They say a vacation is as good as a rest. At the heart of that old platitude is a nugget of truth for screenwriters: A change of pace and place can reignite your motivation to keep writing. Instead of taking a pause, though, and giving into that writer’s block, consider this your sign to switch up your desk for something a little more inspired.
Whether it's for fresh story ideas or to get through that sagging middle of your current work-in-progress, we’ve got you covered with ten places and ways for you to get reacquainted with your muse.
1. A Hotel Lobby
Not traveling, you say? Doesn’t matter. Choose a hotel in your city you would love to stay at if you didn’t already live there. Maybe it’s one that suits your story’s aesthetic, or it simply has a great lobby with comfy seating. Situate yourself with your writing tool of choice and put those observational skills to use. Make up stories for the people checking in, walking by, and the assortment of potential characters eating in the attached restaurant or waiting at the hotel bar. The flow of activity will hopefully get your creative flow moving again.
2. Your Friendly Neighborhood Café
It’s cliché for a reason. We love a good coffee shop writing session for multiple reasons: it’s a treat and work session in one. In the interest of not wasting that $8 latte, you’ll want to get down to business. The business of writing, that is. And when your eye does stray from the page, there is plenty of inspiration around you to draw from. Whether it’s the cast of characters behind the counter, other patrons, or even the soundtrack providing the backdrop vibes, there’s something about writing in a café that will never stop giving imaginative sparks, or fulfill that writerly image quite the same way.
3. Wanna Be a Writer? Be a Reader, First
Read scripts and read books. Read them in your genre, read what’s trending, what’s selling, even read what didn’t do so well. Read traditional hits and bestsellers, read indie, and whatever scripts by peers you can get your hands on. You can learn from it all. The more you read scripts, the more the format and structure become an inherent tool to draw from when you’re writing your own that you won’t even have to think about it and can simply focus on your story (along with a little help from Final Draft, of course). You could even be so bold as to offer to script swap with a critique partner, and you’ll be building your screenwriting community, along with your skills built through observation, in one.
4. Go Analog
You don't need technology to be creative. To get it to that agent on your hit list one day, sure. A polished Final Draft doc is the way to do it. But first, give yourself permission to be free with your writing and try going analog for a bit. Break out a notebook and pen instead. There’s something about writing with pen on paper that invites the inner writer to access their creativity without competing with your inner editor as well. No Grammarly underlines, other open tabs, social media apps, or emails waiting to distract you. Simply you, your muse, and whatever flows through the ink onto the page. There’s literally no backspace button, so mistakes are not only welcomed, but encouraged. You can scratch it out, or consider every precious word practice to hone that skill into stringing the perfect ones together.
Oh, and take that notebook everywhere. Into nature, a different room in the house, on errands to scribble on the console in your car. It’s your new bestie. You never know where inspiration will strike.
5. Retreat to a Retreat, or a Conference
The benefits are numerous, with inspiration running amok; let us count the ways. First, a screenwriting retreat or conference is a solid way to build your writing community in person. Since y’all will be from everywhere, you can move online later to cement the connection. But nothing will ever beat an in-person meeting in our digital age. On top of the connection, there is plenty of protected writing time at a retreat — it’s why you paid to be there! So, guess what? It’s absolutely time to let your Muse run wild while there.
Conference-style events will also offer workshops on your craft and industry, a surefire way to feel inspired to sit down and write as soon as you get to your room or that hotel lobby (see point number one)!
6. Find Your Local Film Festival
Every screenwriter would benefit from attending a film festival. While smaller, local ones often veer towards more indie fare, there is something so emotional and grounding in seeing other filmmakers achieve their goals. Hearing them speak about their films, getting to network; it lights an incomparable fire to get it done yourself. There’s room in this big wide world for all the stories out there to tell. Go celebrate others who have achieved it, and take notes in that handy little notebook you’ve started carrying around.
7. Dive into the Archives
When was the last time you stepped into a library? Bonus points if you’re lucky enough to be in LA and visit the WGA library to peruse actual scripts. But any regular library will do: Go check out the history section in particular. While some topics like Greek mythology or World War II feel like they’ll never go out of the cultural consciousness when it comes to storytelling, spend some time digging. What attracts you? Is there some obscure event or historical figure you resonate with? How can that be infused into your WIP or inspire a new screenplay? Whether it’s an actual historical account or profile, or just the themes and character tropes that appeal to you, we can always use our past to inspire our future; especially when it comes to doing better than the last generation.
8. Your Inner Circle
Have a screenwriting group? Beautiful. Schedule a zoom, in-person meet if possible — in your favorite café for bonus points! — and let yourself be inspired and uplifted by those who know. Because let’s face it: We may have supportive friends, family, colleagues in our lives if we’re lucky, but unless you’re in the screenwriting trenches, it’s impossible to fully understand what it means to continually choose to do this every single day.
9. Art Gallery
Explore the textures of another art form. Appreciate how artists use different mediums to characterize or tell a different kind of story. Themes in stories, sculptures, paintings; they’re universal emotions. How do those artists evoke them? From another perspective, a particular painting or piece of art might inspire a character in your next script, or a whole concept. It might even give you another way of looking at things to help you work through your own creative blocks.
10. A Walk Down Memory Lane
Much like visiting an art gallery or the history section in a library, a Museum is an excellent place to work through story elements and be inspired. Seeing artifacts from other cultures and points in time can trigger a new perspective or spark an idea. Far from a grade school tour, there are no rules. Pick a museum that offers exhibits that might appeal to you, or be useful for story research, and take your time just being amongst the relics. They have a lot to teach us.
Feeling inspired to go get reacquainted with your muse? Good. Because she is there, waiting. We promise you.