Since 2018, things have been very exciting for me. I've gotten to travel to Los Angeles and Nashville to make movies. Movies which have gone on to become featured on KTLA Morning News, written about in US Weekly Magazine, recommended by The New York Times and Collider, reach the top five most popular movies on Amazon Prime, go to #1 on Hulu, and hit #8 on Netflix globally. Meanwhile, my book on screenwriting craft, Turn & Burn: The Scriptwriter’s Guide to Writing Better Screenplays Faster, has helped many writers and is highly recommended by a former director of UTA’s story department. Plus, I serve on an advisory board alongside Shane Black (Lethal Weapon), Jim Uhls (Fight Club), and two WGA council co-chairs. Meanwhile, Script Revolution has helped other writers sell scripts and get assignments that may just start lifelong screenwriting careers.
I feel incredibly blessed, and I tell you this not to brag but to show that my strategy is working for me, and my position gives me a good grasp on what works for others. Therefore, I've put together the following, which outlines what I feel is a good plan to break into this industry as a screenwriter.
Something you may notice is that my advice goes against the norm, but I'll remind you that the norm within most screenwriting forums is to see no success at all, despite trying the same approach year after year.
It’s Okay To Be Exhausted & Demotivated
If you've been trying to break in for a while, the best place to start is with stopping... or at least pausing. Chances are, you have been pushed down a path of endless redrafts in the pursuit of something elusive, soliciting feedback from pretty much anybody willing to give it, and turning to various shortcuts that cost money and promise fame and fortune - should your numbers come up. I'm telling you now that, while these elements are rooted in logic, they have become so detached from reality that the vast majority of writers I see sharing advice online are so lost they're going around in circles. You have probably found yourself in rewrite hell, futilely trying to implement wildly contradicting notes, the original stories you loved now a soup made of other people's ingredients, your only hope another blast of cold queries, advancing in this year's competition circuit, or rolling the magic number on certain sites that feel more like casinos. You are likely hyper-focused on Hollywood and the WGA too, all while watching another year tick by and wondering if you really have what it takes to break in.
I know how it feels all too well. I lived it for years before seeing the light. It's heartbreaking and a travesty that so many are encouraged to walk down a path that will almost inevitably kill their creative endeavours.
I'm going to hit you with some harsh truths, truths that you may reject at first:
- If you need feedback to write something solid, you are not ready to write professionally.
- Mass querying is not networking in the slightest and spamming at best.
- Most competition placements, including wins, mean next to nothing to industry members.
- There are no real overnight successes, even in the arts, despite how it's made to appear.
- Confidence, charisma, nepotism, and luck often trump talent and effort.
I know just how controversial those statements are and how juxtaposed they are to the norm. I know that posting them in the average screenwriting forum would be met with incredulity. You need to know this: most forums are where the stupidity of crowds meets the Dunning-Kruger Effect. They are a mass delusion, obsessing over superficiality and speculating about reality. Within most fields, this misinformation and bad-think gets corrected by those talking from experience, and this is where screenwriting falls behind - almost everyone who's giving advice on how to find success hasn't found any success themselves. Their view of how the industry works is just as fictionalised as their scripts. Think about how many times over what may be years of interactions that you've been sure the person touting advice actually has credits, any credits, even so much as a credit in a student's short film. It's scary, isn't it?
Therefore, it's okay to feel lost. You have not failed. You are the victim of a hysteria that puts all its focus in the wrong place (formatting and feedback) and its answers in faith rather than fact (shortcuts and gambling).
It's also okay to hear about filmmaking's economic state and feel pessimistic. COVID kicked the legs out from under an industry that was already limping, and just when it got back to its feet, the WGA strike struck it in its gut. Hollywood is objectively dying, with an exodus already well in motion. However, there are still plenty of opportunities for new writers who are realistic about where they can break in. If anything, it's an exciting shakeup of a system that's become far too centralised.
You're also well within your rights to have concerns about AI and how radically it may change everything from soup to nuts when it comes to filmmaking. We cannot predict the future when it comes to technology, but we can be sure that we humans will still have a compulsion to create. I suggest we put our energy into the joys of latter rather than the worries of the former.
My hope is that the below undoes a lot of the above. I want to bring clarity and direction to so many writers I feel need deprogramming from the cult-think that holds them back. That mindset can be changed today and replaced with something more methodical, humble, and realistic. If you are looking for quick and simple answers, however, answers that convince you that you can be a rich and famous writer this year with a few simple tricks, I suggest you stop right here and stay in the screenwriting Vegas most frequent and find leaves them a little poorer every day.
Ready to take a different approach? Let's do this.
Take a Moment to Refind Yourself
I’m going to ask you to do something that’s important; I want you to question if screenwriting really is your big dream. I don’t care how sure you feel about it; I need you to consider it for a moment. If you have any doubts, it’s time to investigate them. I ask this because we are talking about life goals here. Your life goals. Is this what you absolutely love and think about all the time? Is this something you are prepared to go through hell for? To lose almost everything you have to pursue? Very, very few people make it in screenwriting, and it’s time to get real about becoming one of those 0.0001%. It’s a tough, emotional journey, and you don’t want to waste years of your life chasing the wrong dream. If you are feeling a little lost about what you truly want to do for a career, I suggest looking at Ikigai for direction and inspiration.
Find a cosy corner and read these books: Writing for Emotional Impact, Art & Fear, and Tales from the Script. These are three of the most powerful books I’ve read (and I’ve read a lot) that cover screenwriting craft, finding fulfilment through art, and the nature of a career in film. In terms of knowledge, these are the three pillars we always need to build: how to write better stories, how to produce meaningful art, and how to find work that pays the bills.
When it comes to recapturing or revitalising our passion, a great place to start is revisiting some of our favourite films to remind ourselves of what we love and how those films, along with the filmmakers behind them, went through a similar struggle to gain acceptance and admiration.
Rewatch some of your favourites, assuming you know what they are. If you don’t, it’s time to put together a list. Watch them in a way that does them justice. Create the best viewing experience you can muster with no distractions. Turn those lights off. Wear some headphones. Do what you can to create a movie-theatre experience. Seek out what you can on the making of these films and look up material that analyses them.
While reflecting on what you’ve watched and learned, look for patterns that may exist, such as genre, tone, content, and influence. Where does your work fit among this? Where do your aspirations fit among this?
Check out the original reviews for those films you love. Are they universally admired? Are they polarised? Were they hated when released? What was the box office performance like? Did they sell out from day one, or did they go by unnoticed, only to find cult status in time?
Now go to the movie theatre and watch a new release. It doesn’t really matter what it is. Just take in what the industry is currently delivering and how a modern movie feels. How have things changed? Could your old favourites compete in today’s marketplace? Do their stories and characters still resound? It would be best if you got out of the common mindset that the industry needs a revival, or you may get left behind.
Create two logs if you don’t have them already; one listing all your successes, no matter how minor, and one logging any positive comments you have received for your work. You will keep these logs updated and close at hand, and when you feel you’ve achieved nothing, they will be on file, ready to remind you that you are progressing. Here’s how my achievements log has grown over time;
2012 — 38 words
2013 — 56 words
2014 — 259 words
2015 — 785 words
2016 — 26 words
2017 — 46 words
2018 — 201 words
2019 — 438 words
2020 — 1016 words
2021 — 842 words
2022 — 1577 words
2023 — 1,990 words
2024 — 1,609 words
2025 — 882 words
My numbers demonstrate that these things aren't linear, but do tend to work in cycles. I had a lot going for me in 2015, but the wind disappeared from my sails, and I went through a quiet period before a director approached me in 2018. Growth is often jagged, so note the trend that's hopefully headed upward overall.
On the topic of logs, ensure you photograph any handwritten notes to keep them safe. If you’re making those notes digitally, make sure you have an easy-to-use, reliable system that preferably syncs between your devices. For example, the Notes app on iPhones does this automatically. That last thing you want to do is lose great ideas and hard work.
