Play your cards early

There's a tendency among writers to save up for the big "reveal." Whenever we write character driven screenplays, we always have a plan for that big moment in the end. That moment when all mysteries are revealed, all backstory is exposed, and all questions are answered. In fact, like good disciples of Chekhov, we sprinkle in the questions throughout the script. That way, the big reveal is even bigger! Often, this reveal moment is the one we've had in our mind since we first started growing the concept. It was that initial seed. "What if I wrote a script about... (insert random character backstory)... a person who found out as a child that his parents are brother and sister?" Ooooh... ahhh... moronic...

But to reveal that to the audience must be huge. It's what the entire script hinges on. Everything builds to that scene!

Why do we insist on doing it like this? I swear, this is a deformed, bastardized child of Syd Field's screenwriting books. After all, according to Mr. Field, all characters have that one moment in their past that has created who they are today. So, if you write this wittily and ironically deep character, it stands to reason that we're all reading this story to find out how he/she became who they are. Such methods formed the central structure of most of my earlier scripts.

It was during a college writing course, that I finally found out the error of my ways. I wrote a story of two guys sitting in a car talking to each other (wow, such an ingenious set-up. I hope it pays off!). As the tension builds between them, we eventually come to the moment we've all been waiting for... that image shaping event in their past!!! Bust out Jenna Jameson's face because this thing has climaxed!

My instructor wasn't so thrilled. Let there be no mistake, I hate that man. He's an ass. I hated his class. It has truly taken me years to admit I learned anything from him.

Instructor: "What's the point of reading all that if you don't know what's going on?"
Inside my head: "You ass. The point is that there are questions, and those questions make you wonder why these people are the way they are."
Instructor: "If you put these secrets out in front for all to see, it colors everything that happens afterwards. It makes things more lively."

Hmmm... the fool has a point.

In improv, the moment we walk onto an empty stage, we must establish CROW.

C - Characters. Who is everybody?
R - Relationships. Who likes who? Who has high status and who has low status? How long have they known each other?
O - Objective. What does each character want?
W - Where. Ummm... this one is obvious. Where is the scene taking place?

That's why improv scenes often begin with very on-the-nose dialog. "Pa! Mean Mr. Harkins says he's gonna take our farm if the corn doesn't grow!" "God will see us through, Billy. Don't you ever doubt it!"

And the scene is set up. We know everything we need to move forward.

Screenwriters need to get as much CROW out as early as possible. Hopefully through subtext, but a half page of voice over can be a lot more economical than five pages of subtext dancing. Get the info out there! Let the reader know! This crap where the good guy and the bad guy reveal that they're actually brothers on page 90? Put it in the god damn setup!!!

But what about surprises? Twists? Reversals? A script needs to be constantly changing and shocking the reader. If you reveal everything in Act I, what's left?

Ah-ha! That's the trick. That's what brings us back to my common mantra that "WRITING IS WORK." If you play your cards early, it forces you to invent newer, better, bigger cards later! Come up with better twists, reveals, surprises. And what will you get when you're done? A script that stands up as a whole instead of one that depends on the ending to bring order to the rest.

This all comes back to the "kill your babies" advice. When we begin writing, we often have babies that we feel would make for a great character reveal. And instead of pushing ourselves to come up with more clever insights into our characters and plots, we base the entire script around these little tidbits.

As an example, I once read a script that was clearly a knock-off of Indiana Jones. The writer had some device (some gem) that had all of these extraordinary powers. The problem was that he didn't even give us a taste of what those powers were. Good? Bad? Who knows! It was all saved up for the big reveal. Another reader hearkened back to Raiders of the Lost Ark. They could have left the powers of the Ark undefined. But instead, Kasdan has Indy explain it to the government guys. He pulls out a book that has a handy picture. "Is that lightning?" "Power of God." We know what this thing is capable of. Does the Ark work? Come on, everyone knows this thing will blast the shit out of someone by the end. But the way the script puts it all together and sets everything up for the final showdown is brilliant. They didn't need to save any cards because they had stuffed their pockets with the Ace of Spades! Multiple Aces of Spades.

So if you have that "big moment" when all truth in the universe is finally revealed, ask yourself if it wouldn't be more powerful to put that in the beginning and come up with something even more badass for the end.