Screenwriting : Creativity Block by Ellie Kitchener

I've had bursts of inspiration and I've sat down and forced myself to write. I rarely fail get something down on paper. If one is going to be a writer taking on assignments, I believe it's essential to be able to work when inspired or not. For me, the writing flows better when I'm excited about the subject.

one of my cousins writes for the local paper. I asked her about writer's block and the job of writing every day, and she just goes about it asking basic questions - who, what, why, when - the spine of a story. She's writing/reporting real events than made-up fictional stories, but the mechanics of the trade are the same.

Hi Ellie, I talked about the "block of inspiration" here: http://bit.ly/SHINING_

Let me know what you think... :)

For me, creativity comes in fits & starts. If it's taking a day or so off, so do I; I'm not compelled to force it. But I'm retired, when working in the Writer's Room on a series - you and your creativity are both forced to show up if you want a paycheck. My advice is to go with the flow and don't fret about it - your Muse will come back.

Write something else or do something else. Your subconscious is more powerful when left alone to boil in the background.

I normally go for a walk or even move on to another scene and then go back to the one I’m having trouble with. I’ve even gone back 10 pages and do a rewrite and sometimes that frees up my mind.

I don't typically get creativity block, but I do have choice block. Finding the right option is harder than just finding the creative idea or scene. When that happens to me, I move onto a different story or set aside the script that is giving me trouble to go for a walk, or pop on some soundtracks to inspire my mood, or play a video game or watch a film to loosen me up. But at the end of the day, it is ass in seat. Just write even if it is crap. Write that vomit draft just to get something down on paper. You can always rewrite it.

Sometimes I do something else until Eureka strikes. But mostly I will find an unrelated scene (or few) to write and that seems to open some channels.

Once you start writing, everything else will flow.

I keep a running list of movies that inspire/motivate me, so I'll watch one of those. Othertimes it's reading a script or movie in the same realm as what I'm working on. Then there's the trusty listening to a podcast and daydreaming of what I'm writing and not actually listening to it. Most of these things I'm only passively doing, my mind seems to always be on what I'm working on.

Going for a walk is nice.. or just write anything to get the blood flowin'

Thanks for all the advice everyone1 Much appreciation from fellow writers and creatives!

I work in creative steps, so I have an outline and know what is supposed to be on the page. if I am having trouble, I do a version of what Dan says. I make a list of all of the information that the scene needs to get to the audience, the emotions of the characters, the emotions I want the audience to feel... and if I still can't write the scene, I move to the next scene.

Ellie, I like to get on the Internet and do research on what I want to write about before I type anything out. That's the way I like to break my own creativity blocks. (When I banged out "Pixie Dust," for example, I hit the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities' Website many, many times...not just before I wrote the opening page, but as I kept going with the screenplay.)

For me, it's all about trying to be true to the setting...as well as true to the story I'm trying to tell.

All the VERY BEST to you, Ellie!

Sometimes grabbing onto a visual can kick-start the process. I think, "What does my protagonist see?" and stuff begins to flow from there. When that doesn't work, it may be a sign that I've chosen the wrong character as the protagonist and I try to write from another character's perspective. That works more often than I want it to...

I never stare a blank page, I start with a whiteboard and work on the structure of the scene or story as much as I can and when I have the structure done I seat and write. I like to outline everything first, where the characters came from before and where they go after the scene, what they want and things like that. Sometimes I get stuck in a line or a dialog but I write even if I know it is not working. When I get to a point nothing is working, so a step out and go watch a film, that has nothing to do with what I'm writing just to clear up.

That's interesting. It's similar to something I do when I get stuck. I usually have a couple of different stories that I'm writing and shuffle between them but when I really get stuck with writing I always have something else that I can be doing like I go and edit something or design some of the art. Sometimes when I'm really stuck I try to do learn something new or try to shoot something interesting and simple or shoot some photos or something that is in some way connected with filmmaking. But even if I'm still stuck and not creative at all then I go salsa dancing! That's one of the best things that get's me back into a creative mood. I go dancing for five hours and when I come home I'm ready to do anything creative without any problems.