Happy new year writers! If you haven't set any goals for the new year, never fear! There's plenty of time! Whether it's sending your script out into the industry or working on a new script, it's important to set writing goals.
At first, it might look hard, but the reality is, it isn't! Just as long as you are able to put in the time to work on your goals, then it will be easy to achieve.
Let's say your goal is to write a feature film in three months. All you have to do is map out how much time you'll need for pre-production and production.
I'd suggest with spending the first week focused on making your logline perfect as you can, and the next week focused on the beat sheet. (For information on those, check out my past blogs.)
Once you get to the writing part, it's important to make sure you're using your time wisely. How much time are you dedicating to writing? Will there be any distractions that will prevent you from writing?
Consider how many pages you'll write a day. In my case, I usually aim to write about 5 pages a day, but of course everyone is different, so you can either write more or less pages per day.
As you are writing your first draft, don't worry about making everything perfect. Just write for an hour or so, and once you have all the pages completed in your first draft, you can always go back and make the necessary changes.
After you complete your first draft and there's still time before your deadline to complete the goal, you can always go back and make edits, which is what we writers call "post-production".
Ah yes, the endless rewrites. Feel free to make edits as much as you want until the time expires. However, not every goal you'll want to make is going to be this simple.
There are things that are in your control, such as writing a script, and things out of your control such as selling your script. I'll be honest, if your goal is to get your script produced in 3 months, that's going to be a challenge because there's thousands of writers, including myself, that work tirelessly to get their scripts made in the industry.
However, it's not an impossible goal to have. Perhaps one thing you can do is extend the goal through the end of the year. When it comes to selling your script, it's going to take some time and you'll need patience with yourself.
Maybe before you seek selling your script, it might be best to get a second opinion from another writer or a writing group. Once you have a polished draft of your script, then you can put in the time to look for agents on social media for representation. Of course there's other routes such as sending your scripts to screenwriting contests.
All in all, no matter what your goal is, just remember to take a break every now and then and go easy on yourself. If you don't achieve your goal by the end of the year, that's okay! There's always next year!
Sometimes it's going to take time for you to achieve your goals, but anything is possible. You've got this! Keep on writing!