Getting past a dead end

Question

I've been working on a screenplay for a while now. But I seem to have reached quite the dead end. My question is, what do you guys do, to get past a sticking point. Especially when you don't want to abandon the story as a whole, because it still has a ton of potential?

The story I am writing goes like this: The last member of an ancient race is forced to work alongside a human being. A race that she was raised to hate. But with the fate of the tree of life, and therefore life as a whole, hinging on whether or not the two can work together. These two very different people must learn to put aside their differences and work together.

My problem occurs at the end of the very first scene to feature interaction between the two main characters. I've managed to have the actual interaction occur, but I can't seem to find a way to the next plot point.

Update: I don't know if this help but the scene I'm talking about occurs about 5-6 minutes in. With the interaction being the ancient being saving the human from a hideous wolf-like monster. The story as a whole also features a great deal of elements from Celtic, and Norse mythology.

Answer 1

Just skip to the next plot point and write that. Chances are that later on you'll think of a way to bridge the two, and then you can come back and fill in the details when that happens. I would guess that very few writers proceed sequentially through an entire work. It's good to jump around when you're finding yourself stuck; there's no point in stagnating on one tiny part of the plot when you've still got almost an entire play to write!

Answer 2

Do you have some other parts of the story worked out?

I would just jump ahead for now and write the next scene that you "know".

Then, before you know it, you can fill the gap.

Answer 3

There are usually deeper reasons about why you get stuck writing a story. It could be that there just isn't enough tension (conflict) in the story to begin with.

For example, can you imagine someone telling you a story that goes like this:

My friend George was free climbing a cliff the other day. It's a terrible story that ended tragically. At one point, he was holding on at a place over a straight drop of over 700 feet and he froze up.

~ The End ~

At this point, your friend walks away. What? He can't just stop the story.

What Happens Next? What Happened To George? You can't just let your friend stop the story there. There is tension left and you want to know. Did George tragically die? Is George alive and tragically wounded? The natural tension is there.

Screen Plays Are Special Animals

Screen plays have specific things happen in specific places -- they are time-bound after all. Learning those special requirements can help you target your story toward your outcome.

The Best Screen Play Book of All. Viki King's book, How To Write A Screen Play in 21 Days - amazon link is fantastic and even provides a bit of insight related to your issue -- see image-quote below.

You'll also find a fantastic section named:

Inner Obstacles: Why You've Stopped. How To Keep Going