Linear

Did you like Memento? Did you see Irreversible? Those are other great movies that had were non-linear.

Oh, and whereabouts in SE TX are you from?

Check out Kubrick's "The Killing"

It was actually written by Jim Thompson but Kubrick
took his writing credit away. An excellent example of
non linear story telling.

arrodiii said:

Oh, and whereabouts in SE TX are you from?

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I'm from Groves. It's east of Houston. A bit over Port Arthur. Somewhat under Beaumont. Grungy little town. As soon as I'm 18 I'm moving to Albuquerque.

directorik said:

Check out Kubrick's "The Killing".

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Coincidentally, I checked it out on Netflix. I watched the first few missions when I was forced to prematurely abort the film. Now that you mention, I'll have to get back to it.

PassionPulp said:

What would I do to show a nonlinear storyline in a screenplay.
I've read over it in the linear style, and I didn't like it. I found that rearranging the scenes would keep the audience alert rather it take so long and have to wait for the conflict.
I've loved Quentin Tarantino's work and Gus Van Sant, and they are well know for their nonlinear stories.
I don't want to make films like them. The last thing I want to do is be compared to Tarantino.
But it just sounds so much better this way.

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There's no difference in terms of the writing, i.e., no need to 'show' it any differently. But it needs to be a bit more planned to make sure the scenes make sense. Nonlinear writing is similar to writing for television which breaks the screenplay into essentially 6-10 minute acts. Each 'act' ends with a hook to bring the viewer back. A non-linear screenplay is often treated like "sequential flashbacks" but without the hook, it doesn't work well.

It also helps to have a continuous element that is made evident. In the case of "Irreversible", "Le Tenia" plays that role. A reversed film is not the only form of non-linear script ("The Butterfly Effect"). However you need the hooks and the continuous element that holds it together.

Even a non-linear presentation has the four key transition points-the introduction, the commitment, the turning point, and the point of no return. It is important to clue in the audience that the flow of story is non-linear. What is the trigger for the transition?

Go for it. Just keep in mind the hooks, the continuous element, and the transition trigger, and the 'four transition points'. Non-linear isn't 'bad' or 'wrong'; it's just hard to write well for feature length movies.