Last year, 2021 I set out a goal of writing 12 screenplays, I wrote 4. I think one of them was okay. I liked the ideas on most of them but a lot happens from conception to execution. What you want or think it can become to what it actually ends up being.
I sent them to coverage services to get feedback from readers. I think most of the coverage was fair. It’s good to get feedback but also learn how to weigh the feedback to identify objective constructive criticism versus feedback where it feels more superficial and generic. It’s easier to know how to use criticism when it feels like the reader at least understood the intention behind the writing.
As of this entry, I’ve written 19 screenplays not including a total rewrite of one. Submitted a couple of them to festivals. Didn’t win any, got to the second round on a few. There was a time when I didn’t even get past the first round. I think the biggest thing is understanding the aesthetics of a screenplay, the ingredients of what makes an edible recipe, won’t say I know what makes a great recipe. So maybe it’s not even so much about getting better, but knowing how to see your own work.
Every screenplay informs the next and future ones. You pick up skills, mechanics, techniques, understandings, insights, processes that become a part of your tool belt and skillset. At least, that’s what it feels like. And hopefully with each screenplay, a lot of what was difficult gets recessed into automaticity and just instinctual and intuitive. Then new skills can be addressed and learned, stacking on top of the old skills.