The better prepared you are as a screenwriter, the greater the chances of you completing a screenplay and selling it. This is why it’s important to have a screenwriting strategy.
What ideas are script worthy? How are you going to manage your time? When and where are you going to write? What are your daily and monthly screenwriting goals? It’s also important to read other screenplays and pay attention to the script marketplace and incorporate what you’ve learned into your own screenwriting strategy.
Here are some tips to help you create a winning screenwriting strategy.
Do you have an idea that you think would make a cool movie? Great: write it down. Maybe you have more than one idea? Maybe you have several ideas for several cool movies? Write them all down and hold onto them. Even if you don’t use some of these ideas immediately, you might be able to use them down the road.
These days, there are various ways you can make notes and make use of them. You can use the Notes app on your iPhone, so you can easily email them to your computer and expand them into an outline or treatment. If you have Final Draft Go for iPhone or iPad, you can simply jot down your ideas into this screenwriting app and use them as a foundation for a new screenplay template.
But how do you choose which idea to write as a screenplay? There are many factors to consider. Which idea is the most high concept? Which idea is more likely to be produced as a feature film or TV show? If there’s one idea you’re most excited about and you can visualize it in your head, start with that idea. It’ll be easier and more fun to write, and this enthusiasm will show in your finished screenplay.
There are sometimes real-world factors that can make finding the right time and space to write difficult. These include day jobs, living conditions, and personal and social distractions. This is why it’s important to create a personal work routine.
The important thing is to get a routine down and to stick with it. Even if you’re writing at odd times, it’s okay. Just as long as you’re consistently writing at odd times, you will be able to start and finish your screenplay. Consistency is the key, and having a set and personalized work routine makes this possible.
Your work environment should also be personalized and conducive to maximum productivity. When deciding where to write, make sure it’s someplace comfortable that gives you a clear headspace. A personal work environment combined with a consistent routine will keep you in screenwriting shape.
In addition to career goals, you should be setting writing goals for yourself, both long and short term. The great thing about writing goals is unlike career goals, you have total control here: you’re in the driver’s seat and you decide what you’re capable of accomplishing. That being said, there are precedents for exactly how long it should take you to write an industry standard screenplay.
Going by a standard writer agreement, writers are usually given a 12-week time frame to start and finish a script. So most professional screenwriters complete a first draft of a screenplay within 12 weeks (just under 3 months). This should be your long term writing goal, even if you’re writing a spec script (i.e. an original screenplay you haven’t been hired or commissioned to write).
Your short-term writing goal should be a daily page-count quota: how many pages of your script you complete a day. Personally, I think 5 pages is an ideal and reasonable daily quota and usually leads to a screenplay getting finished within two months (which lines up with the writer agreement time frame of 12 weeks). Even if you’re a beginner screenplaywriter, it’s definitely possible to discipline yourself to write 5 pages a day. There are also Final Draft features like Writing Goals and Stats, which helps you keep track of your productivity. In addition, you can use Final Draft’s Sprint Timer tool to create a timed writing session if you need some assistance in making your page-count quota.
Reading professional screenplays is essential for beginner screenwriters. This is one of the easiest and most effective ways to learn the screenwriting craft. However, you should be selective about what scripts you read as some scripts are going to be more helpful than others.
First and foremost, choose scripts that have been recently purchased or produced. By doing so, you’ll be seeing what’s selling in the current screenplay marketplace (more on this below). You’ll also see how writers are formatting their scripts today. Screenplay formatting has changed a lot over the years, and the way people wrote scripts back in the 1970s is very different from how people write scripts today.
In addition, you should also read scripts for older, classic films. Even if the formatting and style has changed, there are still valuable techniques to learn from an expert screenwriter: the art of storytelling and worldbuilding, creating tension and suspense, developing great characters, and writing naturalistic dialogue. All of these are skills you can pick up from reading the masters of the craft (whether they’re well-known writers or have written well-known films) and it’ll help you to grow as a screenwriter.
Finally, it’s important to pay attention to the screenplay marketplace. You don’t want to be coming up with ideas and writing in a vacuum. By reading the trades and industry-related articles, you’ll see what kind of films are being produced and what kind of scripts are selling (which is an indicator of what films will be produced in the future). In general, it’s good to have your finger on the pulse and know what’s topical and considered relevant to people whenever creating content (whether it’s a screenplay, a TV pilot or even a TikTok or YouTube Short).
This doesn’t mean you should be chasing after every trend and not be true to your own taste and voice. But at the same time, sometimes marketplace awareness can help you decide what to write. For example, let’s say you have two different concepts for a script and they both reflect who you are as a writer, but one concept is currently more marketable. You can consider that your tiebreaker: go with the concept that’s more marketable. This way you can adapt to the marketplace while still being true to yourself.
The film industry is a business and managers, agents and producers are constantly reacting to marketplace trends. As a result, paying attention to the marketplace should definitely be part of your screenwriting strategy — just as long as you balance it with your own creative aspirations. Think of it simply as acquiring knowledge and the more knowledge you have, the more options you’ll give yourself.