Writers Block

[Tony Ryan]

Not for short stories but more for scripts and plays.

For some reason, I can't come up with any ideas. Is it because I haven't 'lived' enough, being only 16? Is it because I always abandon stuff because I get myself in way too deep a hole?

I need this to end. It's been bothering me since day one, and I want to write but I can't come up with anything.

Case in point: for shits and giggles I decided I would try to write a spaghetti western. About 11 pages in I had 5 characters and no idea about how the plot is going to work. It's a problem that has been bugging me my whole life and I need a way out of it.

Any suggestions?

Thanks.

[voltes5]

Ah, this is like the Holy Grail of Questions for all non-published writers and published authors.

In a way, it's not age necessarily that matters -- it's your life experiences that matters most. The more you "experience" life, the more ideas you'll have. Take a look at Will. The guy can talk forever. :)

Like most 16 year olds, you are quite "limited" in regards to life experiences. But then again, consider the movies you've watched and books you've read. Also take into account the story and history of your family and hometown. Pay attention to world events and also to your teachers. They all have stories to tell.

And here's a well-known secret: There is nothing new under the sun.

Originality is basically putting creative twists on established tales/motifs/archetypes/etc. Originality (esp. in scripts/plays) is about creating well-known stories but within unique perspectives. Take what has worked effectively in the past then adding in your creative & unique vision to it.

However, originality is a difficult thing. Just because something is original doesn't necessarily mean that it will be "effective." That's the hard part: Juggling originality and an easily appreciated/digested storyline.

Blofeld posted this in this forum:
<a href="http://chud.nexcess.net/board/ubbhtml/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=67;t=000073" target="_blank">Story is about mastering the art, not second-guessing the marketplace</a>

There's good advice there as well.

As far as coming up with ideas:

Always start small. Do not think epic because the details will bog you down.

To brainstorm ideas, you must think by utilizing the "What-If"-scenarios. This is one brainstorm I came up with our Lumiere's first project:

What if an old, abandoned building develops a soul and suffers from nightmares?

With that, I created 9 stories. Some of them could be a short film treatment since a few of them had lots of dialogue.

The point is, before you embark on a script/play, you must be comfortable enough about its MAIN POINT. What exactly is it that you want to tell a story about? Is it worth telling? Do you WANT to tell it?

Personally, I believe that you should write what you want to tell. Do not think about your audience too much, but rather focus on YOUR script. Unless you want to entertain specifically, then throw out your artistic integrity out the door. But if you want to create an ORIGINAL script, then write it your way.

As far as abandoning your previous scripts: never ever fully abandon them. It could be that it's not their right time to be developed. 1 or 5 or 10 years from now, you may come up with an amazing script for one of your unfinished work. Always keep them close at hand. Hey, if you thought of it, then there's a reason for it. That's just my philosophy.

To conclude:

- Brainstorm; ask "What-If" scenarios
- Avoid epic ideas, just to remain focused
- Must feel strongly about idea
- Feel that you can expand and expound on such an idea

Just my thoughts. :)

[Tony Ryan]

Thanks a bunch.

That was like the most informative and helpful post ever, Voltes.

Thanks, that did help a lot.

[voltes5]

Tony, I just got home and realized that I have missed pointing out some other thoughts.

I will use an analogy:

You have a bowl.
The bowl has 100 seeds in it.
1 seed represents an idea.
Each seed looks the same. (Translation: Ideas are a "dime a dozen" -- everyone's got one.)
Your goal is picking that 1 seed -- that one "strong" idea -- and nurturing it.

If you start off with a "bad" seed, you're bound to experience writer's block, sloppy plotting, and poor characterizations.

Hence, a withered plant.

The beginning is very important. Start off with the WRITE footing. (Okay, bad pun.)

Hence, a healthy plant.

It's my opinion that when you start off with a "strong" idea, then you won't have much problems with:

- Characters
- Dialogue
- Plotting
- Pacing

With the "right" idea you want to work with, you should be more comfortable with those screenwriting elements. (I'm probably missing some other factors, but those 4 are pretty much the basic foundations of any script.)

