I’ve written the logline, come up with a title, and I’m almost done with the first draft of “The Screenplay”. I’ll take a short break and then reread and start to rewrite. The first thing I’ll do on the rewrite, is pay attention to the first ten pages. Real close attention.
Why? Because the first ten pages are the most important.
Why? Basically because if I can’t hold a reader’s attention for ten pages, that reader is going to stop reading my screenplay. I don’t care how good the middle is, how extraordinary the ending is, if the first ten pages don’t grab the reader, the reader won’t get to the middle, much less the end.
So, what needs to be in my first ten pages? First, let me tell you what should NOT be there. I better not have any mispelled words or punctuation problems. And I must make sure the first ten pages show the reader that I can write! I don’t want to distract the reader by using “their” when I should have used “there.” I don’t want to use “it’s” when it should be “its.”
And I definitely do not want to fill up the first ten pages with exposition and useless scenes. I need to introduce drama, and I must do it right away! I don’t want to tell you a story, I want to show a story…
Another thing worth mentioning is this, I won’t use shock to get the reader’s attention. What do I mean? I won’t use obscenities or sex or violence, just for the sole purpose of getting a reader’s attention. If I can’t get a reader’s attention with characters and motivation, then I’ll consider cutting the scene.
Okay, enough about what should not be in my first ten pages. What should be there?
First and foremost, the first ten pages of a screenplay should look like a screenplay. Not a poem. Not a novel. Not an essay. It should be written in the proper screenplay format. I’ve learned how to do this by reading other screenplays and reading books about screenwriting.
Now the meat…
I want to make sure something happens in the first ten pages! While I introduce the characters, I must make sure I “hook” the reader. And I do this with conflict.
When I introduce a character I want to ”show” the character. I wouldn’t want to tell you that a main character is a fireman, I would want to show him fighting fire! Many things can be used to show character. Consider showing a character’s closet or the bumper-stickers on their car. Show us that they love to eat cold spaghetti for breakfast. Show, show, show!
The sooner I show conflict in my story, the better. Remember, I’ve got to keep the reader turning those pages. But before I do that, I need to make sure I show ”life before the conflict”. I need to let the reader know when the story takes place and where, and what life’s like before the conflict hits! All this happens in the first ten pages.
I’ll try to not start at the beginning. It’s better if I can start in the middle of something. I must remember that I’m not writing a novel so I don’t have time for a lot of background detail. Drama, drama, drama!
If I need more time to set up the drama (sometimes this is needed in a thriller), I want to make sure my characters are interesting enough to make the reader care about them. And I want to make sure the reader knows something is going to happen, right around the corner.
I’ve read a lot of articles about what needs to be in the first ten pages. Basically it amounts to this, I MUST HOOK THE READER so the reader will want to get to my very extraordinary end!
The first ten pages. Gotta be good. Gotta be better than good. Gotta be great…
