I'm all in Scott, you've convinced me. For the longest time I've been trying to follow a regiment or a routine, but each time I try I'm always let down because my plans are too complicated or better lack of a word, overwhelming. What you've put together sir is "gold," a full proof plan that is easy and simple. I want to succeed at this game, and if this is what it takes then i'm all in.

I really appreciate this, Scott. As you've been going over these "How to Succeed" strategies, I've been wondering - how much should one be doing a day in each of these categories? Thanks for answering. What about spending time coming up with new writing ideas? And following industry news? How much recommended time should one spend? Goal-oriented as I am, I like to record my achievements and tasks on an online website called "Goal Buddy." Can anyone recommend any goal-seeking apps or websites?

Charlotte, in terms of story ideas, every writer operates differently, but I find that it helps to keep one track of my mind 'on' at all times in this regard. That is I never read a newspaper, browse the Web, listen to a radio program, or watch anything without some part of my brain attuned to possible stories. And if you're stuck for ideas, you can always come back here in April 2012 when I'll be doing my annual A Story Idea Each Day for a Month where I'll be giving away ideas. Re how much time to track industry news: Stop by GITS a couple of times each day. That ought to do it!

Scott, Wow! This is going on the post-it front and center on the monitor. It's so easy to make things more complicated than they need to be and therefore so much easier to find an excuse not to do them. 1, 2, 7, 14. I can do that and am starting TODAY, not tomorrow. ; } Thanks!

I like the weekly approach, I guess once we have set goals for the week, we can actually accomplish those. Should we discipline ourselves in just writing only 7 pages a week or should we actually make sure to have written at-least 7 pages. I am a filmmaker as well, along with a day job, so always looking ways to get the most out of the day. In your post for tomorrow please also suggest some time management techniques. Cheers Mragendra

Great advice Scott! Screenwriting sometimes gets lost in the shuffle when I'm balancing my day job and freelance writing, so setting specific goals is key, but like the first poster, I often get overwhelmed, so I like your realistic suggestions. Also stacking projects is something I've been getting more and more into, not only preps me for doing this professionally (some day!) but also helps with the postpartum depression I often feel after writing Fade Out on a script that, inevitably, did not live up to my expectations. Thanks for the practical advice!

Mragendra, when I say 7 pages a week, I mean MINIMUM. At least one per day. The daily part should become a ritual. So if you write 10, 20 or more, great! But at the very least, 1 page per day, 7 per week.

Betsy, re postpartum depression: This pretty much sums up why Woody Allen just goes from one project to the next. He basically loathes all of his movies in their finished form, they never live up to what he imagined them to be when scripting them -- at least that's what he's been quoted as saying.

I've been following your twitter for awhile and decided to join the site now because of this post! Very manageable goals and I think you can apply these to other creative endeavors like novel writing with some adaptation of course, so thank you! Also, I find that Microsoft One Note is pretty damn useful for collecting ideas. I'm just starting to use it and I really love it! You can screenshot select any program and paste it right in and you can type anywhere on it and make the surface as big or as small as you want. And you can organize your information with pages and sections within the project and you never have to worry about it not saving your information since it's automatic. And you can add integrate other Microsoft programs quite seamlessly and possibly other file types but I haven't tried that out yet. And there's a text search and yeah I'm going to stop because this sounds like an ad haha. Sorry hehe. But yeah, check it out if you want a new way to organize your stories or projects electronically. Also, when I press on those previous parts, I get a "cannot be found" page, can you please fix it? Thank you! I really enjoy the site, it's very interesting and helpful.

Dear Scott, Thanks for your response. I've still been thinking A LOT about this and am going to go for it this week to get as many of the 1,2,7,14 done. Minor questions: I'm reading "Eternal Sunshine" this week to follow along with the GITS reading series. I've seen the film 4-5 times, but because of its brilliance, I want to see it again with script in hand. In doing so, I'm gaining more depth than breadth this week in my movie watching experience. Is that recommended? Or, should watching a new film take precedence? Also, what if you're interested in a career in both writing for film AND TV? How should the 1,2,7,14 break down? As always, gratefully appreciated, Charlotte

Charlotte, I'm a big advocate of reading scripts while watching the movie. Not all the time, but perhaps 10-15 times per year (at least early in one's learning process). There's knowledge you pick up per each individual script, but also a Gestalt learning the more you do. Re TV: Not much help on that front. How about 1 TV script, 2 TV episodes, 7 pages, and 14 hours of prep?

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