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.

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