23 Things You Can Do for Your Screenwriting Goals This Weekend

by Naomi Write + Co. in screenwriting

If you’re like many aspiring screenwriters, you’re working on your screenwriting while you work a day job. So weekends may be your only real opportunity to move the needle on your writing projects, your goals, and your career overall.

And when you do have a little time to focus, I know it can be easy to get overwhelmed with everything you want to accomplish, then give in to the decision fatigue, and instead watch Netflix all weekend and call it “research.”

But you know it’s going to take more than that to get where you want to go, so I wanted to make it easy for you to do something you’ll feel good about this weekend. A little quick win. (And then you can go about your Netflix binge.)

Your menu of quick wins:

Organized by different stages of the writing process, here are 23 action-oriented tasks you can choose from that will move you closer to your goals.

If you’re between screenplays you could…

Generate ideas for your next project:

• • Give yourself an hour or two of uninterrupted time, and get in the brainstorming mindset. All ideas are welcome. No distractions allowed. No pressure, but try to stay focused on the task. (I have some strategies to generate new screenplay ideas in this article, if you’re not sure where to start.)
  • Take yourself to a bookstore. Peruse classic literature for timeless stories, the magazine section for what’s current, genre sections for “hook” inspiration, and nonfiction for interesting subject areas.
  • Get physical. Stanford researchers found that “creative thinking improves while a person is walking and shortly thereafter,” and I have found this to be true. I love to queue up some podcasts and take the dogs for a long walk — new ideas seem to magically appear.

Reconnect with your motivation:

Writing can be a long, lonely slog and it’s easy to lose your enthusiasm for the pursuit. Being surrounded by likeminded people can help keep you motivated. But what if you don’t have a writing community in your area? What else can you do to rekindle that spark?

• • Remind yourself what you love. This one’s easy: watch your favorite movie. You know — the one that always makes you want so badly to make movies you can practically taste it.
  • Imagine your future. Listen to people who are doing what you want to do, via DVD commentaries (here’s a list), or podcast interviews.
  • Join or create your own virtual community of likeminded people. Get inspired by others just like you, who are doing and making and creating every day. If you’re on Facebook, The Inside Pitch is the group that I recommend.

Master the craft:

If you want to break in and build a career, your screenplays have to be undeniable. (But you knew that.) Here are some resources to help:

• • I know I said bingeing Netflix isn’t the most productive use of your precious screenwriting time, but if you do it in a deliberate, focused way I believe watching movies is a great education. But you do have to make the effort to make it more than passive entertainment…
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    ​Use your analytical skills. Go deep. Think about what you’re seeing. Ask yourself if it’s working for you, and why. Ask yourself how it could be fixed. Or what other directions could have been taken. A good way to take this further is to watch a movie and compare it to the screenplay.
  • Stretch other screenwriting muscles by analyzing the screenplay for a movie you haven’t seen.
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    Try winners of the Nicholl Fellowship or scripts that make the annual Black List, so you can gauge where the bar is set, and so you can have the experience of reading screenplays without any bias from the finished movie’s casting, marketing, etc.

If you’re developing an idea and breaking story…

And if you’re finding that the procrastination monster is rearing his ugly head, trick yourself into pushing forward by coming up with one clear, manageable next step. One doable task that will beat the inertia and create some momentum. Here are some next steps you can take to work out your story:

• • ​Vet your concept — does it have a hook that entices?
  • Study other movies in your genre. Again, this is to be approached with the right mindset. You’re analyzing and studying, not just passively consuming. Find the patterns, as well as ways to freshen up the tropes.
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  • Maybe you could use help developing the what and why of your story’s stakes to make sure your screenplay will engage readers emotionally.
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  • Learn how Pixar sets up their stories, then see if the same structure works for yours, with this video of Michael Arndt explaining elements of the first act.
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  • Or, if you want a complete step-by-step guide to outlining your screenplay idea (so you never have to figure out what the next step is), there’s a course for that.

If you’re writing pages…

Here’s the fun part, right? Putting your words on the page. Making your vision come to life.

But what if it’s not feeling very fun? You might need to reframe the task at hand. Remember the goal of the current draft. And know that writing is rewriting; whatever you put on the page now can and will be improved later. So give yourself permission to write with reckless abandon. All you need to do is get through this draft. Here are some tools to help:

• • Sometimes starting is the hardest part, so this article will help you figure out what to write in those first 10 pages.
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  • Here’s perhaps a new way to think about introducing characters into the story.
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  • ​John August’s advice on how to plan a scene.
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  • And if it’s focus you’re struggling with, try working in sprints with the Pomodoro technique. Set a timer for 20 minutes, and focus only on completing one small goal during that time, like writing a particular scene, writing a specific number of pages, or researching a location. When the 20 minutes are up, take a five minute break, then reset the timer and move on to the next small goal.

If you’re ready to submit your screenplay…

Okay, the script is done. You know it’s a shining example of your writing that no one in their right mind could turn down. But…

Are you sure?

• • Why not put on your Reader Hat and look at your screenplay one more time. How is the read?​
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  • Having trouble assessing your own work? That’s okay — it’s a really hard thing to do. Work with me to get your screenplay reader-ready.

While you’re waiting…

• • Work on nurturing your industry relationships. Reach out to existing contacts for a friendly check in and to congratulate them on any recent success.
  • Create new inroads. Get strategic about your networking. This episode of the On The Page podcast has some good advice on the topic.

Good news: everyone loved it! Your screenplay is ready to submit!

• • If you’re going to try cold querying, here are some tips to help you get that query letter ready.
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  • Remember those relationships you nurtured? Consider which of them you might be able to ask to read your screenplay.
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    (However, I strongly encourage you to make absolutely sure your material is really, really ready before you give it to an industry contact. Because handing over a script that’s not ready means that contact will be less likely to offer their help in the future.)

And that’s it! The most important thing to do to achieve your goals, is to keep going. So even if none of these ideas is quite right for you this weekend, I hope you are able to find some inspiration and time to make progress on your screenwriting projects.