The Write With Me Challenge

Want to follow along as I write a screenplay? Whether you want to work on your own project alongside me, or simply observe my progress as a week-by-week case study, the Write With Me Challenge is here to help.

What is the Write With Me Challenge?

That's an official-sounding name for an 8-week behind-the-scenes peek at my writing process.

During the challenge, I'll share what I'm doing as I write a brand new screenplay from scratch. What's working, what's not, and any of the resources that help at each step.

What's included?

When you sign up to receive the Challenge emails, you'll get an email every Monday for 8 weeks, starting January 1st. In each email you'll see:

• The upcoming week's plan of attack. Whether I'm brainstorming theme and character arc, researching other movies in the genre, outlining individual scenes, or writing pages, you'll hear what I'm aiming to accomplish and how I plan to do it.
• I'll include specific story questions I'm trying to answer that week, which you can use as prompts for your own writing, if you'd like.
• And I'll include recommendations for any resources that I've found helpful, whether that's books, podcasts, articles, screenwriting-related or otherwise.
• You'll also get an update on how the previous week went. Am I on track? Am I course-correcting? (Spoiler alert: there will probably be a lot of the latter.)

I’m planning to outline for 4 weeks and then draft pages for 4 weeks, finishing a first, messy draft by the end of February. You’ll receive a final Challenge update on February 26. If there’s enough interest, I may even host a victory party / Q&A session to close out the whole adventure.

What's the point of the Challenge?

The way I'm thinking of it, this 8-week series will give you a front-row seat to the writing process (my writing process, that is). You'll be inside my head as I write a screenplay, which – if this is new to you – may just demystify a lot of what can seem like a big, daunting endeavor.

You can also treat this series as your own personal accountability buddy.

Whether you want to write at the same pace I'm going or set your own milestones, you can use my weekly emails and updates to keep you on track as you write your screenplay too. If you’d like, you can even email me with your weekly goal or progress update so I can cheer you on.

The Challenge updates will be a behind-the-scenes journal of sorts. Less of the "How To"-type articles you usually see in my Friday emails. More real-time updates on how a screenplay comes together, for better or worse.

But whatever my final outcome, I hope having someone to take this journey with helps keep you energized and writing in the new year!

And if you want to make contest deadlines this Spring, now is the time to start writing that screenplay, so why not join me?

**Note: You will still receive a regular Write + Co. memo on Fridays, so please be aware that you’ll see two emails from me each week for the run of the challenge.

If you'd like to join, here's how:

Step 1) Click the button below. It does two things: First, it automatically signs you up to receive the Write With Me Challenge emails. Second, it redirects you to Amazon’s Story Structure Made Easy review page. That's right...

Step 2) Leave a review for Story Structure Made Easy. After clicking the button, sign into Amazon if prompted. Select a star rating. Write a few short words about Story Structure Made Easy + click submit. That’s it!

Note: Leaving a review is optional. Just by clicking the button, you’ll sign up for the challenge and receive the weekly emails starting in January. But I hope that after clicking, you choose to review the book. Because I genuinely hope you find Story Structure Made Easy to be a useful resource, and I would love to read any comments you share. Reviews are key to helping other readers find the right book for their needs, as well. I thank you! And I can't wait to write with you in the Write With Me Challenge! 😊

Questions? Comments? Excited to get started? Let me know! I always love to hear from you.

Until next time,

Naomi

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