Screenwriting guide
How to Start a Screenplay (and How to End One)
Start a screenplay with an image that shows who your hero is and what is wrong in their world, then get to the first sign of trouble fast. The first 10 pages set the tone, the stakes and the question the ending must answer. Below are rendered example openings and endings, closed, open, twist and circular.
Written and reviewed by ScriptLix Editorial
What does a strong first page look like?
Two original openings, rendered on a real script page, with notes on what each line is doing.
Opening · image first
The Weigh Station
A drama about a long haul driver who has stopped going home. No dialogue until the hero has shown us who she is.
EXT. TRUCK WEIGH STATION - NIGHT
Rain on sodium lights. A line of eighteen wheelers idles in the dark, wipers beating out of time.
INT. TRUCK CAB - CONTINUOUS
DELPHINE OKAFOR (50s) eats cold noodles from the carton with the plastic fork snapped in half. On the dash, a birthday card, still sealed, postmarked three weeks ago.
Her phone buzzes. HOME. She watches it ring out.
She tucks the unopened card behind the sun visor, next to four others.
The light at the scale turns green. She puts the truck in gear.
DELPHINE
(to herself)
Two more states.
Written for this page as a teaching example. Not taken from a film.
- The first image sets tone: night, rain, idling engines. We know this is a quiet drama before anyone speaks.
- The sealed cards show the problem without explaining it. Five unopened birthday cards say more than a page of backstory.
- She ignores the call. A small, active choice on page 1 tells us who she is.
- Her only line is a deadline she sets for herself, the question the film will answer.
Opening · in motion
Low Tide
A thriller that starts mid problem. The hero is already doing something, and the scene ends with a reason to turn the page.
EXT. MUDFLATS - DAWN
Grey sand to the horizon. A tractor drags a boat trailer across it, far too fast.
INT. TRACTOR - CONTINUOUS
TOMAS REYES (30s), oyster farmer, mud to the elbows, drives with one eye on the water creeping in from the left.
In the passenger footwell, a waterproof bag. It is moving.
TOMAS
Stay down. Please, stay down.
The bag goes still.
EXT. MUDFLATS - CONTINUOUS
Behind him, two figures on foot, a mile back, walking the same line he drove. They are not hurrying. They do not need to.
The tide reaches the left wheel.
Written for this page as a teaching example. Not taken from a film.
- We open on speed and a deadline we can see: the tide is coming in.
- The moving bag is a question the reader needs answered, planted in one line of action.
- The followers who do not hurry raise the stakes without a word of dialogue.
- Every scene heading moves the story forward. Nothing here is set up for later; it is all happening now.
Need a first line to get going? Roll one with the story starters generator, then see the whole process in how to write a screenplay and place your act breaks with the three act structure calculator.
How do the four kinds of ending read on the page?
Closed, open, twist and circular endings, each shown as a final page with notes on why it lands.
Ending · closed
The Weigh Station, last page
A closed ending answers every question the film raised. Delphine goes home, and the cards finally get opened.
INT. KITCHEN - DAY
Delphine sits at the table in her driving jacket. Across from her, her son KOFI (17), arms folded.
She takes the five birthday cards from her pocket and lays them out in a row.
She opens the first one. Reads it. Laughs, once, then has to stop.
KOFI
That one's from when I was mad.
DELPHINE
I can tell.
She reaches for the second. Kofi slides his chair around to her side of the table.
FADE OUT.
Written for this page as a teaching example. Not taken from a film.
- The object from page 1 pays off. The audience has waited the whole film for those cards to open.
- The resolution is short: one gesture, two lines, one physical move closer.
- Closed endings suit stories where the central question is emotional and the audience has earned the answer.
Ending · open
Low Tide, last page
An open ending resolves the plot but leaves the hero with a choice the audience gets to finish.
EXT. HARBOUR WALL - DUSK
Tomas sits on the wall, soaked. The girl from the bag, NIA (8), wrapped in his coat, eats chips from paper.
A police car pulls up at the far end of the quay. A second car pulls up at the other end. Not police.
Tomas looks from one to the other.
NIA
Which one is ours?
He takes her hand. Stands.
CUT TO BLACK.
Written for this page as a teaching example. Not taken from a film.
- The plot question, will he get her across the flats, is answered.
- The new question, who can be trusted, is handed to the audience on purpose.
- An open ending still needs a decisive final action. He stands. We just do not see where he walks.
Ending · twist
The Night Porter
A twist recasts what came before. Every clue was on screen; the audience read it the wrong way.
INT. HOTEL LOBBY - NIGHT
The detective, AMIRA SAYED (40s), slides the guest register across the desk to the night porter, EDWIN (70s).
AMIRA
Every guest who died signed in on your shift.
EDWIN
I've worked every shift for forty years.
AMIRA
Then whose handwriting is this?
Edwin looks. The signatures are all the same hand. His.
He turns the register around and, very gently, writes one more name. Hers.
EDWIN
Checkout is at noon.
Written for this page as a teaching example. Not taken from a film.
- The twist works because the register has been on the desk in every lobby scene.
- It changes the meaning of earlier scenes. Each friendly line Edwin said now plays differently on a rewatch.
