I’m almost finished.

After months (or years in the case of my latest screenplay) of work, I’m finally almost finished.

My little side project has gone through quite the development process over the last little while.  I’ve seen each page evolve as I have as a screenwriter.

I think when I look back 10 years from now, I will look back at this script as a turning point in my screenwriting career.

Why?

Mainly because I promised myself once and for all that I wouldn’t start another feature script until I completed this story.

Now I can see the finish line. I know where I’m going with the story and the scenes are laid out in front of me.  The characters are working and the emotions are there.

You can imagine how excited I am to finish it.  I’ve been filled with an overwhelming sense of anticipation all week.

Yet this morning I had to take a step back.

I didn’t want the finish line to blur the pages I have to write before I get there.  They have to be great.

So with 15-20 pages to go, I took the morning off from writing new pages and went back to page one.

I wanted to go over every single detail and make sure I was ready to finish my story properly.

It was a fantastic decision as I wound up eliminating 2 scenes and an entire character.  I’ll miss the material I created but the story is better for it.

The process actually inspired a new scene in the second act that may or may not be my favorite of the entire script.

It wouldn’t be possible if I rushed through the final pages simply to get it done.  That’s not enough.

You can’t take short cuts.

There’s nothing better than finishing a screenplay but it means nothing if you feel like you didn’t dedicate yourself completely to every single page.

Sometimes, the lure of the finish line can cause you to miss the little details and revelations that make a script great. 

Don’t fall victim to this trap.

Tomorrow, I’ll know that I’m 100% ready to reach the end.

• 1 Bus
• 2 Subways
• 1 Cab
• 1 Boat
• 1 Plane

This is the route I planned to take on a recent trip home.

Just before I began to pack I came up with an idea.

Challenge myself to come up with a concept for a new screenplay and write it by the time the plane lands.

The twist?  I decided to film the journey with my iPhone and cut together a little video of my creative afternoon.

How often do you get a chance to make a ‘making of’ documentary about writing a screenplay?

The video itself isn’t the most entertaining thing in the world but I like watching it knowing that I was working the entire time.

The story I came up with is called:

Crosstown.

It’s the story of a young woman’s search for someone she cared about long ago.  Believing she may have found the person she is looking for, she rides the same bus for hours hoping for the chance to change her life.

I think it’s interesting that my first thought was to use my own surroundings as inspiration.

So here is a movie I made, about a writing a movie on a bus ride and the story is about riding a bus too…  Whew.

Still with me?

Check out the video below.

Looking for screenwriting resources?

Like many screenwriters out there, I’m always on the look-out for new articles and information about the craft I love.  So I’ve compiled THE list of screenwriting websites, blogs and communities you can find on the web.

Over 100 Screenwriting Websites!

[UPDATE] This page has been expanded and included in a brand new screenwriting website called The Screenwriting Spark! You’ll find websites, blogs, videos, interviews and much more.  All this in addition to The Ultimate Guide to Screenwriting Websites.

If I missed your site or if you spot a broken link send me an email jason@theathleticnerd.com and I’ll add it.

