How Pro Screenwriters Beat Writer's Block
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- Опубликовано: 11 июн 2024
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A look into how professional filmmakers and screenwriters fix their writer's block. This is motivation for all aspiring screenwriters.
Filmmakers featured in order of appearance:
00:00 Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network)
00:48 Coen Brothers (Fargo, No Country for Old Men)
01:24 Jordan Peele (Get Out)
04:19 Noah Baumbach (Marriage Story)
05:59 Dustin Lance Black (Milk)
06:28 Charlie Kaufman (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind)
07:48 Taylor Sheridan (Wind River, Sicario)
09:05 Dan Gilroy (Nightcrawler)
10:06 Damien Chazelle (Whiplash, La La Land)
10:23 Scott Neustadter (500 Days of Summer)
10:37 Krysty Wilson-Cairns (1917)
10:59 Robert Towne (Chinatown)
ABOUT BEHIND THE CURTAIN
Learn from real screenwriters. Learn the most without wasting time listening to long interviews with only 3 minutes of useful information. We take the best pieces of advice and insight from professional screenwriters and deliver them to you in an easily watchable format.
How Pro Screenwriters Beat Writer's Block
• How Pro Screenwriters ...
#Screenwriting #Filmmaking #WritersBlock 
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Why do you have a playblast of maya's cloth simulation running in the background?
Great video!!!
Can you send the link from Noah Baumbach interview?
One way not to beat writers block is to take your family up to a deserted hotel for the winter. Some serious shit will end up going down.
Francis Condon that’s a good advice to *Overlook* your work 😁
All work and no play might Jack up your word count!
My search prior to landing on this channel was The Shining and Dr. Sleep. I guess I'll indulge because this has to be a sign, right?
All work and no play
Speaking from experience are you?
I once read a quote form a small child in a documentary about how she draws. Her answer is: 'First I think. And then I draw my think.' Best advice I ever got.
Simple. I like it.
Michiel Westbeek very beautiful
That’s nice. So brief and true that stucks in your mind
Visualizing what you want is key.
what if that think is blank
Main thing I took away from this: Jordan Peele is sitting on Chupacabra script that we deserve to see.
We should all tweet at Jordan Peele with #ReleaseTheChupacabra
Right? 'Nuff said, take my money
Writer’s block: “Well guys, we did it. Chupacabra film is no more.”
He's a hack.
@@ThatMans-anAnimal Take your happy pill and go away.
"Follow the fun". That is tremendous advice! Writer's block usually means a lot of frustration and negative emotions, which demotivates fast. Focusing on the fun bits is a good way out/around the problematic part.
It's known that a positive feeling stimulates the thinking part of the brain, right? Especially if the two are relatives.
thats just good life advice
I would say anything is better than nothing you can always edit it later.
@@icecreamhero2375 Yeah, but what about taking a wrong turn. It's a pickle ... Not so easy to recognize, which is the big problem,, and finally, how much would you have to change if you pick up on the mistake too late. Always write what you love is what I've learned via my own experience, which truth be told, is not that much. First major project, but it's a big one ... Of course, I might be included in my own "advice" and not even realize it ... That's how hard this shit is.
@@alexispapageorgiou72 Yet again I am used to writting cartoons with the same characters every week. For my stuff as long as everyone is in character, no polt holes, you don't break the rules and there is a proper 3 act structure you are good to go.
“I do anything I can to avoid writing” I think procrastination is at the heart of writer’s block in all its forms and stems from a fear of failure. The fear that what you write or create isn’t good enough.
I really appreciated all the different visual styles you had for each speaker. One of the best looking talking head videos I've ever seen.
Thanks, man! That means a lot. I always want to add something extra to the videos, but I'm not always sure people pay much attention. So it's good to get comments like this.
@@BehindtheCurtain We do pay attention. You did a great job with both the video and the audio.
Definitely, it's one of the things that make this channel so fun to watch
@@BehindtheCurtain Can I ask which software you used to create such cool graphics? Thanks for putting all this great content together. This channel is such a great resource!
If a content creator put work into it, it will at least make me more engaged because passion is contagious.
I love how the Coen brothers are "Work... well maybe calling it work is a little gloryfying" and then first semester film school teachers are calling themselfs "real artists"
Haha, the Coen Brothers are some of the least pretentious filmmakers I've listened to. It's great.
"pacing around my office"---explains the cinematography in the West Wing
Very true
He was doing a lot of cocaine at that time.
Same for me with Charlie Kaufman. I just think about it for a while. I think, come up with something new, think and think, until im absolutely sure this is what I want to do. And then I start writing.
