Writing Goals: 2021
By: Scott Myers
Tags: Writing, Productivity, Fiction, Screenwriting, Creativity

10-part series for writers to consider what we did in 2020 and will do in 2021.

I thought I would reprise something I’ve done in December the last few years with the hope it would benefit as many of you as possible in taking concrete steps forward next year with your writing aspirations.

It’s a very simple thing, really — setting goals — but for many, if not most people, it is an invaluable part of their creative process. You can go here to read some background on why setting goals is important and how to be S.M.A.R.T. about it.

You may be someone who likes to set goals. Or someone who hates it. Maybe you’ve never really tried to formalize the process.

Whatever your inclinations or prior experience has been, I encourage you to try it for 2021. Three big reasons why:

With all its distractions, life has a way of dissipating positive energy. We may have some general sense of what we’d like to accomplish, but the mere fact we live with the gigantic time-suck that is the Internet, that alone has a way of squandering countless hours of time when we could be writing. One of the best ways I know to deal with this natural tendency toward dissolution of focus is to take a definitive stand: Declare your intentions and stay fixed on those goals every day.

If you’re familiar with Script Girl, her tagline offers one of the most fundamental truths about the screenwriting business there is: “You can’t sell it, if you don’t write it.” You have to finish that script. In fact, to maximize your chances at success, let me amend that last statement: You have to finish those scripts. As in plural. The more scripts you write, the more you understand the craft, the better you get as a writer, and the more you prepare yourself for a possible career as a screenwriter. Plus, you have more content to show to managers and agents. And each of those scripts represents a story you can sell potentially. But if you don’t write them… cue Script Girl.

You have to finish that script. In fact, to maximize your chances at success, let me amend that last statement: You have to finish those scripts. As in plural. The more scripts you write, the more you understand the craft, the better you get as a writer, and the more you prepare yourself for a possible career as a screenwriter. Plus, you have more content to show to managers and agents. And each of those scripts represents a story you can sell potentially. But if you don’t write them… cue Script Girl. There’s an anecdote I believe in William Goldman’s memoir “Adventures in the Screen Trade,” still perhaps the best book about screenwriting even thirty plus years after its publication. As I recall the story, Goldman was friends with a top NBA basketball player, a man renowned for the amount of time he spent practicing. Even after he had become a successful professional athlete, he was the kind of guy who would be shooting jump shots in a lonely gym after midnight. Goldman asked him, “Why do you practice so much.” The player’s answer: “Because when I’m not practicing, someone else is.” The screenwriting version: If you’re not writing, someone else is. Screenwriting is an incredibly competitive field. To give yourself an edge over the competition, you simply have to spend time — a lot of it! — writing.

Three reasons for you to be serious about setting writing goals for 2021.

Part 1: Looking Back

Part 2: Assessing Where You Are

Part 3: Where Do You Want To Go As A Writer?

Part 4: Practical Matters

Part 5: Going Public

Part 6: Schedule

Part 7: Time Management

Part 8: First Draft

Page 9: The Only Way Out Is Through

Page 10: Trust the Process

Bottom line: Set some specific, achievable writing goals for 2021.