Screenwriter Michael McDowell said this to his potential screenwriting partner:
"If you’re going to work with me, look at it like we’re working in a bank.
We get in at nine, we have a cup of coffee, we say good morning, then we go to work.
And we write until lunch.
We go have our lunch.
We come back. We write again until three o’clock in the afternoon.
We fold up the writing. We return whatever phone calls and whatever business of writing we have to do.
And we do this five, six days a week.
And it’s a job.
It’s not you sitting with a metaphorical beret in a metaphorical loft waiting for inspiration to strike.
It’s a job.'”
I have to admit I have never worked that way. Part of my motivation in becoming a writer was to get away from the 9 to 5 routine. I've always felt more creative in the evenings, so frequently I write until the early hours of the morning and then hit the sack and sleep late.
However, the part of it that is true for all professionals is that you have to have discipline. You have to put in the time, consistently.
Even if you sleep until noon, you have to devote a certain number of hours to writing and to the business aspect of writing.
FOR PART-TIME WRITERS
Even if you're writing as a sideline, if you want to be productive, setting aside a specific time to write and to do the important writing-related tasks (e.g., finding an agent, learning more about the craft, etc.) is the key to moving forward.
Treat it as a part-time job, even if you're not getting paid at this point.
GO BIG OR GO SMALL, BUT GO
Which works better for you: finding 30 minutes a day several days a week to write, maybe getting up early or staying up late, or working during your lunch hour; or setting aside a big chunk of time on the weekend?
Use trial and error to discover the way you find easiest to be consistent.
NO BLOCKS ALLOWED
In a regular job you're not allowed to say, "You know, I'm just not feeling it today, so I'm going home. I'll be back in the office when I feel inspired again."
It should be the same with writing.
If you are blocked, you have lots of options. They include:
- working on something else for a bit, then returning to the project
- trying to work in a different environment (the park, a cafe, etc.)
- devoting the time for brainstorming sessions on how to move forward
- pretending your best writing friend has this problem--what would you advise them to do? (Then do it.)
- if it's a story problem, getting help from a writing group or another writer you respect
- if it's a problem in the middle of your script or novel, looking for the source of the problem in the earlier sections
IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE GOOD--YET
There's at least one point in every project when I convince myself that it's no good and I should just stop and move on to something else. Fortunately, most of the time that's not true, it's just the normal "dip" that happens in the middle.
The solution is to keep going. Even if it really isn't good you can make it better in the next draft and the one after that.
The work comes first, the payoff comes later--if you're lucky and, even more important, if you're dedicated.
