Time, chronology & narrative form · Working
Flashback
Also called: retrospective scene
ELI5
A scene or passage that moves the story to an earlier time.
Used in conversation
“The pitch names the flashback, but the story still needs to prove it.”
Pitch context
Use this when explaining how the story works on the page or across the finished screen experience.
Why it matters: Helps describe how a story works on the page and how its dramatic parts fit together.
Connected terms
- FlashforwardComputed from definition language and shared taxonomy. This indicates proximity, not synonymy.
Sources & evidence · 6
Direct term-level sources and supporting source families.
- Screen Australia — Story Documents: DramaDirect source · institutional · checked 2026-08-14
- Scriptnotes / John August — Pitching Television, or Being a Passionate WidgetDirect source · practitioner · checked 2026-08-14
- Writers Guild of America West — No Writing Left BehindDirect source · primary · checked 2026-08-14
- Screen Australia — What is a Synopsis? An Outline? A Treatment?Supporting source family · institutional · checked 2026-08-14
- ScreenSkills — Online Learning Glossary and Job ProfilesSupporting source family · institutional · checked 2026-08-14
- pitch.dog — Pitch Dictionary Deep Research SynthesisSupporting source family · practitioner · checked 2026-08-14