When it comes to screenwriting tips for beginners, these three firsts tend to be overlooked. But getting them right can make all the difference.
Firsts are key moments in the lives of millions of people every day. The first date. The first kiss. The first job interview. The first day on the job.
They are fraught with tension and can be nerve-jangling. Why? Because they can go horribly wrong.
The firsts in a script are no less scary. And there are 3 Big Firsts that scripts need to do well.
For a lot of new writers, the challenge is getting to someone who can make things happen for you. The problem is you usually have to run the gauntlet of ‘the readers’. These are the guardians, the gatekeepers for many TV executives or film producers. They will have read hundreds of scripts. They will know exactly what the boss is looking for.
This isn’t only a Hollywood thing. Plenty of UK producers work the same way. Many use freelance readers, and when I talk about readers here, I’m including them. In fact, many courses and competitions work similarly. Wherever you send your script, someone is very likely reading it before a decision-maker ever lays eyes on it.
Experienced readers will have expectations of the first pages of each script. And those pages need to deliver what the readers want. This applies whether you are writing a feature script or a TV script. In fact, for TV this is even more the case, which puts a lot of pressure on TV scripts.
A quick word on that page count. Traditionally, ten pages is the point where a reader decides whether to stay with you, but in the UK, readers tend to give a script a slightly larger doorway to work its magic. That said, I know professional readers who have made up their mind by page 5 and won’t budge, so don’t treat your first 10 pages as a warm-up. Grab their attention from the first line and refuse to let go.
Which is a nice segue into the first big first.
YOUR FIRST 10 PAGES
Great opening pages deliver the story world, character, genre and tone in a way that makes us want to know what happens next. They should also foreshadow knowledge or skills the characters possess, or will gain later, especially where those skills help them overcome challenges further down the line. Remember, story world is not only where but also ‘when’, the time period the story is set in.
For example, in the script of The Matrix (1999), the world of The Matrix is introduced spectacularly with an action sequence that tells us this is the world, but not as we know it. So we have character, story world, genre and tone very quickly. We’re hooked.
Our protagonist Neo’s home is used to give us an idea of his skills, as it is described with cables like weeds winding around tables topped with cannibalised computer parts.
Neo himself is introduced as a man who knows more about living inside computers than the outside world. None of my students will be surprised that I would argue this is telling rather than showing, and unnecessary at that point; the introduction has done its job, but I’ll get to that in another post. Then comes the white rabbit. Mystery. This is a great example of how your first ten pages need to captivate and hold your reader, drawing them irresistibly into your story world.
So, when writing the opening to your story, whether an outline, treatment or script, you need to think about how quickly you can get the essential elements of the story in place in an engaging and exciting way. This is not meant to scare you or put you off. This is about letting you know what is expected. Forewarned is forearmed, as they say.
Here’s another first.
THE FIRST TIME WE MEET THE PROTAGONIST
The way you introduce your main character is vitally important. It should clue us in on what they’re about and their status in the world they inhabit. You know the saying ‘you never get a second chance to make a first impression’? It could have easily been coined for scriptwriters.
The above point on The Matrix is a good example of how to do this well. A great way to introduce your character is what is called ‘in medias res’, which is Latin for ‘into the middle of things’. The phrase comes to us from the Roman poet Horace, and it does exactly what it says on the tin. It drops the audience straight into the plot without too much preamble.
It’s a great tool in Sci-fi such as The Matrix above, or thrillers, such as the opening of The Bourne Identity (2002), where we find our protagonist floating face down in the sea, letting us know we are in thriller territory and setting up the dramatic question: how did he end up there?
Another great way to do this is by joining the protagonist during a typical day in their life, not the whole day, just a small part of it, where we get to see something of who they are before things change. The action thriller Nobody (2021) does this well to show the utter mundanity of the main character’s life before things go drastically wrong.
You should apply the same degree of work to your antagonist. The way we meet them matters just as much. The same goes for your supporting characters, to a lesser degree. The better you introduce your characters, the more immediately engaging they are. The more engaging your characters, the better the reception of your story.
