Writer's block, an owner's guide: Nip/Tuck

Here, on the web site of The Writers’ Guild (no, not WGA, but The Writers’ Guild, the one I belong to), is the writer-director of Nip/Tuck talking: “Because I used to be a journalist, I was never allowed the benefit of writer’s block. I’d have to write three stories a day, so that’s never been a problem.”

I’ve heard this before from journalists. I married one, so I hear it quite a lot. And the first of my nine billion writer’s block research projects was with a radio journalist.

What can we learn from Ryan Murphy? Well: think about the power a deadline has to make you get work done. You know that you always do what you have to do.

But it has to be a real deadline. Not “I’ve decided to do this tonight.” Not “I need this for a good grade on a class I don’t care about in the first place.” No, a real deadline. Like a contract penalty, or being seen in front of the tv camera with no news, or having to report in with your coach.

And your response?

Published on November 15, 2006 at 11:06 pm. Linking to this article? Thank you! The permanent address is http://www.todayiwrite.com/journal/niptuck.html