Quick Tips - Breaking Out of Ruts: Mark's Resource Roundup

Do you sometimes find yourself in a writing rut? Are you bored with your screenplay? Are you stuck in the second act swamp? Do you feel like the worst writer ever? Writers block takes many forms and that’s why there is no one simple cure.

Here are 3 quick tips for breaking out of your writing ruts:

1. Just Walk Away: Do you ever find yourself in a stare down with Final Draft (or another word processor, if you must!)? If the words aren’t flowing, then walk away. That’s right, close the file and break up with your script. Sure, it’s hard. It’s like breaking up with a person. You want to call or text, you know, to check in, but don’t do it. Forbid yourself from looking at it for an entire week or two. Move on to something else like reading or hang-gliding. When you’re ready, open the file back up and allow yourself to fall back in love with the story all over again. Remember, absence makes the heart grow fonder.

1. Ticking Time Bomb: Another tool is to use a kitchen timer or any of the many timer apps. Set it for 10 or 15 minutes and tell yourself that you can only write until the timer goes off. Sounds silly, but the “ticking time bomb” will, keep you focused and get the words flowing. And who knows? When the timer goes off, you may not want to quit writing.

1. Book Magic: Pick a book at random and open it to any page. Start writing what you see word for word. Choose a book with a similar genre and/or theme as your screenplay and you’d be surprised how the ideas begin to flow.

We all get in a rut sometimes, just don’t let yourself get stuck.

Keep writing,

Mark

Resource Links:

Writing the Third Act: Resolving Your Plot with the Climax

The Script Lab - Act Three: Resolution

Why Act Three Will Kill Your Writing

Parting Thought:

“Life is a moderately good play with a badly written third act.” ― Truman Capote