When introducing them, a great way to make characters shine on the page is by using a characteristic that quickly creates an impression in the reader’s mind. There is zero chance anyone else will see your character exactly as you do in your head. So, don’t even try.
Instead, think of something that will pop a characteristic into your reader’s mind that serves your narrative.
In the script for The Matrix, we don’t get a physical description of Neo. We are free to imagine whoever we like, because having us all ‘see’ the same character is not important. What is important is giving us an ‘idea’ of who the character is.
In her script for the movie Juno (Fox Searchlight, 2007), Diablo Cody describes her character, Juno MacGuff, as ‘an artfully bedraggled burnout kid’. Again, no physical description of hair or eyes or build, but it nails an important aspect of the character in a single line.
You may have noticed that the examples I’ve chosen give no overly physical description of the characters. Most of what we get are characteristics or reflections on character.
This, in my humble opinion, is a far more engaging way to introduce your characters than, say,
‘Tall, blonde, athletic’ or ‘Handsome with striking green eyes’.
These are what I would call APB descriptions, or All Points Bulletins. Wanted: “One IC1 Male…” (probably for delivering boring character descriptions!)
You want to avoid APB descriptions as much as possible because, well, frankly, they’re boring. Any experienced reader will have read hundreds of APB character descriptions, for more days than they care to remember.
Invest the time to work out the best possible introduction for your protagonist. The same goes for introducing your antagonist, the other primary character in your script.
You should keep in mind that these descriptions are specifically there to work for your reader. So make sure that’s what they do. The points I’ve mentioned here are great starters for making an excellent first impression.
And here’s the third big first.
THE FIRST TIME YOUR PROTAGONIST MEETS THE ANTAGONIST
What’s so important about this first meeting?
Everything!
It sets up the dynamic between the two characters.
It establishes the crux of their antagonism.
More importantly, it emphasises the protagonist’s weaknesses and the antagonist’s strengths.
Sometimes the protagonist may not at first understand that they have met the antagonist. Antagonists can be sneaky that way. For example, in the movie The Fugitive (1993), Doctor Richard Kimble has no idea that his trusted friend and colleague is the true enemy.
At other times it can be clear to us immediately, despite appearances, that the person who has just appeared on the page is the enemy. And this works well too.
Sometimes the antagonist alerts the protagonist to their existence or instigates the first meeting.
Regardless of the way it happens, the point of this first meeting is usually so the antagonist can assert their superiority, whether it is physical prowess, intellectual ability, the resources they have available to them or their knowledge of the situation the protagonist finds themselves in.
In one way or another, the antagonist will choose this moment to assert their dominance and it is usually painful, either emotionally, psychologically or physically or, if your protagonist is really unlucky, all of the above!
Once this meeting has taken place, the lines of combat are drawn and will become clear to the protagonist, who may not have been aware of the true extent of the battle they face up to this point.
SO, IN SUMMARY, MAKE SURE THESE 3 BIG FIRSTS ARE DONE WELL.
They don’t need to be perfect. This is an impossible task. But they do need to be ‘good enough’. Good enough works.
Your first ten pages need to deliver the story world, character and genre so that your reader gets a sense of where and when they are, who they are travelling with and even who might be a problem.
The way you introduce your protagonist and antagonist should be given special attention. Avoid APB descriptions and try to give the reader a characteristic that will pop an image into their head. Remember, no one is going to see the characters the way you do, so don’t waste precious time and space trying to make that happen. If you introduce your characters well, we will all visualise a character that works for your script, and that is exactly what you need.
The moment your protagonist and antagonist meet is a key beat that will set up the foundation not only for their relationship throughout the story but also the trajectory of the narrative itself.
These aren’t the only firsts in your script, but they are the …um… first. So, it’s worth focusing on getting them right before moving on to the others.
Get these firsts right, and you will hold the attention of the reader beyond the opening pages, and that’s a good start. (See what I did there?)
Happy Writing!