Writing can be an incredibly frustrating, madness-inducing process. From developing an idea to fleshing it out and avoiding writer's block, the writer enters the world of the unconscious and battles with their demons as they strive to give form and structure to the words in their heads. Not surprisingly, quite a few movies have been made about writing - perhaps this is a reflection of screenwriters channeling their own issues onto the screen. Naturally they depict the writer as a deep, complex character, with hopes and aspirations, neurosis and nightmares end up projected into the characters they create. On top of this there is the endless pressure - to meet the deadlines of the editors, to live up to audience expectations and, perhaps most of of, to transcend your previous work. Allen Ginsberg stood at the forefront of the 1950s Beat Generation movement, a wild, euphoric rejection of American cultural norms who forged a new literary path into the post-war landscape and paved the way for the counter-culture movement of the 1960s. Daniel Radcliffe - in perhaps his best post-Potter performance - plays Ginsberg in Kill Your Darlings, released on DVD this week. It straddles a divide between genius and mythology, the complex birth of a new literary revolution. From the delusional author oblivious to his own lack of talent to the journalist trapped in the midst of a decades long writers block, here are ten great movies about the trials and tribulations of putting pen to paper.
