emotional, external, or interpersonal?
What does the main character want in this moment? Their expectation.
What’s standing in their way? The reversal they experience.
How does this scene move the story forward or change the character?
Every scene must add conflict, character, or consequence. If not… CUT IT.
Sequel: The Emotional Fallout
If scenes are the action, sequels are the reaction. They give your characters and audience a chance to breathe, reflect, and decide what to do next.
In Inside Out, after Joy and Sadness miss the train and fall into the Memory Dump, there’s a quiet moment. Joy reflects on Riley’s core memories and what sadness meant to them. That’s a sequel. It’s not flashy, but it’s deeply emotional and changes how Joy sees the world.
Sequel questions to explore:
How is the character feeling after the last scene?
What are they thinking about or realizing?
Are they alone, or reacting with someone else?
What new goal or decision arises from this moment?
How does this emotional beat set up the next scene?
Sequels deepen your story, reveal character, and help your audience track motivations and set expectations for what’s to come.
Sequence: The Big Picture in Motion
A mini-movie within your movie, a series of scenes and sequels that build toward a single dramatic payoff.
In Mad Max: Fury Road, the War Rig escape at the start is a sequence. It’s not one scene, it’s a string of escalating moments, chases, fights, and emotional beats, all building toward the first turning point when Furiosa veers off the road and the warboys realize she’s gone rogue.
Sequence-building prompts:
What’s the dramatic goal or setpiece that anchors this sequence?
What emotional arc will the character go through from beginning to end?
How do the scenes build and escalate the stakes?
What’s the resolution, and what changes because of it?
How does this sequence push the story into its next phase?
What are some memorable moments only this movie can deliver?
Sequences give your screenplay rhythm. They’re your movie’s “acts” in miniature.
Putting It All Together
Scenes are the beats.
Sequels are the breaths.
Sequences are the muscles that move the body of your story forward.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, don’t be. Start small. Break a story idea down into one scene. Then ask: What emotional aftermath comes next? That’s your sequel. Then ask: How many scenes and sequels will it take to reach the next critical turning point? That’s your sequence.
Try it with a movie you love. Watch it not just for the story, but for the structure. You'll start seeing the patterns everywhere. Watch. Learn. Execute. With your Scribbler’s Toolbox, you’re never facing that blank page alone. So, LFG!!!!!!!
Always be scribbling!