Most of writing does seem to be the thinking about it. But it's a balance too, you know? Sometimes I think too much about it and never get anything written.
I have a thing with the short stories I write. I never start writing unless I know exactly how it ends.
Usually it's easier for me to start when I know the full structure (without details) And so when I start writing, it just flows out of my head. And then it's easier to polish, and fill the gaps after you finish.
Last story I wrote, I spent a week or so thinking about it, and then I wrote it in one sit lol 6 pages.
john cleese said a brilliant thing about going for a walk and think until hes certain he has the whole idea plotted out down to the dialogue
Agreed on a lot of what these brilliant people have said; writer's block is the natural process, it's what will propel you forward. Rather than let it stump you, you have to let it guide you. It should guide you to truly think what it is that you want to present, and search for it in places you may find it, such as other projects or movies/books/music etc. that you enjoy. Anything. Then you come back with a fresh mind, with a better understanding of it and fresh perspective to continue. You might not always be putting words onto the pages, but no matter what, you never stop thinking about your story, and so sooner or later you will be ready when that idea comes along.
This is exactly right. The perspective switch on writer's block frees you up to continue being creative with your story and move forward. Good comment.
Quick, someone send this to George R.R. Martin, maybe it helps him too!
Hahaha, it's been 9 years! Apparently this isolation has helped him focus.
I think IS following the fun rather than finishing off the work.
I relate to Jordan Peele's point of view a lot. You don't BEAT writer's block, you just deal with it, you just DRIBBLE it, so to speak.
Whenever I get a writer's block on a certain story, I just put it aside, and move to a different one (usually a totally different genre, like I go from writing a fantasy story to a crime story) as sort of a break. And the drive that I have in writing is mainly *inspiration.* Sometimes the break isn't to move to a different writing, but to stop the writing at once, and start looking for inspiration, but spontaneously (let it come naturally). Watch movies, read books, enjoy other people's stories, and listen to the superiors' and idols' ideas (like what I'm doing right now). So the ideas and inspirations especially come up when I watch a certain scene, or read a certain story. For example if I decide to watch a GAME OF THRONES episode, that will finally inspire me to go back to my fantasy story, I finally find new ideas, and solutions to my plot-holes.
Whenever the fun stops, save it until the fun returns, and only inspiration will bring that fun back.
Good way of putting it
i was trying not to watch this video to avoid the fact that i’m dealing with writer’s block right now but now is the time
Hopefully something in video unblocked something in your mind and you were able to write something! Good luck!
Really encouraging to hear these successful professionals describe the way I feel about writing-some days it is really working and others you feel like a complete failure. But you just have to keep going, push through, and eventually you have something.
I laughed way too hard at Charlie Kaufman’s awkward delivery of “tight little bullshit” - that man is a true legend
Haha
I appreciate your content, thanks for putting such great information in one place all the time.
Thanks, man. I appreciate that.
I love how some are conflicting with others.
It shows how everyone is different and everyone has a different way of writing
Exactly
Easy just get some of that Aaron Sorkin genius juice.
Easy!
I have had writer’s block on something for class that is due in a week so THANK YOU
Glad I could help in some small way. Good luck to you on your project!
This is one of the best videos on writing I've seen on RUclips period. I'd love a part two.
Hey, thanks I really appreciate that. Any topic suggestions you'd like up see for the next videos?
@@BehindtheCurtain I'd love to see one on Charlie Kaufman!
Keep up the great work man. There's a lot of videos out there right now that build analysis on top of writers habits and styles, and while those videos are sometimes very well done and intelligent, they give the misleading impression that you can figure out how to write by deconstructing singular works and authors. I love how your videos open up the writing process to subjectivity. Across them I can't find a singular argument about how to write. It leaves it up to the viewer to sort through the contradictory advice and methods to see what applies to them and what doesn't.
Also a Kenneth Lonergan video would be sick (in addition to Kaufman).
Your channel is criminally underrated
Thanks, I appreciate that. We're seeing consistent growth and that's all I can ask for.
How does your channel only have 130K subs? This is quality content. I loved hearing how all these different top-notch writers have different methods to confront writer’s block. There isn’t one definitive answer. Every approach is valid.
mindblowing analogy at the end there. im gonna use that
It's literally a perfect analogy. Glad it connected with you.
pls dont slack off on the quality of ur vids. theyre good. This what really sets u apart
I got an Aaron Sorkin ad on this video about Aaron sorkin.
his masterclass is exceptional
Thank you SO much for this. It's such a relief to hear that so many experience this and that there are so many ways to approach/conceptualize it!
