Is there any way you can get out of writer's block. I get it a lot, or I get the feeling after writing 30-45 pages that it isn't good enough.

Any methods of working through this?

I have the same problem (I think we all do)

I have countless unfinished drafts. I think they key (or so I'm told) is to just write through it, no matter how bad you think it is. If you know your ending and roughly how to get there just keep writing until you finish. Then put it to one side and go back and fix it later. Easier said than done, I know.

I find that if I get 40 odd pages into a script and realize I've lost any passion I had for the characters and/or story, it's best to stop and write something that you're really passionate about.

If you're stuck for ideas, try not to think too hard. Go off and do other things, play sport, go for a walk, take a bath, go abseiling, whatever floats your boat. My best ideas come to me when my mind's occupied by other things not related to writing.

Keep writing.  You may realize down the road that you've written fifty pages of garbage and will just toss it out, but you may have one or two good ideas in it that you can use.

I wouldn't recommend starting something else.  If you do, you'll end up with twenty unfinished scripts in your computer.


Phil

Writer's block is an inevitability of writing. We all deal with it at some point.

A good way to overcome writer's block is to set aside whatever you're writing for a moment. Step away from it and take a moment to consider the story without writing it. If that doesn't help, read a book, watch a movie from a similar genre, or do anything to take your mind off it for a couple days. Go back and revisit the story. Figure out where it's going and where it's been. Maybe the block came from a bad plot point. Maybe you need to rewrite a couple of scenes to progress the story. Maybe you need to plot out a few scenes to get your head straight on where you're going.

You can also run your story through the Screenwriting Palette that's in the Screenwriting Class board. That might help to get you over the hump.

The point is, as dogglebe said, don't just stop writing it. Keep going, but when you get blocked, step back for a moment. Don't force the story if you don't have to.

Of course, you might come back to it with a clear head, take one look at the premise and say "What was I thinking?" At that point, take down the good stuff and scrap the rest. Don't keep it if it wasn't worth writing. If it was worth writing, trudge on through it. If it stinks, you can fix it on rewrites.

I have never finished a script (only ever started one) and have close to zero experience in screenwriting, which is why I am very hesitant to completely contradict what far more experienced writers have just said. However, I'm encountering a similar problem and I thought I'd share my solution.

If you have an idea which you're passionate about, one of the obstacles in writing is that your fingers aren't typing what your head is thinking. Thus, an extremely dramatic scene you pictured in your mind a thousand times could be rushed through and the dialogues turning out rather poor. I think that when writing on an important scene- or any scene, really- and you feel it isn't fitting, sit back for a minute and picture the scene, what the characters are saying or doing. Chances are, this picture will be more dramatic, more realistic and better scripted than what you are writing with your hands and running through it.

Magius - there's nothing wrong with that assessment...I do that myself as I'm plotting out my literary journey.

To expand on the idea though is that writing is re-writing. If you're not happy with the first go about, make note and expand on it when you return to it through re-writing. That's when I begin to expand certain scenes and develop certain situations. The only time I spent a large time on a scene is when it panned out in my head to the 'T'.

Another tip that I've heard regarding conquering writer's block is to delete the last five (or ten) pages you've written and start writing from there.  By the time you get to where you stopped earlier, you'll be ready to keep going.


Phil

I am glad to see that you all have given me your words. Thank you very much, and I look forward to posting a script on here soon. It won't be the Warriors, but something different.