I'd say the dialog from 28 Days best describes my feelings about the "process."

Viggo Mortensen:

What were you thinking about...think about the things you can control.

Research your topic, characters, locations, occupations, similar stories.

Writing/being creative is a struggle. Writers need to realize a few things:

1. Everyday isn't the same. If it was good one day, it be tough the next. THAT'S the hardest thing for me, but it's encouraging too, because I know what it's like to be stuck on something then experience the joy of coming up with a solution.

2. Perserverance matters. IF you call yourself a writer -- FINISH!

3. It's okay to ask for help with story questions. I do it ALL THE TIME. I bounce ideas off people I trust to see if they like it or not, and I've also learned how to engage non-creatives and get them to contribute too.

The best thing you can do, if you call yourself a writer, is to commint to write a least an hour everyday. It'll add coherency to your writing. Try to avoid start/stops. Commit, then finish.

- E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA

My problem is that I'm always stuck in outline mode. I never get to the writing stage because I don't want to repeat the mistake of winging it and then stopping at page 60.

I've been lucky that I've never had trouble writing most of the time. there are days which are difficult, but generally speaking I can usually get a page out whenever.

However,just because the actual writing part is somewhat easy to me doesn't mean it always turns out good. I'm semi confident that 2 out of my 6 screenplays are garbage...

I always find that if you're on a "writing roll" and everything is flowing to never waste that opportunity and ride that wave as long as it lasts--some great stuff has come out of it for me.

As EC said, you gotta persevere.

I always considered myself a writer, but I always found excuses not to write:

*Too busy

*Not inspired

*Not a good day

*Whatever... you can always find an excuse.

About 2 1/2 years ago, I found it was put-up or shut-up time. Since then, I've been committed to put in an hour a day (sometimes it's less). I've missed a few days here and there, but for the most part I get my ass in the chair and my fingers on the keyboard. In that time, I've written 7 specs (including 2 collaborations).

The process is do it every day... try different things... rewrite... look at it from different angles... make it better... up the stakes... sketch it out... don't sketch it out... get inspired from other writers, movies, real life, etc.

As Stephen King said, writers write.

@Eve Montana: Sounds like you have the opposite issue of most pre-pro screenwriters; where they jump into the story too soon - not enough time spent in prep - you get caught up in the prep mode, unable or unwilling to plunge to FADE IN.

In all honesty, Eve, I have been there. And I think most pro writers have. It's comforting to do research and dig into our characters and brainstorm plot ideas. You're ostensibly doing something that's tied to writing the story, and yet you're not committing yourself to anything.

But as you've discovered, it can become a trap.

Here's the thing: No matter how much prep you do, your first draft is not going to be perfect. In fact, it's quite likely it will be, as Hemingway famously said, a "pile of shit."

That leads to another writing mantra: "Writing is rewriting."

My advice? Give yourself a firm deadline when you're going to start your script. Email all your friends and declare that on this day, I am starting the first draft of my script.

Then - equally important - do not stop until you get through your first draft. Another mantra: "The only goal of a first draft is to get the damn thing done!" No matter if you're absolutely convinced that what you're writing is crap, press on. If you can't figure out a scene, write what you can, make a note, and go onto the next scene.

The thing is the very process of getting through the first draft is incredibly important. It's a way of breathing life into your story. Perhaps, if you choose to look at writing spiritually, it's as if by getting to the end of the first draft, you are demonstrating to your story that you are committed to it.

I don't know why, but for whatever reason, by getting to the end of the first draft, that specific process often answers story problems you've faced along the way. By the time you reach FADE OUT, you'll understand your story far better than you did when you started.

A personal anecdote. When I was about 13, my parents decided that I would take up golf. So I was shuffled off to weekly lessons with this crag-faced, stoop-shouldered, Marlboro-clamped-to-his-lower-lip buzzard of a golf instructor. In those few months I spent with him, he actually taught me more about life than golf. Here's one lesson: Whenever I putted the ball, he insisted that I never putt it short. Go long, never short. Why?

"Because you can't sink the God damn putt if you don't reach the God damn hole!"

The same with a spec script: If you don't write it, you can't sell it.

So Eve, my humble ol' fart advice: Set a firm start date, then start to write your script. And no matter what you think of your first draft, finish it.

FINISH IT!

Thus endeth my sermon!

[If you don't mind, I'd like to promote your post and my response to the front page of the blog tomorrow. Thanks.]