Breaking through the blockages
Tuesday 14th January 2020
By now you've hopefully got some ideas about where your sitcom is set, what it's about and who the main characters are. All that's left is to start writing it!
This is often the hardest part so why not try a few tactics to get things flowing:
1. Free writing
Start writing right now. Make it awful, it doesn't matter... just don't stop writing for 5 minutes. You may just find a few sentences or even a scene for one of your characters; even if you do start by writing "blah blah blah, I hate sitcom writing."
2. Write on the train/bus/plane
Different surroundings and stimuli generate ideas so take your notebook or start writing in the notes app on your phone as you travel. You can then transpose it into Word, Final Draft etc when you get home. Writing dialogue as if it were just 'notes' can also take away the pressure of a blank page glaring at you like a judgemental English teacher.
3. Give yourself restrictions and make it a game
If you're writing your first scene, think of what each character could be doing to perfectly illustrate and introduce their personality. What sentence would do this perfectly? Give yourself a time restriction of 5 minutes to write a page or two of dialogue for this first scene then do this 3 more times... so that you know it doesn't have to be right the first time.
You could also try using a restriction; each character starting their sentence with successive letters of the alphabet. If character 1 starts their sentence with A ("And that will help me because...?"), character 2 responds with a sentence that starts with B ("Because your mum will be home in 5 minutes and I don't want her to catch you like this."). Back to character 1 for a sentence starting with C.
4. Listen to music
Apple Music and Spotify have tonnes of film and series soundtrack playlists that can help get you into the energy of your sitcom. Music also helps drown out those annoying subconscious cries that tell you to check your email, social media, whether you left the fridge open, if your football team have signed anyone in the last 3 minutes...
5. Work through our book: Your Sitcom Mission... Should You Choose To Accept It
With helpful methods to create and develop characters, situations, and sharpen up sections of your script, our book leads you through writing a 15 minute sitcom in just 20 minutes a day. This way the pressure's off - you don't have to plan and question what you should be doing each day - let us do it for you!
You can purchase the Kindle version from Amazon
If you have any questions follow us and get in touch over social media:
Twitter/Instagram: @sitcommission
Facebook: /thesitcommission