Whether your profession (or passion) is writing or building houses, you can easily paralyze yourself with the amount of knowledge that is available. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of books on screenwriting, and even more video series on the craft. This is not to knock any of them, they all have the potential to benefit you, but while you are reading you are not writing. The only way to truly become a better writer is to write.

If you are brand new to writing, or stuck, then there are some great resources out there that can help you get going. But limit your intake to a select few and get back to the keyboard quickly. I would highly suggest one book on story structure (Hunter, McKee, etc) and one on structuring of your time and approach, like Turbo Writing: How to Create Better Scripts Faster (and enjoy life more!).

You need to have a basic understanding of the foundation of storytelling and the rules to your genre, but once you have those, set down the books and go for it. You will return for advice and there will be plenty of time for shaping and fixing in re-writes. What is important now is that you start the journey and with a focused approach, begin your piece.

Many of us have great ideas inside our heads. We dream up amazing movies that we honestly believe could be major blockbusters. So why do most people stop there? Why do most people give up before they have even begun? For many people it is they lack the structure in their personal lives to get on task with their passions. Not many people can log in to their computers and immediately open their work files without first checking email, Facebook, maybe email again... They might work a little but then receive a text. Since their concentration is blown they figure "might as well check my email." Sound familiar?

As writers we do not have the luxury of having half of our brain with us and the other half checking status updates. We need to be 100% present when we sit down to work. But just saying this will not make it come true. We need to set ourselves up for success! We need a game plan. You need to set the scene physically and mentally wherever it is that you do your writing. You need to structure your approach to writing just the same way you structure the story within your piece. The techniques are simple, easy to apply and will have you writing your most productive works yet.