1. Writing the Green Way

This is how the majority of writers do it. I can’t say it’s very effective, but I guarantee it’s the most common. If you’re guilty of this – join the club! But next time someone asks you how many pages you’ve written, simply state that you’re doing your part to save the world by conserving paper and energy and writing the green way.

2. Writing the Index

This is a much more effective way to write a screenplay … er, the foundation of it anyway. Buy a deck of index cards, jot your ideas for scenes upon them, then arrangethem into a story. Sigh, if only it were that easy. If you take this route, consider jotting specific scene beats on the cards instead of mere ideas. Approach it with the three act structure in mind; each scene has a beginning, middle, and end, and each one needs to spin the dramatic story into motion somehow. Of all the screenwriting books out there, I’ve never found any that mention this! It’s imperative! If you don’t, you’ll have a disjointed poem instead of a screenplay in the end.

3. Writing the Fair Treatment

For those of you who find narrative prose a bit easier than screenplay format, you might want to start here. Treatments don’t have to be long or short, they simply have to be. It’s the roadmap foe your story, and by using the treatment form to plot out your story, you’ll be able to freely explore characters, themes, dialogue, and everything between. The best tip when doing this is to remember that you’re not writing to be perfect. Just let it flow. This is also a great way to kickstart your writing for the day.

4. Writing the Perfect Draft

If you’re doing it this way, then you’re probably frustrated at how long it’s taking. Not to worry, you’re like most serious witers out there. If you find yourself doing this (if it’s taken over a year to finish, then you either belong in this group or the first … The difference is simple: do you write or not?), consider picking up Write a Screenplay in 21 Days – it’s sure to blow your mind and inspire you to just get it all out.

5. Writing Poorly

This is what most of us aren’t doing … but probably should be. Like everything, there’s a certain balance to this working, but I think you can sum up like this: the more you write the better you get, so get started. As you write, you’re actively developing, and this, you’re getting better. If you stick to one idea and take six years to write it, then you just missed out on six years of personal development – because you were probably in group one or four. Stop trying to perfect your first draft – it simply doesn’t happen. Write as much as possible. Just as it’s good to read everything possible, it’s fair to say it’s good to write everything possible when developing as an aspiring writer.

Writing is the bottom line. And when you want to be a writer, there’s really only one thing to do about it.