Angela L. Harvey Reader Materials

The First Ten Pages: Crafting a Microstory

October Time/ day TBA

Angela L. Harvey

When a new script lands on the desk of a showrunner, literary agent, or development executive, it joins stacks of dozens of others. Most of these scripts end up in the recycle bin before the reader hits page ten. How to avoid this terrible fate? The trick is to prove you’re a great storyteller by then. Daunting? Maybe. But if Hemingway could do it in six words, I think we’ve got a fighting chance.

You don’t need shock value or creative swear words to grab and hold the attention of a busy professional. You need a clear, compelling character in a vibrant setting, making interesting choices. Readers want to be taken on an emotional ride. They want you to tell them a story. In this participatory session, we’ll discuss how to distill a larger story down to an intense, intimate moment that can keep the reader engaged, or at least land the meeting by page ten.

Required Reading (in Reader):

Only the first 10 pages of each of the following:

Davies, Russell T,. Screenplay of A Very English Scandal, episode 1. Script Slug, 2017.

Khouri, Callie. Screenplay of “Pilot,” Nashville. SG-host.com, 2012.

Manson, Graeme. Screenplay of “Pilot,” Orphan Black*. TV Calling, 2012.

 *Content Warning: suicide, violence.