Screenwriting : Writer's Block by Robert Clark

How about a verbal beatdown: We are what we say we are, and we only do what we believe we can do. It's our mindset. Every day we whine, there's 1,000's of writers puttting in hours of writing time. Upgrade your attitude or give up.

Agree to Shawn.

If you say you suck, then you suck. If you say you can write, you can write. If you feel like you are defeated before even fighting, then you are defeated. My point is what you say to yourself...you become. Change what you say to yourself and see what happens.

I know how you feel. I think sometimes the most important lesson we need to learn is how to get out of our own way. I'm still learning it. I know you're concerned with quality. Maybe think about it like this: even a bad script that gets written is better than a brilliant script that doesn't.

no shame changing careers. Learn a trade. Be a gaffer, Editor, record Sound, Direct, do graphics, work at an Ad Agency, etc. the facts are the facts, even "good" Writers cannot make a living. There's gonna be Up- and-Down years, financially. Take a break. 1 month, 1 year, 5 years... If u enjoy storytelling, there are plenty of jobs besides Writing.

Robert, like you I started writing as a teenager. It was a form of escaping my painful reality at that time. After I left my adolescent years behind, I stopped. Decades passed. I had multiple jobs, three jobs at one point, including weekends. In 2007 I started writing again and it was like writing a bicycle. However I went back to my dark years and connected my characters to what I survived. You say you a few years back , " I feel into a darkness.." I think you meant, you felt into darkness?? So, used that experience to jump start your creative juices. Apply were you were physically and emotionally to a story within a story, with a beginning, middle and end. Have a central character facing a conflict and antagonist. Just write. I always know my ending. In the meantime, do what MaxXx said, live, get involved in other creative tasks. I study acting and performed in many plays when I stopped writing. It helped. Good luck.

• Some people aren't cut out to be writers. Maybe you're one of them. Maybe not. I don't know you personally, but reality is reality. + Many writers state that it takes four or five scripts to become a good writer, and eight or nine scripts to become a really good writer. Have you written eight or nine scripts? + Do you understand the elements of drama? Some people take years to master implementing what they have learned. Have you? + Do you really love cinema, storytelling, and writing? I'm not dissing you....but reality is reality. It took me eight scripts to get a contract; and ten scripts to get a sale. It was a long-term learning process....understanding drama....learning how to write better and better....learning how to market myself and my stuff....learning how to stay in on the deal and not getting short-changed....staying positive and becoming business savvy.....not giving stuff away or tying stuff up for zero-dollar upfront options.....not getting caught up in the Hollywood Big-Budget Dream...rising from the ashes of self-doubt, fear and loathing to get my mind right.....it's not easy. Good luck and Happy-Ash Rising to Get Your Mind Right, Robert!

Hey Robert, Know that most creatives go through something like this in one form or another. I have a friend who is going through this right now. And just talking about it helps. Sometimes you just have to step away but you can't let this fear stop you. As we change and grow so does our writing and you have to be okay with that. Stop putting so much pressure on what your writing should be and just write. Sit down and write, write about nothing. Write a poem about how crappy your writing is or a short about a writer who is struggling writing. User your current situation to fuel your writing. Them once you've written it put it away don't read it don't edit it. Just put it away and keep doing this till you feel better. Them go back and take a look at some of the things you wrote. It may not be gold but you may find something that you can build upon. The hardest thing about writing is writing. We don't always feel like it but if you are are writer and want to make a living out of it you have to WRITE no matter what.

You´re getting ahead of yourself and also putting way too much pressure on yourself and the level of writing you´re at. What ever an idea you get, write it down in what ever format, shape or sort of way, just do it. It doesn´t have to be a hit right of the bat. If I´ve learned anything over the years is that different Projects have different lives on their own. Some I´ve writtern in a day or two, some have taken me years to develop. Growth will come with passion and dedication and fearless pursuit. Don´t be afraid to fail. That is how you learn. But if you are not sure if you want to be a writer? That´s another story entirely. Good luck either way!