…by Ken Levine

101 Greatest Film Screenplays of All Time

140 Full Stop | A Tribute to Twitter Writers

Adelaide Screenwriter

Alltop – Top Screenwriting News

Amanda the Aspiring Writer

Andy Coughlan’s screenwriting and filmmaking blog

A Writer’s Life

Bamboo Killers

Bitter Script Reader

Celtx

Chipstreet

clarkblog

Complications Ensue: The Crafty TV and Screenwriting Blog

Corey Mandell

Cover My Script

Cracking Yarns

Crafty Screenwriting

Creative Screenwriting Magazine

Creative World Awards

David Spies – Screenwriter

Dom’s World

Done Deal

Drew’s Script-O-Rama

Fade In Magazine

Film Script Writing

Final Draft

FrankenScript

Fresh Voices

Fun Joel’s Screenwriting Blog

Gideon’s Screenwriting Tips

Go Into The Story

Helium Screenwriting

How to Write Scripts

IMSDB

Indelible Freckles

IndieScreenwriting

Jane in Progress

johnaugust.com

Joke and Biagio – Husband & Wife Producer Team

Journey of a Screenwriter

Just Effing Entertain Me

King is a Fink

LA Screenwriter

LAwritersgroup.com

Make Your Scene

Marilyn’s Movie Candy

Modern Day Story Teller

MovieBytes

Movie Outline

My Blank Page

MyPDFscripts

Mysteryman.org

Niya’s Place

PDF2ScriptGuy

Pitchfest

Princess Scribe’s Blog

Screen Craft

Screamwriter

Screenplay.com

Screenplay Coverage

Screenplay Notes

Screenplays for You

Screenwriter’s Corner by Syd Field

Screenwriting Basics

Screenwriting for Hollywood

Screenwriting Foxhole

Screenwriting Goldmine

Screenwriting from Iowa

Screenwriting, screenplays, and writing

ScreenwritingTips.net

Screenwriting Tips…You Hack

Screenwriting Secrets

ScreenwritingU

Screenwriting Utopia

Scribomatic

scriptapalooza.com

Scripped

Script Chat

Script Doctor Eric

Scriptfaze

ScriptFrenzy

Script Girrl

Script Magazine

Scriptologist

Script Quack

scriptpimp.com

Script Scoutz

Script Shark

Scripteach

ScriptXray

Scripted Wit

Sellingyourscreenplay.com

Sex in a Sub

SimplyScripts

Snap Thought

Snark’s Script Nuggets

So Fluid

Sophocles

StigmataScript

Story Fanatic

Strange Musings

The Art Of Screenwriting

The Artful Writer

The Black List

The First Reel

The Hero’s Journey

The Last Reveal

The Movie Quill

The Screenwrightist

The Screenwriter’s Cove

The Screenwriters Place

The Screenwriter – Sales Guy Perspective

The Script Lab

The Script Writer

The Single Screenwriter

TheSlickScript

The Story Bodyguard

The Story Department

The Thinking Writer

The Third Draft

The Unique Screenwriting Blog

The Visual Story

The Write Hemisphere

Three Lines or Less

Timothy Visentin/In The Making

TriggerStreet.com

Ramblings of a Recovering Insecureaholic

Raving Dave

Reddit Screenwriting

Robert McKee’s Story Seminar

Running With My Eyes Closed

Uncompleted Works

wgae.org

wga.org

Wordplayer

Writer’s Radio Resource

Writer’s Store

Writers Write

Your Plot Thickens

ZacSanford.com

I’ve been picking at a screenplay loosely based on my time in college for 5 or 6 years now.

It’s one of those projects ‘I’ll finish one day’.

For the first time, I can see the end and I’m ready to finally be able to say it’s done.  I think it will be especially good news for my close family and friends who have listened to me talk about this phantom tale for years.

Mostly because only a few have read it’s predecessor.

The first screenplay I ever wrote.

When I was 16, I finished my first feature screenplay called Behind Max. It was a story about high school basketball centered around a star player named Max and his struggle to decide what he wants to do with his life.  The narrative twist to the story? It was told entirely through the point of view of his friends and family.  Hence BEHIND… Max.  (I was quite proud of that title when I thought of it.)

How is this story related to the one I’m working on now?  There are 2 reasons:

First, if my high school basketball tale is about deciding what you want to be, then the college tale is about ACTUALLY doing it.

Second, some of the characters return in the new story.

The other day, I took it out and flipped through it.

Instantly, I could tell a high school student wrote it.  I’ve learned a lot in the last 11 years. (Has it really been that long?)

Personally, I still think it’s a good story.  Full of intense basketball action both at school and at the local park.  It had drama and, of course, a high school romance.

Today, my screenwriting skills have evolved but I’m always going to look back at the story that made me want to become a screenwriter.  A screenplay that brought back happy memories from my past and continues to inspire the writer I strive to be.

In a sense, both of these stories mirror my own personal journey in the film world.

First I decided to make screenwriting my passion.

Now I actually have to do it.

With that reminder close by, I almost feel like it’s a rite of passage to finish this new script.

I owe it to myself.

I’m also looking forward to evolving my skills again and taking on a more action based screenplay as a follow up.

Screenwriting.  Awesome.

What does your first screenplay mean to you?

After this post, I thought it would make sense to ACTUALLY follow my own advice and write.  Not just talk about it…

So, I woke up, checked out my daily websites and got right to it.

It turns out, it’s easy to write screenplays when you sit down and… write.

I decided to go with a family/drama I’ve been considering for a while.  It’s a concept I’ve been working on for ages but until a few weeks ago, I didn’t know what to do with it.

Then I had one of those shining moments when I knew exactly what to do.

Why didn’t I write it?

I didn’t feel like I had enough time.

I was 100% wrong.

After about 2 hours of work, I completed a 10 page script that could definitely make an interesting short film.

Note: All that development work definitely pays off.

I feel like a screenwriter again.

Writing a script is such a rush and there is nothing better than finishing a new story.  What surprised me was how emotional this story became.  It evolved as I wrote it and became a touching story about losing a loved one.

These types of breakthroughs can only happen when you’re actually typing pages.  You can develop stories forever but the little details will never emerge until the pages stack up.

Every writer should push themselves.  There comes a time when you have to tell yourself to shut up, sit down and write!

Yesterday was that day for me and it couldn’t have worked out any better.

Next I plan to return to my feature script.

I suppose what I’m trying to say is:

I enjoy writing screenplays.