Friday, June 08, 2007

A day in the life of a scriptwriter

The day starts early - very early - my daughter is up at 5.30 without fail - rain or shine, so it's a bit hard to stay in bed much later than 6am. Early morning is spent getting her ready for school then hub drops her off just after 7.30. Then 'Eyes' arrives around 8 o clock.

Normally I've made a list - the evening before - of things I still need to do the next day. Right now I have all these edit scripts outstanding from the children's TV series. Doing them should have been a piece of cake - tweaking the shooting scripts here and there - but due to the extensive re-edit, not so. I have to view and transcribe it word for word. Laborious. This all needs to be typed and submitted along with the final accounts (grrr) and other paperwork in order to get the last chunk of funds from the broadcaster. I keep putting it off.

Unless there's a deadline, the daily routine is fairly fluid. The script log book gets checked through to see how long things have been out. Then I skip around the internet around to see what's happening everywhere. Plus I read the local and international trades online and the papers. Today I check the bank - wooee been paid for the first jazz article! Then look for stuff for my daughter's 5th birthday party (month end). Then notice the desk has half an inch of dust all over it - so take everything off and do a major polish.

But if I have a deadline - then it's straight to work - I can do an 8 hour writing day, more or less, before my daughter's back at 3. There's usually Sky news burbling away in the background unless hub is in, then it's the new Russian news channel or Al Jazeera or something that's not quite so preoccupied with the current movements of Paris Hilton.

That's about it.

9 comments:

potdoll said...

What time do you go to bed?

Facety said...

so good you have it all down to pat.

It is easier to be so disciplined when your are working at home. I have great admiration for not her books but Rowlings ability to write as a single parent

Near by said...

Pot - early, by 10 latest! Unless I go out. Plus here is winter now - and very much a stay-at-home culture. Changes in summer. Now it gets dark by 6pm.

Fty yes. She supports Gingerbread now doesn't she?

potdoll said...

I'm not surprised. My daughter used to get up at 5.20am on the dot every morning. I call them the 'fog' years.

Anonymous said...

daughter Pot?

First mention of her.
TMM = tell me more)

potdoll said...

yes, a daughter. she's lovely!

Anonymous said...

fabtastic! You look so young yourself as well Pot!

potdoll said...

why, thank you! I was a rather young mum. she saved my life.

Near by said...

I won't mind if my daughter is a young mum 'cause if she waits as long as me - the worms'll have eaten me up!