Screenwriting : Motivation by John Fernando

It's great to have a process. Whatever works for you is cool. Everyone should have a process.

I do what I can when I can. At my desk in my writing room, day and night. Sometimes I have music playing, sometimes I don't. Sometimes with some pretzels, or a grapefruit. Or a Rockstar energy drink, or some Starbucks Casi Cielo when they issue it. Sometimes with a couple Blue Moons. I usually throw down 56 push-ups every hour or so...56 cuz that's my age...keeps the blood flowing through this old body of mine. I also jot down anything/tape record anything throughout the day and night...whenever anything pops into my brain, and I'm not at the desk. I also tape record dialogues separately...as if I'm the characters...seems to work well for me...since writing dialogues is my weakest element as a writer.

Great topic for discussion, Big Bad John...here's a couple cool links (one older, one newer) to some thoughts about creativity, the brain and time:

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/your-best-creative-time-not-w...

https://writingcooperative.com/why-do-i-have-amazing-ideas-at-night-and-...

I think up until recently I've been a terrible procrastinator (hell i'm procrastinating right now), but I've actually managed to have a couple solid writing days these past couple weeks so I'll share what has been working for me.

1. Waking up early and leaving the house. I do my most procrastinating when I'm sitting at home. There are too many distractions; TV, video games, chores, etc, but if I can drag myself out the door by 7am (8am at the latest) that means 4-5 uninterrupted hours of writing before lunch. Phone on DO NOT DISTURB, and I don't get the Wifi code/turn laptop Wifi off.

2.a. Knowing exactly what i'm going to work on. It's all well and good to commit to writing for a block of time, but if you sit down without a specific task to complete then there is going to be a lot of thumb twiddling. This is where my beat sheet comes into play. I'm a relatively new writer, so I started with "Save the Cat" as many before me have, but the beat sheet works for me. I spend 1-week focusing on each beat of my script, the emotional shifts, the big set pieces, etc., and then I use this as a guide going into my next few weeks of writing. BTW not every beat is perfect, I make alterations as my story tells me something new, I move beats around to better locations, but at the very least I have an Idea of what I'm going to write.

2.b. Stop writing while you know what's going to happen next. It's a quote i've seen floating around, but it's proved very useful for me. Sometimes I get really excited about a couple set pieces and tear into them like a bat out of hell, but I feel like I burn all my creativity in one amazing session...and then it's like 3 days before I can sit down and write again. (This is where having beats really comes in handy).

3. Set a realistic goal, that you can hit every day. My goal is 6-Pages a day. I heard it from Stephen King, so don't give me the credit, but that guy puts out a new book every month, so you can trust him. Sometimes the really good writing sessions I'll write way more than six, but even on the bad writing sessions I never write less than six. If you can't think of those last two pages on your current project, switch projects, or write in your journal, but if you can hit your goal, you'll be happier for it.

4. Lastly, I motivate myself by reading for an hour in the morning; scripts, a novel, news articles, S32 Screenwriting Lounge. I give myself an hour in the morning to drink coffee, eat breakfast, and think of something that gets my wheels turning.

H.M. A final thought. If you have chores to do, just do them. It's better than thinking about it all day and distracting you from your writing. If you have big chores, Shopping, fix the car, etc. Take a day off and try to get everything complete in one go.

Good luck!

Me personally?

I'm in a writer's group.

Two producers, two actors, a cinematographer, a novelist and me.

There's nothing IMO more motivating to get pages right like having people that really know what they're doing rip you to shreds.

My procrastination is always the result of overthinking. I swear, overthinking has stopped me from writing more scripts and making more films than anything else. For me, the overthinking is especially bad when it comes to writing. I honestly think this is a problem because I read too many screenwriting books. (I'm not anti-screenwriting book. I just read too many of them.)

I've found that I have to focus on one thing, and only one thing, at a time. When I focus on accomplishing one small goal, and only one small goal, I can usually get around my overthinking. I can make progress. But if I try to focus on more than that, I usually spin out of control, and get nowhere.

I love when I'm so excited to write a story that I can't wait to get to it- but when that doesn't happen, I find it helpful to just read over what I've already written and usually by the time I get to the end, I'm back into it and the writing is much better. That's how you immerse yourself in it. If you just dabble here and there, you're writing as an outsider.

First thing in the morning is my best time. Writing at night makes me sleepy.

I taught a screenwriting class for years, because it kept me interested and motivated in the whole process and I loved teaching the craft.

With procrastination, maybe it would work to "assign" work slots for writing. Create the container into which you can insert your creativity. Sit there. If nothing happens for two hours, write down that nothing happened.

A person tends to stew on lost time. Avoid the urge to organize books, dust the desk. The job is to stare at the screen. When something happens, capture all of it as soon as it comes in. If it happens while you're chopping onions, take a moment to write down everything that comes in as soon as humanly possible.

