Screenwriting : Do you work a 9 - 5 job and do writing part-time? How do you manage? How do get motivated? by Simangele Lekhuleni

It's such a challenging balance, Simangele. I completely understand where you are coming from. Today I serve simply as a writer but spent 12-years in the U.S. military and two in regular industry preparing for this journey.

For me, I try to use my everyday struggles as inspiration for my writing projects. When I am having work or family issues, I try to tie those emotions into characters. So many people focus strictly on developing a story but stories are driven by compelling characters. So if you can take that raw emotion and slip it into a character profile, its there later for a "good day" when you want to write a story and are looking for inspiration. When you're mad or sad or frustrated or feel flawed... Give it a name and design a character around the complexities of that emotion. You may look back in five years and find one that you crafted that's perfect for a story you want to tell.

Exactly my situation. At first I committed myself to a page a day after work. Then I started developing the story at work, day dreaming. Now, sometime later it has progressed into a hobby/lifestyle. For motivation I just look at my colleagues, who have been doing a job they hate for the past 27 years.

Well this is how me and my girlfriend did it. I used to be in IT and had my own company but a few years back it tanked but I still have a few small clients. So sometimes I still do that to earn something. On the other hand I'm also a dance instructor and before the whole corona thing hit the fan I had dance classes a couple of times a week. It wasn't much but it was something. My girlfriend is also a sculptress so she works on her sculptures and sales them. But at the same time we decided to open our own production film production company. So we sometimes we do a lot of video and also cooperate with other production companies on different projects.

At the same time we also do a couple of other things like I used to do websites so I do that sometimes and a lot of the time we have graphic designs to do and sometimes we have some photography work to do.

Then in the mean time we find time to write, produce, shoot, edit and learn our own film projects.

Usually everything added up and we could get by OK but the corona stuff threw a wrench in the gears so last year was great in the sense that we got a lot done but we didn't earn as much money as other years.

It can definitely be a challenge balancing everything but I've learned that the more work we have the more we find ways to make everything work.

But I have figured out in myself that if I'm too stressed like I've been the last couple of months writing is challenging but when I do write I love to write in the morning mostly.

For the past 30 years I've been a professional screenwriter, but before that I had a day job and wrote a minimum of 1 page a day, every day. I wrote before work (when I had the most energy and creativity) (let the day job get the burned out me), and wrote 3 screenplays a year... for ten years at that day job.

My motivation was trying to get out of that day job and doing what I love.

Which is the key to motivation - you need to love writing. You need to want to write, to think about writing and get excited by writing and can't wait to get back to your script/novel/short stories, etc.

I outline my scripts, so I know what scene comes next and can think about it the day before. Since an average scene is probably around 2 pages, I could often write a whole scene before going to work... but if I only wrote 1 page of that scene, I was okay. On bad days that page might stink, but on good days I could clean it up after writing my page for that day.

Slow and steady wins the race.

Thanks everyone for sharing and the motivation. I'm not in a good space right now and this has lifted my spirits. I sometimes feel like I'm the only one whose going through this, but talking about helps

When did you know was the right time to leave your day job and do writing fulltime?

For me work is actually midnight to 7:00 a.m. Actually writing usually happens a few hours after I get home in the morning but it's always there in the back of mind.

I do. 20 years since I wrote my first script not a day I was unemployed. But it takes its toll...I should have had about 20-30 features by now, I only have five (one is adaptation on directors request). Still I do not want to change my approach (take a gamble and quit good paying job) although some of writers did make it exactly in that moment...what's my recipe? Small steps, achievable goals...I've just for the first time actually managed to write something that could function as a motion picture, bring some people (and me) money...let's see what happens...

I got a real money option on a script... and didn't quit my day job, because it wasn't enough to live on for very long. About a year later I sold a script to a company at Paramount for enough to move to Los Angeles and pay expensive rents for 2 years. But my whole plan was to capitalize on the making of the film... and despite David Fincher being attached at one point in time, the film was never made and after 2 years I had to scramble to get something else sold...

So I went from dependable pay to super hustle mode.

So I would wait until you have enough money to get by for a while. Poverty doesn't help with creativity.

Here's an interview segment and article on quitting your day job...

https://sex-in-a-sub.blogspot.com/2019/10/film-courage-plus-take-this-jo...

If the opportunity to write isn’t motivation you should stop writing and find something that motivates you. Really, this isn’t something that you should have to make yourself do it.

I use mobile tech and steal every minute I can.

Wow Bill I love your dedication to writing after a long day at work

Kiril I'm impressed that you''ve managed to survive being a writer because it's tough

William I do think of opportunities such as yours and agree sometimes that might not be enough money to live off

Craig writing is my passion, but sometimes when I'm demotivated because of work it's not easy to write. I think being in the right space is important

Simangele Lekhuleni you will find a lot of people like the idea of being a writer and not the actual act of writing. I would be doing a disservice propping these people up and encouraging them to continue.

Every minute spent doing something that doesn’t bring you joy is a minute wasted. I struggle, sweat and cry over writing and love every minute of it.

