
About this episode
John and Craig discuss the mechanics of flash-forwards in storytelling and answer listener questions.
John and Craig go back to the beginning to examine the mechanics of the flash-forward opening — or as it’s known on this podcast, the “Stuart Special.” They look at what makes a strong flash-forward, when to avoid them, and how to pay back the narrative debt they incur. We also follow up on the Scriptnotes survey and answer a massive grab-bag blitz of listener questions including the potential pitfalls of child protagonists, “unfilmable” elements, and how to end a scene. In our bonus segment for premium members, how do you socialize at Hollywood parties? We’ve made all the mistakes so you don’t have to. Links: The script for episode one of Chernobyl Scriptnotes episode 493: Opening Scenes Greta Gerwig’s Little Women screenplay The Sheep Detectives Scriptnotes episode 731: Avoidance and Other Anti-Quests Sorkinisms – A Supercut by Kevin T. Porter My journey to the microwave alternate timeline by Malmesbury Solasta 2 Get your copy of the Scriptnotes book! Get a Scriptnotes T-shirt! Check out the Inneresting Newsletter Become a Scriptnotes Premium member , or gift a subscription Subscribe to Scriptnotes on YouTube Follow Scriptnotes on Instagram and TikTok John August on…
People in this episode
Hosts: John August, Craig Mazin
Topics covered
- flash-forward mechanics
- narrative structure
- listener questions
- child protagonists
- unfilmable elements
- scene endings
- socializing in Hollywood
Keywords
- flash-forward
- narrative debt
- child protagonists
- unfilmable elements
- scene endings
- Hollywood parties
- Scriptnotes
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Scriptnotes, Inneresting Newsletter
Products: Scriptnotes book, Scriptnotes T-shirt
Books & works: Chernobyl, Little Women, The Sheep Detectives, Sorkinisms – A Supercut
More episodes of Scriptnotes Podcast
- The One with David E. Kelley · June 9, 2026 · 57 min
- Building Your Audience with Courtney Kemp · June 2, 2026 · 58 min
- Studio-Adjacent · May 26, 2026 · 1h 0m
- The Devil You Know · May 19, 2026 · 1h 19m
- A Box Full of Teeth · May 5, 2026 · 1h 2m
- Learning Comedy · April 28, 2026 · 1h 1m
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Scriptnotes Podcast podcast page.