The goal of everything I do as a writer, teacher and consultant is to help writers and filmmakers get their work on the screen. To fulfill your dreams of working in Hollywood, you've got to tenaciously perfect your craft, establish professional relationships and market yourself.

But there's one other essential step that many writers neglect: you've got to see movies.

OK, I know what you're thinking. "Well, of course I've got to see movies to be a screenwriter! Boy, this guy must really be hard up for article of the month ideas."

NOT TRUE!

Well, actually, it's sort of true. But that's not why I'm covering this particular topic. Really, it's not.

Working with and teaching filmmakers all over the country, I am repeatedly astonished by how many people pursuing a career in Hollywood never bother to visit a movie theater. Or when they do, it's to see some classic film from the forties, or something in a foreign language.

There's nothing wrong with visiting art houses, and it's certainly helpful to have a broad knowledge of film history. But no matter what profession one is pursuing, knowing the marketplace is essential. And as a screenwriter, your marketplace is Hollywood.

A steadily working screenwriter can expect to earn a salary comparable to that of an average doctor or lawyer. Yet those professionals aren't allowed to practice without receiving six to twelve years of education after high school.

Screenwriters, on the other hand, aren't required to earn any diploma at all; their careers are built entirely on the work they create. If they expect to receive rewards equal to those of other professions, they should be willing to make an equal commitment to their education. Certainly seminars, books and writers groups are part of that learning process. But an equally important part is watching and analyzing mainstream Hollywood movies.

ESTABLISH A MOVIE REGIMEN

As a serious screenwriter, you can no longer regard movies as something you only do when you have a date on Saturday night, or as something the whole family must enjoy before you can attend. Your MINIMUM quota of movies should be a hundred a year: at least one visit to a movie theater, and one video rental, every week.

If your immediate reaction to this advice is, "I can't possibly go to that many movies," it's usually for one of three reasons:

1. YOU DON'T HAVE TIME Nonsense! I'm talking about four hours a week here. If you're very busy, then either work through lunch so you can leave the office early, or let the housework go and cut out on Saturday afternoon, or get another member of the household to cook one night, or take your dinner into the theater with you.

If your life is TRULY so full and hectic you can't find any spare time at all, you're too busy to pursue a second career as a screenwriter anyway. Wait until the kids are in school or you rearrange your priorities.

2. YOU CAN'T AFFORD IT Balderdash! A movie ticket is cheaper than a book, a play or most restaurant meals. If you're truly strapped for cash, skip lunch one day, take the $6 you saved, go to a bargain matinee at a cineplex, and then sneak into another movie in the adjacent theater. (Just don't tell them I told you to.)

3. YOU HAVE CHILDREN Horsepucky! Tell your spouse or significant other that every Wednesday is his night for quality time with the kids. Or if you're a single parent, find another single parent in your writers group, neighborhood or twelve-step program, and swap baby sitting - you watch their brood on Tuesday, and they do the same for you on Wednesday.

I know that families can sometimes become obstacles to your screenwriting pursuits. It's important to sit down with them and explain how important this dream is to you, and that going to movies isn't just for fun and entertainment any more, it's as important as taking classes would be if you were studying psychology or architecture. At first they'll look skeptical and whine about being neglected. But the more seriously you take your career, the more seriously they will.

The same holds true with watching videos. You must sometimes insist on viewing a film alone, if it's not of interest to, or appropriate for, the rest of your family. They'll survive.

One other issue about your viewing regimen: I've just given you permission to see two Hollywood movies every single week. If you're not excited by that prospect, if it doesn't sound like fun, then are you absolutely certain you want to be a screenwriter? How much joy and satisfaction will you find working in an industry that doesn't produce movies you enjoy seeing?

This doesn't mean you have to like everything. One of the advantages of this process is that no movie will ever be a waste of time - it can still serve as a bad example. If you follow the steps below, every movie-going experience will be greatly enhanced.

HOW TO WATCH A MOVIE

1. DON'T READ REVIEWS
The best way to see a film is with as little knowledge as possible about what will happen, so you can fully experience whatever surprises and emotional peaks the writer intended. Save any reviews or publicity articles until AFTER you see the movie, so you can enter the theater as receptive as possible.

2. DON'T WATCH TRAILORS OR PREVIEWS
Same reason as #1 above. Buy your ticket, get your seat, and drape your coat over it to hold your place, then get your popcorn and wait in the lobby until that promotional reel for THX Sound comes on the screen.

