MY BLANK PAGE

Trust me, I know it can feel like you’re banging your head against a wall hoping for a breakthrough, but finding the same results of rejection and criticism. I truly hope this finds you creating a solid body of work and forging ahead on your screenwriting journey. I hope that I have been able to offer a few nuggets of advice that you found helpful. I have written over three-hundred articles on this blog and if you like what you have been reading — please sign up in the right column to receive blog posts via e-mail. If you’re already a subscriber… thank you! Also, if you need more help in the trenches, consider purchasing my book, A Screenwriter’s Journey to Success available on Amazon. Thank you for reading and as always: Carry on, keep the faith, and keep screenwriting.

Find three more survival tips for your journey…

TIP #1 ACT LIKE A PRO—ALWAYS!

This goes without saying — but I will say it anyway: Act like a professional even if you have never sold a screenplay or have zero credits. As a screenwriter, you must consider writing a job, and this helps you to think of yourself as a professional. As with any job, it comes with deadlines, requirements and expectations, so practice following professional disciplines as you prepare for the time when you do get paid to write. Professionals write under contracts and deadlines. If you train yourself now to work under a deadline, it will not be a shock when a producer requires you to complete a script by a certain date. You no longer enjoy the romanticized dream of spending endless time working on your spec to get it just right — now is “go time” and you must get to the business of writing at the top of your game. The producer or executive expects greatness from you, and you generally have four to eight weeks to deliver the first draft. Its excellence will decide if they keep you on to write a second draft, or fire you. This is not the time for a “vomit draft.” If you start writing under a deadline with your specs, you will be acting like a professional and training for the day when you do get paid.

TIP #2 ENJOY THE LITTLE SUCCESSES ALONG THE WAY.

Many times, the only nourishment we have in this barren wasteland of screenwriting is our faith and the anchor of our achievements, no matter how small. Maybe you just finished your script. Congratulations, completing a script is a grand achievement. Maybe you finally found a producer to give it a read. That sounds like another successful achievement. The ingredients of a big success usually can be found in a range of small successes all leading up to a sale or screenwriting job that jump starts a “career.” It becomes the little successes along the way that keep us going through the rough times. I know for me personally, what gets me through is seeing results from my forward movement and creating new material. Every screenplay opens up new opportunities. Always be moving forward, even a few steps at a time. Sure, every writer will stumble and experience rejection and failure during their journey, but avoid falling into the self-doubt pit where the darkness of fear overshadows your burning desire to make it as a screenwriter in Hollywood.

TIP #3 YOUR FIRST DRAFT IS DANGEROUSLY IMPORTANT.

Do not fool yourself into thinking your first draft has to be shit or you first need to produce a “vomit” draft. It is just the opposite—your first draft is extremely important because the DNA of your story and characters lives in this precious first pass. I love this quote from six-time Academy Award nominee screenwriter Ernest Lehman (Sabrina, Sweet Smell of Success, North by Northwest, The Sound of Music, Who’s Afraid of Virgina Wolf?): “Good screenwriting is about carpentry. It’s a juggling of beginnings, middles and endings so they all inevitably seem to be moving correctly together. Your first draft is dangerously important. Don’t ever kid yourself into thinking, “It’s okay, it’s just the first draft.” Beware of that thought, because it’s ten times more difficult to go in a certain direction once you’ve gone in another direction.”—Ernest Lehman.

I know from experience how difficult it can be to totally rewrite a first draft from page one into something new. Sadly, too many times it ends up becoming a jumbled mess as the foundation of the story becomes altered underneath the story. My advice is to make your first draft your best possible work at the time. When writing it, act as if you will never get another chance to touch the screenplay. You should use your specs as training tools to craft a superb first draft and prepare you for the day when you become hired for an assignment. When you start working professionally, you will need to turn in high-quality drafts that are nearly production ready. A solid first draft will also keep you on the assignment and not be replaced by another screenwriter. Make sure your screenplay suffers the fewest amount of changes during the development process. Trust me, you do not want your script to get bogged down in development hell. It can be hard to climb out of that pit and many times projects die a tragic death from too many drafts that muddle the overall project.

Remember, Hollywood is a business with no guarantees even when you do sell a screenplay. The only guarantee is you must keep writing and filling your pages because if you stop, you are guaranteed never to have any shot at success.

Scriptcat out!

Did you just complete your latest screenplay or a new draft? Are you “written out” and need a professional opinion about your script? Is it time for in-depth consultation before you unleash it upon Hollywood? Check out my consultation services by clicking on the blue icon below for the link to my website.

Need help navigating Hollywood’s trenches as you pursue your screenwriting career? My new book is available on Amazon, “A Screenwriter’s Journey to Success: Tips, tricks and tactics to survive as a working screenwriter in Hollywood.” Click on the book cover below for the link to Amazon.

“This is, if not a lifetime process, it’s awfully close to it. The writer broadens, becomes deeper, becomes more observant, becomes more tempered, becomes much wiser over a period time passing. It is not something that is injected into him by a needle. It is not something that comes on a wave of flashing, explosive light one night and say, ‘Huzzah! Eureka! I’ve got it!’ and then proceeds to write the great American novel in eleven days. It doesn’t work that way. It’s a long, tedious, tough, frustrating process, but never, ever be put aside by the fact that it’s hard.”—Rod Serling

“Deliberate practice, by its nature, must be hard. When you want to get good at something, how you spend your time practicing is far more important than the amount of time you spend. Regular practice simply isn’t enough. To improve, we must watch ourselves fail, and learn from our mistakes.”—Florida State University’s Anders Ericsson

“If you’re worried about failing, you ought to get into a different business, because statistics will tell you that sixty or seventy percent of the time you’re going to fail. By fail I mean that the movie won’t make money. Just do the best you can every time. And if you’re going to stay in the movies, and you like movies—and I love them—you’d better love them a lot, because it’s going to take all of your time. If you want to be in the movies, it’s going to break your heart.“—Richard Brooks, director of Blackboard Jungle, Sweet Bird of Youth, In Cold Blood, Looking for Mr. Goodbar

“If there ever was one analogy for what a screenwriter must accomplish, it’s this: To create a source of life, to find the bedrock of a given idea, to prevent most of the work from evaporating.”—FX Feeney

I have to ask… should screenwriters even consider their spec screenplay’s budget when writing? After all… aren’t your specs where you should dream and dream big? A place where you can emulate the biggest budget summer blockbusters and try to recreate those tried and true high-concept ideas with your own take? That’s what I originally believed for years until Hollywood’s business reality slapped me around as I wrote big-budget spec after spec with no sales. If you’re writing your spec with the intent on selling it for high six figures, you might as well play the weekly lottery.

Just as I turn in my second pass on the treatment for my latest script assignment using the producer’s notes, I find myself doing another pass on a different script I co-wrote with a director. We received various notes from our trusted readers, the feedback was positive, and that always feels good and helps me feel more confident that we nailed the script in the first several drafts. This next polish will be just that — a polish to refine the characters even more and make sure the comedy works. It’s been amazing working with the director, as he will be the person responsible for bringing the script to life. The script was recently budgeted and we will keep the budget in mind when making any new changes. There will be no giant explosions or massive Lawrence of Arabia crowd scenes because we have to be mindful of the budget.

I enjoy working with producers and directors, as sitting in my office or in the corner of a coffee-house can get a bit lonely at times. Creative types thrive around other like-minded folks and collaborators. Especially if we are all working on the same project. The script takes flight and continues to grow and breathe. We base the practical creative decisions upon how to actually shoot the film. It’s one thing to write the script and focus on the story, but a writer must also consider the many issues with regards to actually producing the film — the real nuts and bolts of production including the budget, exotic locations, available shooting days or nights, rain, the CGI effects, and even your actor’s availability.

If the budget calls for limited locations, you as a writer must get creative and double up on locations while still being able to tell an effective story. If you have to move the entire film crew during the same day (a company move) it costs time and money as every day is precious when shooting a film.

While working within budget constraints, let’s say you write a scene between two characters who talk on the phone. One character is at home in his living room and maybe you could place the second character in the kitchen or the den — then you can shoot both scenes in the same house and you’ve doubled up on your location and saved time. The producer will love you if you are mindful of this, and you’ll get to keep more of your scenes in the script. The fewer locations the cheaper it will be to make the film and fewer days in your shooting schedule. Your budget dictates how many days you can film. This is why you find lower-budget films taking place in one or very few locations — in a house, in a bar, camping in the forest, or on a farm. You also have to think about how many actors are in the script as well. Do you have children in your script? If so, they can only work limited hours, and if it’s during a school year they will need a teacher on the set. Do you have animals in the script? You’ll need a wrangler. How many cars need to be rented for the scenes? Any overseas exotic locations that involve travel, hotels, and those expenses? What about post-production and any visual effects? Yes, they are certainly cheaper to produce now with A.I. programs, but these are all budget considerations needed when writing your screenplay.

When I was in film school, I remember my writing professors telling us, “Write big. Movies are big and you aren’t paying for the budget.” Well, those were the days when Hollywood was throwing money at scripts just to take them off the market. I remember when a company bought a spec script for a million dollars just to take it off the market and put it into their development cycle. The script got stuck in development hell and was never produced. You may not care about the budget in your spec screenplay, but it can come back and bite you in the ass when they tell you, “It’s a pretty good script, you’re an unknown writer, and your budget is way past the type of films we make.“

I also got swept up in the frenzy of the time by co-writing a big action movie on spec with my then writing partner. It was big, so big the producer told us it would probably cost $100 million and that was crazy big money at the time. We purposely wrote it big and couldn’t tell the story otherwise — or could we? Years later, I took another crack at the script and brought the budget way down by focusing on the through line of the story and the characters. Did we really need all the explosions or the massive action sequences? We tried it the big way and it didn’t sell, so maybe going with a smaller story was the answer? You need to pivot as Hollywood keeps changing the production dynamics.

