Goal setting is important to structure your working timetable, but how you set that goal can either help or hinder you.
I work with many writers at various stages of their careers, from emerging new writers looking to write their first script, to established writers who are aiming to write a speculative script to sell an original idea.
I also work with writers on shows in production, but I want to talk about goal setting outside of this, because when you are working on a show, your writing is already structured around deadlines set by editors and producers.
What goals you set
When I think about the conversations I have with writers about the goals they set when writing a script often I will hear “my goal is to get an agent”, “my goal is to get work, to use this script to open doors” or “my goal is to get this script made and to have a hit TV show”.
There’s nothing wrong with thinking like this, it’s important to know what you’re working towards, but these kinds of goals are not as effective as you might think because they are goals that are not within your control. For example, whether or not you get an agent may have nothing to do with the quality of your script. And whether you reach that goal is in the hands of the agent, who decides whether or not to take you on.
How to break down a goal into stages
If we’re to break down the goal of getting an agent there are many steps you need to go through. First, you need to write the script that represents you. Second, you need to research the agent pool and consider market forces (e.g. are there a lot of established writers out of work which might make an agent reluctant to take on new clients or are there fewer opportunities for agents to put writers forward?) to know who to target. Third, how to contact the agents when some won’t take unsolicited scripts? Fourth, if you do make contact, how to ensure your script gets read, such as an enticing and professional covering email that compels them to read your work? Fifth, how to make sure your first meeting with them consolidates their good feelings about you and helps them decide to take you on?
In the above steps the one that is truly in your control is the first. It is the most important and yet so many writers fail to make it their goal. And it’s a step that you can break down into very clear stages.
Your first goal might be to define your idea and write your story overview. Your second goal might be to pull together your characters and storyline. Next write your first draft. Edit it. Write another draft. Write the number of drafts you need for the script and story to become what they need to be, until you’re happy to seek feedback. Perhaps you will have your script read by a fellow writer. If you don’t know any you may find someone you trust to be honest and constructive, or hire a consultant like me.
How goals can motivate you
If you set out your goals like this, you are breaking down a process into clear stages that motivates you to keep going and gives you a boost when you are able to tick them off. Nothing is quicker to demotivate you than feeling like you aren’t making progress. And it takes a long time to write a script, so if you’re only focussed on getting an agent or getting it made, then you’re waiting a long time for that sense of achievement.
A goal should support the stage you are at and be within your control. In the industry because so much of that is outside your control, if your goals are built entirely around external outcomes, the ground beneath you can start to feel unstable very quickly and as many writers do, you abandon a script half way through.
Emotionally there is a trap too. If you’re writing something thinking about the agent, producer or commissioner who will want to take it on, the chances are you are not writing freely or intuitively. You might be second guessing what they may think, and that will weaken your script.
The best goal you can set
The only true way you can make progress is to get your script written. If your goal is getting it written and being happy with your output, then the sale, or the agent, or having it made is a bonus on top. I’m not suggesting you enjoy every stage of writing, there are many stages I dislike myself and I’m much happier having written than writing, but when you have intentional structure around your writing process things get much easier.
But if your goals are built around the work itself, around learning, around finishing, around developing your voice and your ability to tell stories, then every step forward is progress. Even when nobody else sees it yet or if the script never gets taken on or made.
The writers who tend to sustain careers are not always the ones who obsess most over the outcome. They’re the ones who learn how to keep writing. How to finish. How to improve. How to survive the difficult middle where nobody is reading your work and encouraging you.
And that’s why I often encourage writers to shift the question. Writing careers are not usually built in one giant leap, scripts do not arrive fully formed, they take time, persistence, curiosity and an ability to take feedback and pivot when your gut tells you there’s a better way to tell your story.
Using SMART goals
SMART goals are a way of turning ambition into action. Instead of focusing only on distant outcomes like getting an agent or selling a script, they help writers focus on the next practical stage of the process. By making goals Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time Bound, writers create momentum, track progress realistically and avoid becoming overwhelmed by the parts of the industry they can’t control.
Specific
A vague goal gives you vague momentum. “I want to be a successful writer” sounds impressive but it doesn’t tell you what to do when you sit at your desk. Instead try “Devise the idea.” “Write the story arc.” “Create the characters.” Those are writing goals. Those create movement.
Measurable
Measuring the work keeps you honest. Pages written. Story beats broken. Drafts completed.
Achievable
Don’t set goals that hold you back or are self-defeating. If your target is unrealistic, the moment you fall behind the script starts to feel like evidence of failure rather than part of a process. Ambition matters. But momentum matters more.
Relevant
Why this goal matters to your writing. For example, if you’re not excited and happy with your idea, then writing your story will be a chore and problematic. If your story outline isn’t ready for you to move on to the next stage, then your script will get into a muddle very quickly.
Time Bound
Deadlines force decisions. And storytelling is built on decisions. Setting a date for your goal helps bring it into existence, it’s no longer a dream but an objective.
To help you create SMART goals for your writing, you will find a downloadable PDF in Resources, which you can print out and use for each stage.
If you can learn to find value in taking your writing step by step, rather than only in the dream of what the script might one day become, you give yourself a far better chance of continuing long enough to become the writer you want to be.
