Writer's Block

Three ways to beat the block

I find writer’s block is a lot like imposter syndrome. No matter how many jobs you get hired on, no matter how many scripts you write… it still haunts you!

Unfortunately, when you’re a professional writer on a deadline, you simply do not have time to spend weeks or months trying to get yourself unstuck.

So, whenever I get writer’s block on a project — be it a script or an outline or a take for a production company — I rely on the following steps to beat the block.

1.) Step away from the screen…

Staring at a blank page can actually exacerbate that blocked feeling. Instead, close the laptop and do something else. Anything else! Go for a walk. Take a hot shower. Pump iron. Whenever I get out of my head and get out into the world, the solution to whatever story problem I’m having tends to appear.

2.) …Or turn on a different one.

Find your solution in the solution of others… by which I mean, go watch a movie! (Or TV show!) My favorite stage of writing is the “research” phase, aka watching all the produced comps to my project that I can find. Recently, I was stuck on a beat of a contained heist movie take for a production company. So, I watched a triple feature of PANIC ROOM, OCEAN’S 8, and (of course) INSIDE MAN. Not only did the films inspire me to keep pushing, but they inspired a few ideas to help take my own “take” to the next level.

3.) Phone a friend

I suggest this with the caveat that I rarely find that my friends (or agent or manager or writer pal) has the answer that I’m looking for. After all, they’re not in my brain! But for some reason, explaining the problem I’m having aloud to someone else makes the solution almost immediately clear to me.

How do you beat writer’s block? And what burning screenwriting questions would you like me to answer in my next post?