Script Magic: Unlock the Power of Your Opening Pages

Hi, everyone~ and welcome to...

"Don't Write Your First Three Pages Until You Do These Three Things: How to get literary managers, agents and execs to read your script all the way through"

So you written a draft of your story or script.

Now what?...

Welcome to my Intro video, a course on screenwriting success and unlocking the power of your opening pages so literary managers, agents, and execs will read your script to the end.

Hi, I'm Kelly Keough, and the reason why I'm bringing you this course is because I worked on a script that for several years got laughed at and rejected in Hollywood, and then it finally broke through to the top 20 in FINAL DRAFT'S Big Break Screenwriting Contest in June of 2023.

And I want to share what I learned with you so that you can bring your writing to new heights. So let's dive into this Intro.

Who is this course for?

This course is for writers in the thinking stages of dreaming up a new story.

• It can also be for writers who are creating a concept and a premise.

• It's for help with plotting and outlining your story.

• You'll also learn techniques to actually write or rewrite your opening three pages.

• And it's also used for self-study and guided editing that will really make a difference in your writing. You'll see.

So what's in store?

Let me just go over that. Your first three pages are like a first date. You'll learn the three laws of attraction. For your first three pages, you'll learn why your pages must be better than any produced script that you can get out there or any script on the Blacklist.

1. We're going to go through part one, TRIM.

2. Part two, CUT.

3. Part three, CRAFT.

4. Then we're going to analyze several scripts and transform your opening pages.

Testimonials 

Kelly Keough is a genius! Not only does she take the time to ensure that every writer gets an adequate amount of notes that successfully sets them up for the next draft, but she also uses her industry expertise to bring every script to the next level. I couldn’t recommend her workshops more. ~Zach B

Working with Kelly Keough is amazing! She has helped me with two of my scripts now and I cannot be more grateful. She always has incredible insight and her knowledge and command of structure are top notch! She’s great at helping you get through writer’s block. Kelly is direct, honest, caring and has a keen intuition that really benefits her clients! Thank you Kelly! ~Beth N.

Kelly Keough is an incredible teacher and writer whose skill and wisdom can only be matched by her compassion and encouraging nature. I was lucky enough to have her as my professor in college and the way that I approach my writing has been forever changed by her teaching. As you can tell from her workshops and videos, she is concise and clear, accomplished and knowledgeable, and most importantly eager to help you succeed and find your voice. ~Emma M.

Welcome back to "Don't Write Your First Three Pages Until You Do These Three Things." Today, we'll dive into part one, TRIM, focusing on how to captivate literary managers, agents, and executives, ensuring they read your script from start to finish. I'm Kelly Keough, and we're about to get started on a journey to enhance your screenwriting prowess.

Here's your first valuable TRIM tip: Use parentheticals in dialogue only to distinguish who's talking to who. And not for action. That's it. In other words, cut out your parenthetical references if you are using them for action lines. Keep action in the action.

I hope you'll keep reading and watching!

What's in store...

• Why agents stop reading scripts

• Story Waves Lessons 1: The Story Starts on Page 1

• Story Waves Lesson 2: Write the Last Page First

• Story Waves Lesson 3: All Stories Have Four Actions

• TRIM Technique

In this video, we'll explore common reasons scripts lose their readers within the first three pages. We'll apply the lessons from Story Waves, covering the first three pivotal Story Wave lessons in detail. Our first lesson emphasizes the importance of starting your story from page one, an essential tip for crafting compelling openings.

Following that, we discuss the strategy of writing your last page first, a technique that fosters a strong narrative drive by connecting the end of your story back to its beginning, using the theme to amplify your writing's potential. Lastly, we'll examine the four fundamental actions present in all stories—win, escape, stop, retrieve—and their significance within your script's first three pages.

Let's delve into the reasons someone might stop reading your script before even reaching page three. It could be due to confusion, lack of action, or simply because it's boring. Typos, excessive white space, or too much text can also deter readers, especially literary managers who are inundated with scripts. Achieving a perfect balance in your first three pages is crucial.

The TRIM technique aims to refine these pages, making them clear, engaging, literary, persuasive, and succinct.

Lesson Plan: TRIM the Action Lines

By Kelly E. Keough |

Objective: To teach screenwriters how to captivate literary managers, agents, and executives with their script's first three pages using the TRIM technique.

Materials Needed: Screenwriting software, a copy of the article "Don't Write Your First Three Pages Until You Do These Three Things," examples of strong script openings, pen and paper for notes.

Lesson Duration: 1 hour

Introduction (10 minutes):

- Briefly summarize the importance of the first three pages of a script.

- Introduce the TRIM technique and its components.

Lesson Body (35 minutes):

- Discuss the common pitfalls that cause readers to lose interest.

- Explore the Story Waves lessons with examples from literature and film.

