From Betty:
April 1, 2026
We are often so caught up in the pacing of our screenplay that we forget to pace our own writing!
At the Austin Film Festival, I heard Caroline Thompson (EDWARD SCISSORHANDS) explain her writing process. She says that every day she goes to her shed and writes five pages. Full stop. Five pages every day.
People asked, “What if you’re having a burst of energy and you could write more?” She replied, “I stop myself.” As she noticed everyone looking at each other, mouths agape, she explained herself. “I look at it as, ‘Wow, tomorrow is going to be an easy day.’”
She says she gets challenged all the time… that 5 pages isn’t enough. She explains that every screenplay is approximately 110 pages long, so that means she has a new screenplay every 22 days. That’s one new screenplay every three weeks.
“What happens if you can’t write 5 pages?” She answered, “Well, it makes for a really long day, because I am not going back inside until my 5 pages are complete.” She said in her early years, when she felt inspired she accidentally wrote too much, so much that she couldn’t write anything for weeks. By restricting herself and/or forcing herself to write 5 pages per day she stays focused, is certain to progress, and ends up writing approximately 17 screenplays per year. Now that’s something truly jaw dropping.
I’m not suggesting that you need to write 5 pages every day, but maybe start with something like 1 page per day. Feel free to change it up when you realize what you can actually handle…even when real-life gets in the way.