I think this problem is fairly common. The whole thing is a subconcious game your brain plays because writing is a lot harder (and often duller) than it looks.

What I do is run two projects at the same time. I will brainstorm one, taking notes and such while my brain is trying to distract me while I'm actually writing the other. Then when my brain can no longer keep writing on one because it is too distracted I pick up those notes and write the other for awhile (taking notes on the first meanwhile as my mind shifts back to that one).

Hopefully if your notes are good enough you can blaze through a draft before you shift again.

The important part if you work this way is to keep the number of projects down. If you keep bouncing between two projects you'll eventually get something finished. If you bounce between three or five you may take forever or never get anything done.

RJSchwarz
San Diego, CA

I think it's natural, not just for writing either.

ICEntertainment's story, short version:
*"Let's make movies!"
Start work on "Revenge of Ratman"
*Get distracted, start doing internet columnism in the mean time.
*Branch out into web comic
*"How about a movie called 'Everyone Stupid Dies'?"
*Start shooting concept scenes for ESD, come across new concept
*Gary's Mockumentaries, eventually spawns
*Some Form of Ultimate Deathmatch!

Morgneto, Master of Morgnetism

You are not alone. Everybody has the same problem. It really comes down to focus and discipline. It is fairly easy to write part of the script, but when it comes down to the not-so-fun parts and getting to the emotions of the character it can get boring. I too work on several scripts at a time. Usuallly a comedy and a drama. The best way to stick with an idea is that you must set aside time to write and do nothing else. If the phone rings...too bad...don't answer it. If your house catches on fire...too bad...keep writing! They will find your hands fused to the keyboard. Find music that keeps you in the frame of mind for the genre you are writing. Watch other films in the same genre to keep your mind in that right frame. Writing time is writing time...not the time to look in the refrigerator...not the time to wash your car or check your email. Stay focused.

I agree with Kess (except the fire part, I'd grab my computer and head outside to work).

RJSchwarz
San Diego, CA

Come on RJ where's the dedication...the passion? LOL! It is so easy to be doing something else besides writing. Especially when writing is a solitary exercise. Find that time of day when you feel right about writing. You feel like there is nothing else you would rather be doing. You're not glancing at your email. You're not glancing out the front door to see if something better is happening outside. You've finished eating so you're not glancing inside the pantry or refrigerator. Nothing on TV will guide you away from writing. I have a friend that goes to a cheap motel and stays there until he has a draft. He's away from his distractions. Since most of us cannot afford to lock ourselves in a cabin we have to work on our mental ability to focus on writing. Finish that draft. It doesn't have to be perfect. Just write so you can finish a draft and feel some sort of completion. Even if that first draft is pure crapola! If you get stuck ask your characters what they are feeling? What they feel like doing? It might work for you.

I found that working late at night often works for me. Email dries up and the internet is barely updated with new stuff. The kids outside stop playing basketball and the cars stop zipping by. Tv gets somewhat dull. And you can drink without worrying about going anywhere.

If you can stay awake that is.

RJSchwarz
San Diego, CA

Yeah, I think I focus on my writing best at nighttime but I do need to have a load of ideas and some inspiration. Most of my favourite pieces of script have been written at night anyway. Oh, and does anyone here disagree with Kess over the first draft? I like my first draft to be pretty good so I put a lot of work into it and I don't usually make many more drafts (maybe 1 or 2). I think if you get off to a bad start you finish with a bad script. Anyone feel the same?

___________________________________
You can't keep 'em out, they're already in!

I have found my best stuff is when I fly through the first draft and get a complete story together before going back through to clean up, remove characters, consolidate locations and emphasize theme and generally make the flow work better.

RJSchwarz
San Diego, CA

Good post Svelter. I agree to always put your best writing into every draft. I was trying to say to keep moving forward. My words may not have come across correctly. I've gotten stuck on a certain scene or area and then that is usually when the momentum and interest can come to a halt. I'll give you credit for being able to crank out a finished scipt in 1-2 drafts/revisions. That is beyond my capabilities at the present time, but I'm always looking for ways to improve.

One of the little hoboglins that plagues the work of writers is the effort to get something perfect. A lot of people will work on their first chapter/scenes until they are absolutely perfect before moving on. A project never gets done that way. If you find yourself reewriting a lot during the first pass you might want to fight the instinct until you've completed a single pass.

There is a semi-contest every year where people try to write a novel in a month. Basically you turn off your inner critic and just hammer away and try to get 60,000 words done in a month. Its a hell of a challenge and I learned a lot about how I write during the attempt.

Of course everyone works differently.

RJSchwarz
San Diego, CA

I too have this problem of never finishing. I wrote two acts of one script and got annoyed with my characters even though i still had ideas and actions for them to complete, but i've been trying to deepen the characters without forcing the same scene over and over again. But now (and this is like 3 months since i stopped writing that one) i'm working on three scripts at the same time. I try to put aside time for writing but i'm all over the place.

-Ryan

"Sometimes nothin' can be a pretty cool hand" - Cool Hand Luke

Focus and finish! Maybe the reason your not finishing your scripts is because you have no real interest in them. Your job is not to write a great draft but to finish a mediocre one. It does become easier once you've finished the project. At this point, you've finished your script, get some trust worthy people to read over your script, then you go back through and fix what you've changed. Always keep writing! Any time you second guess yourself, you'll stop writing and create a mental block. The best way, I found, is to set a time everday and write. I used to wake up everyday and write from 8:00 in the morning to 1:00. NEVER ANSWER THE PHONE!!! This was the biggest problem I had. I would be on a string of really good pages and then the phone would ring. That just creates a mental block that you'll never overcome until the next day. When I realized that there are just to many distactions in the day I started writing at night. I would write from 12:00 to 4:00 in the morning. But previous to that I go on long walks to clear my mind. No music. No talking. Just walking gets my brain flowing and working clearly. Then when I come back I have to be very careful with what music I listen to. The wrong song can distract me and the scene flow. I agree that you don't want to write crappy pages, but, any pages are better the no pages. Your job is to find a writing schedule that works for you. That way no crappy pages are written in the first place.

Thanks to this here thread i have finished my first script. haven't rewritten or anything quite yet becauase i've started my second script. I find that practice and experience will only help me so if i finish this second script through a first draft i can go back to my first script and strengthen the hell out of it. Really though the not reading until finished really really helped.

Thanks

-Ryan

"Sometimes nothin' can be a pretty cool hand" - Cool Hand Luke

Some very good advice on this forum so far if I may say so. I am both a screenwriter and a script consultant and always tell my clients to find a time to write when nothing distracts you. Saying that, I wouldn't advocate writing on more than one project. Screenplays are not easy things to write. Well, not good ones anyway! And a story requires you to invest all of your time on it. By all means make notes on your next project but, while it may work for some and that is great for them, it is not something I would suggest to new and aspiring writers.

I was lucky enough to work with some very successful film-makers in my time. George Lucas, Tim Burton and many others. One man, Chris Columbus (writer of The Goonies and Gremlins as well as director of many movies since) advised me not to work on more than one when I was starting out. You don't have to take this advice but when it came from such a source I surrendered to it!

If anyone wishes to discuss anything privately relating to their screenplays, please do feel free to contact me via: philmscripts?hotmail.co.uk (msn included) or indeed my web arenas:

?url?www.myspace.com/philmscripts?/url?
?url?www.philms.spaces.live.com?/url?

Phil Clarke
PHILMS Consultancy