Goals are not just for the characters in your screenplay. They’re for you too! Screenwriters should set goals to keep them on track and to separate the professional from the amateur writers. Goals are a great tool to keep you organized and focused on your writing. They are not a straitjacket or a prison. They are a guide to help you make the best use of your writing time.

Here are the top 10 commandments to help you create actionable screenwriting goals:

1) Thou Shalt Set Short, Medium, & Long Term Goals

The timeframe for goals is more a function of the tasks involved than a time period itself. Embrace the interplay between completing tasks well and allocating a reasonable time period for them.

It’s important not to overwhelm yourself with goals that are impractical or not easily achievable. Similarly, don’t set goals which don’t challenge you or are outright lazy. Planning to write a logline for your script over a weekend isn’t the best use of your writing time. You know you can do it in an hour or less!

Writing the first draft of your feature screenplay over the weekend is arguably a noble short term goal, but unrealistic. If you do manage to write 100 pages over a coffee-fuelled 48 hour binge without sleep, good for you. It’s unlikely to be much good.

Break this down into something like writing an outline, extended synopsis, or 20 page treatment over the weekend. A medium term goal might be to complete a first draft in 4-8 weeks, and a longer term goal might be to receive feedback, do some rewrites, and maybe enter a screenwriting contest or two within a year.

Some writers write in bursts with planned, defined rest periods. This is called the Pomodoro Technique. Typically, a writer might work in 1 hour blocks to get as much writing done as they can. Their work is intense, and often productive. You’re firing on all cylinders. A 4 hour writing burst is unlikely to yield the same results.

Not all tasks necessarily need to be writing ones. They include ancillary tasks such emailing a query to a few managers (avoid the spray and pray method at all costs), cold calling, or reading the trades. They should form part of your weekly writing routine.

Set a time lock on tasks like research because you know you spend way too much time on the internet already.

2) Thou Shalt Be Timely & Be Timeless

In today’s content-hungry world, many scripts have a limited lifespan in terms of social relevance. Many screenwriters only focus on their craft at the expense of the timeliness of their stories. Ask yourself, why your story is particularly relevant to audiences now. Then ask yourself, if people will still be interested in 1, 10, or 20 years? Universal themes are timeless. Expression of these themes are timely. Include these concepts in your writing goals because they are not mutually exclusive.

3) Thou Shalt Be Specific & Be Non-specific

Specificity brings tangibility to your goals. This is vital in your deep writing phase to ensure you complete tasks. Write 5 pages in a day, punch up a character’s jokes, or watch a film related to what you’re writing are specific goals. They are measurable, actionable and assessable. You either write 5 pages or you didn’t. Improving jokes is arguable, but still, spending more time on them often helps the writing.

If your goal is to network more, link that goal to a specific event or action.

Non-specific goals are relevant for the earlier parts of the creative process. They are the freeform elements that energise your muse. There are varying levels of non-specificity from the mild to the formless. At one end of the spectrum the goals may be so vague that they barely count as worthwhile. Look at the sky, say hello to a stranger, or buy a new brand of shampoo that you’ve never used. How do these improve your writing, you ask? They disrupt your established neural pathways and enhance your creativity. Look up neuroplasticity.

Less non-specific tasks might include looking through a magazine and come up with a few story ideas.

Sometimes you just need to meditate and not stimulate your mind. Sit and be. Re-energize. Recharge. Let story ideas wash over you. The good ones will stay.

4) Thou Shalt Embrace The Space

Creativity works on both the conscious and subconscious level. Trust the seemingly empty space between the story idea in your head and a completed screenplay. You can bet your last bitcoin that there were hours where an Oscar-winning writer went for a stroll, lay down in a hammock, sat in the garden waiting for inspiration to strike, or trying to figure out the logic in a tedious plot point. To the untrained eye, you’re wasting time, but to an artist, it’s a vital part of the process. This advice is not a license to do nothing. Sorry.

5) Thou Shalt Persist, Believe & Have Grit

These are the three things many screenwriters claim to have have elevated them from aspiring to paid writer. Repeat the process until you hit a positive outcome. You can control your writing, but you can’t control how the industry reacts to it. Focus on the goals you can actually control.

You must also believe that you have something to say that the world will respond to. Even when you’re weary of the endless rejections you receive, keep going. Trust that a positive outcome awaits you eventually, even if it’s not the outcome you want. Not everyone who wants an Oscar wins one!

Grit and tenacity are essential to success in any field. We are not hard wired to keep running in the direction the arrows are coming from. But we do because the arrows will eventually bounce off us as we cross the finish line.

6) Thou Shalt Be Accountable

Set deadlines. That’s what online calendars are for. Someday isn’t a day in your calendar. Set up alerts, especially if there’s a submission deadline. Some writers have accountability partners to keep them on track. Others rely on self-discipline. If you are typically inclined to do one, set a goal to try the other approach for a time. It may be an improvement to your process, a detriment, or no difference.

Some writers tell everyone they know they’re working on a script – writers and non-writers alike as a way to hold themselves accountable. If enough people are aware of your screenplay, they will also ask for progress updates. The fear of confessing to not having made much progress will surely drive you to action.

Telling people about your project will also build awareness and a fan base. When you complete your screenplay, someone in your orbit may know someone looking for that kind of material.

7) Thou Shalt Be Reasonable

Take stock of where you are in your screenwriting journey. You can’t compare yourself to a veteran writer if you’re working on your first screenplay or your first draft to someone’s shooting script. You’ll only set yourself up for disappointment. Don’t set too many goals for yourself either, and don’t have too many active projects.

Photo by Victor

Multi-tasking rarely offers the spectacular results it claims. Focus has limitations. Work on one script at a time and give yourself reasonable time to write it. That’s not to say, you can’t write a quick outline or do a polish of another script during your downtime.

Don’t forget to celebrate the wins no matter how small. The majority of aspiring writers will never type THE END. If you did, you’re in the elite minority. Give yourself a pat on the back. Now onto the next script.

8) Thou Shalt Prioritize

Not all goals are created equally. Some have deadlines. Some scripts are early drafts and some are nearer to completion than others. You can’t write multiple projects well at the same time. Then of course, there are those dormant projects which unexpectedly gain industry attention and must be pushed to the top of the queue. Good for you. Your rewrite is due next Friday.

9) Thou Shalt Be Thyself

Take the time to define your writing voice and yourself as a writer. Think about how you want to be perceived in the industry and what types of stories you want to tell. You can be influenced by other writers, but don’t try to emulate them. “I want to write like {insert name of Oscar-winner}” is a fool’s errand. You will never be able to write like them because you’re not them. You’ve had different life experiences which shape the stories you want to tell.

Photo by Brett Jordan

As an exercise, write a brief bio that your manager or agent might send to introduce you to the industry.