Yes it’s important to plan, and do research, and get feedback on your ideas. These can all be useful for preparing your screenplay. But at a certain point that work switches from getting ready to just procrastinating. You’re seeking out work to let you not write. Asking for permission you don’t need.
Because you’re afraid.
And that’s okay! Writing a screenplay is hard. Staring at the blank page is scary. But the only way to overcome that isn’t by preparing more, but by beginning to write.
If you’re really having difficulty getting started, some strategies to get the ball rolling:
- Free write a page or two before starting on your script
- Purposefully write the bad version to start
- Write a scene from a genre you don’t normally write in
These are just a few ideas to help you starting putting down the words – the important thing though is that you begin. So get going and stop wasting time by reading this instead of writing!
Fred Pelzer
Managing Editor
On Spec