Fearless writer. You said it best, Zlatan, my friend. Hope never quits. Many successful films are about characters who refuse to quit and bit all the odds. Rocky, Rudy, School Ties, Freedom Writers, The Jackie Robinson Story, One on One. Just to name a few.

Right on, Jorge, my man! Loved and grew up with Rocky :) Loved the latest installment in form of Creed. Freedom Writers? Hell to the yes! :) Jackie Robinson Story.... You are preaching to the Choir :) Love it! For me it is just Life. You know? And as cheesy as it may sound, that Star Wars line- Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. hate leads to suffering.... I Think about that line from a freakin´ movie now and then, but it makes sense and it is so true when you look at the world today. People all over live in different forms of fear that most often than not stops them from realising their true potential. I say screw fear and be who you are, become who you want to be and go for it. :)

It sounds to me like you had a bout a depression. I don't want to sound like Captain Obvious, but, maybe you still need some healing time, possibly some help? One book that really helped me climb out of the doldrums, and I'll still go back and read once in a while is "The Four Agreements."

Maybe your problem is this darkness you're talking about. If something is troubling you, you won't have the necessary peace of mind to write. If someone's starving from hunger, he probably won't be able to write a sonnet. Maybe this block is your subconscious's way of telling you to deal with something more urgent than artistic inspiration.

What you need is to read my script, maybe join up your true skills will appear.

Hello Robert: Sorry about your depression and darkness issues. Here are some suggestions: 1) Read the 10-day screenplay by the Donnelly Brothers that will give you a good idea how to get your work on paper. Available for free download at Amazon Kindle. 2) Think less about writing and let your instincts take over. What if your writing does suck? You'll never get better unless you write and begin learning the craft, as well as determining your current strengths and weaknesses. And here's a newsflash, most first time screenplay writers don't hit a home run. 3) The easiest thing in the world is to say you're defeated before you start. The hard part is sitting down and writing the first ten pages. 4) Spend your first day writing an outline of what you want to do; or you can write a one to two page story synopsis. 5) Fly to Texas and be I'd happy to slap you for inspiration. And I'm giving you an air slap after I type this. 6) I can see you already have a sense of humor and are self deprecating, and that's a bloody good beginning. Perhaps begin by writing a dark comedy based on your own struggles to create a la Woody Allen. 7) Take to Ativan and call me in the morning. But first sit down and write something. 8) Feel free to PM for help and I'd be delighted to help get you started.

There's a relevant passage by Ben Whishaw as Herman Melville in The Heart of the Sea in which he laments that he's afraid writing Moby Dick might produce a novel that is not worthy of the story. Regardless, of dramatic veracity, most writers I know have those days where you doubt your work, those days where you believe your words should be chiseled on a monument, and more days, where you're in the middle. Regardless, write. Years ago a psychic told me to commit to time in front of the typewriter (told you it was long ago) everyday such that my psyche could connect with the idea that this was the time to download the good stuff - whether funny, dark, light, inspired, worrisome - in the brain into real world tangible form. Integrate it into my personal circadian rhythms. Since I spent several formative years living in the house next door to where Melville wrote Moby Dick, here's one from him: "It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation." And so goes the "give me the same thing, only different" movie mogul sensibility. I second #5 by Phillip above. Have you seen his guns? His muscles I mean. Simply put words on the screen to start. And when others ask what you're writing, unless their a studio exec asking what you're working on next, you're not obliged to spill the goods... whether you got a blockbuster in your software or a collection of yet unconnected thoughts.

I will have a guest blog up here at Stage 32 in a month or so on how to bust the myth of writer's block ... keep your eyes peeled :) Writer's block is 99.9% smoke, .1% substance.

Jeff: That is great news. Your blogs are always packed with excellent tips and advice. Thanks, buddy, looking forward to it.