Linear and Nonlinear Narratives

A linear narrative is a storyline with a regular structure. It starts at the begining, has a middle section and then has a clear ending, everything happens in chronological order. The three acts are differnt lengths, the middle act is always the longest and the first and last ones are shorter as they just introduce and conclude.

An example of a film with a linear narrative is The Hunger Games.

Nonlinear narratives are more complicated and less commonly used. They are disjointed and often follow more than one storyline or point of view. The different acts will be set at the same time but following from different people aspects. Eventually at the end you will realise where each part of the narrative fits in and the story will become clear.

Pulp Fiction is an example of a film with a nonlinear narrative.