Why Writing a Script is Easier Than You Think

The idea of writing a script can be intimidating at first but once you realize that the first draft doesn’t have to be perfection you can relax and start putting words on paper. Tom Nunan talks to Sean Platt about how writing a script becomes easier once you realize the most important part is sitting down and writing every day.

Tom: That old saying, “Writing is rewriting,” is crucial, because where a lot of writers get stuck is wanting to make it perfect the first time they sit down. And perfection is the enemy to progress, and none of us are perfect.

None of the best Oscar winners are perfect. We went through several drafts of “Crash” before we actually produced it, as much for production reasons as it was for tailoring it for the actors.  Because once you’re on the set seeing how things look on their feet, you have to make changes.

So, the script is always going to be going through changes, so it’s better to just get going, get writing, and worry about making it perfect later, because guess what, it’s never going to be perfect.

But a lot of people sit around thinking, and there’s a great saying by the artist Richard Serra who does the giant sculptures of curved steel, along with his other artist colleagues at the time in the ’40s and ’50s, said inspiration, which is what a lot of writers sit around waiting for, inspiration is for amateurs.

You don’t get a finished script waiting for perfect inspiration. You get a finished script by sitting down and working on it every day.

Sean: That’s fantastic. Like Stephen King in “On Writing,” one of my favorite things ever. He says, “Look, lawyers don’t get lawyer’s block. Plumbers don’t get plumber’s block. They show up and go to work. If you’re a working writer, write. Writer’s block is for bitches. It doesn’t exist. Just work.”

Tom: Yeah. But on the other hand, I honestly don’t think you can get great quality writing if you’re putting pen to paper for more than four hours a day. I really don’t think you’re going to . . .

Unlike plumbers or lawyers or policemen, I don’t think you can put in an 8 or 12 hour day every day writing. The actual process of writing down dialogue and descriptions and crafting your story, I really think you will burn out after three or four hours. So, I don’t think it’s realistic to set aside more time than that, because it’s really emotionally overwhelming.

Sean: You have to refill your tank.

Tom: This profession is different than any other profession, including novel writing. I honestly do think you can spew out eight hours of prose. But this particular thing, where you have to really customize your dialogue and your storytelling and your structure, it’s hard to do that for more than four hours a day.

Now, I think if you’re doing that for less than 20 hours a week, even with a full-time job doing something else, you’re an asshole. It’ll take forever. But I think you can get four hours of good work out of yourself every day doing this.

Things to Remember about Writing a Script

• Don’t cripple yourself by expecting perfection with the first draft.
• Screenplays are constantly being edited and refined so the key is rewriting.
• Don’t sit around waiting for inspiration. Sit down and start working or you’ll never write a screenplay.
  Writing a screenplay can be a draining experience, it’s generally unrealistic to expect to be fresh after four hours of writing a script.
• You do need to put in those four hours every day if you’re ever going to finish writing a script.