Script-To-Screen #5: Structuring your first 10 pages for impact

In screenwriting, your first 10 pages are everything. They’re your pitch, your promise, and your invitation to keep reading (or watching). Whether you’re sending your script to agents, producers, or competitions, if those opening minutes don’t grip the reader, they won’t stick around for the rest.

Here’s how to structure those crucial first 10 pages for maximum impact.

1. Grab Us on Page One

Don’t waste time. The opening image or action should immediately suggest tone, genre, or stakes. Whether it’s a quiet moment full of subtext or a dramatic event, it needs to hook the audience instantly.

Example: A man digs a grave at dawn, while a wedding dress hangs from a nearby tree.

This raises questions and sets the mood. The reader is engaged from line one.

2. Establish the World

Use pages 1–3 to subtly introduce the world of your story. This isn’t just about where you are physically — it’s about tone, genre, and rules. Is this grounded realism or heightened fantasy? Is it grim, hopeful, absurd?

Every detail, from character behavior to background noise, should serve this purpose.

3. Introduce Your Protagonist with Purpose

By page 5, we should meet the protagonist — not just physically, but emotionally. What’s their flaw? What’s missing in their life? What are they doing that tells us who they are before they say a word?

Avoid: Long monologues or voiceover exposition.
Aim for: Action that reveals character.

4. Suggest the Central Conflict or Question

Without giving everything away, plant the seed of your story’s core conflict. Something should happen — or almost happen — that hints at what’s coming.

A missed phone call.
A strange arrival.
A crack in the routine.

We don’t need full exposition — we need momentum.

5. Create an Emotional Hook

Facts are forgettable. Feelings linger. Within 10 pages, your reader should feel something — concern, curiosity, amusement, unease. That emotional engagement is what drives them forward.

---

Final Tip:

Most professional readers will tell you: If it doesn’t work by page 10, it doesn’t work. These pages are your test. Your trailer. Your proof of concept. Make every line count.