Thursday, September 01, 2005

Rough Draft of Opening

So it's been a while since my last post. I think the excuses count is in the double digits now but I won't bore you with them here. Instead I'll post a little bit of the opening.

The story takes place in the small farming town of Apple Valley. At the time the story starts it is almost fall. People move about in and out of shops running errands. A police SUV makes it’s way down the street on its way to the station. Behind the wheel is JOE WILSON, mid-30’s, confident and well liked. A few people wave as he goes by, Joe waves back.

Joe arrives at the station to start his shift. Inside we meet a few of his co-workers. Apple Valley’s a place where nothing much happens so there isn’t a need for a large police force. The SHERIFF, a large man in his 60’s, is at his desk sifting through paperwork. A few other officers, ANDY, WILL and LINDA mingle near the coffee pot. Will is at the end of his shift and getting ready to go home. He tells one his typical off color and tasteless jokes. Everyone except Joe thinks this extremely funny.

The apple harvest is in full swing and we can see workers picking apples in the orchards just outside of town. Hands pluck apples from the tree and stuff them into bags they are carrying on their shoulders. When the bags are full then get dumped into a big bin. When the bin is full it is hauled into the warehouse by forklift. One of the workers has just emptied his bag and is moving on to the next tree. As he approaches he sees something on the ground at the base of the tree. He can’t make out what it is at first. He gets closer and realizes that it is a body.

That's all you get for now. Basically this little snipet will comprise the first 10 or so pages of the finished script. It obviously still needs work and that is underway. At this point I am trying to sort out all the story points and finalize characters, etc before going back to re-write. The above excerpt of from a rough treatment written about 6 months ago.