Writer's Block Montage: Difference between revisions

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[[Most Writers Are Writers|When a character is a writer]] and [[~~Writers~~ Block|his creative efforts are stalled]], his torment is invariably displayed as a montage. The sequence inevitably includes shots of ashtrays slowly filling to overflowing, bottles of booze slowly emptying, a ticking clock, typewritten letters appearing one at a time to form words on a page, and a series of shots of the author at his typewriter: putting in a fresh sheet of paper, typing, pulling out the sheet to crumple it up and throw it away with a disgusted look, and shots of the trashcan overflowing more and more. Other possible shots include: his worried agent or publisher, everyone in the house knocking on the door one at a time wondering if he's still alive, the writer sitting in various positions on his chair, and the despairing creator punching a hole in the wall. See also [[Wastebasket Ball]].

[[Most Writers Are Writers|When a character is a writer]] and [[Writer's Block|his creative efforts are stalled]], his torment is invariably displayed as a montage. The sequence inevitably includes shots of ashtrays slowly filling to overflowing, bottles of booze slowly emptying, a ticking clock, typewritten letters appearing one at a time to form words on a page, and a series of shots of the author at his typewriter: putting in a fresh sheet of paper, typing, pulling out the sheet to crumple it up and throw it away with a disgusted look, and shots of the trashcan overflowing more and more. Other possible shots include: his worried agent or publisher, everyone in the house knocking on the door one at a time wondering if he's still alive, the writer sitting in various positions on his chair, and the despairing creator punching a hole in the wall. See also [[Wastebasket Ball]].

When [[Played for Laughs]], there is almost always a sequence where the writer several times puts a sheet into the typewriter, types a few words, and pulls it out to crumple and throw away, followed by putting a new sheet in, staring at the blank paper for a moment, then pulling ''it'' out, crumpling it and throwing it away.

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== [[Film]] ==

* ''[[The Shining]]:'' "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."

* ''[[Barton Fink]]'' is essentially an entire movie based on this principle, down to Fink typing the exact same establishing shot and nothing else every time he sits down. Supposedly, [[The Coen Brothers]] wrote it while they were blocked writing ''[[~~Millers~~ Crossing]]''.

* ''[[Barton Fink]]'' is essentially an entire movie based on this principle, down to Fink typing the exact same establishing shot and nothing else every time he sits down. Supposedly, [[The Coen Brothers]] wrote it while they were blocked writing ''[[Miller's Crossing]]''.

* ''[[Shakespeare in Love]]'' plays with this trope. Our first shot of Will sees him busily and confidently scribbling away, and we cut to his paper to see that he's just [[Historical In-Joke|trying out different signatures over and over.]] However, he ''does'' crumple up a sheet of parchment and toss it away moodily - only for it to land next to a very [[Hamlet]]-esque skull.

* Not quite a montage, but the basic imagery is well and truly incorporated into ''[[Breakfast At Tiffany's]]'' in the film version; we see the classic crumpled up balls of paper under Paul's desk as the camera pans upward.

* Not quite a montage, but the basic imagery is well and truly incorporated into ''[[Breakfast at Tiffany's]]'' in the film version; we see the classic crumpled up balls of paper under Paul's desk as the camera pans upward.

== [[Live Action TV]] ==

* ''[[~~The IT Crowd (TV)|~~The IT Crowd]]'', as they attempt to find a way to make the tech department more popular. (Set to the music of ''[[~~The A-Team (TV)|~~The A-Team]]''.)

* ''[[The IT Crowd]]'', as they attempt to find a way to make the tech department more popular. (Set to the music of ''[[The A-Team]]''.)

* ''[[Spaced]]'' has a version where Daisy stares at a blank piece of paper in the (yes) typewriter and keeps glancing at the clock, apparently seconds apart, yet every time she does an hour has passed.

* In ''[[Millennium (TV)|Millennium]]'', author Jose Chung is shown suffering from this.

* In ''[[Millennium (TV series)|Millennium]]'', author Jose Chung is shown suffering from this.

* In ''[[The West Wing]]'', speechwriting can be difficult for both Sam Seaborn and Toby Ziegler. The way the latter deals with writer's block gives good comedic fodder, as when he sets sheets of paper on fire and when he gets drunk on Air Force One trying to write a eulogy for a Repuplican President he loathes.

* ''[[Black Books]]'', in the episode in which Bernard and Manny try to write a children's book, plays this one straight.

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== [[Theatre]] ==

* It's not really a ''montage,'' per se, but ''[[~~Seventeen Seventy Six|~~1776]]'' shows an 18th-century version of the process with Jefferson's inability to write the first draft of the Declaration of Independence -- right down to the discarded blank sheet.

* It's not really a ''montage,'' per se, but ''[[1776]]'' shows an 18th-century version of the process with Jefferson's inability to write the first draft of the Declaration of Independence -- right down to the discarded blank sheet.

== [[Web Comics]] ==