Act 1 This Weekend Doesn’t End Well for Anyone
THE FIRST SEQUENCE
Central Question: Who’s going to be sacrificed to become our inciting incident? (Killing someone no one likes is a good first step.)
The first sequence is where the audience meets the main characters and gets introduced to their current life, i.e., the status quo. Use this sequence to build up empathy for your protagonist.
It’s also where we typically meet the first murder victim and get an inkling of the tensions that will lead to their dying.
The first sequence should also contain foreshadowing of the strains and conflicts to come.
The sequence usually ends with the “inciting incident,” i.e., the moment when everything changes and our protagonist is spun in a new direction, otherwise known as a “body drop.”
Pro tip: Do NOT write the first sequence (or even the prologue) from the perspective of the person who is going to die.