The First Ten Pages
More directed towards the format of screenwriting, we're talking the importance of the first ten pages of your script and what elements to look at. This is a much longer lesson, so strap in!
notes are taken from Kevin Kawa’s Skillshare class ‘The First Ten Pages,”
This lesson is more about the format of screenwriting and screenplays. The first ten pages are by far the most important to your script and should have extra care put into them. The reason why the first ten pages are crucial to your script is for time.
If you send a script, agents, producers, and even casual consumers want to be hooked on your ten pages so they want to read the rest of your story. Rejection is a huge part of the film industry, so you want to pull them in.
Executives Read Because:
Marketability: Is this going to grab the attention of viewers?
Castability: Would people want to audition for this project?
Genre: What type of story is this? How can it be made?
Budget: How much would this cost to produce?
Often, executives don’t need to read the whole script to know of its for them or not. The first ten pages can make or break it.
Five Major Rules: We’ll go into detail for each rule and how you can reveal them in your first 10 pages, but the five rules include;
Establish your genre
Introduce the main character(s) and possibly other major characters
Clarify the world and the status quo
Indicate the theme or the message
Set up the dramatic situation
Establish Genre: Genre is the easiest to reveal, however, it’s also overlooked. You want a good understanding of film genre and sub-genre to help meet your consumer's expectations. There are seven major film genres that you find in film and that being;
Seven Major Genres:
Action and Adventure
Comedy
Drama
Horror
Mystery and Suspense
Romance
Science Fiction and Fantasy
Before even writing, you want to know what genre your story and or screenplay is. When you do know what genre you’ll be writing in, make sure it is stated and clear. Know the convention of the genre you choose both visually as well as the story elements.
Explore your genre and play around with it. If you love your genre, it can make everything else so much easier to write. Write what you know and love, but don’t let it limit you. Play around with it!
Introduce Your Characters: The first character you want to think about introducing in your first ten pages is your protagonist. Although they don’t have to be the very first character that we see, we should see them within those first ten pages. While doing this think about introducing characters that are severe to the story--that are also important overall.
What is an Active Protagonist?: When creating your protagonist, you want to have a goal they have in your story. They should be able to work on that very goal. However, you also want to think of obstacles for them to overcome so they can finally obtain their goal and has the opportunity to do so.
Create a protagonist that meets those key points and the story will actively unfold because of them and their action and not because something is happening to them. Make them an active part of your story instead of them standing outside of it.
You want your protagonist to be an unforgettable character.
Tips for the First Ten Pages:
When writing in your protagonist, you want your consumer to truly care about them, they hope that they obtain their goals but fear they might fall short of them.
When writing, depending on how you have written your main character, your consumer should feel empathetic or sympathetic for them. But keep in mind that not every character deserves this, at least not yet. An example of this is an anti-hero. But you still want to be a little empathetic to them and their plight while writing.
Know everything about your main character. Know internally and externally, know their wants and their needs. These details can help your consumer relate to them and their cause.
Your main character cannot exist without conflict. You need enough for them to overcome it.
Creative weakness for your character. Your consumer can fear that they might not reach their goal because of it
Even better if they might not know/are oblivious to their own weakness or identical about it.
NOTE: Weaknesses and flaws need to be evident within the first ten pages. Later on, you understand your ability to emotionally engage your consumer.
While writing your character at their weakest point, you want to poke at them. Force them to reveal things they would normally be unwilling to share. A truly good character can be able to shine.
When writing, don’t allow your main character to see the full breadth of the theme at the beginning it’ll be too easy for them.
All characters need to change and grow.
Clarify the World and the Status Quo: When you start writing the first ten pages, it needs to give the consumer a taste of the world they’re about to enter. Ask yourself what makes it special. You want to show, not tell. Include a taste of the rules of this world, even if you don’t include much of it.
Details help consumers get sucked into the world and help make them believe it's real. Show off your voice as a storyteller as well as your creativity and originality.
