10 Screenwriting Lessons You Can Learn From Prometheus

9. Set Up Your Story In The First 20 Pages

Despite clinging to a plot that - in its second act - pretty much dwindles and dies, Prometheus does a good job of setting up its story with an admirable level of efficiency. This is achieved using one of the most basic screenwriting principles - have the main story set up by page 20 (at the latest). Here, we're introduced to the major players, the objective, the world that our characters inhabit, and are granted some Elizabeth Shaw-based backstory. That doesn't mean you have to stick with the original plot established on page 20 when you get further into your script (you're free to change things up anytime from there on), but you should aim to at least have the first "goal" set up and (hopefully) being explored by this point (page 20 will roughly translate as the 20th minute of your flick - about the length of time that audiences will tolerate a story set-up). Anything longer will give your movie a sense of aimlessness, and when it comes to the movies, aimlessness pretty much equals "boring."