Screenwriting : First 10 Pages by Becca-Chris M

Not east to answer in a little box like this... I have a 300+ page book on the subject. But the shortest version possible is a person we care about trapped in conflict.

Have something happen. I remember watching REDS for the first time. Exactly seven minutes into it, I started wishing something would happen. Thirty seconds later it did. Open your script with your main character in a messed up situation and how he/she gets out of it to reveal parts of the characters circumstances and personality. Not everyone would handle the same situation the same way.

Thanks for the answers, guys. Great to hear others' thoughts.

Show a main character who really NEEDS something --- and her/his best chance of getting it has just gone bye-bye. We get interested in a protagonist who needs and wants something important.

As William said, it's not easy to discuss beyond the reductive. In short, effective paradigms typically used to open scripts include teaser openings which are often set-pieces (e.g. James Bond, many horror movies), openings which set up the protagonist (e.g. American Pie, Erin Brockovich), openings which set up the antagonist (e.g. Jaws, Star Wars), openings which convey the backstory and mythology of a new world (e.g. Lord of the Rings, Alien), and openings which set up the world and then bring the protagonist into it (e.g. Jerry Maguire). There is overlap, but that's how I would break down typical paradigms. If you're interested, please check out my class page on openings: https://www.stage32.com/classes/How-To-Hook-Your-Reader-In-Only-5-Pages

Here's a blog with several breakdowns of 1st 10 pages. http://1st10pages.com/?s=1st+10+

Becca: Take what everyone is saying and run with it. William's experience speaks volumes. Regina offers great insight, I took her aforementioned class and it instantly made me a better writer. Laurie's blog is a wealth of information who also offers a world of experience. No need for me to chime in since everyone already gave answers you needed to hear.

Just discovered Laurie's AWESOME website, and through hers, UNK (the Unknown Screenwriter) - he's (she's?) hilarious, and as far as I can see, totally right. You guys are awesome. I love stage32. Laurie, I'll be in touch! posting first 10 pages for us for free!?! WOW!

Thanks, Sarah. Yes it's free, and there's no ads on the site either! The whole idea, moons ago, was to step away from the cottage industry scams. As I mentioned it is in the redevelop queue so it will be better and more heavily promoted in the near future.

Hey David, thanks so much for supporting my class. I'm truly happy that you found it worthwhile!!

Great site, Laurie. Have subscribed. Looking forward to going through your articles.

Have I mentioned that I love your profile pic, Leona? Thanks for the kind words.

Regina: You helped me shed amateur mistakes and got me to read more. I'm a better writer for it!

@Becca, action sequences. At least that's what I'm told, start off with action as the teaser then build the next 6-7 pages based off of that. Recently I opened up with an army unit racing to meet an on coming raider attack, the conflict was hot and short but exposed the main characters to the audience; how they act, their 'character' per say. Alex is commanding and demanding, Paul is the average joe, Tank likes to blow things up, and Jill is a crack shot with a sociopath streak.

I try an pose questions about future threats. I also try and give an example of the characters current position, hang a lantern on it. Plus if needed I drop the antagonist in first to set tone and world.

Thanks, everyone, for the great responses! Very helpful. :D

I think showing the viewer your character's flaw right off the bat may help. Its always interesting to see a flawed character in his or her's element, early on in the film =)

Hey Jim, thanks for considering my class. Feel free to PM me if you have questions before you sign up.

What I shoot for with those first 10 pages is to create as much mystery as possible. I am not talking about grand story arcs or mind crunching secrets that deserve a big plot reveal later on either. I am referring to scripts such as the pilot episode of Breaking Bad. In the first few minutes of screen time you see a bald middle aged man racing through the desert in an RV. He is wearing a gas mask. There are dead bodies on the floor in the back as well as ammo casings and more than two dozen one hundred dollar bills. A second and considerably younger male is unconscious in the passenger seat (also with a gas mask on) and has blood coming out of his ear. Finally, the RV stops and the man steps out. He is in his tighty-whities but for some reason has a pressed button up shirt on a hanger dangling from the side-view mirror. The older man confesses to a life of crime via video camera and then pulls out a chrome pistol and aims it at the sound of approaching sirens. Everyone who watched this episode was thinking, "Why?" or "How did we get here?". At that moment, the show has them and they will eagerly watch the remainder of the episode to find out how we got to this point in time. If your material can't survive this approach, then you can take the "Let's go on a Journey" approach. Look to screenplays such as Avatar or Star Trek: First Contact for good examples of this. Instead of fostering the feeling of "I have to know" you can use those first ten pages engage your audience with something familiar before taking them on a fantasy trip. In the case of Avatar, the screenplay begins in a bar with a disabled veteran trying his hand at stopping a bully. This is familiar, topical, and was something safe and familiar for James Cameron's audience. It isn't long before this relatable fellow is shuttled off to another grand world and we are treated to a feast for the eyes. Before that feast however, you need to give the audience something familiar to connect with and identify with. Then you can lay on the fantasy. I hope I helped! These aren't the only two ways, but they'll get it done. :)