Thanks for watching!
That fishing comparison is so apt and clear.
It really is!
Jordan Peele and I are on the same wavelength: you get your images and revelations when you smoke a little weed and just listen to some music.
my subconscious and my conscious thoughts combine when i smoke, I get full brain potential 😂
Jordan Peele section was fire. All is great. I appreciate the content.
Beautifully done video. Thank you!
I really needed this video right now. Thank you for making this.
Man, I'm glad it helped you. That's the goal. Keep it up, bro.
Exceptional video. Really cool to see the diverse ways pro writer's deal with the common issue of Writer's Block.
I'm new to screenwriting but whenever I cant think of what to do next I just do something regular. Go for a walk, clean carts at my job, sit down, etc. An idea comes to me almost every time. That's the weird thing about the writing process, you get flashes of ideas or answers to problems out of nowhere. You can think all you want at a desk of what you want to write but it's rarely as good as something that comes out of nowhere
Trust in your gift n realize anything you write will be good, there’s all kinds of audiences. As long as your speaking to your audience they will listen.
I love Robert Towne's bit at the end. That's just how I feel in general when I'm looking at my life and my career and trying to figure out what I want to do next. I don't know what I want to do, but I have faith that if I keep an open mind and am prepared to take advantage of the opportunities that do come that I'll figure it out at some point.
Sign up for the email newsletter: www.behindthecurtainfilm.com/
What do you think about this new series? The goal is to explore what screenwriters think about a certain problem (like writer's block) in one video.
This is an awesome channel. Thank you Behind the Curtain🙏🏾
Thank you!
Realizing that Damien Chazelle procrastinate made my day cause i feel like such a failure every time i do procrastinate
It should really be the discipline to do something at least and move forward. Even with procrastination, if you are motivated and disciplined enough to write, you are good to go!
Favorite director too. 😊
@@lukethekuya yep, i try not to let procrastination consume me completely hahaha, like i do my best to keep up; its a struggle sometimes
Also with Chazelle's sharing, I recommended you do something else to make you think, like watch a movie or read a book. That way, your brain starts having more think power and imagination, which can help continue on your story. 😁
@@nadsoos2212 Relate...
Hopefully what we must finish can be finished well. 😀
@@lukethekuya hahahaha dude no, if anything, watching a movie is what i do DURING procrastination lmaoo
Your videos are incredibly helpful man, THANK YOU SO MUCH
Glad you like them, man! Trying to bring more and more value to the people!
Quite simply, love this channel.
This was awesome thanks for putting this together. I crave more writing from the brilliant mind of Charlie Kaufman.
Stay safe and healthy.
Yes, I'm hoping to make an Eternal Sunshine video soon! Love Kaufman so much. He has a film coming out this year that he wrote and directed that seems to be slightly different than what he normally does, but I'm sure his voice will still be strong throughout.
Behind the Curtain I thought you didn’t like my comment lol.
ESOTSM happens to be my favorite movie of all time so that would be splendid.
I look forward to anything new from him.
It’s been too long.
Would you be so kind as to do a "How I wrote" on the movie trainspotting? I think there is probably a really good story behind that one.
Ooh, that would be a great video. Thanks for the suggestions.
Of course, and thank you for responding :)
I'm working on something big and I'm very grateful for this.
The interviewer struggling to contain her laughter at the end was gold. Who knew such a perfectly placed curse word in the right tone could be so effective. 11:14
In my whole year, I didn't have any writers block issues writing almost 23 episodes of the protagonist. I started in 1st draft to write what's in my head before any dialogue to easily describe and give structure of the story. Once its completed I put the dialogue in the 2nd draft then go back and fix grammar and misspelled words. Then you should already have another outline being ready to go for the 1st draft or already for the dialogue to put place for the second draft
This applies to any creative process. I write code and I implement alot of these different processes. What I've always thought is that my subconscious is way smarter than my conscious mind, so I try not to think to hard about anything. I just let it marinate in the background while doing something else. It will eventually come to me. I can also appreciate just putting something down even if you know its wrong. Just get the ball rolling seems to help me.
Exactly! Growing up I thought everything relied on pure willpower. I'm beginning to realize that the unconscious mind is the true beast. Thanks for talking about other creative mediums. I'm an admirer of coders and coding. I know a small amount. It's sooo frustrating, but that makes the reward even greater. Similar to writing.
Wow this channel's content keeps getting better and better,
Thanks, John!
