SCREENWRITING JOURNAL Write notes Be inspired Keep track of your screenwriting journey WWW.SHORESCRIPTS.COM JUNE - AUGUST 2021 WORK ONLINE OR PRINT NAME: DATE: 1st June 2021 PROJECT TITLE: UPDATE: "Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway." -Earl Nightingale WWW.SHORESCRIPTS.COM NAME: DATE: 2nd June 2021 PROJECT TITLE: UPDATE: Announcing our Short Film Fund Finalists! Get to know your Protagonist Go for a long walk and start asking your protagonist questions about their youth and upbringing. Write down some of the things they told you. WWW.SHORESCRIPTS.COM NAME: DATE: 3rd June 2021 PROJECT TITLE: UPDATE: Writing Tip: Ensure your character has a point of view. WWW.SHORESCRIPTS.COM NAME: DATE: 4th June 2021 PROJECT TITLE: UPDATE: "Who is your protagonist and what is their problem?" -William C. Martell WWW.SHORESCRIPTS.COM NAME: DATE: 5th June 2021 PROJECT TITLE: UPDATE: Career Checklist Write down a list of things that you could do that would help advance your screenwriting career, no matter how small. Check-off each one as you complete it. WWW.SHORESCRIPTS.COM NAME: DATE: 6th June 2021 PROJECT TITLE: UPDATE: "Every writer I know has trouble writing." -Joseph Heller WWW.SHORESCRIPTS.COM NAME: DATE: 7thJune 2021 PROJECT TITLE: UPDATE: Notes Use this page to jot down ideas, inspiration, and to-do items. WWW.SHORESCRIPTS.COM NAME: DATE: 8th June 2021 PROJECT TITLE: UPDATE: "Don't create to satisfy other people's criteria. Amuse yourself. Take the tedium out of the medium." -Sam Baron WWW.SHORESCRIPTS.COM NAME: DATE: 9th June 2021 PROJECT TITLE: UPDATE: Love Letter If your protagonist had to write a love letter to someone, what would it say? Would they be able to open up, would they be reserved, would we see a side to them that we wouldn’t otherwise see? Try writing one for them to find out. WWW.SHORESCRIPTS.COM NAME: DATE: 10th June 2021 PROJECT TITLE: UPDATE: Writing Tip: Dialogue is sharpest when it works on multiple levels, so focus on subtext. WWW.SHORESCRIPTS.COM NAME: DATE: 11th June 2021 PROJECT TITLE: UPDATE: "If you only have one hour a day when you're not with your kids, you have to make it count, so you really nail it." -Daisy Haggard WWW.SHORESCRIPTS.COM NAME: DATE: 12th June 2021 PROJECT TITLE: UPDATE: "If you wanna do a film where you have a big scope, you've got to make your characters relatable and genuine." -Jennifer Lee WWW.SHORESCRIPTS.COM NAME: DATE: 13th June 2021 PROJECT TITLE: UPDATE: "If you want to write movies, I strongly suggest watching a ton of movies. When someone says they are a TV writer and they don't own a TV, I just want to roll my eyes until they get stuck that way." -Kay Cannon WWW.SHORESCRIPTS.COM NAME: DATE: 14th June 2021 PROJECT TITLE: UPDATE: Announcing our Short Film Fund Winners! Notes Use this page to jot down ideas, inspiration, and to-do items. WWW.SHORESCRIPTS.COM NAME: DATE: 15th June 2021 PROJECT TITLE: UPDATE: "Making people believe the unbelievable is no trick; it's work... An overturned tricycle in the gutter of an abandoned neighborhood can stand for anything." -Stephen King WWW.SHORESCRIPTS.COM NAME: DATE: 16h June 2021 PROJECT TITLE: UPDATE: Pack your bags What four items does your protagonist never leave the house without? Could any of them become interesting MacGuffin’s (objects that are integral to the plot)? Write down some props that might come in handy for your hero later on. WWW.SHORESCRIPTS.COM NAME: DATE: 17th June 2021 PROJECT TITLE: UPDATE: Writing Tip: The worst thing you write is better than the best thing you did not write. WWW.SHORESCRIPTS.COM NAME: DATE: 18th June 2021 PROJECT TITLE: UPDATE: "Build a community of friends and likeminded creators and shoot as much as you can." -Nora Kirkpatrick WWW.SHORESCRIPTS.COM NAME: DATE: 19th June 2021 PROJECT TITLE: UPDATE: Backstory Checklist For fun, write down a list of significant moments in your MC’s life. Imagine how they shaped them, changed their path, or created new personality traits. Check-off any that have a direct impact during your story. WWW.SHORESCRIPTS.COM NAME: DATE: 20th June 2021 PROJECT TITLE: UPDATE: "Some sage said the job of great art is to 'comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable'. Don't be afraid to stir things up, it is more likely to get you somewhere worth going." -Edward Saxon WWW.SHORESCRIPTS.COM NAME: DATE: 21st June 2021 PROJECT TITLE: UPDATE: Notes Use this page to jot down ideas, inspiration, and to-do items. WWW.SHORESCRIPTS.COM NAME: DATE: 22nd June 2021 PROJECT TITLE: UPDATE: "Once you crack the script, everything else follows." -Ridley Scott WWW.SHORESCRIPTS.COM NAME: DATE: 23rd June 