bored with my stories

C

crazycatz

Well-known member
hey,
so i'm trying to write some screenplays of my own, and i got an idea, and started writing. so i'm writing, and it's going good, but when ever i get to like, the middle of my story, i just get bored and have no motivation to write any more. this has happened a few times on diferent projects and i cant find a way to get around this.

does this happen to you guys? and if so, how do you overcome it, and find motivation to write again?
 
I don't get bored but I write myself into a corner. Then the challenge of untangling everything means I set it on a shelf for a while.

Some people might tell you that getting bored means you haven't developed your characters enough, that you should be more emotionally involved. But I think the answer is sometimes to move onto another script & develop both of them at the same time.

You're more likely to find inspiration when you're not trying to force it out. If you start another script, you can always choose to work on one or the other that day.
 
Yes, the dreaded middle bit of the script. One thing I can suggest is to write the ending that you're itching to write, read what you've written at the start, and then write down how the characters have changed dramatically (which they should have). After doing this, write down 20 circumstances that could have caused this, then cross out the circumstances that aren't interesting, emotionally charged, in keeping in tone with the rest of the script, 'realistic' (depending on the piece of course), etc. Hopefully you'll be left with 4-5 things that could happen in your story. Write each one down on a bit of card, then chuck them in the air. Pick one at random, then write around this circumstance. Tie in the start, the supporting characters etc and write a lead-out. Keep in mind that good drama is about putting your characters in shitty situations and seeing what choices they make. Do this for each card until you've written around each situation.

Now choose what you like from each one, jumble them together and while you may not have a coherent scene, you should have some ideas. Even if you haven't, you've spent some time writing, forced yourself to think a little, and that's never a waste of time.

Another idea is to take a key character that you've used to drive another key character's actions, and remove them. Replace what they've said with a scene. This is good for stripping out the 'telling' and giving your script some 'showing'.

Often with writing, it's a case of knuckling down and throwing half-baked ideas about the place until something works. Remember that nobody ever comes up with a fully-formed, perfectly pitched idea in their head. Often it's a message that they desperately want to say, a character they want to show the world, or even just a line of dialogue they heard on a bus. The key to good writing is making it look as if you knew where your characters were going all along - and that's what the rewrite is for.
 
If the script is boring to you, it will be boring to others too.

That said, act two is where most if not all scripts run into problems.

THE HEROS JOURNEY offers great templates for story advancement, I would recomend checking out Chris Vogler products.

To sustain interest you need to constantly provide story growth that excites and entertains the reader.

EJ
 
Thanks guys for the responses.
I've been working alot this week and haven't had time to write much lately... or check this board.
I have started other scripts, but the yall just kind of end up in the same place, the middle somewhere, with no where else to go really, then they just sit there... untouched...

I will try what you guys have said though, maybe it will work.
 
crazycatz said:
Thanks guys for the responses.
I've been working alot this week and haven't had time to write much lately... or check this board.
I have started other scripts, but the yall just kind of end up in the same place, the middle somewhere, with no where else to go really, then they just sit there... untouched...

I will try what you guys have said though, maybe it will work.
Click to expand...

Sounds to me like you don't know how to end the story. Getting stuck in the middle tells me you have a good start, but can't maintain the momentum.

Try writning the end, and work your way back to the beginning.

a
 
the middle part is always tougher and always more boring, IMO. What I normally do is plot out enough of the middle part so that I can just power my way through it. it's not going to be good on the first draft, but once you've gotten it all on paper, you can go back and make it better. but you have to get the whole thing out first, which oftentimes feels like stabbing yourself and bleeding it onto the page. whatever works, just get itout, boring or not. then figure out what to do with it from there.

michaelangelo certainly wasn't buffing out david's facial features before he finished carving out the whole body.
 
But then again, carving marble is a subtractive art. Writing is not. One can write,or at least know how the want the thing to 'look like', and work backwards.

If, for example, I want to tell a story about a blind man who overcomes a fear of the great outdoors, how might it end? It starts by showing the audience that the sounds of the outdoors are difficult for him to place, unlike in an enclosed space.

The ending will show his triumph, with him hiking or camping. So, how did he get to where he is now?

Retrace his steps.

A
 
i think both approaches work, as I use both in my own writing. I often know exactly how I want the ending to look, but finding a full and complete path there can often feel tedious and boring. The second Act has a lot of non-action in it, a lot of character development, and is ideally as long as both other acts combined (not always, but if you're shooting for 120pages, ~ 60 of that will generally be act II).

You got me on my metaphor re: marble, but I would look at it from another angle. While you obviously can't add more marble on to a statue, if a carving isn't working, you can cut those parts out and re-create. That is a bit like rewriting, is it not? We're getting a little meta here,but I'd say both approaches should be available for every writer. I often know my endings in advance, but little details change.
 
I usualy brainstorm and put as many elements or stylistic things as I want down on paper in note form.

i usually make a 1 paragraph plot summary of how i want the plot to be with no real details about the scenes. Then I take that plot summary and make a 1 page outline. This will have details about what happens in each scene and how the scenes relate to each other. I often write each scene from the outline on a post it note. Then you can stick that on a wall and move them around /take them off/add new ones until its order makes sense. Then take that outline and go in and flesh out each scene one at a time until its a full treatement. Knowing where you are going makes you get there faster and not burn out or get stuck.
Most people get stuck and without removing lots of stuff they love can't write out of the corner. Dont be afraid to "kill your babies" ie don't be afraid of killing scenes you love, because if you love it you will probably leave it in there just because you love it and wont even notice if it doesn't help the story. Go buy a good script writing book, I think theres some threads on dvxuser with some suggestions.
 
mrWr0ng said:
You got me on my metaphor.
Click to expand...

Caught you with your hands in the metaphor jar!

Yes, I agree wholeheartedly with the either/or approach. When I get really stuck, kinda waffle in the middle, I try to retrace where I think my character has been. Not a shoe-in, but helps kick-start the stalled process.

When art becomes science.

A
 
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