From Blank Page to First Draft: A 30-Day Challenge

A feature screenplay is roughly 90-120 pages. That sounds daunting — a mountain of blank pages, an impossible summit. Until you break it down: just 3-4 pages a day for 30 days. That's it. One scene. One coffee. One month.

Here's your roadmap from FADE IN to FADE OUT.

You don't write a screenplay. You write a scene. Then another. Then another. Thirty days later, you have a screenplay.

Before You Begin

This challenge assumes you have an idea. You don't need a full outline — but you need to know your protagonist, what they want, and the world they inhabit. If you're not there yet, spend a few days on prep. The challenge will wait.

What you'll need: a place to write, 1-2 hours daily, and the willingness to write badly. That last one is the hardest.

The Rules

Before we start, commit to these three non-negotiables:

1. Write Every Single Day

No exceptions. Not "most days." Not "when I feel inspired." Every day. Even if it's just half a page. Even if it's terrible. The habit matters more than the output.

Miss one day, and it becomes easier to miss two. Miss two, and the challenge is over. Protect your streak like your screenplay depends on it — because it does.

2. Don't Edit

Push forward only. No going back to fix that clunky dialogue on page 12. No rewriting the opening because you thought of something better. No polishing scenes you wrote yesterday.

First drafts are for discovery. You're not crafting — you're excavating. Find the story first. Shape it later.

3. Embrace the Mess

It will be messy. That's not a bug — it's a feature. First drafts are supposed to be bad. They're supposed to have plot holes, flat dialogue, scenes that go nowhere.

The goal isn't a good screenplay. The goal is a complete screenplay. Good comes later, in revision. Right now, your only job is to exist on the page.

Give yourself permission to write garbage. It's the only way to find the gold buried inside.

Week 1: Setup (Pages 1-25)

This week is about establishing your world, your protagonist, and the status quo that's about to shatter. By the end of Day 7, your character will be committed to the journey.

Days 1-2: Opening Image & Setup

**Target: 8 pages**

Introduce your world. Introduce your protagonist. Show us their ordinary life — the life that's about to change forever.

The opening image should be visual, memorable, and thematically resonant. It's a promise to the audience: this is what the movie is about. The final image will mirror it, showing how far we've traveled.

Days 3-4: The Catalyst

**Target: 8 pages**

Something happens that disrupts the status quo. The inciting incident. The call to adventure. The thing your protagonist cannot ignore.

A letter arrives. A stranger appears. Someone dies. The phone rings with news that changes everything. The world tilts, and your protagonist starts to slide.

This doesn't have to be dramatic in execution — but it must be dramatic in consequence. After this moment, the old life is no longer possible.

The catalyst is a door. Your protagonist doesn't have to walk through it yet — but they can no longer pretend it isn't there.

Days 5-7: Debate & Break Into Two

**Target: 9 pages**

Your protagonist resists the call. They have reasons not to go — responsibilities, fears, the comfort of the familiar. This is the debate: should I stay or should I go?

The debate creates tension because we understand both sides. We see why they're afraid. We see why they might refuse. And that makes the moment they commit — the Break Into Two — feel earned.

By the end of page 25, your protagonist crosses a threshold. They make a choice. Act One ends, and there's no going back.

Week 2: Rising Action (Pages 26-55)

Welcome to Act Two. This is the "fun and games" section — the promise of the premise. If your movie is a heist, this is where we plan the heist. If it's a romance, this is where they fall in love. If it's a thriller, this is where the investigation deepens.

Days 8-10: Fun and Games

**Target: 12 pages**

This is why the audience bought a ticket. The poster moments. The trailer scenes. The concept come to life.

Your protagonist explores the new world they've entered. They're a fish out of water, learning the rules, meeting allies and obstacles. Things are hard but exciting. Progress feels possible.

The fun and games section is misleading — "fun" doesn't mean easy. It means engaging. Your protagonist is actively pursuing the goal, not just reacting.

Days 11-14: Midpoint

**Target: 13 pages**

The midpoint is not the middle of the story — it's the hinge. Something shifts. The stakes raise. What seemed like a straightforward goal becomes more complicated.

This is often a false victory (they seem to succeed, but it's hollow) or a false defeat (they seem to fail, but it opens new doors). The protagonist moves from passive to active, from reactive to proactive.

After the midpoint, there's no going back to the old approach. The game has changed.

Week 3: Complications (Pages 56-85)

The fun is over. Now things get hard. Allies turn unreliable. Enemies close in. Every step forward comes with two steps back. Your protagonist is tested, and they start to fail.

Days 15-17: Bad Guys Close In

**Target: 12 pages**

Opposition intensifies. If there's a villain, they're making moves. If it's internal conflict, the protagonist's flaw is creating consequences. Friends become frustrated. Trust erodes.

This section often involves betrayal — not necessarily from the antagonist, but from within the protagonist's own camp. Someone they trusted lets them down. Or they let themselves down.

The "bad guys" don't have to be villains. They're whatever opposes your protagonist — fear, doubt, circumstance, other people's agendas.

Days 18-21: All Is Lost & Dark Night

**Target: 13 pages**

Rock bottom. The lowest point of the story. Everything your protagonist has worked for collapses. Their flaw has finally caught up with them. The approach that got them this far is no longer working.

This is the "dark night of the soul" — a moment of genuine despair. Your protagonist must confront who they really are and what they really want. The want vs. need conflict comes to a head.

Something often dies here — literally or metaphorically. A mentor. A dream. A relationship. A version of themselves.

Week 4: Resolution (Pages 86-110)

Your protagonist rises from the ashes. Armed with new understanding, they make one final push. This is Act Three — the climax and resolution.

Days 22-24: Break Into Three

**Target: 10 pages**

A new idea. A synthesis of everything learned. The protagonist sees the solution they couldn't see before — not because the situation changed, but because they changed.

Often there's a crucial piece of information that arrives here — something that was set up earlier, paying off now. The protagonist formulates a new plan, gathers remaining allies, and prepares for the final confrontation.

The Break Into Three is about integration. Your protagonist combines who they were with who they've become. The flaw doesn't disappear — it transforms into strength.

Days 25-28: Finale

**Target: 12 pages**

The climax. Your protagonist faces their greatest challenge — external and internal. Everything they've learned is tested. The antagonist (person, force, or self) makes their final stand.

This is the scene the whole movie has been building toward. Make it count. Make it visual. Make it emotional. The want and need finally converge or collide.

Your protagonist transforms. They become who they were meant to be — not by abandoning their old self, but by transcending it.

Days 29-30: Final Image & Polish

**Target: 3 pages**

The resolution. The dust settles. We see your protagonist in their new life — changed by the journey, carrying both scars and wisdom.

The final image should mirror the opening image, showing how far we've traveled. If the opening was lonely, the ending might be connected. If the opening was trapped, the ending might be free.

Write FADE OUT. You did it.

You Did It

At the end of 30 days, you have a first draft. It's imperfect. It has plot holes. Some scenes work, some don't. The dialogue is rough. The pacing is uneven.

And it exists.

That's everything. That's more than most aspiring screenwriters ever achieve. You have something you can hold, read, share, revise. You have a screenplay.

A first draft is not a finished product. It's a finished beginning.

Now take a week off. Don't look at it. Don't think about it. Let it rest. Let yourself rest.

Then come back with fresh eyes and start revising. That's a different challenge — one that requires a different kind of discipline.

But you'll face it with something most people never have: a complete draft.

Your Challenge Starts Now

Stop reading. Open CoffeeDraft. Write FADE IN:

The page is blank. In 30 days, it won't be.

Day 1. Scene 1. Page 1. Go.