2021 PROJECT TITLE: UPDATE: Secrets & Lies What big secret is your protagonist desperate not to reveal and what lies have they told in order to keep it hidden? Are your antagonist and secondary characters keeping secrets too? Jot some ideas below. WWW.SHORESCRIPTS.COM NAME: DATE: 24th June 2021 PROJECT TITLE: UPDATE: Writing Tip: Don't make excuses for why you can't get it done. Focus on all the reasons why you must make it happen. WWW.SHORESCRIPTS.COM NAME: DATE: 25th June 2021 PROJECT TITLE: UPDATE: "First, find out what your hero wants, then just follow him." -Ray Bradbury WWW.SHORESCRIPTS.COM NAME: DATE: 26th June 2021 PROJECT TITLE: UPDATE: "Chicks don't do chick flicks. They do whatever flick interests them, whatever subjects. -Betty Thomas WWW.SHORESCRIPTS.COM NAME: DATE: 27th June 2021 PROJECT TITLE: UPDATE: "I'm the guy who gets uncomfortable. That's why I was able to write 'The 40-year-Old Virgin' and 'Knocked Up'. I believe in those guys." -Judd Apatow WWW.SHORESCRIPTS.COM NAME: DATE: 28th June 2021 PROJECT TITLE: UPDATE: Notes Use this page to jot down ideas, inspiration, and to-do items. WWW.SHORESCRIPTS.COM NAME: DATE: 29th June 2021 PROJECT TITLE: UPDATE: "Feedback can be scary. Pay attention to the details during a pitch: when do they smile, where do they look confused." -Stephanie Palmer WWW.SHORESCRIPTS.COM NAME: DATE: 30th June 2021 PROJECT TITLE: UPDATE: Best Mate, Marry, or Murder? Which of your characters would you want to be your best friend, which would you want to marry, and which would you murder and why? Answer the same questions for your characters. Are there any interesting or surprising outcomes? WWW.SHORESCRIPTS.COM NAME: DATE: 1st July 2021 PROJECT TITLE: UPDATE: 30 Days until our Feature & TV Pilot Regular Deadline Writing Tip: Give your characters secrets. It will help create depth and provide conflict. WWW.SHORESCRIPTS.COM NAME: DATE: 2nd July 2021 PROJECT TITLE: UPDATE: "It's been said over and over again by writers of scary stories that a writer can't scare a reader unless that writer scares himself or herself first. So, you can't excite anyone in the audience unless you're excited writing the script." -Dan O'Bannon WWW.SHORESCRIPTS.COM NAME: DATE: 3rd July 2021 PROJECT TITLE: UPDATE: Reading Checklist Compile a short list of successful movies that share similarities to your script, whether it’s by genre, style, or plot. If you can find the screenplay online, download a copy, and check-off each one after you’ve read it. WWW.SHORESCRIPTS.COM NAME: DATE: 4th July 2021 PROJECT TITLE: UPDATE: "Just writing for yourself won't work (commercially), but only writing for seeming commercial success won't either. What the world needs is for you to be boldly and uniquely you, not a copy of someone else." -Erik Bork WWW.SHORESCRIPTS.COM NAME: DATE: 5th July 2021 PROJECT TITLE: UPDATE: Notes Use this page to jot down ideas, inspiration, and to-do items. WWW.SHORESCRIPTS.COM NAME: DATE: 6th July 2021 PROJECT TITLE: UPDATE: "I should know. It took me 12 years of struggle before I made Masoom. What I survived on? Hope. And belief in myself. They are your best friends." -Shekhar Kapur WWW.SHORESCRIPTS.COM NAME: DATE: 7th July 2021 PROJECT TITLE: UPDATE: Catchphrases Do your characters have a catchphrase, saying, or mannerism that they use throughout your story? If so, what would be the most inappropriate time for them to use it? If not, try thinking of a memorable quote that audiences will echo below. WWW.SHORESCRIPTS.COM NAME: DATE: 8th July 2021 PROJECT TITLE: UPDATE: Writing Tip: Let your character make the decisions for you. WWW.SHORESCRIPTS.COM NAME: DATE: 9th July 2021 PROJECT TITLE: UPDATE: "To me, screenwriting isn't just exit, enter, speak your lines. It's really about establishing a rhythm, and directing on paper, to some extent." -Shane Black WWW.SHORESCRIPTS.COM NAME: DATE: 10th July 2021 PROJECT TITLE: UPDATE: "Writing is a job, a talent, but it's also the place to go in your head. It is the imaginary friend you drink your tea with in the afternoon." -Ann Patchett WWW.SHORESCRIPTS.COM NAME: DATE: 11th July 2021 PROJECT TITLE: UPDATE: "Just write every day of your life. Read intensely. Then see what happens. Most of my friends who are put on that diet have very pleasant careers." -Ray Bradbury WWW.SHORESCRIPTS.COM NAME: DATE: 12thJuly 2021 PROJECT TITLE: UPDATE: Notes Use this page to jot down ideas, inspiration, and to-do items. WWW.SHORESCRIPTS.COM NAME: DATE: 13th July 2021 PROJECT TITLE: UPDATE: "Use the outline as your first creative step. The charcoal sketch an artist makes before they break out the oils and brushes." -William C.