"the rules"

According to every screenwriting manual ever, the first ten pages of your script should include a hook and an inciting incident. And like any screenwriting technical term, these have vague definitions.

A “hook” is basically something right at the start of your script that interests the reader. And the “inciting incident” is an event about a quarter of the way through that kicks the main plot and character arc into motion.

Now with any screenwriting advice, even and especially mine, you don’t have to listen to it. No matter what you read or hear, there are no rules in screenwriting or writing in general or any art, only guidelines, conventions and traditions.

don't try and cram your action

Admittedly, three-act-structure / the “rules” of screenwriting work/s (I wrote a whole other article about that) whether you deliberately follow them or not, hence why they’ve stuck around but don’t consciously try and stick to what anyone says in their self-proclaimed definitive guide.

In this particular case, your script doesn’t have to have an inciting incident exactly ten or fifteen minutes in. Don’t try to fit your story around a formula because it will just end up being formulaic. You don't want things happening for the sake of it.

I prefer a long first act. I mean, why do we have to rush to the story? The exciting bits. Surely people enjoy stories more when they’ve spent plenty of time getting to know the character, building the world.

it's about building trust

This is why people get so invested in television characters because you have longer to get invested. The first few episodes in a series are essentially the first act. And even though every episode has its own three acts, a beginning, middle and end, they are also part of a longer narrative. And as TV has migrated to streaming services, it’s become serialised. As in, each episode follows on from the other like a continuous story, an extra-long movie.

What I’m saying is, don’t think you have to cram everything into the first ten pages of your script. You have the rest of the episode, the rest of the series, to tell us about your world, the main characters, to show off your dialogue etc.Otherwise, what’ve you got later?

don't peak too early

When the commissioner asks for the rest of your script, they’re going to expect an escalation, whether it’s laughs or stakes. Making the first ten pages great is great, but if you’re going to front load the script, the person reading might be disappointed as they go along and realise you’ve peaked.

In short, don’t be a Tobias -

Script Lab’s 5 rules

I know I just had a whole speech about not following the rules, advising you not to check boxes, but Script Lab has a list of things you should probably be trying to tick off in the first 10 pages of your script. They are-

1. Establish the tone/genre
2. Introduce your main character
3. Clarify the world of the story and the status quo.
4. Indicate the theme or message
5. Set up the dramatic situation

I’d say those are pretty self-explanatory and common sense when you think about it. “Of course I’d do all these things!” you say, but just make sure you are doing them. Don’t let the start of your script suffer from style over substance.

I’d especially stress rules number 2 and 5.

It doesn’t matter what you put in your first 10 pages - explosions, murder, sex! - people aren’t going to carry on watching if they don’t care about the characters. This doesn’t mean the characters have to be necessarily likeable or relatable - I mean, Breaking Bad anyone? You just need the audience to be interested enough in their goals to see if they follow through.

It’s screenwriting 101. A character and a goal AKA the dramatic situation. Who is the show about and what do they want? Because that’s ultimately what the show is about. Character and plot inform the tone, the genre, the world, the themes. So as long as you smash rule 2 and 5, you should clean house.

how do i make an impact in such a short amount of time?

Question is, how should you introduce a character and the dramatic situation in the first 10 pages? Well, that’s entirely up to you, but make it unique.

Alternatively, you can use tried and tested storytelling methods - Which can also still be made your own.

For example, you could have a cold open. I wrote an article about those here.

On the other hand, you’ve probably been advised not to show a character’s daily routine at the start of a script as a way to introduce them. It’s amateur, a student film cliche. Personally, I don’t see the issue. It’s a simple yet effective technique that literally shows you a day-in-the-life of the protagonist. It gives you an insight into what their version of ordinary is before the inciting incident. So you can identify with them before you’re thrown into a “new world” together.

Showing a daily routine isn’t an amateur move either. For instance, prolific award-winning television writer Russell T Davies used the technique in his first episode of Doctor Who.

know your goal

For context, Doctor Who had been off-air for 16 years. It had been cancelled because of declining viewing figures and a poor public perception of the show. RTD had the task of modernising it for a 21st century audience and making a new generation care.

less time means you have to be more creative

Even though he was reluctant at first to say the least, I’d say he succeeded within the first 10 minutes of screentime.

These opening moments are the perfect example of the 10 page rule. Not only are they hooking, but they hit each of Script Lab’s 5 rules and most importantly, make you care about the main character and their proposed arc.

So, let’s break down Doctor Who series 1, episode 1 - “Rose”.

“Rose”: The perfect first 10 minutes

This is the episode that introduced me to and made me fall in love with Doctor Who, and television. And I’m sure I’m not the only one.

So how did the script for “Rose” convince the BBC to revive Doctor Who? Other than the fact it was written by Rusell T Davies, creator of the uber popular cult hit Queer As Folk, and it was Doctor Who.

Let’s look at the first 10 minutes. You can watch along on BBC iPlayer, Netflix or if you’re a fan like me, dust off your boxset.

