How To Write A Feature Film In 10 Days

The is zero correlation between the time it takes to write a screenplay and how good it is.

Some of my worst scripts were written over the course of a year. Some of my best, including the new feature I’m writing now – have been written in just days.

It goes without saying that it’s unreasonable to assume you will write a masterpiece in a few days without so much as going back to edit.

But it’s just as unreasonable to assume that if you simply put in enough time, you are guaranteed a good result.

Ultimately, the one thing that matters above all else to the success of your script is the concept itself.

If the concept doesn’t work, or has some fatal flaw – It doesn’t matter if you spend two years on it. It is doomed from the start.

Conversely, if you have an undeniably great idea – that will always resonate. Whether it takes you a week to write it or a year. 

As they say, concept is king.

I’ve made the mistake of rushing into the writing process in the past. Usually when I have a “high concept” idea that seems like a guaranteed winner. 

These ideas will tempt you to just open final draft and type fade in, but most of the time it’s better to let the idea incubate.

That incubation period – whether it’s a month or a year – is the key to writing quickly (and still getting a great result).

The script I am writing right now was conceived of almost 3 years ago. Over that time, I would slowly think about the idea. Jot down notes. Write ideas for scenes, and let it blossom through a natural process.

By the time I actually sat down to write it, I knew exactly what is was, and where it was supposed to go.

That doesn’t mean I had every beat and sequence perfectly mapped out (although I did do numerous outlines). But I did have enough clarity on the idea that I could confidently write it without stopping every other page to question my work.

At the time of this writing, I am on pace to complete a first draft of this new script within 10 days. At 90 pages, that means I will average 8 – 10 pages a day.

That might seem like a lot, but when you know exactly what you need to write, and you’re genuinely excited by it – it’s a completely reasonable amount of time.

Just last night, I wrote 9 pages in about 3 hours. And while it will certainly go through many rounds of revisions, even the first iteration is stronger than my final pass on other scripts.

Every writer needs to work at their own pace, and every film will require a different amount of effort and intensity.

So by no means am I suggesting you have to write quickly, or that your work is guaranteed to be better as a result.

But if you are getting suck on page 2 and it’s a total grind to write your idea – that probably means you haven’t really figured out your idea yet. Or you don’t know who your characters are.

It’s a much more fun and rewarding process to write a script that you can truly see in your mind from start to finish.

That level of clarity not only makes the writing process faster, but 100x more enjoyable too.

I don’t mean to oversimplify, as writing (even under the best of circumstances) is still hard. And re-writes are painful no matter what.

That said, if you front load your process with the idea itself, and don’t start writing until you are bursting with ideas, a lot of the pain associated with writer’s block can be avoided.

And you might just write a much better script in the process.

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