Why Screenwriter Dale Griffiths Stamos Doesn't Get Writer's Block

The seemingly undaunted Dale Griffiths Stamos is a breath of fresh air, and just the push you might need to keep writing on your most challenging days. This screenwriter, playwright, producer, and director is also a writing teacher, and you’ll gather as much from her tough-love advice. She was happy to share pointers with us at the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival.

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Griffiths Stamos has a Daytime Emmy nomination to her name, plus the Heideman Award, the Jewel Box Playwriting Prize, and two top-ten wins in the Writer’s Digest Stage Play Competition. Her most recent shorts, including ‘Dirty Little Secret,’ ‘The Dinner Guest,’ and ‘Unintended’ feature some A-list players and all debuted in 2018. To say she keeps herself busy is an understatement, and it may be the key to her success.

“I don’t have writer’s block,” she told us. “The reason I don’t have writer’s block is I’m always balancing about four projects at the same time. I believe in having a whole bunch of ideas, and when something is drying up … a really good thing to do is to move to another project.”

When that doesn’t work, Griffiths Stamos resorts to a sort of … magic.

“I did this magical thing one time,” she explained. “A fellow writer told me to pack my script in a pretty box, hide it in this hiding place that no one would know about, and when I would bring it out, it would reveal itself! And actually, that ended up working. So, you know, whatever tricks you can use.”

Griffths Stamos received an award at the SLO Film Fest for best narrative short for ‘The Dinner Guest,’ and said she was a huge fan of the event overall. We hope to see her back next year for more wise words!

Keep your chin up,

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