The first ten pages should give your consumer enough. It’s important to know where your characters fit in the world you have built and how they affect it. How the world affects them as they move towards their goals.
You want to set up your status quo in these first ten pages alongside the rules that may follow your world status quo will move along as your story progresses but your rules should never.
Ask Questions About Your World:
Where is my story set?
What time period is it?
What is the culture and demographic of the story?
You want your status quo to relate to your character(s), you want this in order for it to change and for the story to begin. Your world should be a living breathing entity.
Indicate the Theme: This is the root of your screenplay, it’s what you’re writing about and your reason. This is a launching point for your writing.
Common Themes
Good vs. Evil
Love Conquers All
Triumph Over Adversity
Individual vs. Society
The Battle
Death is Part of Life
Revenge
Loss of Innocence
Person vs. Themselves
Person vs. Nature
This is more about how the story is told and not the actual theming behind it, but it drives the element.
3 Key Points:
Why do we want to tell this story?
Guiding factors and questions behind the theme.
Exploration of the characters is crucial to the theme.
In the script you’ll find a conflict within the character--theme and conflict are linked.
Screenwriters can show them through their characters in a number of ways.
The theme always springs from the characters' main goals.
NOTE: Each script had to be about something to tackle some great human struggle regardless of what genre it is
Set Up the Dramatic Situation: By the tenth page, your consumer should know what your story is truly about and where it will go from there. They should understand what the story's genre, world, character, and theme are.
On page ten, your main character's world should flip its head. There should be an inciting incident that unfolds (the main complication or problem) This should push your character out of the status quo.
An immediate source of conflict should make your protagonist want to take action. You want to make that transition from a want/need to a desire and soon satisfy that said desire.
NOTE: Inciting incidents should appear around the ten percent mark--around the 10th page.
Project Details: Here is some writing exercise to help you know and flush out your ten pages. Write one to three loglines before writing your ten pages, This gives a brief summary of what your screenplay is all about.
This can help with feedback and help you out with your screenplay. Loglines can help with the first ten pages when you do begin to write them. Also, make sure you give yourself feedback as well. This can help with your own project overall.
Loglines Should Get Across:
The Protagonist: use a description rather than a name, but using one is necessary.
The Goal of the Protagonist: a second act turning point, the status quo to goal.
The Antagonist or Obstacle: how are they stopping the protagonist?
Loglines should show those three pieces and they can show your theme as well.
Example: When [inciding incident] occurs a [your protatonist] must [objective] or else [the stake]
After writing your logline and understanding it, you should be able to continue writing your first ten pages.
Outlining Your Script: The biggest rule to any storytelling, but especially with screenwriting, is to never write without a plan. Depending on what kind of writer you are, have a system to help to outline as it can help the flow of your writing process.
Some writers will outline everything while some will just pinpoint the main scenes. Find a way to outline that works for you, but always plan ahead.
Make a habit of writing ideas down, whether that’s action or dialogue, even if you don’t end up using it, you might come back to it to further projects.
Using Dan Harmon’s story circle is a great way to visualize and get a general idea of what your overall story might look like.
Story Breakdown:
Act One, Sequence One: Status Quo and Inciting Incident (what we’re looking for in those ten pages)
Sequence Two: Predicament and Lock-in
Sequence Three: Obstacle and Raising the Stakes
Act Two, Sequence Four: First Culmination and the Mid-point.
Sequence Five: Subplot and Rasing Action
Sequence Six: Main Culmination and the end of Act Two
Act Three, Sequence Seven: New Tention and a Twist
Sequence Eight: The Resolution (the ending)
Five Major Plot Points:
Inciting Incident
Lock-in
First Culmination
Main Culmination
Third Act Twist
Outline either the eight sequences or just your five major plot points. Writing these things down will make the writing process so much easier.
Formatting Your Script: I don’t want to get too personal here, but I really dislike manually formatting in the screenplay format. For me, it takes away time that I can be used to actually write, however, it is important to know and understand how to format manually, especially if you don’t have a program to help with that aspect yet.