Now’s a good time to review your whole software strategy, from what you are using to write/format to how you are backing up your data, and see if it’s the best and most cost-effective solution for your needs. Don’t default to using Final Draft simply because people say you should. When it comes to backing up data, cloud-based storage is now incredibly cheap. No excuses. I know too many people who've lost their notebook or their hard disk contents.
If you've fallen out of the habit of taking reflective walks, it's time to go out on one and ask yourself what makes your voice unique and what weaknesses you feel you need to tackle. Give yourself two aims for the year: to write a script that's 100% in your voice while still appropriate for today's marketplace, and to overcome a personal craft or networking weakness through education and practice.
Ultimately, try to free yourself from the fear that the break-in screenwriting scene generates with all the conflicting advice and critical feedback. Fear is your enemy. It’s time to clear your mind and chose to stop living in fear of rejection. It's time to re-find the eager writer you were when you started this dream. It's time to find that artist who has conviction in their work.
Personal story: I’m a B-movie junkie and a product of the 90s backlot rebel movement. The films I’ve always loved are quirky, hard-hitting, and controversial, and they received very mixed reviews. The nature of the business has changed a lot in the decades since many of my favourite films were made, and they would struggle to get funding and theatrical releases in this day and age. Knowing that, I had two choices as writer: compromise my values to become more commercial or stick with what I love and accept that things will be more challenging. I chose the latter, nailed my colours to the mast, and stopped looking for approval. Not only did my writing become better for it, but the industry also opened up to me more because it became clear where I fit best. Now I’m writing and producing the kind of gritty films I love to watch. The catalyst was ironically giving up. During a low period, I turned to my favourite films for comfort and found inspiration and strength in them.
Search Out Your Tribe
Something you can always do is not only build your network but also prune it. The latter point is crucial because it’s just as important to cut out relationships with toxic people as it is to form new ones with powerful ones. You need to separate the wheat from the chaff and shake off what’s holding you back. Cut ties with intrusions, unsubscribe from email subscriptions that bother you, and leave communities that make you feel bad about yourself. I generally advise avoiding forums, as they are often plagued by trolls and full of misinformation. Walk away from companies trying to convince you you’re missing out while they hound you for money. Know that most people forcing dogmatic advice down your throat are the ones failing the hardest.
LinkedIn is the most buoyant platform I’m seeing right now, with vast amounts of positive interactions. Script Revolution also has forums that you are welcome to join. Stage 32 still has one of the most positive communities out there, mainly because people are using their real names.
The tribe you build will grow into your support group in time. These people will champion you and cheer you on when you need it, and you can return the favour. It's best, however, if you do your due diligence. Identify working professionals who share their experiences and advice. You are one search on IMDb away from checking someone’s credentials, so there’s no excuse. This world is rife with impostors, bullshitters, and hucksters surrounded by bitter and deluded amateurs. Some people want you to believe the sky isn’t blue because it benefits them somehow. You absolutely must know this because it’s what I see most often killing people’s chances.
Most people in the industry are more than happy to build connections. Search out your heroes and dare to approach them. A-listers aren’t likely to be within reach, but the countless others who helped make your favourite films happen should be. You may be surprised who you link hands with, and doing so will help you realise you can be part of this "elite" world.
Film events are the best places to connect with people in person. Look at the events scheduled and pencil them in, provided you can afford the time and the travel costs. Focus particularly on the social meet-ups, as this is where you’ll do your best networking — providing you’re there to bond with people rather than make a hard sell.
Most importantly, diversify the tribe you build beyond other screenwriters, particularly those at your level. Broaden your horizons by making links with filmmakers in all roles, particularly producers and people one step higher up the mountain. Don't worry if you are isolated, either. I'm based in Stoke-on-Trent in England. There is no film industry of any kind here. I still managed to build a tribe online.
Personal story; I used to hang out on many screenwriting forums and never realised at the time how destructive and deluded a lot of the advice was. I made the mistake of trusting people at face value too often and ended up going in directions that sent me backward. Reading factual books on movie-making didn’t just help me see how wrong many of them are in their approach; it also made networking in person much easier, as movie history tends to come up a lot in conversation. I’ve had to cut a lot of people out of my circle over the years, and while that’s been tough, it’s left me with a tight group of friends who constantly inspire and humble me.