- Writing Exercise: Have students write the first page of their script, focusing on setting the tone and introducing the narrative effectively.

- Writing Exercise: Students write the last page of their script to envision the narrative arc.

- Writing Exercise: Identify the four fundamental actions (win, escape, stop, retrieve) in their script's opening.

Conclusion (15 minutes):

- Discuss the importance of trimming and refining the action lines.

- Writing Exercise: Students apply the TRIM technique to their first three pages, aiming to condense them down to two.

- Share and discuss the changes made during the exercise.

For more lesson information, instruction and accompanying writing activities, please download the all materials below: slide deck, homework, writing prompts, and Story Wave articles.

Hi, and welcome back to "Don't Write Your First Three Pages Until You Do These Three Things." This is part two, titled CUT.

Here, we'll explore how to get literary managers, agents, and executives to read your script all the way through. I'm Kelly Keough, and I'm excited to guide you through this next video.

What's in store...

• How to CUT dialogue that doesn’t support the story

• How to CUT dialogue that doesn't tell the plan

• How to CUT dialogue that doesn't tell the theme

• How to CUT dialogue that doesn't tell the character's tagline

In this session, we will delve into how to CUT dialogue that doesn't support the story. This is crucial because trimming those first three pages down to two can significantly enhance the readability and impact of your script.

Cutting dialogue can be challenging, but remember, dialogue serves three primary functions: it advances the story, underscores the theme, and delivers memorable taglines.

Let's dive into the specifics of what we can CUT to refine our script.

First, consider cutting dialogue that includes parenthetical references, which can clutter the page and slow down the reader.

For example, Elyse Hollander's "Blonde Ambition" script from The Blacklist 2016 makes use of several parenthetical references in just three pages, which, while effective in some contexts, could be streamlined for greater impact.

Lesson Plan: CUT Dialogue in Your Script

By Kelly E. Keough

Objective: To teach screenwriters how to effectively cut and refine dialogue in their scripts to enhance readability, story progression, and thematic resonance.

Materials Needed:
- Pen and paper or a digital writing tool
- Copies of the "CUT" article by Kelly Keough
- Sample scripts for reference (optional) and examples are given in the video

Lesson Duration: Approximately 1 hour

Introduction (10 minutes):
- Begin with a brief introduction to the importance of dialogue in scriptwriting.

- Discuss the three functions of dialogue: advancing the story, underscoring the theme, and delivering memorable taglines.

Discussion (15 minutes):
- Review the article "Don't Write Your First Three Pages Until You Do These Three Things" with a focus on the section titled "CUT."

- Highlight examples from the article such as "Blonde Ambition," "Barbie," "Top Gun: Maverick," "Raising Dion," and "Thelma and Louise" to illustrate effective dialogue usage.

For more lesson information, instruction and accompanying writing activities, please download the all materials below: slide deck, homework, and writing prompts.

Hi, and welcome back to "Don't Write Your First Three Pages Until You Do These Three Things." Let's jump into it. This is part three, CRAFT, how to get literary agents and managers and executives to read your script all the way till the end.

Hi, I'm Kelly Keough, and if you've been following along, we have done part one, trim, part two, cut. And this video is all about craft. What's in store is that we're going to talk about rhetorical or persuasive writing devices that you're going to use specifically to craft your first three pages, your opening scenes, so that they pop off the page and show your literary style but doing it in a seamless way that is not over the top or wordy. It's all about connecting the persuasive techniques to your story's theme and your story's action and character.

What's in store...

• Craft your pages using rhetorical and persuasive writing devices that align to your story

• Understand why you must create concrete images in your reader's minds

• Why contrast is the top persuasive writing technique

• Analyze AIR, POOR THINGS, and BLONDE AMBITION scripts

• Workshop pages

Then we're going to talk about the script AIR that was written by Alex Convery. It was an amazing script on the BLACKLIST that caught the attention of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. It flies. The pacing is kept all the way through, and that's because Convery breaks the formatting rules. But he also made his opening page catch my attention, and it caught it for the entire script.

Then we're going to talk about how you transform your 1st two pages in the next video, Script Analysis and Page Rewrite.

Lesson Plan: CRAFT Your First Three Pages

By Kelly E. Keough

Objective: Understand and apply persuasive writing techniques to craft compelling opening pages of a script that engage literary agents, managers, and executives.

Materials Needed:
- A copy of the "Don't Write Your First Three Pages Until You Do These Three Things" article
- Script excerpts for analysis (e.g., the script "AIR" by Alex Convery)
- Writing tools (computer, pen & paper)

Introduction (10 minutes):
- Begin with a brief recap of parts one (trim) and two (cut) of the series.
- Introduce the concept of craft and its importance in engaging a reader from the very beginning.

Discussion (20 minutes):
- Discuss the role of rhetorical devices in writing and how they can be used to enhance the storytelling experience.

