A series of scenes showing the consequences of the Protagonist's decisions, ending in a moment that forces a new choice.
Applies to: All story types
Definition
A series of scenes showing the consequences of the Protagonist's decisions. There are eight sequences in every story, arranged in a circle. Each sequence ends with a Transition Scene — a moment where the Protagonist makes a decision that launches the next sequence.
Sequences are named alphabetically: A, B, C, D (first half), and AA, BB, CC, DD (second half). Each sequence in the second half mirrors and inverts its partner in the first.
Why This Term Matters
The sequence is the working unit of TSM story structure. When outlining, you are not writing scenes one by one — you are building sequences. A sequence has an internal logic: it begins with the consequences of the last Transition Scene, escalates through cause-and-effect, and ends when the Protagonist is forced into a new decision. Thinking in sequences prevents the most common outlining failure: adding scenes that do not escalate anything and therefore do not belong.
What Each Sequence Does
Each sequence has a specific structural job in the story:
- Sequence A — establishes the Home World, the Protagonist's Archetype and Habit, the King, and the King's Law
- Sequence B — moves the Protagonist into the Strange World; forms the partnership with the Muse; the Genie is established
- Sequence C — the Referee appears; the McGuffin is made official; the competition begins in earnest
- Sequence D — the battle for the McGuffin; the Protagonist wins using the Habit and the Genie; false victory at the Midpoint
- Sequence AA — mirrors A; the Home World pulls the Protagonist back; the Habit reasserts itself
- Sequence BB — mirrors B; the partnership with the Muse comes under pressure; the Genie is threatened
- Sequence CC — mirrors C; the Judge appears; the Genie is removed; the Protagonist must face the Strange World without their cover
- Sequence DD — mirrors D; the Protagonist sheds the Habit; Heaven on Earth is reached
In a Kind Comedy — Examples
What Should Happen in the First Act (article) covers Sequences A and B in detail using Good Will Hunting: how the Home World and King's Law are established in A, and how the challenge that launches the Protagonist into the Strange World bridges A to B.
In a Tragedy
Coming soon.
Related Terms
- The Circle
- Transition Scene (TS)
- The Midpoint
- Mirroring (Mirrored Sequences)
- Cause-and-Effect
- Heaven on Earth
- The Genie
- The McGuffin
Related Articles
- What Should Happen in the First Act — a detailed breakdown of Sequences A and B and the Transition Scene between them
Learn More
All eight sequences are taught in full in the Kind Comedy Course on learn.tale-spinning.com, with complete sequence-by-sequence analysis of Ratatouille and In Bruges. The free Fundamentals Course introduces the Circle and the sequence structure.