Photo via Go Into the Story.
To perform well in a competition, your script has to be able to answer the critical question, “Why now?”
Successful, readable scripts hinge on an event, the outcome of which has the power to change the life of the protagonist. A showdown, a mountain to climb, a home run to hit. The importance of that event is the stakes, and stakes have to be high to give a good answer to “Why now?”
- Emotional investment. Establish why the event is a turning point for the protag. Align their flaws with their challenges to ramp up the investment. In The King’s Speech the struggle to overcome a stutter answers the question “Why now?” with a scandalous abdication, a world war, and a man in a tiny comfort zone saddled with an enormous sense of duty to an entire nation.
- Block all the exits. Leave no options but to move forward to the turning point. Soft landing spots, leeway, and fallback positions are all enemies of “Why now?” If it doesn’t have to succeed, it’s not important enough to answer the question.
- Protags got to learn. Show the consequences of failure in early attempts at the goal. Reveal the cost. If there is no cost, there is no good answer to “Why now?”
Stories that can’t answer the question feel loose and unfocused. Without “Why now?” you get “Why bother?”
Annie is a screenwriter, story consultant, and reader for major screenplay competitions.
nywift
Related Posts
Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Joyce Hills
Welcome to NYWIFT, Joyce Hills! Joyce Hills is a recent graduate of NYU Tisch, where she co-wrote and directed the culturally-rich epic Viking short film The Feather, featuring out-of-this-world SFX hair and makeup, practical stunts, and generative workflows on a virtual production volume. She was the First Assistant Director and VFX Supervisor on the Seed & Spark-awarded short film Night of Melancholia, interned in Virtual Production at Gum Studios in Brooklyn, and performed as Sugarsop, The Widow, and assorted household servants in Will Kempe’s Players’ The Taming of the Shrew. Joyce is developing her first feature film, a dark fantasy inspired by mystical quests, heroes’ journeys, and time and destiny in popular culture. She is also developing a science fiction feminist short, and is pursuing additional education in XR mediamaking and STEM. In our interview, she discussed her childhood inspirations, emerging technologies, and the future of storytelling.
READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Therese Cayaba-Jones
Welcome, Therese Cayaba-Jones, to NYWIFT. Therese is a filmmaker with over 15 years of experience with films, documentaries, and series across the Philippines, Singapore, and the U.S. She just finished the feature screenplay for UnMarry, which was recently announced as one of the entries for the Metro Manila Film Festival 2025. Currently, Therese is producing the film Tales My Father Told, and raising money through NYWIFT fiscal sponsorship. Read on to see Therese’s story of moving to New York, her role in the 48 Hour Film Project, and her take on the state of independent filmmaking in the Big Apple.
READ MORENYWIFT Member Spotlight: Kristen Golden
Kristen Golden is a writer and producer whose creative work runs the gamut of genres. She wrote the screenplay AWE, for which she won the 2023 Athena Film Festival’s Chinonye Chukwu Emerging Writer Award, and was selected as a 2025 Screenplay Semi-finalist by the Cordillera International Film Festival. Kristen is a producer of the narrative short film Irving Berlin’s View of the East River, shot in Spring 2025. She is the co-author with her wife, Barbara Findlen, of the book Remarkable Women of the Twentieth Century: 100 Portraits of Achievement. Kristen is the speechwriter for the Women's Media Center. In our interview, Kristen discussed her award-winning screenplay AWE, the connection between advocacy and storytelling, and her advice for future female leaders.
READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Tenzin Sedon
Welcome to NYWIFT, Tenzin Sedon! Tenzin Sedon is a Tibetan filmmaker from Tibet, and an MFA candidate in the Graduate Film Program at NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Her work spans narrative, documentary, and experimental forms. She has received numerous awards, including the Hot Docs Best Canadian Short Documentary and the Golden Mountain Award, and has been nominated for the Hot Docs CrossCurrents Doc Fund (CCDF) and Docs Port Incheon. She is a recipient of the 2025 Ang Lee Scholarship. Her films have screened internationally and been exhibited at major institutions.
READ MORE