There should be an explosion EVERY 10 pages...not just after the first 10... :-)

Becca: With live in an ADD world and readers have limited attention spans. Whether your writing something commercial or something arty, the first ten pages will determine whether or not someone reads on. I always open with something something big. And something that establishes main characters (protag or antag) right away. For example, for my script about Michael Rockefeller, I opened with Michael and companion Rene Wassing in a rough sea, clinging on to their overturned boat. They discuss whether Rockefeller should swim the many miles to shore, which was the crucial decision of his life. For my script about the Six Day War, I opened with the main character surviving a machine gun massacre at a WWII death camp. For my Salinger biopic script, which has placed at 8 festivals and script contests, II began with several WWI action scenes. But during those scenes, I inserted quirky dialogue and an imaginary Holden Caulfield. You don't have the luxury of boring readers, so make your script a page turner.

Disagree about blasting a reader or viewer with the protag's FATAL FLAW right out the gate. More important is to establish likability and make the reader/viewer give a d@mn about him/her: there are a dozen ways to do so, look it up. The flaw will be added only as needed to establish and sustain the protag's character arc. The weird effectiveness of likability methods is such that it allows susceptible audiences to identify with evil, morally repugnant characters. Hence the flood of assassin-antihero flicks that would have been unimaginable before, say, the 1960s.

As a general rule, I would suggest some type of inciting incident should happen in the first ten. Something that sets the tone for the entire movie, and introduces your theme, and sets up (or hints at) the conflict to come. If possible, I suggest introducing your villain during this time, or introducing your hero. Of course, a lot of this will be determined by genre, scene and plot pacing, and your own personal voice and writing style.

When all else fails, consider this: The 1st 10 pages are the 1st 10 minutes of your film. Your audience has just sat through dancing popcorn and 20 minutes of trailers for films in your genre. By the end of your first 10 minutes you need to give them a reason to settle in and focus on your story. Those 1st moments must set the tone of the film and be true to the genre. If it's an action flick start there better be action, comedy better have some laughs -- etc. Not every genre needs an explosion in the opening sequence, but you must set the tone for the story you are telling.

I try to think of it terms of page 1.....the thing you want is for the reader to want to continue reading your work. What happens on page 1 that will make them want to read page 2. Then what is going to make them want to carry from page 2 to page 3? I realise this is a bit "simplistic" and probably even flippant, but it is what we are doing - we have to do something to hook the reader and keep them interested. Explosions? Yep, that'll do it. But silence can work just as well. There is just no magic formula because every audience is difference and the demands of each genre are different. Serve the story! Want people to read on? Then just make it interesting and intriguing... whether that is via an explosion or a simple wink. Of course, I am not a professional writer, so maybe I am doing it wrong.... :-)

I agree with Laurie Ashbourne's advice. Here's the bottom line. And I am stealing this from novelist John Grisham: "Start with action, explain it later".

From what I've learned the first ten pages not only set up the plot of your entire story, they are more important than your last ten pages.

I like Mark Allen's point - just to underscore it a bit, think about the example "Raiders of the Lost Ark" sets. It starts off with action - Indiana Jones trying to get the idol. Other than the fact that it's Harrison Ford playing this dude (which means he's probably a good guy), we don't really KNOW that Indy's a good guy...really, we know nothing about him. He might be kinda bad, or at least naughty - but we know from the conduct of his assistant that he's at least better than that guy...which makes us sympathize and root for him. The details - that Indy's a professor of archaeology at the University of Chicago, that the U.S. government is asking for his help - all that gets filled in later.

I like your point, Laurie.

Thanks, everyone, for the insight. Great to hear from you all!

Kill your protagonist on page one, resurrect them on page two and then . . . do something interesting!