- The last line is polite and quiet, which is scarier than a threat.
Ending · circular
The Weigh Station, alternate ending
A circular ending returns to the opening image so the change is visible by comparison.
EXT. TRUCK WEIGH STATION - NIGHT
Rain on sodium lights. The same line of trucks.
INT. TRUCK CAB - CONTINUOUS
Delphine eats cold noodles with a snapped fork. On the dash, a birthday card. Torn open. Read.
Her phone buzzes. HOME.
She answers.
DELPHINE
Two more states. Then I'm done.
The light turns green.
Written for this page as a teaching example. Not taken from a film.
- Same place, same rain, same food. The audience recognises the frame instantly.
- Two details change: the card is open, and she answers the call. That is the whole arc in a single image.
- Her last line echoes her first, now said to someone else, which turns a vow to herself into a promise.
How to use it
- 1
Write your ending in one sentence first, so you know what question the opening has to ask.
- 2
Pick an opening image that shows the hero’s world and its problem without dialogue.
- 3
Put the hero on page 1 or 2 doing something active that reveals character.
- 4
Plant the inciting incident by about page 10, earlier in a short script.
- 5
End on an image that answers the opening one: changed, mirrored or reversed.
What the first 10 pages need to do
| Pages | Job | Ask yourself |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Opening image and tone | Would a reader know the genre without a title page? |
| 1 to 3 | Meet the hero, active | What are they doing, and what does it say about them? |
| 3 to 7 | The world and its problem | What is broken, missing or about to give way? |
| 5 to 10 | A hint of the theme | What does someone say that the hero is not ready to hear? |
| About 10 | The inciting incident | What breaks the routine and cannot be ignored? |
How do you start a script?
With a scene heading, then a picture. Fade in is optional today; many writers drop it. What matters is that the first action lines put a specific image in the reader’s head: a place, a person, and something happening. Avoid opening on an alarm clock, a character waking up or a long description of weather unless the image is doing real work.
The best openings are already in motion. Someone wants something on page 1, even if it is small, and something is in the way. That small want shows character faster than any description of their personality can.
What is an opening image?
It is the first picture of the film, chosen to set the tone and show the hero’s world before the story changes it. Blake Snyder named it as the first beat of the Save the Cat beat sheet and paired it with a final image that shows what changed. Think of the two as bookends: if you know your last image, you can design a first one that it answers.
How to start screenwriting if you have never written a script?
Start small. Write a logline, then a one page outline with a beginning, middle and end, then a short script of five to ten pages. Shorts teach you format, scene economy and endings without a 110 page commitment. Read produced scripts alongside the films, and learn the handful of format elements you need from the screenplay format guide.
Free software is enough to begin. ScriptLix Studio, Fountain editors and other free apps all format the page for you, so your attention stays on story.
What should happen in the first 10 pages of a screenplay?
By page 10 a reader should know the genre, the hero, what the hero wants or lacks, and that something has gone wrong. In Syd Field’s model the inciting incident lands around page 10 of a 120 page script. Many readers decide early whether to keep going, so make every one of those pages earn its place.
Cut anything a reader does not need yet: backstory, a tour of the supporting cast, flashbacks that explain instead of intrigue. Give us a question we want answered and trust us to wait for the rest.
What are the most common opening mistakes?
Waking up, dream openings, voice over that explains the premise, a cold open of action with no person we care about, and three pages of description before anyone does anything. Another common one is a prologue set years earlier that the story could have revealed later. None of these are banned, but each one makes a reader work harder to trust you.
How do you end a movie script?
Answer the question the opening asked. The climax is where the hero faces the main conflict directly, and the resolution shows what changed. Keep the resolution short: once the central question is answered, the audience is ready to leave, so tie off only what matters and end on an image.
Your options are a closed ending that resolves everything, an open ending that answers the plot but leaves a choice hanging, a twist that recasts what came before, and a circular ending that returns to the opening image with new meaning. The rendered examples above show each one.
How do you write a twist ending that feels fair?
Plant the clues in plain sight, early, and let the audience misread them. A fair twist should make a rewatch better, not reveal that the film withheld information. Test it by listing every scene the twist changes the meaning of; if the list is empty, it is a surprise, not a twist.
What is the last line of a screenplay?
Traditionally FADE OUT. or THE END, set at the right margin or centred. Many current scripts end with a final image and CUT TO BLACK. Either is fine. What a reader remembers is the image just above it.
Questions writers ask
How do you start a movie script?
With a scene heading and a strong visual image that shows the hero’s world and its problem, then the hero doing something active within the first page or two.
Do you have to write FADE IN at the start of a screenplay?
No. It is traditional and harmless, but many current scripts start straight on the first scene heading.
When should the inciting incident happen?
In a feature, usually around page 10, sometimes earlier. In a short film it can come on page 1 or 2.
How long should the ending of a screenplay be?
The climax can run several pages, but the resolution after it is usually short, often a page or two. Once the main question is answered, end soon.
Should I write the ending first?
Many writers do. Knowing the final image tells you what the opening needs to set up, and it keeps the middle pointed somewhere.
What is a circular ending?
An ending that returns to the opening image or line, so the audience can see how the hero or the world has changed by comparison.