I don't know what to believe now
love the videos and love the work you put into it, it is rare for me to leave a comment, but i love your work too much to keep it to myself. thanks and keep up the good work
Thanks for watching, Joseph!
This is quickly becoming my favorite screenwriting RUclips Channel.
That means a lot, man! I strive to bring the most value I can!
@@BehindtheCurtain Keep up the great work! I would love to see more videos of
writers talking about great shows like Homeland, The Americans, Ray Donovan, Atlanta, etc.
My writing teacher told me to go to a funky laundromat and find a character I could use. Prescriptive, but it really worked when I was young.
I love that
these videos are so useful. thank you :)
Glad you like them!
i got five pages out today because of this, thanks man
Dude that's awesome. This is the best comment I've ever gotten on this channel.
lol you're welcome
Great Video. Love it.
Thanks!
Love the fishing analogy!
I enjoyed it to! It makes so much sense!
Wow, this is so awesome. Since I am a writer too and make videos on my stories, this looks really interesting and useful 🙏
Great work man
Thanks so much, Sai.
Thank you...this has really helped!
Glad to hear!
It was incredibly helpful to hear that aaron sorkin has writers block. Thank you thank you thank you.
Lol, sorkin only does book adaptations, nothing more. He needs to write an original story for once.
Write like it's your job. Make sure you always have a deadline to meet. It won't fix it but it can help
You're Nuke Norway, right? This channel is great, man. Cheers!
i ddont know how to feel about jordan's advice, as someone with ADHD its very hard to stay focused on one project for very long even if its worth continuing, so it might be better to finish something til the bitter end
Different people have different processes. Try it all and then do what works for you. Good luck!
@@BehindtheCurtain for sure! im always trying new things to follow my dream
You could write an outline, and then proceed to write a rough draft based on the outline. Or, you could write the scenes one by one on index cards and flesh them out later. You could take a few hours, a day, a week, a month, or as long as it takes to work on each scene. I finished my first draft by writing all the scenes one by one on index cards and fleshed them out, one by one. By the time I fleshed out all the scenes and added them all together, it nearly formed an entire rough draft.
I pretty much had the entire story in my head, yet it would have been a monumental task to write the entire rough draft in one sitting, or even a dozen sittings. It's daunting to even think of doing it in one fell swoop--so if you're like me, I would suggest breaking the project down bit by bit, by writing one scene at a time. And whenever you're faced with writer's block, you can always work on the back story, do research or watch movies about the topic you're writing about or simply stop writing for the moment to let what you've written sink in. For me, the more back story I amassed, the more my story developed and the characters in it became more layered, to the point where it seems they take on a life of their own as the backstory offers so much for the story and characters to draw upon.
I've gotten to the point where my screenplay is long enough to make a three hour movie. However, it'll probably be way under two hours by the time I cut out all the unnecessary dialogue and scenes that don't keep things interesting and drive the story forward. For now my screenplay is akin to a block of wood, which contains all the substance needed to make a feature film out of, but to turn it into a work of art will require carving out everything that is unnecessary to reveal the sculpture that is hiding behind it. I'm now realizing that from an artistic and creative standpoint, the heavy lifting happens during the rewrites. But I've gotten this far, so I won't give up.
@@kokoleka808 well done
I think what he's getting at is the act of writing allows new ideas to flow, the one you started lead to another one which feels like the sweet spot
The look of your video gets better and better. Content too !
Thanks, Jules.
When your writing, don’t censor yourself. Lose yourself in your characters. Follow them around. Let them surprise you and themselves.
This is amazing. Honestly.
Thank you!
i LOVE a lot of this advice, especially 'bullshit on the page until you get back on track' ahah
thanks for this.
the animation that flows behind the writer's pic...just help me get an idea of how actually quantum gravitational loops may fn...thanks for that
and yeahhhhh...the advice are all as wise it can get
thanks a lot man
I'm craving to become a rapper and your videos really help me a lot, especially ones like this, keep it up.
That's unexpected, but really cool! Good luck to you, man.
I always have so many documents open with different ideas, and I try to boil each idea down into why they excited me enough to write them down.
One document might be a fun space adventure, but I realise I’m having more fun when the characters are just hanging out.
Another will be some intense dramatic scene based in Celtic myth, but what I’m excited about is the one Banshee character that can sense when someone is about to die.
While yet another will be a story about a charlatan getting his comeuppance, but just having the character talk in a way that’s smooth and fun is the most joyful part of the writing process.
