You know all those lessons you learn in screenwriting class ? You know what they are , the dumb ones that everyone can repeat in their sleep Your characters need to have a goal . They have to meet obstacles . Obstacles have to escalate and change . The conflict is only resolved when one character achieves their goal or irrevocably loses the chance to achieve it ever . Those lessons ? Yeah . Write them down . Make a checklist out of them . Hang them on your wall . Paste them next to your computer . When you write , ask yourself those questions . Seriously . Ask them . Then . actually answer them . With specifics . None of this he wants absolution bullshit . He wants to drink the glass of water . He wants to kill that person . He wants that person to tell him he ' s forgiven . Have you satisfied these basic dramatic criterion ? I mean all of them . All of the ones that your screenwriting teacher told you about and you were only half paying attention . Go ahead and go through your notes , I ' m sure you wrote them down somewhere . You did ? Go ahead and put a check next to that one . Now you can write . Repeat .