I started typing this out as a response to a post on an online forum. Then I thought it would be better as a longer blog post.A lot of people say they aren't creative, or they get writer's block, or have trouble coming up with stories for screenplays. Coming up with ideas is one thing. Writing them down is another. Anyone can come up with ideas for movies, interesting characters or settings. Ideas are free. Everyone has them. It's when you start putting pen to page, or opening up Final Draft that you actually become creative. Creative means that you are a creator, you create things. You write scripts, plays, or poems. You have something to show for your effort.
The first thing to do as a writer is to figure out your strengths and weaknesses. The best way to do this is by writing. The more you write, the better you get. Sometimes it helps to put down a project that you are stuck on and write something else in the meantime. Even if your plots are generic and cliche, if you inhabit those plots with intriguing and interesting characters, that will make up for your weaknesses. And as you focus on your weaknesses, you will get better at those areas. Very few writers start out great at everything. A lot of highly paid writers are good at specific things. Some are good at witty dialogue. Others are great at action sequences. Some writers are great with coming up with convoluted plots. If you are good at one aspect of writing, you are still better than the majority of people out there.
I refuse to believe in writer's block. If you acknowledge it, you give it power. Usually if you are stuck on a story it means you haven't spent enough time developing it before you started writing it. As painful as it is, you have to outline like crazy. Develop your story fully. Spend some time planning everything out before you start down that road. You wouldn't start a cross country road trip without knowing your destination first. Outlining, beat sheets and treatments are a pain. I hate doing them. I know very few writers that do. But they are a necessary evil. The more time you spend planning your story ahead of time, the more heartache you will spare yourself later.
That doesn't mean that the story can't evolve as you write it. I usually get it plotted enough to where I know where I am going, but allow myself some room for change and grow along the way. As I write, I find more interesting ways to tell the story, or a certain character may grow in prominence. This happens all the time to writers. A great example is JRR Tolkein growing fascinated with the character of Strider while writing Lord Of The Rings. Originally the character started as a hobbit with wooden feet. Eventually, Strider became Aragorn, the heir to the throne of Gondor. Source: http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Aragorn. Allow yourself that room for pleasant discovery.
Writing also isn't strictly putting words to paper. There are other things that can be part of your writing process. Do research. Watch other movies similar in tone. Read scripts that are similar. Find the scripts of your favorite films and read them. Find out what you like about them. Don't worry about being imitative. Watching other movies and reading other scripts will give you more ideas and show you different ways of approaching the same problems. Hopefully, this will inspire you to try something different or unique that you haven't seen done before. There's also nothing worse than thinking you have something totally original then finding out it has already been done before in another well known movie. More knowledge is always a good thing. You will see things that work and things that don't. I learn as much from watching a great film as from watching a bad film. Seeing the mistakes that others have made helps me to avoid them.
Lastly, write every day. The only way to get better is by daily practice. It also makes it more difficult to slack off. Sure, I may take a day or two off occasionally. But every day, I do something writing related. It may be research. It may be editing. It may be nothing more than rewriting a treatment. But the more you do it, the better you get.
Good luck and get writing!
