I have writer's block. Need help.

[Brandon Pierce]

I'm still working on my screenplay and am 25 pages in. But now I am suffering writer's block. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on getting out of this. I haven't even introduced the villain yet, or even the lead male character yet. I'm kinda stuck. Need some advice.

[Juu-kuchi]

Back away, and do something else, the ideas will come at you out of the blue, and when you strike gold on an idea, put it to memory and archive it.

[NelStone]

Back away, and do something else, the ideas will come at you out of the blue, and when you strike gold on an idea, put it to memory and archive it.

This. I've written plenty of stories before, gotten writer's block about a thousand times, and this really is the best way to go about it.

Otherwise you try forcing yourself to progress, muddle it up, and get so frustrated you say "screw it" to the whole thing altogether (personal experience).

[KPTitan]

Otherwise you try forcing yourself to progress, muddle it up, and get so frustrated you say "screw it" to the whole thing altogether (personal experience).

Lol, that's exactly what happened to me the last 2 or 3 times I tried to write my fanfiction story. Guilty as charged.:sweat:

This time, I'm slowly working on it by making little side notes every time I get an idea that might work, and I'm not rushing myself to get it done in a certain time period either. I've also been taking my time on doing extensive research and paying close attention to the characters everytime I watch episodes. It's also easier for me to make up the characterization of my OC when I base her upon myself, and not sombody else that I wanted her to be. I hope that helps a little.:)

[DarthGonzo]

Add a talking pie and time travel. The rest writes itself.

[Light Lucario]

Back away, and do something else, the ideas will come at you out of the blue, and when you strike gold on an idea, put it to memory and archive it.

I agree with you. When you're suffering from writer's block, its best to do something else to get you to relax. Ideas definitely come out of the blue. Just walk around, think about the order of the universe and see what happens. At least, that's what I like to do when suffering from writer's block.

[Temple Fugate]

The important thing about setting your work down and leaving it alone for a while is that you need to make sure you keep your mind off it. Don't just walk away and then start thinking "Okay, now how do I NOT think about that screenplay? I'm NOT thinking about that screenplay right now. Maybe this book will help me NOT think about that screenplay." Just do what you ordinarily do. Inspiration often comes when you're simultaneously not looking AND not CONCENTRATING on not looking.

Following that, when you do pick your work up again, it's important to remove any doubts you have about it. Doubts are the potholes on the road to success. Just a few of them are enough to disrupt the journey and force you to stop again.

Don't put yourself into the mindset that everything you write has to be perfect, or even good. Don't listen to your censor. Sometimes you have to run the tap for a while before the hot water comes out. If you don't run the tap at all you'll never get to the hot water. Your creative brain works the same way.

[Lavenderpaw]

Stand on your head...it's good for hiccups AND writer's block. :D

Though,you may have all the blood rush to your head.I suggest just getting some new ideas by spending a day away from the computer and sorting out your ideas.

[James]

I generally find writers block tends to occur when there is a problem with a story - either when ideas/characters/direction is becoming awkward or unsatisfying. In which case, take a break - but be prepared for when you come back. Chances are you need to do some serious re-writes.

Whether writing music, drawing or writing, I find a block is often a symptom of problems in the art rather than my head.

[Brandon Pierce]

Another prblem I have is I kinda what my story to be like the movies that Mel Brooks and the Zucker Bros. make, where it's kind of a gaggy satirecal film, with lots of jokes and stuff, but a lot of times I find myself stuck for gags. I wonder how THEY did it.

[Shawn Hopkins]

Another prblem I have is I kinda what my story to be like the movies that Mel Brooks and the Zucker Bros. make, where it's kind of a gaggy satirecal film, with lots of jokes and stuff, but a lot of times I find myself stuck for gags. I wonder how THEY did it.

Teams of gag writers. I know there were a bunch on Blazing Saddles including Richard Pryor.

[XOMiss_Samantha]

READ.
I always found that it's the best cure for writers block. It makes me want to go back and pick up what ever project I left and continue. Lot's of inspiration can be found in books.[and I'm not even an avid reader]

[Temple Fugate]

Teams of gag writers. I know there were a bunch on Blazing Saddles including Richard Pryor.What he said. There's a reason comedy shows have "writer's rooms" instead of one single guy churning out scripts. If you want to write that kind of fast-paced, fast-hitting comedy, you can't do it alone.