Review Your Presence
Know that you effectively have two key things you’re promoting as a screenwriter: yourself as a creative who can work on assignments and your portfolio of spec scripts ready to be made. However, you must know, and this is a bitter pill to swallow, that spec scripts rarely sell in today’s marketplace. This is another delusion that forums perpetuate. Modern screenwriting careers are built on getting regular assignments with spec scripts acting more like writing samples than anything else. Yes, Shane Black effectively walked into CAA on a recommendation and walked out a few months later with a seven-figure cheque. Yes, Joe Eszterhas scratched some notes on a napkin and sold the idea for millions, but these exceptions prove the rule and happened decades ago. You need to position yourself as someone willing to turn other people’s ideas into screenplays and in it for the long term, because that will likely be your bread and butter in terms of a career.
I’ve spoken before about the importance of presenting yourself as an artist with a strong voice before, and this is an ideal opportunity to review how you‘re projecting your offering. Does it represent you accurately? Is it appealing to those you’d like to work with? Look at everything from your bio (you do have a bio, right?) to your profile pic. Run your name through Google to see where and how you appear, and try to keep it all in sync.
Now for a tougher question: Does your portfolio truly represent you? Does it contain your best work? Does it represent your voice? Is it concise? Is it all free of glaring typos and grammatical errors? Are you losing people before they’ve even gotten to page one?
Recent years have seen the rise of the synopsis and, subsequently, the package. Prodcos don’t have the time to triage entire screenplays, and production companies want to see scripts with a multitude of additional materials, from character descriptions to location details and a lot more. If you don’t at least have a synopsis for each of your scripts, you are holding your marketing efforts back significantly. We are moving into an era where aspiring screenwriters will have to start thinking more like producers. Filling the "gap" between a logline and a read is currently a great way to get ahead. Don't believe a synopsis is powerful? My producing partner and I once got an offer of funding for a concept I'd written a two-page synopsis for only that morning.
Of course, you're always welcome to join Script Revolution and add your bio and portfolio for free. It’s a site I created for this very purpose.
Personal story: Perhaps it’s because I come from a marketing background, but I was very quick to get my scripts online and easy to read back when most screenwriters kept themselves and their material locked away. This paid off for me in 2018 when a well-established producer was reading a popular blog of mine. He liked what I had to say, read more of my articles, and wanted to check out if my scripts lived up to my opinions. A few clicks later, he was on my website looking at posters that got him excited and reading my features, which led to me getting my first Hollywood feature assignment. A year later, I had a feature film released in North America, and I’ve been both a writer and a producing partner on many more projects that we've made together. Now I also have a production company website to help keep the message clear.
Plan Only What You Can
You cannot predict what the year will bring or how you will feel at any given time, so try to avoid setting an overly burdensome writing routine. Instead, focus more on how you can best facilitate your ability to write when you have the time and motivation. That means making the act of writing as easy and enjoyable as possible. Do not conflate making work hard and making work worthwhile. Artists need to be comfortable and empowered to perform at their most optimal. Pressure is not the same as inspiration. Often, the most powerful path to follow is actually the one of least resistance. See writing like a child playing with their toys. Put indulgence above expectation. The real bravery is in letting go of what other people will think and embracing limitless creative freedom. The more you enjoy this, the better your writing will be, and the greater your chance of success.
Your tools and workspace should be a priority as these are extensions of yourself and no different to a musician’s instruments or painter’s studio. You should use screenwriting software that encourages you to write in a space with an inspiring vibe. Don’t get too precious about it, but address issues like software you find clumsy, an operating system that crashes, or a workspace full of distractions. Don't get too pretentious about it either. Some of my best work I wrote in a tiny converted wardrobe next to my bed.
List the scripts you absolutely must write in your lifetime. The concepts that stick with you and mean something. Is it the right time to tackle any of these? There’s nothing wrong with concluding that now isn’t, and making that decision is crucial because you need to shed any guilt you have about not tackling them just yet.
