During a counseling session, a young screenwriting client asked me, &#8220;Do you have to be psychotic to be a writer?&#8221; At first, I thought he was kidding and waited for his laughter, but after a few moments of silence, I realized he was quite serious. I began to wonder how many other people believe the stereotype of the emotionally-disturbed writer, holed up in his cold-water flat with a half-empty bottle of vodka by his side, typing away into the wee hours of the morning. 
Contrary to this romantic notion, a screenwriter must have, at least, a semi-healthy ego and confidence in his work. How else can he maintain any sort of belief in himself when faced with constant rejection? How can he keep on going when he has no positive reinforcement to spur him on? How can he continuously motivate himself to write, when nothing he has written has been sold? This is a pretty formidable task for even a very secure person to do, let alone someone with a fragile ego. One way writers have found to deal with this problem is to develop writer&#8217;s block. 
In my private practice as a psychotherapist, I counsel writers on their personal and professional issues such as overcoming procrastination, writer’s block, fear of failure/success, rejection and silencing the inner critic. This one-to-one counseling has provided me with tremendous insight into the myriad causes of writer&#8217;s block. Through the years I’ve seen different ways blocks can occur and have identified the different types of blocks. Some causes are obvious and others less so. And some writers successfully overcome their blocks and start to write, while others are immobilized and unable to write.
<img class="alignleft wp-image-21372" src="https://creativescreenwriting.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/max-nelson-1096828-unsplash.jpg" alt="" width="281" height="459" srcset="https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/max-nelson-1096828-unsplash.jpg 392w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/max-nelson-1096828-unsplash-92x150.jpg 92w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/max-nelson-1096828-unsplash-184x300.jpg 184w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/max-nelson-1096828-unsplash-107x175.jpg 107w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/max-nelson-1096828-unsplash-357x583.jpg 357w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/max-nelson-1096828-unsplash-150x245.jpg 150w" sizes="(max-width: 281px) 100vw, 281px" />
It&#8217;s amazing how most blocks happen because of other people. Several years ago when I was conducting a scriptwriting class at UCLA extension, a young lady came up to me after class. She thanked me for helping with her writing and said how grateful she was to me for making the workshop a &#8220;safe place&#8221; for her to read her work. She said, &#8220;I haven&#8217;t written for over five years and this is the first time I was able to write anything.&#8221; When I asked her why it was such a long time that she hadn&#8217;t written, she continued, &#8220;I had a writing teacher who tore my script apart in front of the entire class. I was so humiliated by his remarks and ever since then I haven&#8217;t been able to write.&#8221;
Having heard different versions of this same story over the years, I realize that few writers escape being &#8220;blocked&#8221; at some time during their writing career. Screenwriters may become blocked, not only by thoughtless or insensitive criticism, but from other situations. Often blocks have nothing to do with the writer&#8217;s art or craft but can develop from the fragile balance the writer needs to have between maintaining motivation and enthusiasm in the face of self-doubt and self-criticism. This balance is difficult to maintain, especially in the entertainment industry, where you can get rejected all the time. If you put your self-worth or value as a person on the vicissitudes of this business, you&#8217;re going to always become blocked and filled with self doubt, because you’re dealing with the whims and wiles of other people, who often make their decisions, not on the merits of your script, but on their own subjectivity, their own ego needs, and their own insecurities. Remember to keep a professional distance and separate yourself from your script, so when your writing is rejected, you just keep on writing no matter what happens. 
Sometimes the reasons you may give yourself for being blocked and not writing have nothing at all to do with writing. They are merely excuses you’ve found to rationalize what you are too afraid to do. These blocks often stem from an unconscious need for self-protection. How can you be rejected if you don&#8217;t write? How can you get hurt if you&#8217;re not criticized? How can you be a failure if you can&#8217;t produce? Yet, in other cases, writers may use writer&#8217;s block to focus all their energy on the writing and to avoid dealing with other problems going on in their lives. Maybe they have a bad relationship, suffer from depression or feel stuck in a &#8220;dead end&#8221; job. By developing writer&#8217;s block and constantly obsessing over it, they can avoid what&#8217;s really bothering them. The block can be a form of avoidance, protecting them from failure, pain, and personal disappointments. 
