I love writing exercises! They’re designed to help you develop the skills you need to become a better writer. They challenge you to create great plots, characters, intentions, and obstacles and can often give birth to new movie ideas. I recommend doing at least a few of these “writing exercises” every month; you’ll never know what kind of script or story they will inspire. If you need somewhere to start check out this list of Ten Essential Screen Writing Exercises to get your creative juices flowing.
I made a short film called Fine Dining based on a screenplay challenge in 2017; they are powerful tools that’ll help you fine-tune your writing skills and, more importantly, get your imagination going on a consistent basis. There are plenty of screenwriting challenges that you can enter, they typically charge a small fee to enter but some offer generous prizes and even 'development assistance' for the winners. Not to mention the immense benefit that comes with making connections at these events. Solving problems in writing is a life-saving skill. I recommend you get a copy of 150 Screenwriting Challenges by Eric Heisserer, the writing exercises within it could change the way you write. In my opinion, writing exercises are the fastest route to becoming a better writer as well as being an immediate idea generator.