# Flashback > A scene or sequence set in earlier story time. Scripts mark the shift with FLASHBACK (or similar) and return with BACK TO SCENE or a clear present-day slugline. Also known as FLASHBACK SEQUENCE **On the page** ``` FLASHBACK - THE DOCK - DAY ``` ## In practice Flashbacks earn their pages when the past changes how we read the present — a secret, a wound, a contradiction — not when they dump biography the scene could show another way. Decide what new pressure the memory creates now. If cutting the flashback leaves the present scene fully clear, you may only be decorating with nostalgia. Format should make the time shift unmistakable. Common patterns: FLASHBACK under a heading, a parenthetical time cue in the slugline, or BEGIN FLASHBACK / END FLASHBACK for a longer run. Always give a clear exit — BACK TO SCENE or a fresh present-day scene heading — so readers never wonder which timeline they are in. Keep visual and emotional bridges short: an object, a sound, a line that triggers the cut. Long unmarked drifts between eras confuse coverage and production. If you braid past and present repeatedly, intercut or labeled sequences often stay clearer than a pile of unlabeled memory cuts on the page. ## See it formatted - [How to format flashbacks and memory sequences](https://www.inkwell.software/resources/screenplay-formatting/flashback-sequences): Make the time shift explicit in a scene heading or action cue, then clearly return to the present when the transition could otherwise be missed. - [How to format a dream sequence in a screenplay](https://www.inkwell.software/resources/screenplay-formatting/dream-sequences): Establish who is dreaming, mark where the dream begins and ends, and show the return to waking life so a dream is never mistaken for the story's reality. ## Common questions ### How do I return from a flashback on the page? Use BACK TO SCENE, END FLASHBACK, or a clear present-day scene heading. Readers need an explicit exit so the timeline never stays ambiguous. ### Should every memory be labeled FLASHBACK? If the cut could be misread as present action, yes. Ambiguous time shifts confuse readers, coverage, and later breakdowns. ### Can a flashback be a full sequence? Yes. Longer runs often use BEGIN FLASHBACK / END FLASHBACK or a titled sequence so each inner scene still carries clear headings. ### When is a flashback the wrong tool? When it only dumps backstory the present scene could dramatize. Prefer a reveal that changes present tactics over a tour of childhood for its own sake. ## Related terms - [Scene heading (slugline)](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/scene-heading): The line that opens a scene: interior or exterior, location, and time of day — for example, INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT. It orients the reader and anchors production breakdowns. - [Transition](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/transition): An editing instruction between scenes — CUT TO:, DISSOLVE TO:, SMASH CUT TO:. Modern specs use them rarely; most cuts are assumed. - [Intercut](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/intercut): A formatting pattern for cutting back and forth between locations that are playing at the same time — classic phone calls, chases, or parallel climaxes. - [Montage](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/montage): A run of short beats or shots in quick succession — often under a MONTAGE heading — used to compress time or braid parallel action. --- Canonical page: