I’m not sure when it happened exactly, but it seems a lot of aspiring screenwriters out there are playing by the rules … or at least what writers of screenwriting books call “the rules.”

I’m talking about aspiring screenwriters who worry about the budget. While I think there’s definitely places for screenwriters to guide production teams from the page, budget simply isn’t one of them. You can curve around camera direction, blocking, lighting, sound, and pretty much anything else, including budget, but budget is the only thing you simply shouldn’t focus on. Not only is it not a screenwriter’s job, it’s completely opposite of what creative people are good at: numbers. If you’re a right-brain oriented creative, then chances are you’re probably best when you’re allowing your imagination to stream through your song, dance, acting, painting, or writing.

Screenwriting books will often tell you to keep your budge in mind so that your work is actually produce-able, but I disagree. While part of what script readers look for is budget, it doesn’t mean that if yours is high, or low for that matter, that your work won’t be produced; it simply conveys to the company how much is on the page. So what? Are you really going to write a number? If you plan on doing so, consider accounting, engineering, or any other left-oriented brain profession.

Here’s the big point: screenwriters have been taught to keep the numbers in mind. That’s a problem. Don’t think so? Then continue writing for the window of budget you allow yourself and keep those personal projects that would cost a fortune unwritten. There might not be much chance for spec screenplays with huge budgets, but there’s even less chance for those that aren’t even written.

Here’s the bigger point: Where are studios getting their stories from the majority of the time? Anything and anywhere other than screenplays. Hmm, wonder why. Because unlike screenwriters, who are taught to keep the budget in mind, graphic novel writers, novelists, poets, short story writers, comic creators, and other literary creators are free to use their imagination to its fullest potential.

Does it really seem that the following writer cares about the budget of his projects?

Unlearn what you have learned, and move forward by allowing your imagination to inform your writing, not the budget or anything in production for that matter. Stop caring if producers like sounds capitalized; stop caring is directors care if you include camera direction; stop caring about whether or not your project will cost too much to make!

The bottom line is … everyone just wants a great story. Wave a tale, spin a yarn, or unfold an epic journey into the one place no one else but you can go: you’re imagination.

For more about what not to focus on, read 5 Things Not to Include In Your Screenplay.