A friend who doesn't have a day job any longer (lucky girl) asked me if I had any tips on making herself sit down and write.

I used to be president of the St. Louis Writers Guild, and I'm on the board of the Missouri Association of Playwrights. As such, I meet so many accomplished writers who are inspirations to all around them, who actually complete projects on time and regularly.

And then there's the constellation of people who are infatuated with the idea of writing, but who are still working on the same project every time I talk with them.

Let me say, on the record: Writers write. They don't only talk about writing, think about writing, and wish they'd written. They actually sit down and write. They trust their own abilities. When they're finished (yes, they reach this point), they show their material to others and wait for comments. They know that nothing is ever perfect and that making a story different doesn't necessarily make it better. They aren't opposed to rewriting, but they know when they've reached the time to write FADE OUT and mean it.

I have no doubts that my friend is a "real" writer. She's finished screenplays before, and she's working on a children's book.

When I wrote my first screenplay, it took me from February to July to conceive of a full-blown idea, and then from July until the following April to build up courage.

I was afraid of writing dialogue. I was afraid that all the characters would sound alike and that the person they sounded like was me.

When I wrote my second screenplay, I decided I needed a plot map, so I made a list. First, this happens. Then this happens. Then that happens. Etc. I felt so much more confident.

I'm thinking of two screenplays at once now. Yep, it's a little confusing, but I've learned how to switch gears mid-brain.

I'm going to make beat sheets for each one before I write. I think I know a lot more about storytelling for the screen, and I want to incorporate all the techniques I've learned without having too much dialogue and too little action.

As for making myself write, I won't have to. When I'm finished conceiving an idea, then my only problem will be fatigue. I'll write for three or four hours at a stretch and put it away for the next day. The next day I'll reread (not rewrite) what I've done so far, get back into the tone and mood of the story, and go forward.

My advice is not to go back to page one every day. If you constantly second-guess yourself, maybe you're an editor and not a writer.

Some writers want to sit down at 9 a.m. no matter what and stay there until 1 p.m. When I've made myself do that in the past, I dilly-dally, look at my e-mail, play with the dog, make myself more tea, answer the phone, and fixate on any number of possible distractions.

When I'm ready to write, it's like giving birth. Ain't nobody can stop the process. I can be interrupted a million times and sit right back down and complete the very sentence where I stopped.

This is the way I work, but you might be different. You might like the comfort of time alone with your computer.

When I'm on assignment, I might have to make myself be a little more rigid about putting in the hours. But still, I've never missed a deadline because I didn't have enough time to think.

I've found that planning consumes as much time as you allow it. If I have to have an industrial video script by 9 a.m. tomorrow (this actually happened to me once), well, I'll have it, and it will be something that won't embarrass me.

If I have until next Thursday, I'll probably think until next Tuesday. If I have until the end of 2007, I'll probably think until the end of November.

Learn your writing rhythm. Yours will be unique to yourself. Trust your own judgment. Pay attention to the elements in place when you do your best writing. Do you need coffee? Do you need your lucky socks? Do you have to turn off the phone ringer? Do you need the TV on-- or off? Do you need notes to stay on track?

Give yourself a fighting chance, and you'll finish that project.

Mary J. Schirmer is a professional writer who writes screenplays and teaches screenwriting. Her e-mail is awarenessprod@yahoo.com.

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