Having a sense of 'mission' about the script I'm writing--that I'm supposed to write it--transforms the writing from work into play.

I have to be passionate about what I'm writing. I have to love something about the show or film, whether it's the situation or the characters or the tone, or whatever. This love is a big part of what will get me through all the hard work ahead. I used to have the following phrase taped above my computer as I wrote - "The Goal is to create a world I completely believe in and care about." That's not a bad starting point.

I also need to feel an 'obsessive quality', a need to get the script finished by a certain goal. This almost mono-maniacally passion sometimes conflicts with my analytical hesitation about deciding whether any given project is the 'best' use of my time.

The (re)writing gets faster and faster as I go through a draft. Decisions get easier to make.

[W]hat would happen if you treated your screenplay-in-progress like someone you had recently

fallen in love with. What if you courted your story, wooed it, gave it your very best, and loved it madly?

Our conclusion was that if we were willing to throw ourselves into falling in love with our work,

risking heartache, holding nothing back, the inner muses responded in kind.

                                                                           -- Cynthia Whitcomb,  ‘Writer’s Guide to Writing Your Screenplay’