Success In Screenwriting.

Every year beginning screenwriters resolve to write a winning script. One
that will sell. They think that if I can win a competition, then, I will
have validation. And money!

Screenwriting is a difficult profession. It requires knowledge of not only
your mind — but the world also. To be a working screenwriter is to be a very
capable being.

The first step in this endeavor is to believe it can be done. Others have
written scripts that have won competitions, and so can I. If you think you cannot do it, then you will not give your all to the work.

The second step is to focus. To carve out large chunks of time, three to four hours daily, whether early in the morning, or late at night. Work. You are in a profession of quality not quantity. But if you sit and work long enough, you will also get the quantity.

If you follow the above two steps, at four pages a day, in ninety-five days you
will have a polished third (final) draft.(I am giving you five days to write an
initial outline.)

If you run into problems, there are two things you can do to solve them. If it is
a problem of inhibition or choking of the flow of images and words, then sit in zazen (Zen meditation) for fifteen minutes. After the meditation sit down and write. The words will flow. If instead it is an issue of plotting, in that the words are coming but you want a better solution, then journal about it. Sit down and write five pages in longhand without censoring. Write about the problem you are having, what you want to happen, what is worrying you, and so forth. You will find that after five pages you have a better idea of
what the problem is, or better yet, a resolution.

Screenwriting requires you to be a cultured person. Expect to read four hours a day. What you read is up to you. Follow your interests and see where they lead you. I would suggest reading the Western Canon, the great books you are expected to read; like the Bible, Sophocles, Bertrand Russell. Then read the fringe or controversial books like Robert Anton Wilson, Aleister Crowley, and Israel Regardie. After you are done with the canon and the fringe, then explore everything else.

I will end with metaphysics or the law of karma. Everyone is at a certain level in life. In order to rise to a higher level, you need to do something positive and worthwhile for others. This could mean writing a check to the Red Cross, or giving ten dollars to a homeless person, or even volunteering at a soup kitchen. This will help your karma which will help your writing.

So good luck and keep on writing.