Any tips to help with concentration?

Set a time to write and write. Don't try to edit it on the first draft, just let it happen, if you don't like it you can change it later.

Music, notebook and pen, no internet, no people. Set X amount of time to write and don't allow yourself to do anything else in that time. You can outline, write, whatever. Anything relevant to writing.

Another thing you can do is set mini goals. Say "I'm going to write five pages today." Then make sure those five pages get written, even if it's all crap.

icerose said:

Set X amount of time to write and don't allow yourself to do anything else in that time.

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I actually have to write out the tasks I have to do and roughly how much time it'll take. I cross out each one as I complete it.

Also, if you have something you want writing to get you, keeping a picture of it near by won't hurt.

I suggest yu say to yourself positive suggestions.
I wanted to write about 100 pages script si I suggested and
I managed to write 100 pages.
padma

Lee_H said:

I seriously have the attention span of a toddler. It's just silly.

I know my story inside out and I have been meaning to start on a draft script for a while now, but have only managed to doodle bits and bobs down in notepad before getting sidetracked. I really, really, want to get started now. I'm sat here in the dark with nothing but my doodle's in notepad and this website open, nothing else apart from getting stuck in and getting started on this script in my head yet I just can't concentrate. Does anybody have any tips?

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I think this is a problem that most creative, imaginative people suffer from. We'd rather close our eyes and disappear into an imaginative, make-believe world of our own than mess around with reality. I constantly fight with myself, trying to come back and do something concrete in “reality” than live in the fantasy world of mine.

Both worlds, the real and the unreal are of equal importance to the screenwriter. The unreal world, the world of the inner mind is the channel to your superconscious mind, or otherwise referred to as the “Muse”, which happens to be the fountainhead of all ideas, the source of all plots. But you do need the real world so that you can use it as a screen to project what you have seen and heard in the unreal.

Being able to slip effortlessly from one world to another and summoning up the focus required to staying in either for extended periods of time is, I think, the key to success


I’d seriously suggest you practice meditation – it did a world of good to me.

Raghu.

Set aside an hour a day, and just write whatever pops into your head. Don't do anything besides write. Put yourself in as distraction free place as possible, no web, no TV or radio, no phone or doorbell. Nothing.

Just write, and do this everyday without fail. The habit, once established, will be difficult to break.

As you write, your passion will bring you back to the subject which first enthralled you. Stick with it for as long as you can, but if your attention veers away, just continue to write about something, anything, every single day.

Lee_H said:

I'm sat here in the dark with nothing but my doodle's in notepad and this website open, nothing else apart from getting stuck in and getting started on this script in my head yet I just can't concentrate. Does anybody have any tips?

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CLOSE THE WEB BROWSER.

AW is a great resource, but also a great vacuum of time. And best of all you can justify goofing off here 'cos it's writing related.

Have only what you need to work and if you want, use a visit to AW after you have done X word/pages/hours as a carrot you can have at the end.

Lee_H said:

I seriously have the attention span of a toddler. It's just silly.

I know my story inside out and I have been meaning to start on a draft script for a while now, but have only managed to doodle bits and bobs down in notepad before getting sidetracked. I really, really, want to get started now. I'm sat here in the dark with nothing but my doodle's in notepad and this website open, nothing else apart from getting stuck in and getting started on this script in my head yet I just can't concentrate. Does anybody have any tips?

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Take up something else instead. I know that's not going to be a popular suggestion, but at some point being a writer means having the self-motivation and discipline to sit down and write. You don't have it and no-one here can give you it.

Cheers,
Rob

RobJ said:

Take up something else instead. I know that's not going to be a popular suggestion, but at some point being a writer means having the self-motivation and discipline to sit down and write. You don't have it and no-one here can give you it.

Cheers,
Rob

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Every goal requires self discipline. Some people have to develop it, and it can be developed.

Lee_H said:

Hopefully I'll get into a rhythm and carry on writing and get a lot done. Let's see how it goes...

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(Emphasis, mine)

Forget that attitude. As a wise man once said...

Do or do not, there is no try.

Set that time and that's it. That IS what you do during that time. Don't kinda set that time there and hopefully you'll get something done and y' know, see how that goes and maybe reassess that and see how it's all going in a little while and maybe that'll work and maybe it won't.

Do it, or follow Rob's advice.

I had exactly this problem. It's a really bad thing to get out of, but there's a really simple technique I used and it worked. If you already have a plot in mind and have a rough idea on how you want your story to unfold (even if you don't), outline. It's as simple as that. I know too many writers who treat a first draft like a final draft, it has to be perfect, IT DOESN'T, a first draft should be bad, and I’d be surprised if it wasn't. All I do for a first draft is outline the basic plot. Just a rough scene, and add notes for when you come to the editing stage. This will help a lot, as you have something down, not just a single page of your script which you keep reading over and editing until it is perfect. Get a rough plot down on your script as a first draft, even if it involves leaving scenes half finished, just leave notes as to what you want to add to the scene (not in too much detail of course). Then, when it comes to editing, you already have a good idea of what you want to add/edit. Then from there you can start thickening up your plot, add missing dialogue and polish it off. You can keep doing this for as many drafts as it takes to finally get your complete script. Although I still recommend more edits after this, if you intend on selling... I wish the best of luck to you on breaking this curse.

vow to cut off a finger every day you don't write a thousand words. and stick to it.

the only problem is, as you lose fingers, your output is reduced, leading to more fingers lost.

ultimately, if you learn your lesson well and can adapt to typing with one thumb, you'll get that novel licked.

good luck.

i put my headphones in my ear, sit down at a computer and just relax.....the story will come and before you know it you'll be typing away, unable to stop!

HAPPY WRITING

I actually wrote a blog post about this - well, about how screenwriters get in The Zone. You can check it out at http://blog.scriptawish.com/b2evolution/index.php?blog=2

Nothing works better than a deadline.

Instead of tackling that large beast of a script, start by writing something shorter and get someone to actually film the result (the less related they are to you, the better). To avoid having a really cross actor/director breathing down your neck, you're gonna have to finish that script on time. Once you have something short finished and see a result, your motivation should be back from its holiday.

I hate rewrites, so I used this method to get them done. I sent my script to a YouTuber who agreed to film it. Both he and the intended cast liked it, but it didn't take long for me to discover some errors that needed fixing. The shooting dates were already set. Since I wanted to have a flawless product (or at least the best we could all do), I needed no other motivation to get the rewrite done.

Also, you may be dealing with Resistance, a psychological phenomenon Steven Pressfield (THE LEGEND OF BAGGER VANCE) documents in his brilliant book, THE WAR OF ART.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0446691437/?tag=absolutewritedm-20