Imagine you're sitting on an exec's couch and the initial pitch is over. What questions might you be asked about the idea you're percolating? The answers hopefully can nag your psyche into committing the words to whatever platform you use for capture.

Jacob: I hear dat. AP (Analysis Paralysis) + PL (Parkinson's Law) = OMG, ZZZZZ

I set deadlines on most everything I do when it comes to writing. It makes me work not just faster and more efficiently, but at a higher level, too. Studies confirm that. But when I over-analyze...man....the old noodle begins to slog...and slogggg....and slogggggg. Studies confirm that, too. It takes a little while to get used to working that way....but when I do...it's hum baby hum all the way.

Personally, I've never had a problem being motivated. I can usually jump out of bed and start working, whether that's on music or screenwriting. My biggest problem is not really focusing on one thing but trying to do too many things at one time. I like to stay productive.

The first ten pages are often the most difficult for me and then I find the groove. Nothing motivates me like be inspired by a good idea and spending some time outlining enough to get the ball rolling. Since I've written around 35 scripts motivation isn't usually a problem.

Bill Costantini I think setting deadlines would help me a lot. I could set deadlines for each step of the process.

CJ Walley I can see the importance of keeping a long-term goal in mind. That certainly gives direction and structure to one's short-term goals and plans.

Bill Costantini That's a great approach. I've found that the pomodora technique is pretty helpful. I'm sure you've heard of it, but for anyone who hasn't... You work in intervals: Intervals 1-3 = 25 minutes of work and a 5 minute break; Interval 4 = 25 minutes of work and a 30 minute break... The intervals help me focus on one thing. For example: 25 minutes on a title, 25 minutes on a theme, 25 minutes on a premise, 25 minutes on a logline.

Motivation and procrastination tend to be tied to some mental or emotional block that's getting in your way, like self-doubt, or fear (will it be good enough?), or just a lack of know-how or plan of approach. And then there are distractions, life responsibilities (job, family, etc), possible focus issues and time management problems to deal with as well.

John, it sounds like you've established a plan, that's great, but it seems you're doing a lot of busy work up front, burning precious mental energy and focus before you even get to a script. Are you learning screenwriting at the same time? If so, just a thought... perhaps separate the two. Maybe study, do prep work at a different time, then take a break. Walk away. Let the information sink in, think about questions you've proposed to yourself, and then come back charged and give all your attention to the script itself. OR... if say, you better focus in the morning maybe do your screenwriting then, and do your prep work later in the day or evening so you sleep on it, preparing for the next day, and wake up charged to write your script.

Because you mentioned you struggle for that first hour, perhaps shorter bursts may be more productive for you. Quality of time versus quantity. Instead of sitting down to face a long session of 4-6 hours (that's a lot!) perhaps cut that down or break it up. If you have a project plan in place, then you can break up that plan into sections or smaller tasks. Tasks that you can achieve each day that keep you moving forward. That works well for me. I even work in short 15-minute bursts. The other tidbit I would offer is simply to treat it like a job. You know, be practical and just zero-in on the task at hand. Don't overthink. Easy to say, hard to do, I know! Lol! ;) Many writers also stick to a tight schedule to develop a work mentality. That helps too.

Anyway, here are a few books I recommend that could be of some help:

The Coffee Break Screenwriter: Writing Your Script Ten Minutes at a Time by Pilar Alessandra. She breaks up not just the writing part but the planning and conceptualizing as well. Great tips!

And to help with motivation, procrastination, and to give you a kick in the ass...

The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield. RB recommended this book to me. ;)

Lastly, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott. A truly warm and hilarious guide.

I hope that helps! ;) Best to you!

Once I get an idea and begin to write a rough outline, motivation has never been a problem. Just write a bit each day. Whether it's an hour or four. A little daily progress can be very motivating. Removes the fear. Best to you.

Thanks all.

I think this is an interesting topic and hope people will continue to contribute a snapshot of their process. I have completed scripts and a stage play but always find the 'plotting' stage quite difficult. I know it's simplistic to start a 'there are two sorts of people.....' statement but possibly writers tend to lean either towards a natural plotting instinct or a natural theme instinct. I heard a radio show commentator discuss the different writing processes of Paul McCartney and Paul Simon. In essence - McCartney has a natural God-given talent for melody which he probably doesn't fully understand himself while Paul Simon writes as brilliant a song but he is very methodical and takes up to a year piecing things together.

I think people obviously react differently to writing and creativity. The essence for me is to treat writing as 'playing' and give myself time to drift into a playful mood where it's more intriguing to play/write than to resist and to put that in some structured environment.

FYI - it;s worth reading a Hungarian psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi - who is a leading authority on creative 'flow' (not just in writing). Lots of references to him on internet incl Ted Talks and podcasts. and there are bullet point summaries of creating a state of flow - although it sounds as if many people do this naturally.