I'm having a major writer's block on a sci-fi short film script I'm writing. It's been over 2 weeks that I can't seem to find a believable way to carry on with the plot sequence that leads to a definitive ending. Is this normal?

Yes.  Once solution is to simply try writing something else in the meanwhile.  Other solution is to delete the last two pages and just rewrite them; that sometimes jumpstarts your writing.

Good luck with it.


Phil

Thanks Phil - let me try that out and see how it pans out.  ;)

I can't remember who said it, but I once read a writer claiming that "the answers to most story problems are in act 1, where you left them."

I was struggling to write a satisfying ending to one of my features. However, I went back into act 1, jiggled a few things around (changed the theme and added another character who the protagonist would end up being romantically involved with) and viola, I was able to finally write a satisfying ending.

I'd recommend going back into your character backstories, story outlines, etc. and seeing if there is anything you can change which would allow this plot sequence of yours to be believable.

Best of luck.

Quoted from Toby_E I can't remember who said it, but I once read a writer claiming that "the answers to most story problems are in act 1, where you left them."

I don't know if this is what you're referring to, but I've always thought this was great advice.

"If you have a problem with the third act, the real problem is in the first act."

— Billy Wilder

I've been working through writer's block for almost a year now. I'd say above all, don't force an idea and don't overthink. If you have to force it, it might not be there at all and if you overthink, you tend to lose sight of what you need to make happen in the big picture and get caught up in minutia that other people might not even notice when all's said and done. I think either situation can arise from placing unreasonable limitations on yourself, which is more often than not the case.

...which leads me to my third piece of advice, which is not to be afraid of making big changes, even changes that will seemingly change your story completely. They can free you up immensely and likely make your story better than what you thought it could be initially. You can try to break down walls if you like rather than moving around them and sometimes it'll work out (which is a triumph, no doubt) but you risk the danger of just flat out not writing anything, which is never good.

I think the previous comments all contain some good advice. Try everything. Writer's block is a miserable affair. The sooner you can get out, the better.

I get this every other feature.  Deep, as an example, I had heavy block after spending a majority of the Summer on it, and couldn't write a damn thing.

Guess, from personal experience, the best thing you can do is write something else.

The thing that helped me was:  Fan Fiction.

It's an outlet I use to adapt my writing, and helps wonders when it comes to leaping that blockade.  I got stuck on a feature back in August, had no idea how to write the ending, heck, couldn't even get off the fifth page.

Then I wrote a Spider-Man fan fiction, and that helped me push forward with writing and got me over the block.

So yeah, FAN FICTION.  It has its uses.  If you can adapt a pre-established thing, chances are, you can write something original afterwards.

From: The Daily Routines of 12 famous Writers

Jodi Picoult. The last seven books Jodi Picoult has written have all hit number 1 on the New York Times bestseller list. In an interview with Noah Charney, she talks about her approach to writing and creating…


"I don’t believe in writer’s block. Think about it — when you were blocked in college and had to write a paper, didn’t it always manage to fix itself the night before the paper was due? Writer’s block is having too much time on your hands. If you have a limited amount of time to write, you just sit down and do it. You might not write well every day, but you can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page."


http://jamesclear.com/daily-routines-writers?utm_source=Tuesday+9%2F03%2F13&utm_campaign=Daily+Routines+of+12+Famous+Writers&utm_medium=socialshare

Thanks everyone! Good advise all round.

I took a look at my first act, it seemed OK. And I was daydreaming about it yesterday night before I fell asleep and realised that I needed a master villain. I currently have a group of characters in there who are antagonists but I need a master controller. Someone tht eventually needs to be destroyed in order for the ending to work. You could say I'm leaning very heavily on the twisted ending so let's see how it pans out.

I wanna turn this short into a feature so let's see where this goes.

Anyway I'm putting up a sample of my script in the Works in Progress page here in a bit so any feedback would be grreeat! :)

Quoted from Bogey "I don�t believe in writer�s block. Think about it � when you were blocked in college and had to write a paper, didn�t it always manage to fix itself the night before the paper was due? Writer�s block is having too much time on your hands. If you have a limited amount of time to write, you just sit down and do it. You might not write well every day, but you can always edit a bad page. You can�t edit a blank page."

That is actually a brilliant point. I've been 'writing' the discussion part of my Masters thesis for the past two weeks now, but since last week I had been (what I perceived) as well and truly stuck for what to write next.

However, with the deadline fast approaching, I sat down yesterday with a mug of strong coffee and ten, or so, really complex journal articles and managed to crank out 600 words.

My true issue was not knowing what to write next, it was putting off reading these complex journal articles which would then help shape my discussion and form the basis of the next sub-section.

Similar things have happened when I've submitted scripts to competitions, producers, etc. in the past. I kept putting off a rewrite, as I had no idea how I could make the changes without losing some of my favourite scenes and jokes. However, the when opportunity arose for me to pitch the script and within a week, I managed to crank out the rewrite and managed to sort out all the problems.

Had the deadline for either pieces of writing not been fast approaching, I'd probably still be sitting here, trying to work out exactly what to write.

Quoted from Bogey "I don’t believe in writer’s block. Think about it — when you were blocked in college and had to write a paper, didn’t it always manage to fix itself the night before the paper was due? Writer’s block is having too much time on your hands. If you have a limited amount of time to write, you just sit down and do it. You might not write well every day, but you can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page."

I disagree with this.  After a bad experience writing a script I found that I couldn't write anything for nearly a year.  It wasn't a case of writing a few pages and then deleting them; I didn't write anything.  In all that time, I may have written half a page.

I never thought I had writer's block in college.


Phil

So I guess where this is going is to set a deadline right? And I have to agree to an extent that I have been backed up in the corner before and suddenly I just cranked stuff out. It just happened.

This clearly means I don't have a sense of urgency to get this script done. :P I'll have to set a deadline man.

Setting deadlines always helps, even if it's as simple as two pages a day.  Whatever you choose, you have to stick with it.


Phil

Here's something from my screenwriting blog that might help...

http://theworkingscreenwriter.blogspot.com/2011/03/one-view-on-writers-block.html

Quoted from The Working Screenwriter Here's something from my screenwriting blog that might help... http://theworkingscreenwriter.blogspot.com/2011/03/one-view-on-writers-block.html

I agree to the extent that a lot of the time, writer's block comes from either performance anxiety or pretentiousness. Those are things writers just need to get over. But if there's something inherently wrong with the material, sometimes you need to go back to the drawing board. Otherwise, you could indeed end up writing something you need to scrap entirely, as this dude points out.

Also, if you're writing on spec, you don't have a deadline. You should act like you have a deadline perhaps but acting like you have a deadline seriously isn't the same as actually having a deadline. That doesn't change the fact that you need to write regularly and may very well have too much time on your hands but having the time to prepare properly is a worthwhile luxury so long as it's not abused.

Not trying to make excuses for not writing; just trying to be circumspect.

Wish I had writer's block... can't stop myself from typing "FADE IN", haha.

It's a nightmare.