Font: Courier New
Size: 14
Songlines: Around 1.5 inches
Dialogue: 3 tabs
Names: 5 tabs
Indents Dialogue Around 5.5
Cuts/Fades Ins: On the Right Side
Programs like Final Draft are extremely helpful, but if you can’t afford Final Draft, here are some alternative screenwriting programs;
Beat (Mac IOS) - Free (I personally use this for my scripts)
Arc Studio - Free, Paid Plan (70-100 dollars a year)
Trelby (Windows) - Free
WriterDuet - Free (Only 3 Scripts), Paid Plan
Highland 2 (Mac IOS) - Free
There are other programs out there, find one that works best for you and your writing style.
Good Writing Habits: Try things out and ask yourself what works and what doesn’t. Most writers have a driving reason to write. So ask yourself; what's your reason?
The best thing you can do is learn your craft, understanding how to write things you might be unsure about. Ask questions and ask for feedback. Being a part of writers' communities can be such a helpful tool as well.
Read other people's work, and see what works and what doesn't. Get inspired by others' work and try to channel that into your own writing.
You want to try and write regularly. Set goals for yourself and get those goals done.
Giving and Receiving Feedback: Feedback should never be overlooked especially from other screenwriters. Bad takeaways are always good to give a new perspective you might have seen beforehand.
Feedback isn’t meant as a personal attack.
Not every piece of feedback is valid in your situation. Pick and choose what nake scents to you and your situation--but don’t disregard it. Not everyone will completely understand your story, genre, or them, however, if you notice many people not understanding, ask yourself what can be fixed and or changed.
As a writer, you put a lot of love into your work and feedback might not feel good but it’s important to always treat your consumers and comments with respect--they are usually wanting to help you and your story.
Lastly, respond to the feedback. Have a conversation about your work so you can improve it.
~Vocabulary~
Screenwriting: the activity or process of writing screenplays.
Screenplay: the script of a movie, including acting instructions and scene directions.
Crucial: of great importance.
Agent: a person who acts on behalf of another person or group.
Audition: an interview for a particular role or job as a singer, actor, dancer, or musician, consisting of a practical demonstration of the candidate's suitability and skill.
Produce: make (something) using creative or mental skills.
Genre: a category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter.
Status Quo: the existing state of affairs, especially regarding social or political issues.
Indicate: suggest as a desirable or necessary course of action OR point out; show.
Theme: the subject of a talk, a piece of writing, a person's thoughts, or an exhibition; a topic.
Convention: a way in which something is usually done, especially within a particular area or activity.
Obstacles: a thing that blocks one's way or prevents or hinders progress.
Empathetic: showing an ability to understand and share the feelings of another.
Sympathetic: (of a person) attracting the liking of others.
Plight: a dangerous, difficult, or otherwise unfortunate situation.
Culture: the customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of a particular nation, people, or other social groups.
Demographic: relating to the structure of populations.
Entity: a thing with distinct and independent existence.
Element: a part or aspect of something abstract, especially one that is essential or characteristic.
Inciting Incident: the event that sets the main character or characters on the journey that will occupy them throughout the narrative.
Immediate: nearest in time, relationship, or rank.
Transition: the process or a period of changing from one state or condition to another.
Loglines: a brief summary of a television program, film, or book that states the central conflict of the story.
Outline: a general description or plan giving the essential features of something but not the detail.
Predicament: a difficult, unpleasant, or embarrassing situation.
Lock-in: an arrangement according to which a person or company is obliged to deal only with a specific company.
Culmination: the highest or climactic point of something, especially as attained after a long time.
Mid-point: a point somewhere in the middle.
Communities: a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common.
Channel: emulate or seem to be inspired by.
Valid: (of an argument or point) having a sound basis in logic or fact; reasonable or cogent.
Disregard: pay no attention to; ignore.