The first 2 minutes of the episode are a montage of Rose’s life. We see she lives with her mum in a council estate on the outskirts of London, she has a boyfriend and works a dead-end job in retail.

How many of us can relate to that? That feeling that we’re just doing the same boring shit over and over again till we die. The desire for more in life. This is reinforced by the first shot of the episode that starts off in space then zooms in to Rose in bed, emphasising her insignificance in the larger scale of the universe.

look with your eyes

Just from the looks on her face following we can tell she’s fed up with her life. She looks how we feel. And all this character information that drives Rose’s arc for the rest of the episode, for the next 2 series, is all there in the first 2 minutes. There’s no dialogue, no voiceover explaining her dissatisfaction. It’s a wonderful example of show don’t tell.

Remember, TV is a visual medium so exploit its potential. Clearly you can tell the audience a lot in just action lines. But don’t be prosaic and give us inner thoughts or backstory, just the essentials. Whatever you write needs to be seen on screen.

Here, RTD shows how easy it is to give us a sense of character, make us relate and identify with her, in just 2 pages. And according to the “rule”, he’s still got 8 pages left.

In those 8 pages, Rose’s normal day is interrupted. On her way out of the shop she’s handed lottery money to give to the chief electrician. The roll of her eyes tells us she’s done this before, but then she can find him.

The next 3 minutes are pure suspense. Classic wandering through a building alone, shouting someone’s name is asking for trouble. And because we’ve got to know who Rose is and we have a sense of what’s about to happen from our metatextual awareness of horror tropes, we’re scared because this is Doctor Who, where you hide behind the sofa and characters we’ve never met before tend to die at the beginning of the episode. And Rose almost does die, at the detachable hand of a window-shop dummy no less!

Now, unless you’d seen Doctor Who before and knew the Autons, I’m sure this would be a surprise. Killer mannequins?! But thank god, our protagonist is saved - phew! - by a funny Northern bloke who gives confusing answers, blows up the shop (okay, you can use explosions if you’re Doctor Who and you’ve earned it) then disappears.

make your audience ask questions they want answered

Just like Rose we’re left with so many questions - mainly, “what just happened?” And after a puzzling lingering shot of an old telephone box, Rose goes home and no-one understands what she’s just been through. She can’t tell anyone either because she’d sound mad and we’re just as frustrated and confused as her. We wanna know who the man was, why the mannequins were alive and trying to kill her.

And the last thing that happens in these first 10 minutes is the hand Rose brought home without thinking has a mind of its own like The Thing - the one from the Addams Family, not the John Carpenter movie. Is it going to try and kill her? What a cliffhanger! If I was a commissioner in 2005, I’d want to know what happens next!

In just 10 simple pages, RTD has hooked us with tension, action and interesting world building. He’s also initiated the hero’s journey. Rose has stepped into an unknown world and received the call to adventure. Will she accept the call? Will this inciting incident an exciting life?

The first ten pages of “Rose” hits the structure points in every manual, making those screenwriting “gurus” very smug. And what’s funny is RTD did it without trying because I know for a fact he was never formally trained and isn’t one for following the rules. He doesn’t believe in them, and yet his script follows them and consequently, nails the first 10 pages.

the 'rules' can be broken

As I said before, the rules usually work but don’t worry if it doesn’t meet exactly and don’t give the screenwriting the satisfaction that something ingrained in storytelling and culture for centuries still works.

The first 10 pages of “Rose” also ticks off everything in Script Lab’s list.

1. Establishes the tone/genre: Family friendly sci-fi drama
2. Introduces the main character: Rose (and the Doctor)
3. Clarifies the world of the story and the status quo: Our world where nothing happens
4. Indicates the theme or message: Don’t settle for a boring life, go on an adventure.
5. Sets up the dramatic situation: Will the Living Plastic strike again? Will Rose go on an adventure?

The script for Rose isn’t anywhere online so if you want to read it I guess you’ll have to buy every script from series 1 of Doctor Who! I’ve got it, it’s cool to compare to script and screen and read each writer’s insight into how every episode was written.

“Rose” is just one example, a very good example in my opinion, of how to hook a reader in just 10 pages. My best advice to read the first ten pages, or watch the first ten minutes, of scripts and TV shows that hooked you, that you like, that are similar to yours. Think about what the writer does in those initial pages that works so well. Do they meet Script Lab’s criteria?

expect the unexpected

All you can do is absorb and write and not worry if everything’s not achieved in those first 10 pages. A commissioner/agent might read more, they might read less. Don’t get me wrong, the beginning is crucial. Get it right and not only may you capture the attention of someone who could get your TV show made but an audience down the line.

there is no one way to write

More importantly though, make sure the rest of your script is just as good as the first 10 pages. And remember, in the end, there is no “10 Page Rule”. No one way to write your television scripts. When it comes to screenwriting, there are no rules at all