3. SEE IT IN A THEATER FIRST
Videos are great for catching up with movies you missed in their first run, or for seeing and analyzing the films you like (see below). But movies are made to be experienced on the big screen, where the entire image is shown (not panned and scanned for television), where the technology is state of the art, where there are (or should be) no distractions or interruptions, and where all the emotion the filmmakers intended is realized.

4. SEE IT THE FIRST TIME FOR FUN
Don't take notes, don't read along with the script, and don't even think about the screenplay when you first view a film. Ride the roller coaster along with the rest of the audience. You can figure out how the movie worked after it's over. (In a really good film, this rule is unnecessary; you'll be swept up in the emotion in spite of your intention to analyze the work.)

5. KEEP SILENT
This has nothing to do with screenwriting. I just hate it when people talk during a movie.

6. SEE THE GOOD STUFF TWICE
When a movie touches you deeply, go back to it again, or watch it on video, in order to thoroughly analyze all the details of story, character, structure, dialogue and theme. This is especially important for any movie similar to your own screenplay in terms of plot, setting or genre.

If you're not in the habit of seeing good films twice, you're missing a wonderful aspect of movie going. You can re-experience all of the highs and lows, and can now appreciate much more deeply the ways the screenwriter and filmmakers elicited your emotion.

7. ANALYZE YOUR EMOTIONAL REACTION
Whenever a movie truly captivates you, ask yourself why? What kept you on the edge of your seat? Fascinating characters? Hilarity? Suspense? Big action? Sex? Romance? Sadness?

When you find yourself distanced from the story, determine the cause of that as well. Were the characters unsympathetic or uninvolving? Was the story confusing? Illogical? Predictable? Repetitive? Boring? Why? And what would make it more engrossing?

8. DID IT FOLLOW THE RULES
Every movie you see should reinforce all the principles of screenwriting you've learned from books, seminars, tapes, classes, conferences, conversations and websites. Which methods did the screenwriter employ for creating character identification, anticipation, surprise, curiosity, believability, conflict, character growth and theme? Was the story concept simple, original and commercial? Did the structural turning points occur as expected? Was the dialogue unique, varied and interesting? Was the ending satisfying?

9. DID IT BREAK ANY RULES
Did the film intentionally "push the envelope" in any way, and violate traditional structure? If so, was the film more effective as a result? Could this departure from the norm be duplicated (especially by a writer trying to break into the industry) or was it a device that would only be new and different once, and now would seem derivative?

10. PITCH THE MOVIE
If you had had to sell this story to a Hollywood executive, how would you do it? How would you express the story concept in a single sentence? What would you emphasize to maximize your chances for a development deal? Which companies would you have pursued with it? How would you have packaged it? If you had been an executive, would you have given it a green light? Why or why not? (Be honest; checking the box-office returns isn't fair.)

11. RESEARCH THE PRODUCTION
Read magazines, the trade papers, newspaper and web reviews and articles, and any other sources that reveal how the movie got made. This will not only sharpen your commercial sensibilities, it will give you a much greater working knowledge of the people in power, and the avenues for marketing your own scripts.

12. WRITE A SCENE
Pick a scene from a movie you enjoyed, watch it two or three times on the videotape, and then try writing that scene yourself. How vividly and succinctly can you describe the settings and characters? How would you describe the action as simply as possible without losing its emotional impact? How would you convey what's shown on the screen without resorting to camera directions? (Skip copying the dialogue, unless you want to try writing the scene using different, more effective language.) When you're finished, compare your version to the original author's when you . . .

13. READ THE SCRIPT
Next to your own writing regimen, reading successful screenplays is the best education you can get to improve your own style and presentation. Does the written version of the movie create an emotional experience as effectively as the film? Why or why not? Does the style match the tone of the film itself - fast paced for action, humorous for comedy, etc? And if you were an agent or an executive, would you have wanted to represent this writer or produce this project based on the screenplay?

TELEVISION
For those of you writing for television, the same process (minus the movie theater stuff) applies to you. See at least two TV movies a week if that's your arena. If you're writing episodic series, see at least one episode of every series on the air. Then select a series for which you will write a sample episode, watch every episode of that show, and see one or two additional episodes of every series similar in genre to the one you've picked (family sitcom, adult sitcom, one-hour drama, etc.). Then ask yourself the same questions, and do the same exercises, listed above.

I hope this process sounds both enjoyable and rewarding. In future columns, I will cover the other essential aspects of screenwriting, including: HOW TO SHARPEN A PENCIL; HOW TO STARE OUT THE WINDOW; and HOW TO TAKE A NAP.