Jan 8, 2021 When I speak with screenwriters, I always inquire about their career goals and the projects they’re working on. They enthusiastically express a desire to win a contest, sell a script, and get representation. But when I dig deeper into their story idea, the answer is rarely something high concept enough that Hollywood would be interested in buying. The stories are often about someone or something they know, not necessarily something that appeals to a larger audience. Writing gurus advise us to write what we know or what we’re passionate about, but we also need to write something that will sell.