Screenplay format guide
How to Write a Flashback in a Screenplay
To write a flashback in a screenplay, put FLASHBACK in the scene heading, such as FLASHBACK - EXT. LAKE HOUSE DOCK - DAY (1998), write the scene, then close with BACK TO PRESENT and a new scene heading. Here are three formats that work, how to come back out, and a live formatter.
Written and reviewed by ScriptLix Editorial
INT. HOSPITAL CORRIDOR - NIGHT
Dana stares at the vending machine. Her reflection stares back, older than she remembers.
FLASHBACK - EXT. LAKE HOUSE DOCK - DAY (1998)
Young Dana, ten, cannonballs off the dock. Her father laughs and claps from the shore.
FATHER
That is the biggest splash in county history!
BACK TO PRESENT
INT. HOSPITAL CORRIDOR - NIGHT
The machine drops a coffee. Dana does not take it.
Write your own
Type in plain text. A name in caps right above a line becomes dialogue, and lines starting INT. or EXT. become scene headings.
INT. HOSPITAL CORRIDOR - NIGHT
Dana stares at the vending machine. Her reflection stares back, older than she remembers.
FLASHBACK - EXT. LAKE HOUSE DOCK - DAY (1998)
Young Dana, ten, cannonballs off the dock. Her father laughs and claps from the shore.
FATHER
That is the biggest splash in county history!
BACK TO PRESENT
INT. HOSPITAL CORRIDOR - NIGHT
The machine drops a coffee. Dana does not take it.
How to use it
- 1
Start the flashback with a scene heading that says it plainly, like FLASHBACK - EXT. LAKE HOUSE DOCK - DAY.
- 2
Add the year in brackets if the time jump matters, and describe younger characters by age the first time.
- 3
End with BACK TO PRESENT, or END FLASHBACK, then a fresh scene heading for the present.
Which flashback format fits?
| Format | Looks like | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| In the heading | FLASHBACK - EXT. DOCK - DAY (1998) | One past scene |
| Time stamp only | EXT. DOCK - DAY (1998) | Stories that jump timelines often |
| Sequence | FLASHBACK SEQUENCE ... END FLASHBACK SEQUENCE | Several past scenes in a row |
| Quick flash | FLASH - one line of action - BACK TO SCENE | A single image, 1 to 2 seconds |
How do you format a flashback?
The cleanest is to fold it into the scene heading: FLASHBACK - EXT. LAKE HOUSE DOCK - DAY (1998). The reader learns the place, the time and the fact that it is the past in one line.
The second is a slugline that only carries a time stamp, like EXT. LAKE HOUSE DOCK - DAY (1998), or a SUPER: TWENTY YEARS EARLIER in the action. That suits stories that jump between timelines a lot, where saying FLASHBACK every time would get noisy.
The third, for a whole sequence of past scenes, is a header line, FLASHBACK SEQUENCE, then normal scene headings, then END FLASHBACK SEQUENCE. Use it when the past runs for several scenes in a row.
How do you end a flashback?
Close every flashback on purpose. BACK TO PRESENT or END FLASHBACK on its own line works, followed by the present day scene heading. If the scene you return to is the same one you left, BACK TO SCENE is enough.
A very short flash, a single image that hits a character, can be written as a quick FLASH and one line of action, then BACK TO SCENE. These read well in thrillers and horror.
When does a flashback help, and when does it hurt?
Readers are wary of flashbacks that explain what the present could show. The good ones change how we read the present scene: we learn something the character is hiding, or we see the moment a wound opened. If the flashback only repeats what we already know, cut it.
Casting is a quiet detail worth handling. When a younger version of a character appears, name them YOUNG DANA in the cue and give an age in the action the first time, so nobody wonders who is talking.
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- How to Introduce a Character in a Screenplay
- How to Use Parentheticals in a Screenplay
- How to Write an Intercut in a Screenplay
- How to Write a Title Card in a Screenplay
- How to Write a Series of Shots in a Screenplay
- How to Write a Flash Forward in a Screenplay
- How to Write a Dream Sequence in a Screenplay
- Smash Cut: What It Is and How to Write One
- O.S. in a Screenplay: Meaning and Format
- How to Write a Pre Lap in a Screenplay
- Subtitles in a Screenplay: Foreign Dialogue
- How to Write a Split Screen in a Screenplay
- How to Write Slow Motion in a Screenplay
- How to Write a Freeze Frame in a Screenplay
- How to Write Song Lyrics in a Screenplay
Questions writers ask
How do you write a flashback in a screenplay?
Put FLASHBACK in the scene heading, like FLASHBACK - EXT. DOCK - DAY (1998), write the scene, then close with BACK TO PRESENT and a new scene heading.
How do you end a flashback in a script?
Use BACK TO PRESENT or END FLASHBACK on its own line, then a normal scene heading for the present day.
How do you format a flashback sequence?
Write FLASHBACK SEQUENCE on its own line, then each past scene with its own heading, then END FLASHBACK SEQUENCE.
How do you show a character as a child in a flashback?
Call them YOUNG and their name in the cue, like YOUNG DANA, and give an age in the action the first time they appear.