However, it will require another topic to discuss "characters," "dialogue," "plot," and "pacing." But I'm too anxious to watch "Reservoir Dogs" (I got Mr. Pink) and I just want to go to sleep after that. :D

[Tony Ryan]

Holy shit.

That helped tons, Votles. I wrote 15 pages of said western. Of course I then scrapped it realizing that the western setting was a shitty gimmick and the story was better told in modern.

And I have at leat 3 other ideas floating around.

Thanks man.

[voltes5]

Glad that I could be of some help. Remember, you got my email if you need a pair of eyes to review your masterpieces.

[Hastur]

Voltes: You are a truly erudite man when you set your mind to it -- and a sick puppy the rest of the time. :D Seriously, good advice there.

Tony: Something that has worked for me before is to make outlines. I know it sounds like something your grade-school teacher would tell you, but I find that seeing a (mostly) logical progression of ideas helps get the writers block out of the way.

Also, since dialogue is difficult, I will write down what each character is supposed to say, then go back and edit their words so they sound more realistic. I find that writing dialogue snippets sometimes let the story out.

[Kirby Drummond]

Volt gives some great advice. Heed it, T.

[voltes5]

Giving such advice to Tony reminded me of what I used to do about 3 years ago: I used to sell eBook Infoproducts. I've given up on it though (as I discovered the difficulties of keeping up with electronic infoproducts).

However, I figure that my free online book might be of some use. I basically wrote an ebook about: "finding ideas to create a How-To Information E-Book."

In other words, if any of you are familiar with those late-night infomercials that tell you that you will get rich "selling information," then this is the same concept; except it's not printed information, but electronic information.

I did okay, but it did not make me rich. I did make decent money for awhile that I was able to not work for quite some time.

Anyway, I am just reminiscing. The thing is, I believe that my ebook may help out with your writers' block. I pretty much wrote a "Creativity ebook" to help unlock ideas. In fact the title of my ebook is: "Program Your Mind to Unlock Profitable Ideas: Creativity ebook for Infopreneurs." Just replace the term "how-to information ebook" to "short stories/scripts/plays/etc." It should work the same.

Basically, before writing that book, I read many creativity books. From "A Whack to the Side of the Head" to "Thinkertoys" (I actually got an endorsement from the author of that book). In a sense, I pretty much just talked about WAYS to tap into your creative brain. I can pretty much sum up the whole idea of my ebook into one word:

CONNECTIONS

I already had that idea before M. Night Shyamalan made that Gibson flick. wink Click <a href="http://innergrail.com/program/prerequisites_end_summary.html" target="_blank">here</a> to see an example of what I mean. Furthermore, my ebook is primarily "inspirational" in nature. It attempts to help you feel at ease with your unique creativity.

Anyway, don't worry, I'm not selling anything. There might be some links there that might imply I'm selling something, but never fear, you won't be able to purchase anything. I've disabled them. But, still, there might be a link or two I've missed.

Hopefully you guys find some use for this. I just feel like I should put my ebook to some good use. :)

<a href="http://www.innergrail.com/program/index.htm" target="_blank">Program Your Mind To Unlock Profitable Ideas</a>

(Oh, if you're curious as to how I bait others to read my FREE ebook [must emphasize FREE], I make them read this super-convincing <a href="http://www.innergrail.com/pym" target="_blank">sales pitch</a>.)

[Coyote]

Speaking of which, watching any of James Burke's programs...Connections 1-3 or The Day The Universe Changed...is a good way of getting the juices flowing.
In your brain, silly.

[Blofeld]

Writing the Natural Way by Gabriele Lusser Rico

[voltes5]

I also recommend this book:

<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0446395072/qid=1030905360/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-2244228-2735010?v=glance&s=books" target="_blank">If You Can Talk, You Can Write</a>
by: Joel Saltzman

I'm actually a better writer than a speaker. If you heard me speak, I stutter a lot -- replete with "ums" & "ahs." And I've noticed that most people are very good with speaking.

