How to Deal with Downtime as a Writer

The actual process of writing a screenplay sometimes feels like a rush. You’ve got ideas flowing. You’re figuring out what type of story structure you’re going to use, what your character arcs are going to be for your protagonists and antagonists, and how you can write great setups and payoffs throughout your script to keep readers invested. It’s a thrilling ride. 

But then you type FADE TO BLACK, FADE OUT, or THE END. 

You’re done. It’s over. At least for the time being. But you should know, the work never really stops. 

• Maybe you’ve sent drafts out to managers, producers, development executives, peers, coverage services, or contests, and you’re waiting to hear back.
• Maybe you’re coming off months of rewrites.  
• If you’re a pro, maybe you’re between paid writing assignments. 
• Maybe you’ve been in the grind for so long that it’s time for a little break. 

This period in between projects is called downtime. 

Many people mistakenly equate inactivity with failure. They feel that if they are not writing for multiple hours every day (which isn't possible for most), they’re falling short in their writing and progress. 

Downtime isn’t the absence of writing or effort. It’s a natural transition period between major creative pushes. 

Professional screenwriters making a living through their screenwriting know that downtime is actually part of the big picture process. It’s necessary. 

Screenwriters need various stages of the screenwriting process for:

• Research
• Development
• Mental Resets
• Networking
• Marketing

And then sometimes you just need a break. 

• Your brain may need distance from the material. 
• Your creative tank may need time to refuel. 
• You may need time to organize your thoughts and projects. 

Downtime is not laziness - it just represents those periods between the actual grind of writing a script once the front-end work (story and character development, research, and outlining) is complete and you start physically writing the script from FADE IN to FADE TO BLACK. 

Think of it this way: 

• Pro athletes don’t train at maximum capacity without rest, nor do they play games every single day, week, or month of the year. 
• Directors don’t stay in production forever. 
• Editors don’t endlessly cut the same scene or sequence over and over and over. 

You need breathing room. Ironically, some of your best ideas can come during your downtime between drafts or different scripts. That’s often when your subconscious starts doing your best work for you. Those revelations that seem to come out of nowhere? Most of the time, it’s your brain helping you figure stuff out behind the scenes as you rest, relax, and recover. 

You’re in between scripts. What do you do then? Here are five best practices you can do between scripts. 

It’s one thing to finish a screenplay, and it's a whole different beast to tackle when you have to market your screenplay. 

Your job doesn’t end when you finish a script. It’s only the beginning. Now you have to get that script into the hands of those who can bring it to life on screen (and to those who can pay you to do so). Finishing a screenplay is only phase one of the process. 

Downtime is one of the best opportunities to focus on that side of the screenwriting journey. This is the time when you can:

• Research who to take your script to by looking up similar projects on IMDBPro and plan to approach those who are making similar movies, representing writers who write them, etc.
• Develop marketing tools such as loglines, short synopses, and treatments.  
• Consider stronger script titles that instantly sell your concept and the genre. 
• Cold-Query managers, producers, and development executives.
• Correspond with any networking contacts you’ve made. 

You want to do your research, cast your net as wide as possible, focus on producers making material like yours, find representation that can help get your script out to decision-makers, and keep rinsing and repeating the marketing process until someone bites. Your downtime between scripts is when you can take what you’ve written and work on getting it read. 

This is part of the marketing process, to be sure, but it’s also a vastly different way to get your script read. You need to:

• Research which contests and fellowships are right for you and your script. Always opt for ones with the most access to the industry (Final Draft’s Big Break is one of the premier contests in that respect). 
• Do a readthrough of your script to find and correct any spelling, grammar, or formatting errors or issues. 
• Ensure that your submission process to any contest meets the eligibility requirements.

Sometimes, contest and fellowship deadlines are spread out throughout the year, so you can also utilize your downtime to plan ahead for future submissions.

