How to Start Writing Your Script ... and Finish It!

In my years of experience as a writer of novels and scripts, I have encountered many challenges, as have my colleagues. One of the biggest: finishing my stories!

Starting to write a novel or a script is not very complicated. Almost anyone can do it. But it takes time, patience, focus and energy. It can be easy to get discouraged during the process and the real challenge is getting to the end. Here’s a few tips that can help you make yours happen.

Stay Disciplined

This is probably one of the most difficult qualities to develop, but one of the most useful. Discipline is what will get you through the bad days and the bad times. So, ideally, write almost every day, even if it's just a little, even if it's bad.

Some days will be productive, some will not. Don't get discouraged and stay disciplined.

Have a writing session scheduled every Tuesday at 7:00 pm and not feeling very motivated? Do it anyway! Sometimes, even when you’re in a bad mood, you will end up writing something great. So, except in cases of an emergency, stick to your schedule. Forget about all the rest like the dishes or the laundry, because if you always make excuses not to write, your project will never get done.

Give Yourself Time

To write, you need time. Any creative act requires this rare commodity. So, don't rush. But regularly make time for one thing: writing. And nothing else. If possible, schedule blocks of at least an hour. Perhaps you only have thirty minutes to spare each day. If so, that's better than nothing.

Try to plan a “buffer period” to detach yourself from the concerns of daily life: work, dinner, kids, homework, etc. Let your mind wander a bit while you wait for the words to come to you.

And remember, there are good days and bad days. Quality and quantity are not always there. That's okay. It's not a race or a performance. The simple act of dedicating time to writing is already a lot.

Creation requires time, mental space and patience. It doesn't matter if you write a couple hundred or a couple thousand words during your writing sessions. What matters is that you wrote them!

Limit Distractions

When you are on a good streak, you don’t want to be interrupted. It’s hard to get in “the zone”, where ideas and words come effortlessly. The loss of creative momentum can happen with the snap of a finger.

Disconnect completely from social networks and the Internet. There are phone apps and browser extensions to keep you off social networks. Turn off the phone or keep it away from you. Close your office door if you have one. Desperate times call for desperate measures!

And don't try to write in the middle of the living room with the TV playing next to you and the kids bothering you every five minutes. If possible, find a quiet place where you won’t be bothered.

Write like You Would Run a Marathon

Writing a script or a novel takes time. Weeks, months, even years. While writing, you may go through several phases.

First, you have an idea, which will generate others, and this will take the form of a story in your mind. In the beginning, when the spark is lit, you are enthusiastic and full of motivation. Everything seems beautiful, and you can already imagine holding your script in your hands.

But after weeks or months, the energy and the drive fade. The excitement is gone. Doubt arises. You start to look at your work with a more critical eye; you question yourself. The flaws of your unfinished work are already obvious. This is when the danger of giving up is greatest.

Know that this is perfectly normal. To finish writing your story, you will need to get through this phase and persevere. Don’t give up and keep going despite the doubt.

Marathon runners know that the finish line awaits them at the end of the race. They know that crossing it will bring them joy and pride. Do the same thing. Never lose sight of your goal: finishing your script.

A tip for staying motivated: ask yourself the three questions below and, if you have to, write them down on a piece of paper and keep it close by.

The three questions :

- Why am I writing?

- Why is THIS story important to me?

- If I don't write this story, what will happen?

Ignore Impostor Syndrome

Impostor syndrome is more common than you might think. About 70% of the population suffers from it at some point in their lives. During my career, I've seen many aspiring authors stop writing because they compare themselves to others, complaining that they'll never measure up to Stephen King or any other famous writer. Comparison is deadly. It can only harm you.

Authors are often the worst judges of their work. They are either convinced that they are misunderstood geniuses (which is a rarity), or they are convinced that they suck.

Even after twenty years in the book business, fifteen published novels, including a few bestsellers, short stories in collaborative projects, a few well-received scripts, I still doubt my abilities and regularly feel like an impostor.

But I have come to accept that this feeling will likely never go away and that I must live with it. So, I learned to ignore that little murderous voice, that devil on my shoulder, and carry on regardless.

To overcome impostor syndrome, you have to accept that you won't get it right the first time, that you may fail, and that it's not the end of the world. It’s okay to fail.

Many talented writers I've met have been unable to finish their promising and brilliant work because they were constantly self-deprecating, or never got published or produced because they were discouraged by the slightest rejection.