If you want to TRY it, my advice is to write the entire script first, then on further passes, start dropping in gags. Don't let yourself get hung up on the little things. Concentrate on the overall movie plot. You can't build a sturdy house without a strong foundation.

[purplehairedwonder]

I agree with getting away from it for awhile. As others have said, ideas so often come out of the blue when you're not thinking about the project.

I'd also suggest listening to music. I tend to get a lot of ideas for my writing from just sitting and listening to whatever is on my playlist at the time.

[Eddie G.]

Try writing in a journal everyday, at least a page. It trains you to be able to just push forward and write. Maybe experiment with the story for your script, try writing it in prose, list goals for yourself. A good exercise for learning good jokes is too just make a big list of funny names, or funny situations. It sounds corny, but it frees your mind up.

Also, remember that nothing's written in stone and re-writing is as important as writing. Nobody is going to see your first draft, that's for you to build upon. So, don't worry if things aren't perfect. Just get the story down.

Honestly, I think you need to rethink the script a bit and go back to step-one. If you're this far and don't have a protagonist then you might want to rethink things. Or push forward and thing about how you can get to the heart of the story quicker in rewrites.

[Wolfie~Giri]

I agree with getting away from it for awhile. As others have said, ideas so often come out of the blue when you're not thinking about the project.

I'd also suggest listening to music. I tend to get a lot of ideas for my writing from just sitting and listening to whatever is on my playlist at the time.

Yeah, music is usually my main breakthrough from writers block. Though because I'm weird I'll only listen to songs that set the mood of certain scenes in my story or just the story itself in general. Then, I'll get an idea or two to expand on.

Also, try writing something else; a poem, a rant, or a reflection, just anything that is the total opposite from what you've been previously working on. It doesn't sound all that helpful since your not breaking away from writing, but it can help relieve the mind just a little bit.

[James]

What he said. There's a reason comedy shows have "writer's rooms" instead of one single guy churning out scripts. If you want to write that kind of fast-paced, fast-hitting comedy, you can't do it alone.

If you want to TRY it, my advice is to write the entire script first, then on further passes, start dropping in gags. Don't let yourself get hung up on the little things. Concentrate on the overall movie plot. You can't build a sturdy house without a strong foundation.

I agree with Temple. If you look at some of the best comedy, its either writers room work or duo teams. The latter very much in the UK (as we don't tend to work with writers rooms as the US does) - Fawlty Towers, Blackadder, Red Dwarf, Father Ted.. all duos.

So yes, best advice is as TF says, get the structure sorted, get the acts written to a point that the story and characters are coherent and then look at what you can do with gags. See how your own structural/character material might open up the potential to write jokes.

My other piece of advice is for a first screenplay not to get in over your head. When I think of Brooks, I think of satire and narrative inanity. Both of which are complex mediums to pull off in a 90 minute format. Perhaps see if the script can work relatively straight before looking what you can chop and dice to give it some humorous spark.

[GCFyouthcamper]

I think you just need to get the creative juices flowing. Try a quick, enjoyable writing exercise. Write out your favorite movie scene from one character's POV. That always gets me started.

[Brandon Pierce]

Honestly, I think you need to rethink the script a bit and go back to step-one. If you're this far and don't have a protagonist then you might want to rethink things. Or push forward and thing about how you can get to the heart of the story quicker in rewrites.
I have a lead female character. I said it was the male lead character I hadn't introduced yet.

[DawnWarrior]

Here's something that worked for me: watch a trashy movie.

When I was working on my screenplay a few years ago (a fantasy adventure), I got stuck for awhile with a tricky scene in the first act. Then I went and saw Van Helsing, hated it, and wrote the scene. I knew anything I could write would be better than that stupid movie, and if Stephen Sommers could get produced, so could I.

First drafts are hard, but the thing that always gets me through it is when I remind myself that I can fix it later. It's always easier to fix something than to create it out of thin air.