- Analyze the "AIR" script opening as an example of breaking formatting rules effectively to maintain pacing.

Activity - Persuasive Techniques in Action (30 minutes):
- Each writer will assign themself a chosen persuasive technique discussed in the article (e.g., contrast, juxtaposition) and apply it to their opening pages.

- Each writer will craft an opening scene using their assigned technique, ensuring it aligns with the story's theme, action, and characters.

Workshop (45 minutes):
- Each writer should read their opening scene aloud.

- Pair up with another writer and provide each other with live feedback, focusing on how well the persuasive techniques were employed and the vividness of the created images.

Homework Assignment:
- Writers will revise their group's opening scene based on the workshop feedback.

- Write a one-page reflection on how the use of persuasive techniques can elevate their writing and the importance of crafting opening pages that resonate.

Writing Prompts & Activities: Engaging the Senses & Elevating Craft

Activity 1: Sensory Immersion (20 minutes)
- Instruct writers to close their eyes and imagine a scene where two characters are meeting for the first time in an unusual setting.

For more lesson information, instruction and accompanying writing activities, please download the all materials below: slide deck, homework, and more writing prompts.

Reader Challenge: Yes or No? Would You Seriously Turn to Page 3?

After reading the 1st two pages of my historical action romance.

Let me know!

Hi everyone, and welcome back the final installment of "Don't Write Your First Three Pages Until You Do These Three Things."

In today's Script Analysis and Page Rewrite video, I am going to demo three feature film scripts and rework the 1st two pages of my feature spec script, THE UNREEDEMED BRIDE, an historical action romance.

*See the written story pitch for THE UNREDEEMED BRIDE below.

Review the Story Waves TRIM, CUT and CRAFT tools:

1. INTRO to understanding your 1st 3 pages are a 1st date and why you should care.

2. TRIM action lines that are repetitive and condense them.

3. CUT dialogue lines that don’t support the plan, the theme, or a character’s tagline.

4. CRAFT the story’s persuasion with rhetorical devices that support your story’s style.

...and preview SCRIPT ANALYSIS + REWRITE:

5. SCRIPT ANALYSIS + REWRITE demos 1st two pages of successful scripts using TRIM, CUT and CRAFT techniques, and how you can apply the tools to level up your story's clarity, commercial appeal, and creative potential.

In this 30-minute instructional video, you will:

• Analyze the Story Waves TRIM, CUT and CRAFT tools and note how the produced scripts AIR by Alex Convery, POOR THINGS, and LA CONFIDENTIAL and how they used them successfully in the opening pages.

• Review a rewrite that puts the TRIM, CUT and CRAFT tools to the test on my feature film script, THE UNREEDEMED BRIDE, an historical action romance, so you can apply the same steps to your opening pages.

• Be able to download the accompanying UNDREEDMED BRIDE scripts to compare the changes, giving you inspiration to apply the tools to your opening pages.

  
  

Hi, I'm Kelly Keough, and I want to share with you how I raised my writing potential to new heights. And you can do the same.

So here, we're going to start with "Air," and I have the links for you for the scripts in this slide deck. So all you have to do is download it and click the links, and you can access the scripts.

And to download my scripts, see the class resources.

Compare the two scripts to see how my Story Waves techniques can transform your opening pages.

I hope you'll view the entire video and let me know how you transformed your opening pages easily and effortlessly!

For more lesson information, instruction and accompanying writing activities, please download the all materials below: the scripts and written explanation of applying TRIM, CUT, CRAFT to my first two pages.

Thank you for sharing your writing journey with me,

Kelly E. Keough

* Pitch

TITLE: THE UNREDEEMED BRIDE

FORMAT: Feature film. Based on the book, The Redeemed Captive, by Rev. John Williams. YA, historical action romance based on the true events of the Deerfield Massacre of 1704.

COMPS: LAST OF THE MOHICANS meets a reverse POCAHONTAS

LOGLINE: In 1704 Massachusetts, the kidnapped teen daughter of the famous Protestant Rev. John Williams shares a romance with a Catholic French Mohawk, betraying her father’s spiritual beliefs when she chooses to remain captive in a fort in Montreal.

ABOUT ME: I was inspired to write this script because it's a true story based on my cousin Eunice’s family history on her mother’s William side. Her ancestor was the original Eunice Williams, kidnapped by Mohawks during the Massachusetts Deerfield Massacre of 1704. Turning the colonies’ spiritual beliefs upside down, she is abandoned by her own and tarnishes her famous father’s reputation, choosing to remain captive in French fort in Montreal. Eunice is a force of spiritual change. As the screenwriter, to ensure Native American representation, I had the privilege of interviewing a Seneca female elder on the Seneca Reservation because of my grandparent’s relationship with the Seneca tribe in Western New York. My intention was to honor the Mohawks and write a Native American story with authenticity.