But let&#8217;s suppose you aren&#8217;t developing writer’s block as a defense mechanism. Let&#8217;s say you desperately want to write more than anything in the world. You sit at your computer day after day, but you can&#8217;t write. You feel frustrated, depressed and life is unbearable because you can&#8217;t do the one thing you love to do most-WRITE. You stare at the blank page and panic. Where do you start? What do to write? A small voice whispers in your ear, &#8220;You don&#8217;t have anything exciting to say.&#8221; The voice gets louder as it laughs, &#8220;Look who&#8217;s trying to write.&#8221; Soon the laughter drowns out your thoughts and ideas and you aren&#8217;t able to produce any words on the empty page. You are truly blocked! And when this happens you feel frustrated, lonely, angry, depressed, hopeless, and helpless. 
No matter how negative you feel there are ways that you can overcome this state. Let&#8217;s look at some steps you can take to deal with your block. The first thing you want to do is identify the inner voice who talks to you all the time&#8211;the voice that fills you with criticism, self-doubt, and negativity. This voice from your childhood may be the voice of your critical parent, your peers, or your teachers, one that you have now integrated as your own critical voice. It stops you before you even get started writing. It fills you with insecurity and you doubt your ability to write. It damages your self-esteem and blocks your creativity. 
What can you do about it? How can you get rid of it? Well, the next time you hear the voice try to recognize and discover whose voice is really talking to you. This is the first step to help you break through your block and that is to identify the voice! Whose voice is it? Your mother’s, father&#8217;s, teacher&#8217;s, sister’s. Is what it&#8217;s saying about you true? Probably not. You&#8217;ve just been carrying around this critical voice all these years and now time to let go. So the next time the &#8220;inner critic&#8221; starts whispering negative messages to you—IGNORE IT! Become aware of all the destructive things your critic tells you and realize how FALSE they really are.
<img class="size-full wp-image-21373 alignright" src="https://creativescreenwriting.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/self-esteem-1566153_1280.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="285" srcset="https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/self-esteem-1566153_1280.jpg 640w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/self-esteem-1566153_1280-150x67.jpg 150w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/self-esteem-1566153_1280-250x111.jpg 250w, https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/cswcms/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/self-esteem-1566153_1280-500x223.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" />
After you’ve raised your consciousness through being aware, then you must begin to counteract the negative self-talk by changing it to positive self-talk. Realize that the voice isn’t telling the truth, so take away its power to block you when you start writing. Create a written list of positive statements about yourself as a writer and read them over until you memorize them. Use these positive statements to silence the inner critic as soon as it starts criticizing you. These techniques really work if you read your positive affirmations for 21 days&#8211; every morning when you wake up and every evening before going to sleep. 
Finally, concentrate on the writing process and not on results or product. Write because you love to or have to, in spite of all the difficulties you may have experienced. Go back to your playful spontaneous, child and have fun with the words, without worrying about the end results. Be “in the moment” and forget about past blocks or future fears and just write because you have something to share with the universe. This method of writing is an enlightening experience and you’ll soon feel a new sense of &#8220;lightness&#8221; and freedom when you write.
Breaking through blocks can be an exciting exhilarating experience that allows you to write just for the joy of writing. Since writer&#8217;s block is really pent-up energy, when you break free from your block a tremendous amount of this stored up energy comes bursting forth. This newfound energy allows you to reconnect to your spontaneous inner child and make your writing a playful experience, where you are having fun with words, excitement with your ideas and pleasure with the writing process.<a name="_GoBack"></a>

