Writing Tip Of The Week: When It Has To Get Done

Here's my brief writing tip of week:  When you're on a deadline and it has to be done, don't waste anytime doing anything else (like this blog post).

I'm in crunch mode.  After waiting for a week or so to get notes back from B.H.P.  the notes arrived just before Thanksgiving on my outline.  Which I still need the B.H.P. to sign off on so I can start writing the actual first draft.  (Which is due in the beginning of January - as in RIGHT-AROUND-THE-I'M-HYPERVENTILATING- CORNER!)

And by the way if you were wondering - HOLIDAYS DON'T EXIST when you are on a deadline.  So, even though I did take a day off to nibble turkey and two days off to take my 3 year old to Disneyland, my script is still due on the same day.   Nobody cares about your life.  This is the job.  Suck it up and get it done.

So I got a little nudge from the B.H.P. - consisting of an email which said literally:  Outline  ?

I affirmed that I would be done with the revisions by Friday so he could read over the weekend.

(By the way, all reading takes place over the weekend in Hollywood.  Execs, Producers, Agents and Managers lose the ability to read Monday through Friday.  Fact!  You can look it up.   Sight is miraculously restored each and every Saturday in time for the weekend read.  I can attest to this because way back in the day when I was working in development it happened to me.)

But, to my shock and horror I heard back  that the B.H.P. is flying somewhere and needs the new draft by mid-day Thursday....  Boy did I haul my butt off the golf course!  

I'm close and in this case if I hadn't heard from him I would have continued to tweak and probably over-write myself silly.  So, he nudged.  I'm nudged.

So, instead of waxing on here I'm going to be making my third act fabulous and  I give you  a recommendation to check out a screenwriting podcast that I listen to from time to time.

Script Notes:  A podcast by Craig Mazin and John August.  Two "A-Listers" who I imagine to be the Odd Couple meet Siskel and Ebert.   (Well, I guess if they didn't like and agree with each other so much.)

Find them:  http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/scriptnotes-podcast/id462495496