It’s also important not to “wait by the phone” or by your email inbox. When you submit to a contest, forget about it and move on. The same can be said while marketing your scripts as well. When you send out cold queries or requested submissions, don’t use your downtime to wait for a response. Move on to the next prospect.  

Some of the greatest and most heralded screenplays and novels were those that first gathered dust on shelves or lay dormant in drawers and old folders on computers for years. It’s always good to go back and revisit those projects that were left behind for any given reason. 

• If you have unfinished scripts from the past, maybe you weren’t ready to write them then, but you are now. 
• If you have scripts that didn’t go anywhere after marketing them, or the scripts didn’t advance in the contests you submitted them to, maybe it’s time to rewrite, rethink, and re-imagine them.  

Writers often move on from scripts not necessarily because they are poorly written, but often because they’re emotionally exhausted from the process. A screenplay that felt “dead” six months ago may now reveal promise when revisited with a fresh perspective. 

When you revisit old scripts, you may find:

• A great concept buried under a lack of execution (sometimes due to you being less experienced months or years prior)
• A weak second act that now has an obvious fix
• A stronger arc for your protagonist
• A more exciting opening
• A more compelling ending

Whatever you may find, downtime is a great way to rediscover your past efforts. You never know. Maybe now is the time to dust them off, finish them, revise them, and get them back out there for a second chance. 

One of the best practices when you’re working on a single script is to take breaks between drafts. 

When you finish the first draft of a script, consider taking a break from it. Depending on the situation, it may be a couple of weeks. If you’re writing on spec (not under contract), you can take a month away from it. 

• Don’t look at it. 
• Don’t talk about it. 
• Don’t think about it. 

You lock it away, get some distance from it, and have a little much-needed downtime in the middle of writing. 

When you return to it and give it a read from beginning to end, you’ll find that you’ll be looking at the script with more objective eyes. Both the strengths and flaws will stand out so much more, helping you do a more effective rewrite. This vacation away from your script is highly-effective downtime. 

Many newcomers choose their next script far too quickly. This happens when you’re exhausted from the last one, and want to erase that exhaustion by tackling something new and exciting. 

However, choosing a concept without the proper research and development can cost you months or years. Downtime gives you the opportunity to explore possibilities before fully committing to them. 

Instead of jumping into a new script right away:

• Write multiple loglines.
• Explore multiple concepts.
• Experiment with different genres.
• Research concepts and titles to make sure they haven’t been done before.
• If they have been done before, take successful familiar concepts and find new twists to apply to them.

Too many scripts fail because the concept itself wasn’t fully developed beforehand. Downtime helps you slow things down and take a look at the bigger picture of the concept, what plot points work best with it, and what types of characters can flourish in the world you could create. 

Brainstorming and workshopping concepts in this research and development phase helps you to be strategic with your choices. During this process, you may discover that your initial favorite idea isn’t actually your strongest one. Or you may find that it’s something less marketable. You may also find creative ways to combine concepts together to create something even more special. 

Perhaps the most important element of downtime is preventing burnout. 

Burnout is common among screenwriters. It’s easy to push yourself too hard while trying to meet deadlines and remain disciplined in your writing. It’s important to have a great work ethic and push yourself to get the work done. But it’s even more important to know when it’s time to step away and take a break. 

Downtime gives you the chance to refill the creative tank. You’ll find that after an extended time away from screenwriting, you can find yourself stronger, sharper, and more energized. You’ll find that you’ve actually missed the process, creating more excitement and drive going into whatever you’re going to tackle next. That blank page will feel less like pressure and more like an open and exciting possibility. 

Embrace downtime, but also don’t forget that you eventually do need to get back to work. You’ll be surprised by how experiencing some downtime can actually help you self-motivate more. And all of that work you did during your downtime between scripts - marketing, submitting to contests/fellowships, finishing unfinished scripts, revising old ones, recharging between drafts, and developing new concepts - will help fuel your screenwriting journey ahead.