When I don’t have a deadline and I don’t feel like writing, I play guitar.

Life is too short to not grab joy where you can.

I'm a strong advocate for what I call "lean living" which is a different take on concept of quitting or not-quitting your day job. Lean living is all about looking at your lifestyle and reducing costs so you become less dependant on work. The less dependant you are, the more room you have to negotiate/bring-about a change in your workload and thus open up more time to pursue writing.

It's so damn competitive out there and I don't think many aspiring writers have any idea just how tough it is outside of bigger budget films. There's this obsession with WGA minimums, 90's-esc spec sales, and TV writers rooms but that's like taking the entire music industry and thinking it's all about the tiny percentile at the top. We have to be realistic. It can take years of full time effort to break-in and, even after all that, you can be earning minimum wage for a long-time if you're lucky. Many are paying to work and that includes writers, directors, producers, cinematographers, and actors who are held in high regard.

If this is someone's dream, they have to be prepared to downsize, cut-back, be supported, etc to make it happen. To be frank, I feel it's the true litmus test between words and actions. It will also test those around you as to how much they believe in you. This can be really tough, even humiliating, but it's no different to building a business and waiting for the long-term rewards.

On top of this is the nature of work. Earning $25ph as a freelancer sounds better than $12.50ph driving a water truck but it's not as simple as that. A simple, regular job can be less invasive and easier to work around and actually give you valuable time to think while you go about your tasks. If you want to go sell cars four days a week and switch off for the remaining three, all the more power to you. The best situation is probably one where you're earning enough to pay the bills via passive income.

What's great about being an aspiring writer today is that you can try to break in and build a career from anywhere you want to live and thus cut back your living costs dramatically.

Long story short, if this is the big dream then it deserves a big chunk of our life dedicated to it. However, we have to accept that the life of an artist is very different to that of an employee. Security is essential and we consider lowering that hurdle by making short term compromises.

There's some nice advice on this thread. Really good stuff from CJ Walley who pulls no punches. For me I block out time to write. Sometimes I write during lunchbreaks which is also a break from work. I also keep a writing diary. Don't let the bad days get you down and make you feel less motivated. It should make you feel more motivated. The faster you can get your projects completed and sold the faster you can change your situation. My running joke (not really a joke) at work on bad days is: "I'm only here until I sell my screenplay". Basically keeps me going creatively.

CJ, thanks for the tip, sounds like you've dedicated a lot of time to the craft which I admire and it's what I plan to do also.

Martin, I love your joke or not joke. I think that will be my affirmation.

When you have a family, are responsible for others, have mouths to feed, schools to pay for, a jam-packed schedule, and a tight budget, this can get more complicated. Lol! This is not just about "dreams," per se, nor due to a lack of dedication or choosing not to give something it deserves. Hardly. It's all about balance. Often, it boils down to time management and daily focus. Being pragmatic certainly helps to make progress. And giving yourself the same level of importance that you give to everyone else, be it your family or coworkers. Others have mentioned scheduling time to write and create; that works for me as well. I also find carrying my work around with me helps too. Ten minutes here and there goes a long way. Simangele, it sounds like you are already doing a lot of work towards your goal. When you feel tired or have a bad day, take a break and recharge, then get right back to it. Often, it's keeping to a schedule that keeps you on task, that keeps you committed. It sounds cold, but treat it like a job. That same work ethic will get you to the point where you can make the leap. ;)

It's either a dream or it isn't and your situation is (mostly) a factor of your own choices. Sorry but those are the breaks.

Deciding to frame it that way is certainly your choice, CJ. Not everyone's. Those are the breaks... wow... hmmm, it's probably not the intention, of course, but that sounds a bit sexist, no? Choosing to have a family or perhaps dealing with circumstances that may not be one's choosing makes one, what, not... dedicated enough or capable or worthy? Respectfully, I'm happy with my choices, and my creative goals are different than yours. I'll leave it at that. Best to you.

Of course there's no intention to be sexist but, if I've somehow been as such, I apologise.

I wear a headset for a living. If thats not fecking motivation nothing is.

Wow its popping off up in here lol Hi Simangele, I'm in the same boat, I'm a bus driver and I've got children so it's hard trying to find the time to write or create, so a few things I do is commit to getting less sleep, 6 hours or less instead of the hateful 8, also physically exercise is proven to improve mental performance, also i bulk cook to free up more time, meaning I'll cook my meals for the entire week, it gets a bit boring eating the same meal all week but I'm a good cook so it's not all bad. I like the idea of writing at least a page per day before work so I might incorporate that into my routine.

I hope this helps you and I hope we can both turn our dream jobs into our day jobs.

Beth thanks for the tip about making the time, make it routine.

Tabitha, I wonder what you do with your job?

Michael thanks for recommending the book. I'll check it out

Nick I follow you on twitter aswell and I love your ideas and humour

Kari I'm going to make this one of my affirmations to turn my dream job into a day job

Personally i find this whole notion of "motivation" a bit absurd....as if there's some magical dust that'll make you wanna do something you claim to love. Either love it and get it done or love the image and just talk about it.