Writer’s Block Has Nothing To Do With Your Writing – How Screenwriters Can Work Through It

<blockquote>“What you think of yourself is much more important than what others think of you.”—Lucius Annaeus Seneca
 
by Dr. Rachel Ballon
</blockquote>
Is self-doubt sabotaging your writing? Do you become insecure when your writing is rejected or your producer doesn’t like your screenplay? Is your ego and self-worth tied up in your writing? Well, most writers are just like you and suffer from insecurity during their writing career, especially if your expectations of success have not yet been realized. So if you feel doubt about your writing ability you’re not alone, but like thousands of others, whose hope has been dashed by disappointment.
As a California Licensed Psychotherapist and an international script consultant/coach, in private practice for the past 30 years, I’ve specialized in writer’s personal and professional issues such as overcoming writer’s block, fear of rejection and procrastination as well as increasing confidence, productivity and creativity. Working with scriptwriters and teaching writing, I’ve dealt with every type of personal, career and psychological problems related to writers.
Writing is hard work and in order to succeed you need to separate yourself from your writing. At least you can improve your writing skills, so that you’ll feel more confident and competent. The good news is that you can reverse your negative feelings into feelings of self-esteem, regardless of whether your script is sold, optioned or made into a film or television series. How? By separating your “self” from your script when it is rejected. It is your product and you can’t look at yourself as being rejected. This type of thinking is based on your perception and your attitude toward results and contributes to your insecurity.
I know it sounds easy to say not to worry if other people like your writing, especially if they could give your script a greenlight. Assuming you are confident in your craft and have the knowledge and competence in being a professional writer, you need to answer the question, “Do you have faith in your writing?” If you answer “yes,” keep the facts and feelings separate to make overcoming your insecurities a challenge not a death sentence.
Lack of self-esteem is more powerful than any other factor keeping you doubting yourself. If you anticipate rejection in advance in both your personal or professional life, you are making your self-fulfilling prophecy come true. This type of thinking will keep you stuck in your writing and your life.
You need to accept that rejection is part of the writing process. And even if your script is rejected don’t reject yourself. Expect rejection, accept it and keep on writing after you get rejected. Most importantly, keep your self-confidence based on who you are, not on whether your product sells. Although, this is a difficult process, no matter what the result, remember to be resilient and don’t give up. Remember, you’re a writer. Believe in yourself.
Having a positive attitude creates a positive cycle rather than the vicious negative cycle you create for yourself when you can’t separate yourself from your writing. You are not your script. Of course I am making the assumption that you know about structure, characterization and story, otherwise, you have every reason to lack confidence. And if your script doesn’t work, the good news is you can always rewrite it until it does.
Your self-esteem is tied to your thoughts, behavior and your choices. There’s a saying, “I can change the way that I feel by the things that I do and the things that I think.” It’s all up to you to challenge yourself, and be aware of your negative thoughts and consciously transform them into positive thoughts in order not to give up until you reach your goal.
You must go within yourself to understand your low self-esteem and lack of confidence. In these cases, where the problem isn’t obvious, more often than not, it’s the writer who has the problem, not the script.
For example, Sally, a screenwriter in her early thirties, came to see me for a script consultation. She wasn’t sure if the script was good or not. After having been a staff writer on several television shows, this was the first script she actually wrote by herself and not with a group of other writers.
As we spoke I realized how little confidence she had in her writing. I asked her a lot of questions and it turned out she had seen several script consultants, made the suggested changes and now felt completely overwhelmed and hopeless.
As I listened to her story, I told her to put the script down, since her problem had nothing to do with her script, but everything to do with her! The block on her script really wasn’t about the writing at all. It had to do with her lack of self-esteem and belief in herself.
By not trusting her own writing ability, she gave into that inner critical voice that fed her insecurity. Sally began therapy and I encouraged her to delve into her psyche and discover why she lost faith in her writing after months of rewrites. My task as a psychotherapist was to help her bring to the surface the basis of her fears, and refute them. “I want you to write down in a notebook all the negative thoughts you have throughout the day and night.”
After several sessions it was clear, her destructive dialogue caused her low self-esteem and stopped her from writing. I had her read her inner dialogue aloud. “How can you ever write anything by yourself?” “You’re not a good writer.” “Everybody will reject your script.”
I had her change the destructive dialogues to positive pronouncements, which refuted all the negative messages. As she continued to keep track of all the negativity and reframe it positively, she gained more confidence and respect for her ability.
Together, we dealt with her fear, which was definitely not about her writing. Her problem was an inside job, and had everything to do with her self-perception, self-attitude and self-belief, which had all been negative.
By helping her write about her internal negative messages, she was able to realize they weren’t true. She was good enough! Sally started writing again without the mountain of negativity weighing her down. As she learned to believe in herself she gained confidence in her writing and knew when her script was good. She stopped her constant battle of self-doubt, no matter what outside circumstances occurred.
Sally worked very hard on improving her self-esteem and now exudes a winning attitude, a new found confidence, which enables others to believe in her ability to write a good script. The good news is an independent production company recently bought her script.
You can see the importance of discovering what is stopping you, when your script is rejected. The reasons could be emotional or structural; psychological or personal; confidence or craft. It is only after digging up the real problem and not just dealing with the symptoms—procrastination, blocks and insecurity—that you will find the right solution. You will then be able to reconnect to your creative spirit, your vision and your confidence as a person and as a writer.

Writer’s Block Has Nothing To Do With Your Writing – How Scr...

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