"Every film must have a beginning, middle, and an end, but not necessarily in that order."
I hate to read this quote, especially on the days when I am stuck- with my writing pad open in front of me (it's easier though, when you are writing on your laptop, you can just nosedive into the world of memes and forget the existential crisis ;)
I feel it is extremely rewarding to have been gifted with the ability to be "Creative". It is a fascinating realization when you get hit by an idea and want to develop it end to end on a script.
We start to tell a story with all its seriousness, only when we get a calling, right? A thrust a strong drive to see it through; on the screen.
I guess, for most of us it is not until the tenth page or even the first scene is over, that we start feeling a sense of drag. Boredom and de-motivation sets in next.
So, what next?
Here's what I do next. I start exploring the characters and the world around them. It's pretty much I was doing any which ways when the story had first set in into my mind. Now, there's just an extra bit of focus in seeing the wholesome picture. Frankly, it's not that easy to shape the skeletons of the character without even setting the story alright.
So, here's how I help myself through this- I begin by writing the middle of the plot. It's a pretty random process, and if you are not a habitual writer this process might not really work well for you. But, trust me it's much relieving to just get started, just start writing through that hook, that crux of the matter, that hinge point in the story.
Once, you are typing the story out from one vantage point, you get a perspective of how your entire story line could be placed in the following chapters. You can start off and then flow till you can get to the end of the story. It may sound overtly ridiculous to begin a story with no beginning and even ending it all of a sudden.
I think there is a sense of accomplishment in that last line of the script, that sense of achievement really helps you, to begin with, the perfect setup of the story. So, you basically could re-write the entire story from any vantage point that your process makes you go through.
I play music, mostly it's either white noise or some soothing sounds. this helps me to filter the noise (thoughts) floating around me.
It's much de-cluttering than following index cards on cork boards. I think this is more of a simplistic process of picking what you find. It provides you a very refreshing and non-taxing creative infrastructure. By this I mean to say, that following index cards through a structured method is a proven and tested method to get through complicated thought processes that a writer often struggles with. It's true. But, sometimes, if you are just functioning in a self-developed "do it yourself" format, it gives you a very different kind of conviction. The honesty permeates through the organic nature of the process.
What follows, is the re-drafting process along with the numerous notes and observations on the things that need attention and improvement. this is another stage where you lose momentum. The drive to the finish line is sometimes tricky.
I think, if you can include others at this stage it really helps you in finishing up quickly with quality. Basically, send your work or discuss it with the people who would give you their ideas to "steal" or tweak with.
See, in the end, what takes you through a piece of writing is people's feedback. Your readers are the greatest writer of your work :D