7 Brutally Honest Lessons I Learned Writing My First Screenplay
I went into my first screenplay with big energy. I had a concept I loved, a Pinterest board, and a new pack of highlighters like I was about to rewrite Good Will Hunting. I figured I'd knock it out in a month. Maybe two. Max.
Six months later, I was staring at a hot mess of scenes with no clear arc, 12 characters who all sounded like me, and a midpoint so soft it needed a helmet.
Here’s what nobody tells you when you start this thing:
Writing a screenplay is not cute. It’s a war.
And you’re gonna lose some fingers in the beginning. But I made it through—and I want to pass on the real stuff. Not the YouTube-tutorial crap. The actual, brutal, in-the-trenches truth that helped me level up.
Let’s get into it.
🥊 Lesson 1: Your First Draft Will Suck—and That’s the Point
You think you’re going to write something brilliant on the first pass. You won’t. It’s gonna be a Frankenstein script: lumpy, stitched together, maybe bleeding in places.
That’s normal. That’s how it’s supposed to go.
First drafts are for figuring it out. What the story even is. Who your characters are. What the tone feels like. Get the clay on the table before you try to sculpt it.
If you’re trying to make it perfect before you finish, you’ll never finish.
📐 Lesson 2: Structure Is a Lifeline, Not a Cage
I fought structure hard. I wanted to “let it flow” and “trust the characters.” Spoiler: my characters walked in circles for 40 pages and then disappeared.
Once I learned to use a beat sheet—one that worked for how I think—I stopped drowning.
Structure isn’t the enemy. It’s the ladder out of the hole.
You don’t need to follow Save the Cat like scripture, but if you don’t have a spine, your story can’t stand up.
💬 Lesson 3: Dialogue Isn’t Realistic—It’s Rhythmic
I thought great dialogue meant realistic dialogue. So I wrote how people actually talk. Which meant every scene had:
Interruptions
Repetition
Awkward tangents
Ten lines to say what could be said in two
Screen dialogue isn’t a transcript. It’s a rhythm. A compression. Characters say what matters—clean, sharp, on purpose.
Once I got that, my scenes stopped dragging like wet socks.
⏰ Lesson 4: Writing Daily Isn’t Optional
This one hurt. I thought I could write when I felt “inspired.” But those days were rare. And inconsistent. And often when I was about to sleep.
The truth? Discipline beats inspiration every time.
You don’t need to write for 5 hours a day. But you do need a rhythm. I gave myself 1 hour a day, 5 days a week. Even when it sucked. Especially when it sucked.
Most days, I didn’t want to. But the work showed up because I did.
🩹 Lesson 5: Feedback Stings, But It’s Gold
The first time someone gave me real notes, I wanted to cry and then maybe punch a wall. They didn’t get it. They didn’t see my genius. They pointed out plot holes. Logic gaps. Flat characters.
And once I got over myself?
They were right.
Good feedback doesn’t tell you you’re great. It tells you how to get better. And if you’re smart, you’ll listen.
Pro tip: get feedback from people who understand story—not just friends who love you.
🚧 Lesson 6: You’ll Hit a Wall Around Page 40
I call it The Slump. The second act gut-punch. The point where you’re halfway through and realize, “I have no idea what happens next.”
This is where most writers quit.
You won’t. You’ll write through it. Even if you hate it. Even if it’s messy.
The midpoint exists for a reason—it’s the twist, the escalation, the thing that changes the game. Get to it. Build toward it. Use it as your anchor.
Once you break through, momentum kicks in.
🏁 Lesson 7: Finishing Is the Only Way Forward
You can’t rewrite a script that doesn’t exist. You can’t pitch it. You can’t improve it. You can’t learn from it.
Your job is not to write a good script. Your job is to write a complete one.
Good comes later. In the rewrites. In the feedback. In the clarity that comes with time.
Finishing teaches you more than ten years of theory. You have to walk through the fire to come out with anything worth showing.
🎯 Final Takeaway
Your first script will humble you. It will piss you off. It will challenge everything you thought you knew about storytelling. But when you finish it, when you hold those pages in your hand and think, “I actually did this”—nothing beats that.
So here’s your next step:
📥 Grab my free 7-Day Screenplay Workbook
→ Click here to get it now
It’ll help you outline, break down your acts, and finally finish that draft with some actual structure.
Or, if you’re past draft one and thinking “I don’t know if this is trash or genius,”
🎯 Book a free clarity consult with me —we’ll look at what’s working, what’s wobbly, and how to move forward.
Finish strong. Rewrite smart.
And welcome to the club. We’re glad you made it.
