Getting Stuck

Sometimes we lose momentum when working on a project.

If we step away for a few days or a week, we may feel lost when we attempt to get back to work on the project. Or we may reach a point where we don’t know what to do next.

If we feel blocked creatively, that doesn’t mean we can’t make progress.

We can always do something to move a project forward. Here are a few ideas for a project to write a screenplay.

1. If something doesn’t work in the screenplay, go back to the outline. Try to fix the issue in the outline first.
2. Be willing to throw out entire scenes that don’t work. When I worked on a video game project, 80% of the content we created never made it into the final version of the game!
3. Take a break. Get some exercise, have a nice meal, connect with your friends, or do something else that inspires you.
4. Do the boring work. If you don’t feel inspired, do project work that doesn’t require inspiration. This could be doing research, editing, scheduling tasks, etc.
5. Go back to the source. Review why you wanted to do the project in the first place. Why does this specific project matter?

A final note: Not all projects need to be completed. It’s OK to stop working on a project that’s lost its luster. Sometimes “giving up” on a project is the right thing to do. So take any of these suggestions for getting unstuck with a grain of salt. If it’s time to move on, there’s no need to get unstuck!