Write a 10-minute fiction episode
Drama Drama publishes these guides.
Give the character room to act
Ten minutes gives you space for a few linked scenes and a meaningful reversal. You still need a clear question for the episode: “Can Nia learn why her mother is selling the restaurant before the buyer announces the deal?” Keep the episode moving by changing what Nia knows or what she risks in each scene.
An example outline, not a timing rule
| Approximate stretch | Dramatic task | Nia example |
|---|---|---|
| Opening | Present the immediate problem | Nia sees the sale document and asks her mother for an explanation. |
| Early development | Make the first approach fail | Her mother refuses to discuss the buyer and asks Nia to delete the review. |
| Middle | Reveal information that changes the plan | Nia learns the restaurant has debts her mother concealed. |
| Later development | Put relationships into conflict | Nia asks a friend to investigate; the friend warns that Nia's audience will discover the family link. |
| Ending | Force a choice or consequence | Nia keeps the review online and goes to meet the buyer herself. |
The stretches are prompts for outlining, not prescribed minute marks. A comedy, thriller, and family drama can move at different speeds.
Test the scenes
For each scene ask: What does the protagonist seek here? Who or what resists? What changes by the end? If the answer to the last question is “nothing,” shorten the scene or give it a sharper turn.
Match format to action
Ten-minute fiction can be vertical or horizontal. Compose readable actions and screen information for the chosen frame. If the scene relies on several people reacting at once, test whether each reaction remains clear in the vertical cut; if it depends on an intimate close-up, test whether it still has energy in a wider frame. Avoid claiming a format determines episode length.
Outline worksheet:
- Episode question: ___
- Opening problem: ___
- Scene 1 action and change: ___
- Scene 2 action and change: ___
- Middle discovery: ___
- Scene 3 action and change: ___
- Ending choice and consequence: ___
- What changes in the series after this episode: ___
Before you produce: a ten-minute episode needs many more generated shots than a short test. Plan the shots and the budget before generating: see How to budget AI video generation credits and the shot plan in How to produce your first AI drama episode.