🎬 The #1 Thing Every Screenwriter MUST Do Before Typing FADE IN
(This is the stuff they don’t teach in film school.)
Alright listen up — because this is where 90% of screenwriters screw up before they even BEGIN.
They open Final Draft…They crack their knuckles…And they just start typing page one.
WRONG.
That’s how you waste 6 months writing a script nobody understands, nobody finishes, and no festival cares about.
👉 Before you write ONE scene, you must know EXACTLY what emotion your movie is delivering.
This is your product. This is what the audience is buying. This is what festivals are programming.
Not your cinematography. Not your dialogue. Not your clever idea.
The EMOTION.
You have to answer this, right now, in ONE sentence:
“At the end of my film, the audience should FEEL ______.”
That’s it. That’s the whole game.
Conflicted?
Gutted?
Uplifted?
Disturbed?
Vindicated?
Electrified?
Heartbroken?
Empowered?
Because once you know that, everything else becomes easy:
  • Your opening scene
  • Your character’s flaw
  • Your midpoint
  • Your climax
  • Your final image
  • Your music
  • Your pacing
  • Your tone
Every scene either drives that emotional punch, or you CUT IT.
And here’s the festival truth — straight from someone who’s programmed:
Movies with a CLEAR emotional destination get programmed. Movies without one get tossed in the “maybe” pile… which is the “no” pile.
So —
❓ What’s the emotion your film is selling?
Post it below. One sentence. No fluff.
I’ll reply to every comment and help you sharpen it so your script actually WORKS.
Let’s do this. 🎬🔥
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3 comments
Quincy Perkins
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🎬 The #1 Thing Every Screenwriter MUST Do Before Typing FADE IN
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