Like Peele said, find the fun, but also find the reason it’s fun. Combine the disparate fun ideas and just see what happens.
it's to go live your life to the fullest and come back to write it all down and again and again
Please do a video on Taika Waititi Boy! Loved this video and your work. Keep it up!
Wow, that was great! Can definitely relate to a few of these... But I don't think waiting to write until you feel like it is a good advice... Done this so many times, and it's probably just the perfect recipe to never do anything, I think. Anyway, thanks for that!
It's definitely a balance for me, but I side with the ones in the video that talk about writing BS until you start flowing. Like what Noah Baumbach said, "Sometimes I don't feel like I'm ready [to write], but then I usually figure something out." Thanks for watching, man! Join the newsletter if you're interested in the new content coming to Behind the Curtain: www.behindthecurtainfilm.com/
This channel is the best
Glad you're enjoying the content! I have a lot more to come
Your channel is so fucking necessary. Thank you.
Man, thanks so much for watching. I really appreciate that.
The best advice I got for writing was "write first, edit later" because then you get a better sense of what you want to show
Hey! Recently subscribed and loving the concept of this channel! I would love to see a video of the "How I Wrote..." about the movie "Almost Famous", love that movie and I think would be really interesting seeing the commentary of the creator.
The "follow the fun" one tho. Love Jordan Peele and I haven't seen none of his films yet.
Writing is like building a puzzle, but building the pieces as well.
I'm basically done with my novel, wrapping up the forth draft. So glad to see that I've naturally stumbled into a workflow that is very similar to all these writers.
Congratulations on your novel. That's a big feat.
@@BehindtheCurtain Thanks very much! Great channel!
Dude... the effort though. Wow.
Thanks, man. I appreciate it
Noah Baumbachs way of describing the writing process was really interesting. It was similar to how Cobb explained the dream world and how the dreamer controls it, in Inception
@Behind the Curtain - I'd love to see a video about Black Sails if that's at all possible? Loving your channel btw, really interesting and helpful for an aspiring writer.
Hey, I'll look into! I'm not familiar. I appreciate the comment. I've got a lot of great things to come, believe me! Glad you're a part of the community.
Adaptation is one of the most brilliant screenplays ever written.
Listening to Robert Towne is like listening to god. Similar feeling to listening to George RR Martin. Great video!!! Love your stuff.
What a stunningly made video. I didn't even hear half the things.
Ok, I'm pretty sure it's not a coincidence that I got a master class advertising from the same person being interviewed.
Nice motion graphics!
Thanks!
Loved Peele’s bit 👍👍
Thanks for watching!
He's the one who really got it for me!
I got an ad with the same guy on the video image
I’m exactly like Charlie Kaufman
Nobody is like Charlie Kaufman.
Jordan Peele is so full of hot air, goddamit, is incredible.
4:11 the "follow the fun"-idea led to someone I know not finishing various pieces of music he was working on, haha...he only started finishing pieces when he decided to stick to a piece...but he does sometimes do a sort of "follow the fun", but within the piece itself...he won't fly from piece to piece as he used to do...
8:06 driving probably works because of the fact that he has to concentrate on something else, he can't be entirely focused on the idea...I mean...I think a psychologist was talking about that type of mild distraction being important for the aha-moments...
Really, I think it all just comes down to patience. You have to be patient enough for the ideas to come to you. Because they will.
I just can't find ideas.... But I MUST FIND IDEAS!!
Think Troy Sheridan has best "way/trick". Imagine how many ideas, stories he unconciously absorbs as 'tunnel driving' across America. Especially when he's finally sorted the scene that was giving him trouble. Except I'd be driving across Australia or through Scandinavia.
Do you have a Podcast? This would be great for driving and train rides.
It would be amazing to see "How I wrote Under the Silver Lake" please!!
I'm trying to interview David Robert Mitchell myself, so hopefully that happens!
Ah yes me watching a video on how to fight writing block, I say while I'm currently not writing hmm I feel like I'm missing the point of this video. (House M.D Please)
Just give up
Don't do what @welfaiewfb says. Don't give up. It's all about creating a writing system for yourself. Thanks for a taking a break and watching the video, though ;)
Don't do what @Behind the Curtain says. Do give up. It's all about being a shitty writer for yourself. Thanks for taking a break and watching the video, though ;)
@@welfaiewfb8802 wth man
@@welfaiewfb8802 someone's projecting
you should make a podcast out of these videos
I actually am... but with original interviews with screenwriters. It's launching in 1 week. And it comes with a lot more than just the interviews. You can learn more here: www.behindthecurtainfilm.com/