THE LONGEST BLOCK: WHEN YOU'RE OUT OF IDEAS

Why can't Hollywood come up with any new ideas?

You've probably asked yourself this question at least once a month in this day and age, after hearing about the umpteenth remake, reboot, or (god forbid) a "reimagining" of a well-known property.

Even this movie shouldn't be remade.

(Well okay, maybe if it was from the camel's perspective...)

In short, I can answer that question succinctly from the writer's point of view:

Because it's actually really, really, fucking hard.

Blocks can happen for a number of reasons, but if you're in any way a perfectionist like me, here are a few reasons to pinpoint or look out for, in hopes of assessing your current, script-free situation.

THE NEED FOR ORIGINALITY

It's easy to see from a studio's point of view how a beloved property they own will be a safer bet than even a smaller-budgeted film with an "untested" idea. From the writer's perspective, maybe you've spent all of one inspiration on your last project and have ran out of other ideas. Inspiration has yet to strike for you, and you might wish intensely to come up with something, anything, that will move you and feed your soul like your previous script did so well. Something that's so different than what others are doing that you feel you have to bring it into this world.

THE NEED TO FEEL ORGANIC

Audiences will know when they're being pandered to, as nowadays in the internet age, they've learned to think more critically than ever, and not just to decide where to spend their hard-earned money (and whether seeing it in 3D is worth it). They're burnt out on remakes, because they know many of these beloved franchises, thanks to the passage of time, have become "obligated" to stick to formula, and that to stray from it would provoke intense backlash. 

As a writer, you might have an idea for an original setting, character archetypes, soundtrack, and maybe a few plot points, but without the "something" to say or the emotional core to tie them together, they don't make for a film proper. You have yet to find your "verve" to run through these other ideas or images.

YOU HAVE TROUBLE LETTING GO OF YOUR LAST ONE

You might love your previous script so much, that you don't want to leave the world you've created, as it might have so much of yourself in it that it's become a personal refuge. While there's nothing wrong with always fine-tuning your older work, it might keep you from expanding your horizons further in search of new ideas. It can even hurt a little to let it go for a while, but it will still be there when you get back to it.

THE BEST YOU CAN DO IN THE MOMENT

There are no easy answers to this situation, but you can try and do some things to continuously take in new inspirations, without forcing your creativity.

• Go about your normal, daily life. Even the little things to keep your brain engaged can make a vast difference.
• Watch some new movies, even those you wouldn't normally watch or pay attention to if you had been working on your previous project(s).
• Listen to new music, which, often unlike film, can spur your brain to evoke new images, moods, and atmospheres to go along with it.
• Go to new places. Not even vacations, but even a new store, a part of town, or a neighborhood.
• Read new articles or watch new videos on writing, since they often present examples to get their audience to think about how they'd handle them differently. These examples could spring back to mind if you're later working on a script with similar plot points.
• Seek out some writing prompts. Write down the ones that catch your eye, and save them in a notebook for later use if you can't answer them right away.
• Read some writing guides, like Pixar's "22 Rules of Storytelling", to try and develop the "sprouts" of ideas you might already have. Even there, of course, it's best to not try and force your creativity.
• Do what you can to relax, and get your mind off of writing long enough to let it unwind. Catch up on your sleep, since you probably severely need it.

The key within all of these ideas (and others you may have) is to not stress out. Even if you spent days writing your previous script nonstop, just bolted by your story and what you want to create, you cannot do that now without inspiration, a story, your "core", your originality, your natural story progressions, or your "colors", among other things.

No pun intended.

And lastly, you should be optimistic that your story and inspiration will strike, because for one, it has done so before, and secondly, you will know when it happens.

"Ehh, works for me."

Copyright © Chynna Moore