Harnessing your creativity can be both deliciously mysterious and overwhelmingly frustrating. It often will NOT run on rails.
Whether you react to a blockage by cursing and kicking a hole in the landlord’s wall or retreating to a dark cupboard with a pint of Dreyer’s best frozen sugar bomb, remember …
Have faith that ideas are going to come to you.
I often run into an apparent dead-end. Especially if I am writing a new piece without all my elements and structure figured out. One technique I have learned is to commit the problem to my subconscious and move on to another area. Even quit and take a break altogether. The phrase “sleep on it” is more than just folk wisdom – it works!
This first draft of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is available at Charlie Kaufman’s website along with a number of his other scripts. The site is a treasure trove — explore it thoroughly.
Nora Ephron is the undisputed queen of the romantic comedy. Often writing in teams, Ephron has earned an Oscar nod and a place in film history for her script When Harry Met Sally. Other classics she has turned out include You’ve Got Mail, Julie & Julia, and Sleepless in Seattle. Beyond her screenwriting achievements, Ephron has also directed, produced, published a novel, and a book of essays.
This new video from Jacob Krueger takes a look at effective ways to juxtapose two stories against each other within a script. He uses the example of Blue Valentine and Dead Poets Society:
The Writer:
