Jesse Koepke

It’s a new year, which means fresh goals! I turned 40 in February this year, and I’m hoping to meet some personal and work milestones.

Of course hope doesn’t get you much, so here are specific goals I have and things I’d like to do to achieve them.

Professional Goals

I’ve been working nearly full time (80%) with a director for over two years now. We’ve written two scripts in that time, as well as revised a script we had written before our current arrangement.

• Revise PONR as needed as it goes into pre-production. This is the previous script we had written. We did a fresh draft the second half of 2024 that deepened the characters a lot. Now it’s with a production company who is seeking funding. This is out of my hands, but I’ll be available for any revisions as it moves downriver.
• Write DF-Draft 4. I just started this yesterday by rewriting the opening scene/5 pages. We’ve dialed in the protagonist and antagonist more. This is a thriller, so we’ve also worked on milking each scene for as much suspense as we can. The director hopes to shoot DF this fall, so I’ll also be available for rewrites as needed. (That might include a trip for location scouting.) Again, when they shoot is out of my hands, but I can at least focus getting a solid draft quickly so they can start pre-production.
• Address other script needs as director needs. As a writer-for-hire with this director, I’m available to switch projects or jump on ideas as he has them. He likes ideas, so we’ll see what comes up.

Personal Goals

I’m a novelist as well as screenwriter, so I want to kick the can down the road in meaningful ways to build my own writing career outside of my scripts-for-hire. I’m feeling the burn now that I’ve turned 40, so this is the year baby!

• Query my fantasy novel. Again, I can only control what I create and do. So my big picture goal is to send out query letters for my fantasy novel. This involves two things:
  • Finish Draft 2. I’m nearly halfway through a massive rewrite. I finished the first draft in 2021, and it’s been slow going since then to get the second draft. (This was due to several false starts on a draft 2, as well as adding two kids to our family 😅.) I’m making good progress this spring and am aiming to finish 1-2 chapters per week. I just finished chapter 31 and I’m aiming for 80 chapters, so if I do 2 chapters per week I would finish in September. That’s later than I’d like, so I need to think on how I can speed that up.
  • Draft 3 chapter focus. I’m solidifying the structure in Draft 2, so Draft 3 will take existing chapters and focusing making it stronger. Better dialogue, clearer characters, and engaging descriptions. The good thing here is it’s a simple checklist to get through each chapter.
  • Draft 4 polish. Once I’ve gone through each chapter, I’ll do one final pass for grammar, spelling, and any final tweaks I want to make.
  • Find agents and query! This will be the fun part. I’ve dreamed of publishing books almost my entire life, but I’ve never sent out a full-length book. This will be a huge milestone in my life, and I’m excited to get there.
• Pitch one screenplay. My scripts-for-hire has been a huge start to my screenwriting career, especially if one of them gets shot this fall. But I know that eventually this work arrangement will change, so I need to have my own scripts to pitch.
  • Write Draft 2 of Runner. I wrote Draft 1 of this contained thriller last year. I’ve been stuck on the rewrite trying to reimagine a character, but I think I have an idea of how to move it forward (thanks to feedback from my writers group). If I can do 1-2 pages a day, I could finish it by roughly June/July.
  • Draft 3 scene focus. I’d like to get feedback on Draft 2, then go scene by scene to strengthen characters, dialogue, and tension.
  • Draft 4 polish. Similar to the novel, this would be grammar, spelling, and final changes.
  • Find managers/producers and pitch it! I’m not as familiar with the process of pitching a script, so I’ll need to research this part. But from my basic knowledge, I can look for managers or producers to send my logline and see if I can get it read. Alternatively, I’m hoping I can get some meetings if one of my scripts-for-hire gets produced. While I want to be ready for that, I also can’t bank on it. Make your own luck, as they say.
• Continue querying Mr. Moose & Mr. Bear picture book. I’ve had several of these children’s stories in a folder for years. I’ve queried this story a half dozen times, and I’d like to keep sending it out.
• Continue querying The Scientist & The Monster. I’ve sent this middle-grade chapter book out in previous years, and it’s another project I can easily send a few emails for.

It’s an ambitious year

Finishing both a novel and a script in the same year feels ambitious. Not to mention my day job projects, both screenwriting and as a documentary editor (what I do with the other 20% or so of my time.) Add in 4 kids and, you know, life, and I’m not sure if I can do all of this.

But I have a quote on my desk that I’m trying to make my mission statement this year:

The ones who succeed are the ones who don’t quit.

I want to be one who doesn’t quit.

So here’s to 2025! Exciting opportunities, and we’ll see how it goes.