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Tip of the Week 60 Page Wonders The average script in Hollywood comes in around 110 pages. But the vast percentage of these scripts have no more than 60 pages of story. That's 50 pages of padding. And that's not going to work at all. Test yourself. Pretend you are pitching to someone. If you can state the main story turns in four or five beats (be honest now), you've got a 60 page wonder. Forget how good your dialogue is. Don't tell me what a great hero you have. If you don't have enough story, you're dead. So what can you do about it? First, start using the technique known as "stacking." In stacking, you keep shoving everything to the front of the script. Instead of having a separate scene for character definition or texture, weave those elements into a story scene. Second, remember where story comes from. The source of story lies in the opposition. The more your opposition is hidden from the hero, the more chance you have of creating a great story. Of course, how you weave that opposition - both open and hidden - with your hero is another subject There are hundreds of techniques for increasing the amount of story in your script. But they will do you no good unless you take a brutally honest look at your own script to see if you have 60 page wonder.
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