These days, budget has become a huge consideration when writing —especially with your spec script and if you are an unknown screenwriter with no credits. I believe if you write a fantastic script that can be produced for a moderate or lower-budget, there is a better chance it could get produced. If you’re an unknown writer, it’s far easier to stay on a lower-budgeted project as they don’t have the extra money to fire you and hire a series of other writers. The end product will have your creative imprint all over it more than if you were fired and other writers did the rewrites instead of you. Sure, on a lower budgeted film the payday may not be grand, but it’s a payday and most likely a solo writing credit for you too. That’s extremely important to build your credits as you need credits to establish your credibility.

Sure, you can try to play the lottery and write a studio type script that can only be made for $100 million, but unless you have “A-list” talent attached and you’re an “A-list” writer, it’s a huge gamble for the studios — and realistically a gamble they most likely will not take with you. I’m sure your script was amazing and the story has never been done before—but Hollywood is filled with amazing scripts (believe it or not) and the competition at every level to get produced has never been greater. If you’re only shooting for the “A list” you might quickly become disappointed when you realize the A-list writers are getting their pick of assignment jobs from their agents and not you. That’s not to say you shouldn’t dream and dream big, but also be realistic on your journey. If you’re playing Hollywood’s game and against their power players, it’s a monumental endeavor. Create your own game and find your own way inside with a film that could be made because it falls into a lower-budgeted category.

So many beginning screenwriters aim for the top levels of the industry before they even become an accomplished screenwriter. They seek the A-list dream of being a studio level screenwriter believing their spec will help them to “make it.” Whatever making it means. Ask yourself, what if you wrote a heartfelt movie that could be made for $1 million or less? Let’s say the feedback on the script is fantastic and it found its way to a producer who loves it and is working on finding the budget. Suddenly, other talent becomes attached, and they agree to take less in pay because they love the project as well — and it’s only three weeks of their time for the production schedule. It can happen. Suddenly, you find yourself with a production start date, a payday on your produced script, a writing credit on the film, and possibly a profit participation. Now you’re really on your way to a screenwriting career.

I really like the sound of that… don’t you?

Keep the faith and keep filling your blank pages on your road to success.

Scriptcat out!

Subscribe to my YOUTUBE CHANNEL for over 145 videos with weekly tips to help you survive in the trenches.

Blog readers take advantage of my New Year’s discount — take $25 off through February 28, 2026 with discount code MY BLANK PAGE when scheduling your feature package or TV pilot package. You never get a second chance to make a first great impression so take the time to get it right.

Click on the icon below for the link to my website for more information. Also read my client testimonials.

CLIENT TESTIMONIALS

59 FIVE STAR REVIEWS! Now available on AMAZON my new screenwriting book. If your passion drives you to embark on this crazy adventure of a screenwriting career, you’ll need to prepare for survival in Hollywood’s trenches. Talent is important, but so is your professionalism and ability to endure criticism, rejection, and failure over the long haul. The odds may be stacked against you, but the way to standout in this very competitive business is to create a solid body of work and build a reputation as a team player and collaborator. The rest is just luck — a prepared screenwriter who meets with an opportunity and delivers the goods. “A Screenwriter’s Journey to Success” will help you prepare for your own journey with the necessary, tips, tricks and tactics that I’ve developed over the past twenty years of working in the film industry. It’s time to start living your dream as a screenwriter in Hollywood. Click on the book cover above for the link to Amazon and more information.

“Hollywood is Hollywood. There’s nothing you can say about it that isn’t true, good or bad. And if you get into it, you have no right to be bitter—you’re the one who sat down, and joined the game.” —Orson Welles

“Only the pending end of the world merits an exclamation point.” — Ernest Hemingway

“Don’t think of it as art, think of it as work.”—Paddy Chayefsky

Hemingway said it best, “I still believe, though, that it is very bad for a writer to talk about how he writes. He writes to be read by the eye and no explanations or dissertations should be necessary. You can be sure that there is much more there than will be read at any first reading and having made this it is not the writer’s province to explain it or to run guided tours through the more difficult country of his work.“

“Somehow, some way, incredibly enough, good writing ultimately gets recognized. If you’re a really good writer and deserve that honored position, then by God, you’ll write, and you’ll be read.”—Rod Serling

Three survival tips for your screenwriting journey to success…

Big Concepts and Limited Budgets: Should Screenwriters Care About Their Spec Screenplay’s Budget?

Rate this:

Share this:

Rate this:

Share this: