Writer’s Block and the Tooth Fairy.  These are two things I don’t believe in.  Sure, there is evidence to support the existence of both—that dollar bill under your pillow replacing the tooth you’d left there the night before, that daunting blank page where your Oscar-winning script should be.  I don’t remember how I figured out that the Tooth Fairy was actually my mom—I think I finally noticed that the dollar bills always smelled exactly like her purse, that particular blend of Trident gum, Charli perfume spray and leather.  The evidence was too strong. 

I think it was the first day of TheFilmSchool’s Warren Etheredge’s class ‘Such a Character’ that he raised the idea that Writer’s Block doesn’t exist.  I initially bristled against this claim—Writer’s Block is such a great excuse!  Finally, the evidence against Writer’s Block came to me in the form of a crime report in the ‘On The Record’ section of a daily published in Sequim, WA.  Under ‘disturbances/suspicious’ for April 20th and 21^st:  “Someone left a jar of salamanders, W.Washington St.”,  “Red Toyota ran over duck, E. Cedar St.” and “People in car in parking lot, been there for a week, Hooker Road.”  Extrapolate on THAT!

Here is a list of blogs and sites of the bizarre that should be food for inspiration, if not for your next great script, at least for a writing exercise to get the ball rolling. Emphasis on INSPIRATION as, remember, these are real stories about real people!  Enjoy!

This is the best…this magazine specializes in notes, photos, grocery lists, etc., that people find on the street and send in.  The ‘Find of the Day’ is a source of endless entertainment and wonder:

http://www.foundmagazine.com/

For seriously strange news tidbits from around the world:

http://bizarrenews.org/

Need inspiration for a crime drama?  File this link under the category of you-can’t-make-this-stuff-up!

http://discovery.blogs.com/bizarre/

This one has a list of what they call ‘Lunatic Blogs’, in other words, endless ongoing craziness available at this link:

http://www.theweirdcrap.com/

Yeesh…some of these stories are not for the faint of heart.  This site is for the most intense battles you find yourself fighting with Writer’s Block:

http://www.thatsweird.net/

One of the best ways to improve your mad skills and stay inspired to write is by reading script after script after script.  Not only will you start thinking (and even dreaming!) in script format, you’ll start to pick up the cadence, the rhythm and the patterns of successful screenplays.  Here are just a few great resources for free downloadable scripts that will keep you on your toes!
 
For a huge list of free scripts: 
http://www.script-o-rama.com 

For movie and TV scripts alike, and a great links page full of resources for screenwriters: 
http://www.dailyscript.com

This one focuses on classic movie scripts like Cool Hand Luke and Annie Hall: 
http://www.aellea.com

Beyond its tons of scripts, this one has other fun things like wallpapers and screensavers so you can completely geek out: 
http://www.joblo.com/moviescripts.php

And finally, this source for free scripts makes you feel like you’re in a trendy New York club!  Turn on those speakers! 
http://www.geocities.com/thelunalounge

One thing that was a challenge after finishing my stint as a student at TheFilmSchool was figuring out how to maintain the momentum for that mixture of creativity and hard work that a student of TheFilmSchool experiences during the 3-week program.  TheFilmSchool instructor and legendary writer of ‘A Rebel Without a Cause’ Stewart Stern referred to the program appropriately as ‘a vacation from oblivion’. True that!  It was a dreamy and exciting hideaway where I was able to forget bills, laundry and my day job and concentrate on writing, my voice and my future vision for myself.  It wasn’t all kittens and lollipops, of course.  The days are long, the work is intense.  Funny thing, though, my sleep-starved brain was always up for another day of it.  Now that I’m back in my real-ish world, I’ve done a little googling on the writing practices of others to see if anyone has a magical recipe for success.  Some come close.  Here’s a very brief list of ideas, and some sites that have given me help with budgeting time and with keeping my writing fresh.  Now I’m going to go heed #1 on the list and get to work.
 
Stop procrastinating—duh.  This is from the annals of the master of the obvious. 
 
Spend your time like you’d spend money (that is, if you spend your money wisely).
 
Prioritize. Identify and focus on what’s really important, e.g., should organizing your utility drawer while watching Survivor REALLY come before working on your script’s outline?
 
Find a ‘writing buddy’ (or come up with a less syrupy name for someone for whom and to whom you’ll be responsible for new work).
 
Start a group.  This is for people who like more than just one guy’s opinion on their work.  This is one of the great benefits of the intimacy of TheFilmSchool 3-week program, you’ll likely find your ideal writers group right there with your classmates.
 
See if you can set up a place and a time where you write everyday.  This is one of those rare instances where being a creature of habit is going to be something to be proud of.
 
For excerpts on a book that has been influential to me in my writing habits:
http://www.37signals.com/svn/posts/322-excerpts-from-stephen-kings-on-writing
 
For great ideas on starting a writing group and for writing exercises in general:
http://www.6ftferrets.com/
 
Sure, it’s plain old about.com, but Ginny Wiehardt who maintains the fiction writing site has some good exercises and will keep you up to date on genre award ceremonies and things like that:
http://fictionwriting.about.com/
 
For seriously excellent tips on budgeting your time (and, once your script is finished, organizing that utility drawer):
www.goodhousekeeping.com

Hi all, I’m Jenni, guest blogger for TheFilmSchool.  We’re getting dangerously close, not prohibitively close, but very very close to the final date on which applications for the Summer Session of TheFilmSchool will be accepted.  If you are interested in filmmaking, storytelling, finding your voice and/or most of all, as was in my case, just getting excited and inspired about being creative and genuine, you absolutely must apply for this program.  I am not usually the type of person that envies…but I envy anyone who is about to embark on this journey.  The 3-week Session I took at TheFilmSchool was, literally (literally literally) life-changing.  Now I’ve got this bug and I can’t get rid of it.
 
I hold onto that feeling of inspiration by seeing what other folks who feel the need to express themselves creatively are up to.  Here are some favorites. Check these (disclaimer: non-TheFilmSchool-affiliated) bloggers out, in no particular order:
 
Self-Reliant Films, for reasons self-evident in the site’s name:  http://www.selfreliantfilm.com/
 
Silent Bob Speaks, because no matter how you feel about Kevin Smith, he’s a film-maker, and he’s finding time to update us all about it!   http://www.silentbobspeaks.com/
 
Jason Reitman’s Blog, Okay.  He doesn’t blog very often.  The most recent blog refers to Juno as his “new movie” as if no one’s ever heard of it.  Still, the archives are chock full of great info.  http://thankyouforsmoking.typepad.com/
 
Long Pauses, for among other things, its great film diary:  http://www.longpauses.com/