"Good" and "Bad" are Worthless Concepts
What Really Matters: Effectiveness
Every new screenwriter wrestles with the same question: Am I good?
But here’s the truth nobody tells you: “good” and “bad” are worthless concepts. They’re vague. They’re subjective. And they do nothing to move your career forward.
There’s only one question that matters:
Is your writing effective?
Does it make the audience feel something?
Does it keep them hooked, turning the page?
Does it land the impact you intended?
If the answer is yes, it doesn’t matter if someone labels it “good” or “bad.” It works.
Step One: Set Real Goals
Before you worry about Hollywood, agents, producers, or contests, stop and ask yourself:
Why do I want to be a screenwriter?
What do I personally want out of this experience?
What am I hoping to achieve professionally?
Your answers might look like:
“I want to know if I can actually finish a screenplay.”
“I want to write a story that makes people laugh, cry, or scream.”
“I want to get paid for my work.”
Write your goals down. Keep them visible. Revisit them often.
Because here’s the truth: you can’t measure effectiveness until you know what you’re trying to achieve.
Step Two: Stop Chasing the “Best” Method
Everywhere you look, someone’s trying to sell you the process, the system, the secret formula.
It doesn’t exist.
There is no single “right” way to write a screenplay. There is only what works for you.
And here’s the kicker: you don’t know what that is yet. Not until you’ve experimented. Not until you’ve tried different approaches. Not until you’ve failed — a lot.
So instead of chasing shortcuts, commit to exploration. Expose yourself to different methods, books, courses, and mentors. Take what resonates, discard the rest. With time, you’ll find a process that feels natural and gets results. That’s effectiveness.
Step Three: Build Fluency, Not Just Knowledge
Reading a book won’t make you a screenwriter any more than reading a tennis manual gets you to Wimbledon.
Knowledge is not fluency. Fluency comes only from practice.
Write scenes.
Finish drafts.
Revise ruthlessly.
Repeat, repeat, repeat.
Hours on the page are the only currency that counts.
And yes, classroom study, books, and videos have value — but they’re scaffolding, not the building itself. They can orient you, but they cannot replace the sweat of practice.
Step Four: Understand the “Why”
Surface-level mimicry won’t get you far. To be effective, you must understand the deeper “why.”
Why must scripts follow certain formats?
Why do audiences crave genre conventions?
Why do some stories trigger emotional responses while others fall flat?
Why is a logline more than a pitch — but the DNA of your story?
These “why” questions are the difference between a script that feels generic and one that feels alive. Between being replaceable and being unforgettable.
Step Five: Get Feedback, Don’t Hide
You can’t grow in a vacuum.
Professional athletes have coaches. Master craftsmen have apprenticeships. Writers need feedback.
Not validation. Not cheerleaders. Feedback.
The right mentor or coach won’t tell you what’s “good” or “bad.” They’ll help you see blind spots, sharpen what’s working, and get you closer to effective.
The Bottom Line
Stop asking if you’re a good writer. Stop fearing you’re a bad one.
Ask instead: Is my writing effective?
Because the industry doesn’t care about labels. It cares about impact. Can you make a reader laugh, cry, gasp, or keep turning pages? Can you deliver?
That’s effectiveness. That’s what builds careers.
And the only way to get there is the unglamorous one: practice, patience, persistence, and a relentless curiosity about the “why.”
So the next time you sit down to write, forget “good” and “bad.” Forget perfection. Ask yourself one thing:
Will this be effective?
If you can chase that, everything else will follow.
If you’re ready to stop worrying about being “good” or “bad” and start becoming effective, that’s exactly what I help writers do inside Writer Igniter.
I’ll show you how to set goals that matter, find a process that fits, and build the fluency that makes your work impossible to ignore. Curious what effectiveness might look like in your writing? Reach out at jordan@writer-igniter.com for a free, no-pressure consult.
