Ask the Coach: Why Am I Stalled With Writing? – On Script Mag

In this month’s “Ask the Coach” article, I’m responding to a writer who’s commented about feeling like they’ve stalled around writing.

“I’ve made so much progress with my draft but… I’ve just stalled again, and I have no idea why. I’m just not FEELING it right now. What gives?”

Whew, yes. SO many writers I’ve spoken to recently are feeling similarly. In the article, I unpack some of the possibilities for underlying causes and then brainstorm how to recover from the stall.

Why Writers Stall
1. All the *everything* right now is zapping you.
2. Personal life stuff is getting to you.
3. You’re reacting to a mountain (or an iceberg) in your story.
4. You’ve lost confidence in yourself as a writer.
5. You feel overwhelmed by the quantity of work ahead.
6. Your writing practice has been disrupted and resistance has crept in.

How to Recover From a Stall
1. Write for a little tiny bit, right now.
2. Write morning pages.
3. Write about writing.
4. Rewrite your fears and doubts.
5. Calm your fight or flight response.
6. Carve out a space for just writing.
7. Check your priorities.
8. Reclaim your sense of self as a writer.
9. Use writing as your refuge, if you can.
10. Show up anyway.

Usually, avoiding or stalling is a symptom of something else going on deeper down. Solving it often requires a combination of personal work and finding ways to sneak (or trick ourselves) back into writing.

Want the full scoop? Get all the details in the full article on Script Mag:
 
 
 
If you’ve got writing questions, please send them my way!
I’d love to answer them for you in my column.
 
Image credit:  Script Magazine / Canva
 

Ask the Coach: What Is the Purpose of Writing? – On Script Mag

In this month’s “Ask the Coach” article, I’m responding to a few readers in one article, in response to their submissions to my recent survey about the classes, workshops, and programs I teach. Their comments and questions coalesced around the purpose of writing: “It’s not the writing as much as the writing with a purpose. […]

Ask the Coach: 7 Strategies for Dealing with Procrastination and Self-Criticism – On Script Mag

In this month’s “Ask the Coach” article, I’m responding to a writer about overcoming procrastination and dealing with self-criticism: “I need to overcome my procrastination. I am trying to write a screenplay, with a proposal, for a funding opportunity. I had experience in short-filmmaking. But this is my first feature-length script. I have been trying […]

image of a pathway through a forest

The magic of “sideways drift” and longer writing days

When I first started writing fiction regularly (screenwriting, specifically), our first child was quite young —  like 3 ½. I really had to “steal” time to make writing happen, mostly from my own sleep schedule (thankfully he was sleeping by that age so at least I wasn’t sleep deprived anymore and could “afford” it). I […]

Ask the Coach: Should I Give Up on My Script? – On Script Mag

In this month’s “Ask the Coach” article, I’m responding to a writer about whether to give up on a script after not getting the response they anticipated from contests and fellowships: “I’m ready to throw in the towel. I sent out what I thought was a strong polished script, highly regarded by my writing community […]

Ask the Coach: How Do I Pick Up The Pieces With Writing After Burning Out? – On Script Mag

In this month’s “Ask the Coach” article, I’m responding to a writer about picking up the pieces after getting burned out: “I was on a writing streak but then I took on a project that completely burned me out. I took 4 months off from writing. Now I feel like I lost valuable time and […]

A graphic of colorful cartoon ninjas wielding weapons. There's a blue, orange, and red ninja, and they all have different eyes, eyebrows, or lashes.

Ask the Coach: How Can I Name Minor Characters Who All Appear the Same? – On Script Mag

In this month’s “Ask the Coach” article, I’m responding to a writer about character naming, who says: “If I have many characters of a certain group, Ninjas for example, too many to name individually in the story, though they have some dialogue, what do I call them? I’m using (Ninja) for all of them, even […]

Ask the Coach: On Marketing Multiple Scripts… Or Not – On Script Mag

In this month’s “Ask the Coach” article, I’m responding to a writer about script marketing, who says: “Hello, I come by this way to be informed about where to send my 44 movie scripts? I sent it to CAA (Creative Artists Agency) and wrote to Steven Spielberg… and they don’t answer. I called CAA by cellphone […]

Ask the Coach: 7 Approaches to Finding Confidence Again as a Writer – On Script Mag

In this month’s “Ask the Coach” article, I’m responding to a writer about confidence, who says: “I’ve had a rough year and a half, which is affecting my writing confidence hugely now.” In the article, I share some thoughts about approaches and strategies you might consider to rebuild confidence and trust that it will last. […]

Ask the Coach: 5 Tips to Regain Post-Summer Writing Momentum – On Script Mag

In this month’s “Ask the Coach” article, I’m responding to a question about recovering a writing practice after a busy summer. Hi Jenna, I’ve lost a lot of my writing momentum over the summer between travel and my kids being off school, though I’ve been able to keep working at a sort-of minimal level. What tips […]

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