Writing Assignment 6: Act I (Due 10/25)

Write Act I in proper screenplay format using screenplay formatting software.  Act I should set up your story, where and when it takes place, introduce the protagonist and his problem/predicament; introduce his want; show us what is at stake. Act I should end with the inciting incident.

Readers assigned: Act I (for 10/25).

Act I is your screenplay’s setup. It should introduce your main character and their predicament, powerfully and cinematically; and establish that character’s want, the dramatic premise, and time lock, if there is one. It can hint our the character’s strengths and weaknesses, or an increasingly powerful threat to the character’s want. It should end with the inciting incident — the action that sets the story in motion. It should do all of this visually and efficiently.

ACT I Checklist:

Does scene 1 begin with powerful visual storytelling and an active protagonist? Does it set up your main character’s predicament?

Is your main character clear?

Is the protagonist’s want clear?

Is the dramatic premise clear?

Are the stakes “life and death”?

Is the want urgent?

Is there a timelock?

Is there conflict?

Does Act I end with the Inciting Incident? (This should be more or less at the bottom of page 1 of your five-page script.)