Read. Write. Rewrite. Go to movies; go to plays; go to museums. Sit in a Starbuck’s and write down what people are saying. Get a notebook…nothing fancy, nothing that will feel like it is too good to write in. Make notes on everything. Carry around a voice recorder. Listen. When you read screenplays and teleplays, read early drafts, not shooting scripts. Write despite what you feel about your work. It’s only your opinion. Maybe you shouldn’t feel you know enough to assume it stinks.
I believe it was Lawrence Kasdan (The Empire Strikes Back, Body Heat) who said that being a writer is like having homework for the rest of your life. That is some of the best advice I’ve ever heard.
Jeffrey Davis’s advice to new writers