In high school and college, I always wondered why people could speak so well then have a difficult time writing something simple, such as a paragraph. I've tutored a couple of people and I emphasize that they should "listen" to their voice. I guess something happens between what they think and what they see on paper/computer screen.

Anyway, that book is not just for such people, but it pretty much helps you become comfortable with your inner voice. I can't stress enough how you must learn to master and utilize YOUR inner voice. This is where my "originality" (YOUR creative twists on stories) and "1 seed" (YOUR idea) came from.

Remember: You are your own own critic. You have to learn to be confident about your work. Like Seahawk likes to say: "Damn the torpedoes, full steam ahead!"

[voltes5]

Dees is embarrassing. I meant: You are your own worst critic.

[Coyote]

Writing and speech are seperate parts/sections of the brain. The only way to link them is repeated use of both. My personal belief is that writing is more likely to improve speech than the other way around, however.

[Coyote]

...which is not to imply that learning to write by listening to the way you speak is in any way not legit. It definately is, ESPECIALLY for character and dialogue.

[WickerMan]

Tony Ryan:
Thanks a bunch.

That was like the most informative and helpful post ever, Voltes.

Thanks, that did help a lot.Hey Tony,

Just thought id add my ten pence for wehat its worth.
For writing any script i always (roughly) know the final scene and the first one.
Then i'll just brainstorm mentally at first then on paper i wont force myself to think the whole stroy out but i'll think of a few scenes then write them down on those post-it note things.
Then i'll start storyboarding the whole thing and fit the scenes in to the story (if they work) or discard them.
I have often taken a scene that i was gonna use for a twist in act2 and used it as the final scene in act3.
Most of all just have fun.
If u get stuck, leave it for a couple of days, you'll find ur mind will wander over it anyway and you'll be amazed at how many good scenes or sub-plots u will come up with when the pressure is off.

[Xymog (Mike Toot)]

Excellent advice in the above posts. Some people need outlines of the entire story, some need outlines of key acts, sequences, or scenes (like me); some people can just jump in and start writing, without knowing where the story will end up. The folks who can do the latter seem to be people with extensive experience writing in the particular form, or have lots of life experiences they can use as mental templates (plus have an innate understanding of human nature and its absurdity). You may want to start off working in outline format -- start with Very Big Ideas such as The Big Theme or Moral Of The Story, then work on Acts, then get progressively more detailed and granular as you work your way down to the scene and beat level.

I'd also add that plot and character are not separable, distinct things. If the plot seems to be going nowhere (or you can't decide which of many ways to take it), that's indicative that you don't fully understand your characters and what makes them tick. Each scene should end with one of your characters taking action, based on a decision or turning point that occurs within the scene. These should derive from a significant change or reversal in one of the characters' values.

For example, the scene starts with Jeb and family need to find water for the plants they need to survive. They begin digging at the place where the (crooked) traveling water dowser pointed out to them as hiding a flowing spring. They dig at the assigned spot, but after three days they are still eating dust, with no sign of water. Hope turns to despair, as they realize they were taken for a ride. They cannot survive without water, and now an even more desperate search for water must take place. What does Jeb do now? Once you know who Jeb is and the kind of person he is, you can determine what his next step will be. Will he resort to stealing water from his neighbors? Will he try to move his family? Will he seek revenge from the water dowser? Will he plead with the nearby town for welfare until he can "get things turned around"? Character drives plot, and plot defines character.

One book I heartily recommend for principles on how to build in these kinds of reversals and construct a great story arc is Story by Robert McKee (about $40 in hardback, also available in trade paperback). It doesn't tell you exactly how to construct your story, e.g. on page 35 there should be a major reversal, but it does help put together some principles you can apply to drive your writing forward.

Another book that is helpful for screenplays and provides checkpoint items to prompt your writing is The Screenwriter's Bible by David Trottier. It can help you go through your writing and see if you've missed some key plot points, or haven't fully defined your characters.

You can probably find both of these at your nearest mega-book chain, and of course you can find them online at any of several mega-online book sites.