When development (pre-writing) takes too long and you start to lose interest in your idea.

Agree with Maurice. Unfortunately, by the time I beat out an entire story outline, I've lost my passion...

...when that happened often enough, I decided to do basic outlines. Pretty detailed first act, idea of where I'm going and an ending...then I just write the damn thing.

All this note card stuff and planning sucks the life and spontaneity out of the project.

When you get so subjective from reading your script so many times that you can't fix the problem effectively or efficiently (even with notes).

I've learned to do basic outlines like Larkin suggested. Most of my prep-writing is focused on character bios. This way I won't get so drowned in development work that I forget why I was even writing the script in the first place.

The SELF-DOUBT of it all. Especially from a writer without a manager or agent to bounce your work off of. We simply spend countless hours plugging it out with the hope of sending it to someone, with the realization that they might read four pages and toss it in the garbage without even a basic email response. But there's always that glimmer of hope that keeps us going...

It can be kind of like screaming into the Grand Canyon sometimes.

I just finished a script... probably the first one that I think is good enough to show people. I know the smart thing to do is hold off until I have at least two that are that good... but every bone in my body wants to send it out so someone can tell me I did a good job!

So as proud as I am, I'm going to have to sit on it for at least a couple of months while I work on something else. It's tough.

The research. Ugh.

While I love it, getting bogged down in research. I sometimes find myself blowing 3 hours, I should spend writing, on exploring some asinine aspect of my villain's back story. Perhaps that's a time management issue, but said research is always, theoretically, in service to the story.

The step-outline.

That empty space, that void of written words that are at the beginning of every scene. Who talks first? What are their first words? I develop a mild anxiety until I remember 'whatever... you'll fix it in the rewrite.'

When I have set parameters I realize I don't enjoy it. Outlines and treatments bog me down. I wonder if I would make for a poor 'writing assignment' guy?

Coming up with a rock-solid concept that hasn't been explored before.

The rest is a piece of cake.

M.

The same two things I love ... the first draft because "how am I going to put this into words", and then the rewriting "you mean I've got to do this again?"

Third act.

Three-quarters of the way through the first sh*##y draft. The stench combines to create an overwhelming sense of...fraudulence. "What am I thinking?...I can't do this... It's 18,000 light years from being as good as it needs to be..."

My least favorite part of writing a screenplay is trying to trim 30+ pages from a work of flawless brilliance.

Interesting range of comments. Reminds me of a few posts folks may find of interest:

The despair of the blank page

The Writer's Life: What are you afraid of?

Then for editing, do a Google search on the site: "trimming tricks of the trade". Several posts on that subject.

Writing.