Based on the weaknesses you’ve identified (we all have them), list craft-related techniques you would like to try. This could be anything from writing better prose and dialogue to getting your head around scene and story structure. My Turn & Burn screenwriting guide might help you here.
List what you really feel like doing. Now, list what you feel you should be doing. Can you merge these two together? Do you need to make sacrifices? This is harder to do than it seems, so take your time and be brutally honest with yourself.
Establish where you are on your journey and be realistic about it. It can take a long time to break in, a lifetime in some cases, so don’t feel pessimistic about your situation. Now, establish where you want to be in 3 years, and be realistic about it. How do you connect the dots? If you don’t know, the first step is to try to find out. Being realistic is critical too, as you may be setting the bar unrealistically high. I write low-budget features now, and I started with writing shorts, which I gave away for free. I still see a major studio assignment as beyond my reach, so I don't beat myself up for not getting one anytime soon.
Personal story: When I came to write my second feature assignment, I knew my biggest weakness at the time was writing conclusive final images after the finale. To address this, I sat down, fired up Netflix, and watched dozens of films to study how they wrapped things up in those closing moments. After copious notes and analysis, I approached the final scene in my new project with newfound strength, resulting in me writing an impactful and conclusive end scene. The key was making something that would take some time and effort into a fun, indulgent process with a clear goal.
Broadcast Your Wares
Now that you have a clearer idea of your offering, you can identify and target your market niche. This is laborious and certainly not something you can do overnight. It can take years to zone in on where you need to be and find the people you need to work with. Therefore, this is an ongoing task you should begin early; you can start by simply watching the kinds of films you love and taking note of who’s making them happen. Keep in mind that IMDb Pro has a tracking feature, so if you’re a member, consider following the people who have stood out to you.
Once you have an idea of whom you want to reach out to, and this again is an ongoing activity, it’s time to start swallowing frogs. It can be tough to make contact with a filmmaker, but you must get on people’s radar. It’s time to reach out. How formally or informally you do this is up to you, but don’t ever send scripts without first asking if someone wants to read them, and don’t spam every contact you can find with a generic message. Be selective, professional, and considerate, and most of all, be yourself. Since becoming a producer and despite being a writer, I receive multiple queries a week from complete strangers. None of those emails gets read. If people start pestering me, I block them.
Consider that industry members, particularly those in early career stages, often search the internet for new material. There are a few sites you can upload your material to for free. These include: Script Revolution, Simply Scripts, and Stage 32.
Remember that blogging is a powerful way to talk to a broad audience. You are a story writer, so you have the upper hand here, not just in terms of being able to string together some prose but also in terms of tapping into deep thoughts and expressing them with an emotional edge. Blogging is where you can broadcast who you are and encompass a wide spectrum of your views, from your motivations behind writing to opinions on the craft to feelings about the industry. Plus, you can, of course, send the elevator back down to share your reflections on your experiences and advice for others facing your earlier hurdles.
Personal story: My perspective on the industry as a working writer-producer and founder of a script discovery platform is a unique and enlightened one. Every successful writer I’ve spoken to has told me they owe that success to networking above all else. How you network is up to you, but two things that work well for me are: being a superconductor (helping connect people who should be talking) and reaching out to offer a favour rather than asking for one. The critical thing is to stop sitting around waiting to be discovered.
Indulge in Your Passion
As mentioned earlier, do not try to plan your year out too specifically. You don’t want to turn your passion into a chore, but you don’t want to get lazy either. The best way to stay motivated is to indulge in what you enjoy. You want to stick with this until you make your dream a reality, right? So you understand it needs to be enjoyable to make that happen; otherwise, you'll keep punishing yourself until you quit. You need to have fun learning and allow your curiosity to explore and make exciting discoveries.
The more passion you have for writing, the more passion you will make it onto the page. Passion is entertaining, and entertainment is what you are trying to create. Even if you are writing the most hard-hitting and tragic material your mind can manifest, you still need to go into that with an intense passion and positive intent.
