So I am currently writing a wild west script about a black woman whose family gets kidnapped by a gang of racist religious and her journey to get them back and I'm currently stuck on where to go next I've established my main character and the world but I'm stuck on whether to introduce her family so the audience has a connection to them or introduce the main villain and the inciting incident
Screenwriting : Script help by Jerrell Camper
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What era?
Doug_ 30 years after slavery has ended so 1890
Gary- thank you so much for the advice
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Write a good one, Jerrell. There are some amazing landscapes in Arizona wanting to be shot out.
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The first 10-15 minutes are for introducing the characters and relationships between them. So you might want to consider the first few scenes showing the main character, her relationship to her family, and the bad guy(s) while establishing how evil/fanatical they are. Once you've done that, then write the inciting incident. Make sure your protagonist has a goal -- she needs to say what she wants before the inciting incident.
The inciting incident is the bad guys meeting her, she helps trading for towns meant for black people
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I know this is going to sound wasteful. Write both. You will end up throwing both away. But the exercise will show you the way forward.
inciting incident is around page 10-15. Maybe show her with the family, and capitalize on writing tools like "save the cat" to make your protagonist more likable for the audience. Are you using a beat sheet, and outline? Or are you shooting from the hip?