ARRIVE LATE, LEAVE EARLY

 

This is a screenwriting trick. Start with action. Leave with impact. Arrive late, leave early.

 

Take the “arrive late” notion. Start the scene with the action, rather than the build up to the action.

 

Here are two examples of the start of a chapter I have just put together:
I parked the car and looked at the house. I hoped he was in. I walked towards the front door, ready for whatever lay ahead.
I banged on the door, heard it echo inside.
When it was opened, I pushed him into the hallway. 

"I knew I’d find you here.”
 

Or

 

The door flew open. I pushed him hard, knocking him into the hallway.
I was at his house, got up early, so I’d catch him before he went to work.
"I knew I’d find you here.”

 

The second example tells you as much as the first, but it starts with action.

 

In terms of leaving early, it’s the same trick. End on the impact, not the effect of the impact.

 

Here are two examples of an end of a chapter I have just put together:

I rushed into the room, frantic, breathless, and saw her, blood down her shirt, her head lolling to one side.
Olivia was dead.
I sunk to my knees, not believing what I saw. I thought about how I’d be able to go along without her, what I’d tell her parents. The days ahead looked bleak.’

 

Or

 

I rushed into the room and saw her, blood down her shirt, her head lolling to one side.
I sunk to my knees, took deep breaths, not believing what I saw. I thought of her parents, her family, the days ahead. All of it was bleak.
Olivia was dead.

Again, the same information has been conveyed, but it ends on the impact, the shocking news.

 

Start with action. End with impact.

Now you know how to start a scene, but what on earth do you call the characters within it?

 

Follow the arrow.