“I’d rather look at what I can achieve now, with the resources I’ve got to hand, than expend more time and energy on playing the creative industry lottery. ”
Had this conversation about shrinking budgets yesterday during a meeting with a production company: my question was what can writers be doing to help themselves get work i.e. if you’ve written a 200 million dollar epic, perhaps writing “smaller”… my question was slightly misconstrued as a “should we chase the zeitgeist” question, but surely budgets must be a consideration for writers? Not that it’s our “job” to worry about it, more something of a reality to be aware of when writing?
I think it is sensible to write "smaller" as you put it, or consider alternative formats. I've been working on a TV show that would need a fair amount of CGI, and to be honest, that would be an easier sell as a book. But if one is committed to the screen, then I think it does make sense to think about what is filmable on current budgets, and what would be seen as 'low risk'. A good writer has a wealth of ideas, so I agree that it's not about chasing the zeitgeist, but about thinking realistically.
This is such a brilliant, helpful article - really appreciate it. I’m a journalist by trade (15 years on the nationals) and I got there by traditional routes of work experience and then a graduate training scheme (both were hard fought for though!) but these days, with journalism in the state it is - it’s hard to know what the route in is for people. Anyway, I digress. I’m now completing a creative writing MA and getting great feedback on my screenwriting- but I’m 42! Like you say, becoming a runner and working my way up is not an option. Reading this is a good reminder that I’ll need to think outside the box, remember there’s no ‘one size’ route and I’ll need to tap into that cheeky tenacity I had when starting out in journalism, and hope someone, somewhere has a read of my stuff.
I do spend a lot of time worrying about how I'm going to carve out a career in an industry that's notoriously underpaid at a time when I actually need to be increasing how much I earn. I'm ten years older than you, and I'm kicking myself that I didn't take my writing more seriously sooner. Like, maybe 30 years ago when I could afford to live off thruppence a week.
The creative industries have always relied on very idealistic young people who will sacrifice money for living their dreams, retirees who have more time on their hands, and independently wealthy people who don't need the money. To anyone else, ie most of us, the doors are shut.
Our mission is to craft our own personalised crowbar, because that's the only way we're breaking in. (Hilarious, isn't it, that the term for "becoming successful" in the creative industries is the same one we use for burglars.)
“I’d rather look at what I can achieve now, with the resources I’ve got to hand, than expend more time and energy on playing the creative industry lottery. ”
Thanks for posting!
Had this conversation about shrinking budgets yesterday during a meeting with a production company: my question was what can writers be doing to help themselves get work i.e. if you’ve written a 200 million dollar epic, perhaps writing “smaller”… my question was slightly misconstrued as a “should we chase the zeitgeist” question, but surely budgets must be a consideration for writers? Not that it’s our “job” to worry about it, more something of a reality to be aware of when writing?
I’ll be posting more about this tomorrow!
I think it is sensible to write "smaller" as you put it, or consider alternative formats. I've been working on a TV show that would need a fair amount of CGI, and to be honest, that would be an easier sell as a book. But if one is committed to the screen, then I think it does make sense to think about what is filmable on current budgets, and what would be seen as 'low risk'. A good writer has a wealth of ideas, so I agree that it's not about chasing the zeitgeist, but about thinking realistically.
This is such a brilliant, helpful article - really appreciate it. I’m a journalist by trade (15 years on the nationals) and I got there by traditional routes of work experience and then a graduate training scheme (both were hard fought for though!) but these days, with journalism in the state it is - it’s hard to know what the route in is for people. Anyway, I digress. I’m now completing a creative writing MA and getting great feedback on my screenwriting- but I’m 42! Like you say, becoming a runner and working my way up is not an option. Reading this is a good reminder that I’ll need to think outside the box, remember there’s no ‘one size’ route and I’ll need to tap into that cheeky tenacity I had when starting out in journalism, and hope someone, somewhere has a read of my stuff.
Thanks for such a great post.
Thanks, Penny.
I do spend a lot of time worrying about how I'm going to carve out a career in an industry that's notoriously underpaid at a time when I actually need to be increasing how much I earn. I'm ten years older than you, and I'm kicking myself that I didn't take my writing more seriously sooner. Like, maybe 30 years ago when I could afford to live off thruppence a week.
The creative industries have always relied on very idealistic young people who will sacrifice money for living their dreams, retirees who have more time on their hands, and independently wealthy people who don't need the money. To anyone else, ie most of us, the doors are shut.
Our mission is to craft our own personalised crowbar, because that's the only way we're breaking in. (Hilarious, isn't it, that the term for "becoming successful" in the creative industries is the same one we use for burglars.)