How to Jumpstart Your Screenplay
Whether you’re still feeling that, ‘pandemic writing slump,’ you’re battling a nasty case of writers block (“what the hell should I write?”) or you’ve just finished a script and are looking for some new inspiration – one great way to spark your imagination and get you going on your next script is through writing prompts. I use them myself and they work!
Choose a prompt and start writing. Don’t think about it too much, don’t analyze it, just start writing whatever comes to mind. Write fast and don’t censor yourself at all.
A great way to get out of your ‘analytical mind’ and get words on the page is to set a timer and just “free write” on a prompt for 10 minutes. Then go onto another prompt, regardless of where you are with the first one. Do this for 30 minutes. Then look back at what you’ve written and see if there’s a kernel of an idea that grabs your interest. If not, repeat for another 30 minutes. You’ll eventually discover something that gets you interested in developing it further.
Here are 50 prompts to get those creative juices flowing:
What's a scene that happens after your favorite novel ends?
Tell the story of an urban legend from your hometown.
Write an idea that takes place in one room.
Write a story that switches genre in the middle.
What if the cure for cancer was found, but the government doesn’t want us to know?
What if your grandfather or grandmother is actually your future self?
A doctor is falling in love with her patient. They decide to get serious and shortly after he is accused of murder.
A psychic and a scientist meet on a blind date.
Your favorite childhood toy comes to life and they have an urgent message for you.
What if the human mind suddenly went through an extreme mutation?
What's a moment in time you'd want to visit?
You have a fatal wound but have to communicate one last message to the world...
You wake up in a city where you can purchase emotions.
What would you do for a billion dollars?
Two friends who know everything about each other start dating. Was this a bad idea?
Write about something that's missing.
Tell us the origin story of your arch-rival.
What if a woman was elected President?
Dramatize your favorite song's chorus.
A world where nighttime no longer exists…
What if there are still people in bunkers from the buildup to Y2K?
In this town, if enough people start to believe something, it becomes true.
What if a young boy or young girl could hear everyone’s inner thoughts?
You answer a phone you find in your mailbox. The caller says…
Someone kicks down your door in the middle of the night. What do they want?
Write about a secret you have and why.
A surgeon finds a strange object in a human’s body that will change modern medicine as we know it.
Your ex shows up to your birthday party. They want…
What's the worst job you’ve ever had?
What if your staircase went up one extra flight? Where would it go?
Your car breaks down in the desert. Who comes to help you?
You find a gun in your car’s glovebox. How did it get there?
Write about your biggest goal in life.
An archaeologist finds a fossil of something that couldn’t have ever existed.
What if a reporter discovered that an unknown astronaut went missing in space during the Apollo missions?
Write about your first kiss.
Someone strange is following you to the coffee shop every morning.
Write about the weirdest Tinder date you’ve ever been on.
What does failure mean to you?
You’re a 5-year-old with no fear. You meet a werewolf in the woods.
Every “high-up” government official dies.
Your plane lands in the wrong airport. What do you do?
What if Greek Gods walk among us?
Your pet turns into a person.
Write about a lesson that changed your life.
What's a scene you wish happened in your favorite TV show?
What's the worst thing that happened to you?
How did you meet your best friend?
What if aliens invaded earth to stop humans from destroying themselves?
Dramatize your last text exchange.
Have you ever turned a writing prompt into a full script? Let me know @CaroleKirsch!