Self-inflicted misery is only going to hold you back. Drop the mindset that good results only come from doing laborious work. You’re not at school anymore, and there’s no teacher to try and impress with your exhaustion and word count. You’re an artist, not a worker-bee, and artists create by playing with what’s around them.
Your biggest enemy is procrastination, so try to reduce that and get into the writing by breaking it down into chunks. Balance your expectations and tell yourself to work on your latest project for thirty minutes and see where it leads. If you feel worse after thirty minutes, walk away and recharge or try something else. If you find yourself engrossed and lose track of time, run with it until you feel your mind is tiring out.
There’s also nothing wrong with structuring your day to achieve a healthy work/life balance. If you want to finish by 6 pm so you can nurture other areas of your life, permit yourself to do that without guilt. Cabin fever is a real problem, so you may have to remind yourself to change your routine and take trips outside.
The critical thing is that, when you write, you write without fear or obligation. Save your doubts and criticisms for the downtime and reflective periods. Write while feeling reassured that, right now, you are the best writer you’ll ever be, giving yourself all the opportunities you can offer. Be proud of that while humble enough to know that you will grow over time.
If you only write one short script this coming year, that’s not failure, provided you write with absolute passion and come out of the other side feeling fulfilled in your artistry. Writing six features that feel like a slog, lack energy, and don’t represent you is not the goal and has little worth.
So, avoid turning your dreams of breaking in into an unpaid office job from hell, where you are your own nightmare boss, and write while knowing that every keystroke is progress and an investment in your future.
Personal story: I grew up as a huge Tarantino fan and was surprised to enter screenwriter communities only to hear cries of “you’re not freaking Tarantino!” from various self-proclaimed gurus and consultants. The advice was clear: do not dare write like this highly successful writer-director, or people will hate and blacklist you. That hit me hard and killed my motivation as I found myself second-guessing where my inspiration stemmed from. However, the more I studied the life of this artist I admired, the more I realised how much he had swum against the tide before breaking in. This caused me to double down on following the path of my influencers with a similar attitude, and it was then that things started to happen for me. Do I write like him as a result? No. Is my artistic inspiration clear in my work? Probably. Do I approach being an artist like him? Absolutely.
Reward Yourself
You must love and nurture yourself on this mammoth journey, which may become one of your life's most prolonged and intense chapters. Completing the first draft of a script can often be a significant task, taking weeks or even months when working on it full-time. This is a lot to put ourselves through emotionally, and we must have something to look forward to once we cross the finish line. While writing can mostly be all the reward we need, it’s still nice to acknowledge that we’ve completed something we set out to do.
Plan out a bunch of rewards. It doesn’t matter how small they are, as it’s the principle behind them that counts. It can be getting pizza with friends or treating yourself to a new t-shirt. It's these moments you'll remember and look back on.
Personal story: It took me six years to get that first feature option, six and a half years to get that first paid assignment, and seven years to get that first green light on a movie. I celebrated a lot during those first six years, even though I didn’t earn a dime. I barely remember the moments I hit fade out or received good news, but I do remember a beautifully vivid montage of telling my friends and family about my latest news and celebrating over a drink.
To Conclude
Your key to success will be maintaining a healthy attitude, grounded in personal motivation and determination. Keeping going isn’t necessarily about working harder or even working smarter; both benefits will come as a byproduct of throwing the concept of work out the window and replacing it with absolute creative indulgence that's driven by passion and empowered by freedom.
Now is the time to sit down and write with a love of writing itself, so we are ready for the opportunities that await us. Meanwhile, with an acute awareness of who we are and how we fit in, we can form authentic relationships with people on our wavelength with little concern for those who are not. This is choosing quality over quantity, humility over ego, patience over greed, and artistry over everything else, all while carving out our little creative bubble within what feels like an infinite sprawl of madness.
Make this coming year one based on pragmatism and optimism. You deserve to think that way. Look forward to becoming a better writer who enjoys every minute of their pursuit, making new connections who will grow into dear friends, and building a portfolio that better represents you as an artist. You got this.