At the risk of sounding blunt, I want to point out that the authors who manage to get their novels published or their scripts produced are not always the most talented. They are the most persistent. The ones who refuse to give up and see their project through.

Keep realistic expectations

You may be hoping to find that great, perfect sentence that will open the floodgates of inspiration, and you think that from that point on, the rest of the text will flow without effort on your part. I have bad news for you: creation rarely works that way.

You may have heard of those ultra-prolific writers who write a script in a few days, and you may be desperate to do the same. As mentioned earlier, don't compare yourself to others.

Setting writing goals to motivate yourself and keep you on track can be very helpful, but it’s also important to set realistic goals. You don't have to aim for twenty pages per hour.

Choose a goal that you are able to achieve without burning yourself out. A goal that is too ambitious may lead to you abandoning the project. Or finishing your story in a state of exhaustion.

And forget the idea of writing a perfect first draft that won't need rewriting, because that’s what it is: a draft. You must accept that it will need to be corrected, edited and rewritten... perhaps several times! There’s no shame in rewriting.

So, have realistic expectations, both in terms of quantity and quality. And remember, if writing is hard one day, it may not be the same the next. Be easy on yourself and accept imperfection. It's just a part of life.

Make Decisions

Don't be afraid to make decisions and mistakes. When writing, you will have many choices to make. It’s a constant mental effort.

What obstacles will I put in the way of my protagonist? At what point will I reveal information that is crucial to my story without spoiling the suspense? How well have I expressed the emotions of this character in this scene? How realistic is my fight scene? The questions are endless.

It’s not easy. The fear of being wrong and of being judged by others is great. But you have to get over it. After all, what are you really risking? An injury to your ego? Making a mistake won’t put you in mortal danger.

And remember: when you are the author, you make the decisions. It's your story, no one will write it for you, no one can write it like you, and no one can make decisions for you. So, don't ask others what you should do. Assume your decisions. Even if you get wrong. After all, you learn by making mistakes. In the end, the only person it might bother is you.

Take Care of Yourself

Some people will recommend getting up an hour earlier or going to bed an hour later to have more time to write. This advice is not bad in itself. However, I urge you to be careful.

Don't overlook the value of a good night's sleep. You are not likely to write better if you are too tired. Writers often have a bad habit of not taking care of their health.

The same goes for food. Avoid eating only junk food or skipping a meal when you write. In the long run, you may end up paying the price with your health. Don't put your well-being at risk for writing.

Have Fun

Writing does not have to be all pain. Yes, there will be difficult and painful moments. Times when you will hit a wall, when you will break your head to put the pieces together. Times when you will have to pull the words almost by force from your mind to fit them into your sentences.

But there will also be beautiful phases, where the words will flow by themselves, where whole scenes will come to you with clarity. These moments will totally change the dynamics of the story, and you will be able to imagine the look of surprise on your reader's face, his laughter, his tears...

And after writing a passage that has been wandering around in your head for months, waiting for this moment to finally come out, to exist elsewhere, you will feel a deep sense of pride and accomplishment. So, don’t forget. This should still be fun.

Get Down to Business

Reading books or blog posts on writing (like this one) to learn is fine. But let's face it, there comes a time when you have to let go of the theory and get down to business. You can read all the guides in the world, all the tips from great authors on writing scripts, but if you don't write a single line, you will never be a writer. Writing is like riding a bicycle: you have to practice.

Reading guides over and over again is easy, it doesn't commit you to anything, and it doesn't carry any risk. But too much theory can also end up confusing and paralyzing you. Theory may be reassuring, but it won't write for you.

Take Action! Period.

Writing may have always been a dream for you. But until you take action and take charge, it will remain a dream. I, for one, have lost count of the number of people who have told me that they dream of writing a book or a script. The truth is if they really wanted to, they would have already taken the steps to do so. You should never wait for the conditions to be perfect to write: you should set them up yourself.

And don't wait for inspiration as a divine sign that will fall from the sky. It is unlikely to come that way. Inspiration is sometimes something you have to look for.

So, I'm going to repeat it: pick up your pencil (or keyboard) and write. Period.

About Evelyne Gauthier

Evelyne has published about fifteen novels and several short stories. She has been working in the book industry for 20 years, among other things as a book editor and writing coach. In 2021, she decided to add a string to her bow and started writing screenplays.

IG: @egauthier101

Twitter: @EvelyneGauthie1

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