by Jenna | Jun 19, 2025 | ScriptMag Articles
In this month’s “Ask the Coach” article, I’m responding to two readers in response to their submissions to a recent reader survey I conducted.
Their comments and questions coalesced around balancing writing with the rest of a busy life:
“I am struggling with balancing writing with life. I know what I need to do but similar to dieting, there is bingeing then over-compliance. It’s hard to make the habit work with so much to do.”
“I’ve not written in a LONG time — it feels like life events overwhelm me — I’m just not motivated.”
Especially if writing is an optional endeavor—at least in the sense that we’re writing on spec and not being paid (yet!) to write—it’s not easy to balance with the rest of life. Even professional working writers can find writing swallowing up or at least significantly impacting their personal lives, from what I’ve seen.
In the article, I discuss the challenges these writers are facing and then explore some possible strategies and solutions to consider when dealing with a busy life, a propensity to binge, avoid, or overly comply, and a lack of motivation to write.
Solutions:
1. Structure.
2. Rock bottom minimum writing targets.
3. Not to exceed guidelines.
4. The passion rule.
5. Three big rocks.
Much like a screenplay benefits from a proper structure, so do you as a writer. Structure is a container for a story. A writing practice is a container for your writing. It makes a place for writing to be a part of your life. If you don’t have this kind of structure, or container, you have to struggle daily with the “when” and “if” of writing, rather than it being a given.
Want the full scoop? Get all the details in the full article on Script Mag:
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by Jenna | May 15, 2025 | ScriptMag Articles
In this month’s “Ask the Coach” article, I’m responding to two readers in response to their submissions to a recent reader survey I conducted. Their comments and questions coalesced around dealing with distractions from writing:
“I’m struggling most with distractions and interruptions.”
“I am having a hard time writing between family distractions and self-doubt.”
In the article, I focus on distractions in terms of tasks, logistics, and awareness, as well as interruptions and physical challenges, and explore what we can do to corral them and keep them from overtaking our writing:
1. Give tasks a place to live.
2. Create a time to complete tasks.
3. Give logistics their due.
4. Recognize the emotional and mental load you’re carrying.
5. Build protections and resilience around interruptions.
6. Take care of your physical well-being.
7. Cut out the truly unimportant sidetracks.
Drill down into what’s truly important to you and make sure you’re eliminating everything not on that list, so you can focus on what you’re called to do: write.
Want the full scoop? Get all the details in the full article on Script Mag:
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by Jenna | Apr 17, 2025 | ScriptMag Articles
In this month’s “Ask the Coach” article, I’m responding to a writer who’s commented about feeling like they’ve stalled around writing.
“I’ve made so much progress with my draft but… I’ve just stalled again, and I have no idea why. I’m just not FEELING it right now. What gives?”
Whew, yes. SO many writers I’ve spoken to recently are feeling similarly. In the article, I unpack some of the possibilities for underlying causes and then brainstorm how to recover from the stall.
Why Writers Stall
1. All the *everything* right now is zapping you.
2. Personal life stuff is getting to you.
3. You’re reacting to a mountain (or an iceberg) in your story.
4. You’ve lost confidence in yourself as a writer.
5. You feel overwhelmed by the quantity of work ahead.
6. Your writing practice has been disrupted and resistance has crept in.
How to Recover From a Stall
1. Write for a little tiny bit, right now.
2. Write morning pages.
3. Write about writing.
4. Rewrite your fears and doubts.
5. Calm your fight or flight response.
6. Carve out a space for just writing.
7. Check your priorities.
8. Reclaim your sense of self as a writer.
9. Use writing as your refuge, if you can.
10. Show up anyway.
Usually, avoiding or stalling is a symptom of something else going on deeper down. Solving it often requires a combination of personal work and finding ways to sneak (or trick ourselves) back into writing.
Want the full scoop? Get all the details in the full article on Script Mag:
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by Jenna | Mar 21, 2025 | ScriptMag Articles
In this month’s “Ask the Coach” article, I’m responding to a few readers in one article, in response to their submissions to my recent survey about the classes, workshops, and programs I teach.
Their comments and questions coalesced around the purpose of writing:
“It’s not the writing as much as the writing with a purpose. What’s the end goal? What are the strategies?”
“I am once again struggling with the demon that says writing somehow isn’t enough. That it’s not enough of a purpose to justify my life, particularly as publishing keeps saying ‘no’ to my knocking.”
“What is my writing purpose?”
These are similar questions, but with varying shades of intent. I suspect these are questions all writers ask periodically, though the specifics may vary for each of us. These overlap with the commonality of purpose.
In the article, I explore navigating one’s purpose as a writer and reply to the specific questions and situations of the screenwriter, novelist, and essayist who chimed in via my survey.
Writing with purpose means being who we are in the world and expressing the unique insights and perspectives we bring to the table…. Whether we choose to focus on writing for the sake of the practice, make strategic choices to meet both ourselves and the market, or put our work out in the world ourselves, we write because we are writers.
Want the full scoop? Get all the details in the full article on Script Mag:
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by Jenna | Feb 20, 2025 | ScriptMag Articles
In this month’s “Ask the Coach” article, I’m responding to a writer about overcoming procrastination and dealing with self-criticism:
“I need to overcome my procrastination. I am trying to write a screenplay, with a proposal, for a funding opportunity. I had experience in short-filmmaking. But this is my first feature-length script. I have been trying to write a feature-length script for years. I need help to find a way to put myself to write while resisting the non-stop self-criticism of my ability and self-worth, as well as the sense of guilt after wasting time on social media. If you could share some insight into how to tackle these problems, I would be most grateful.”
In the main article, my reply explored the primary issues of procrastination and self-criticism and provided some thoughts on how this writer can shift their experience.
Here’s a list of the seven strategies discussed in the article:
- Recognize what’s really going on when we procrastinate.
- Calm the fears by changing the way you talk to yourself.
- Reframe the “stepping up” aspect of what you’re asking of yourself.
- Choose productive procrastination instead.
- Relegate social media to non-writing parts of the day.
- Save binge-watching as a reward for writing.
- Start small with writing.
Give yourself the gift of going for it and enjoying the ride, even the hard and scary parts. This is part of shifting your perspective to help the scared part of you see writing as something that might even be — dare we say it — fun.
Want the full scoop? Get all the details in the full article on Script Mag:
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by Jenna | Jan 16, 2025 | ScriptMag Articles
In this month’s “Ask the Coach” article, I’m responding to a writer about whether to give up on a script after not getting the response they anticipated from contests and fellowships:
“I’m ready to throw in the towel. I sent out what I thought was a strong polished script, highly regarded by my writing community and others I trust – but the number of contests and fellowships I’ve submitted to passed on the script. Should I give up on it?”
In the main article, my reply included looking at some possibilities that might be at play here.
Here’s a list of the highlights of the article:
1. Contests and fellowships aren’t the final referendum on your script.
2. Not all contests are created equal.
3. Your script may not be as polished as you think it is.
4. You may want to write something else and come back to this script.
5. You’re the one in charge of you and your writing.
6. You get to decide.
This one reader, producer, agent, or manager may not love your script. But the next one might. That means it’s your responsibility to shepherd your script into the right hands, which will involve research, networking, querying, and more. A fellowship or contest is just one way to do that work.
Want the full scoop? Get all the details in the full article on Script Mag:
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