DEADLINES

After blogging last week about how to write a screenplay in six weeks, I received a few expressions of concern from new writers via social media, who were worried that I was putting undue pressure on them and weakening the quality of their work by setting unrealistic time delivery expectations.

Let me be very frank with you, writing screenplays is a very competitive industry, one where a writer is asked to deliver quality work to tight deadlines. This is not said to be mean or to put anyone off, it is a fact that has and always will be the case. A writer who can deliver when asked is always sought after by producers even if the quality might sometimes suffer slightly. A writer who struggles to deliver will often be dropped from a project and replaced at short notice to ensure the deadline is met. It's not cruel, unrealistic or overly demanding to do this, it's simply a reality of the industry we work in.

A company can't halt or postpone a production because the writer isn't able to deliver what is required of them in the time set. The TV show or feature is bigger than the sum of its parts and at the end of the day, decisions are ruled by money. In an ideal world, a writer would have all the time they require to write and polish their labour of love - indeed a new writer working on a spec does indeed have this luxury - but the reality is that in the professional world, they don't.

I've known writers to be replaced on TV shows because they've struggled to deliver a script on time. I've known writers who have gone in and replaced a writer under these circumstances, it's not ideal but it's a necessity to ensure the project is delivered on time and in budget. Every professional understands this. If, as a new writer you can't accept this, your career won't progress very far. To put it as plainly as I can; if you can't deliver there will always be ten writers waiting behind you who can, so why would a producer spend time on you when they can easily bring in another writer to do what they require?

I've also been in the position where I've been brought in to replace an existing writer because the writer was struggling to produce what was expected of him. It was an awkward experience but I got my head down and delivered what was asked of me to the delight of the producer.

If you're a new writer and are worried about deadlines, set your own. When I started out I would ask working writers how long they took to write different lengths of screenplays. I then took the average for each and forced myself to write to these self-imposed deadlines. I didn't need to, no one would have known any different if I hadn't, but I did it because I wanted to prove I could do it and because I wanted to improve as a writer to make sure that when I was offered my first commission I would be confident of delivering. Why not try it for yourself, what have you got to lose?

Happy writing!