How to Become a Screenwriter
By James Moorer - April 19, 2016
How To Become A Screenwriter:
It is a discipline.
Even if you only get a page a day, you must do it.
Keep a notebook with you at all times to jot down ideas, get oversized Post-Its to write down ideas and stick them someplace you can see them regularly.
Write alone - don't do it with the kids in the same room, your spouse at your side or anyone else.
Learn how to be good at being alone. Writing is a solitary process and if you can't sit still you can't produce.
Devote one six-hour block to writing on the weekend- no excuses.
Focus, don't doodle, blog or anything else. Devote to Story.
Attend a seminar or follow a podcast on screenwriting at least once a month.
Write freehand, no pc or tablet until your fingers hurt.
Stop talking about being a writer. WRITE.
Start building a library of books on the craft.
Start building a network of working writers to learn from.
Get a library card, go to the library.
Read scripts, good ones, bad ones, all of them. Four a month.
Don't try to write a perfect first draft - all first drafts are shit, write it, get it out of your system, then go back and make it better.
NEVER EVER fall in love with your work. You will have to kill your darlings regularly - get used to change.
Learn that this is often a collaborative business, especially if you want your work produced.
Go work on someone else's film, learn everything you can. Repeat.
And never forget this formula:
ASS + CHAIR = SCRIPT.
You're welcome.
JM
About the author
James Moorer
Screenwriter. Author. Producer. Mentor. The Ohio State University Alum. Pancake Lover.