Write, write, write

I do love deadlines - call me nuts, but I do. They give me drive and a clear frame, they give me the challenge and the goal. I may have mentioned it a few thousand times in past blogs (and I'll continue to do so) - screenwriting is part of an industry, a business. Just like good writing, deadlines, too, are chances for us to prove that we're worth the trust others have sent our way.

Yep, exactly - kick deadlines.

I've been hired a bunch of times. Of that bunch eight gigs have been produced. Of that same bunch many more have never seen the screenlight. And quite a few were also promises onto myself - spec scripts. I've had deadlines on all of them and I delivered on all of them. With 20 years of deadline experiences, I thought I might put down a few thoughts:

• Personal deadlines: Yes, getting hired is tough - call it luck, call it the right moment, call it what you will - most writers never manage to get paid for the passion they put to paper. But passion it is, it's all you have - keep at it and give yourself deadlines - stick by them, no excuses. They force you to train your writing muscle, every day - the personal deadlines prepare you for the moment that business door opens.
• Business deadlines: There's no standard, period. Proposals, treatments, 1st drafts, etc. - there's all sorts of time frames - deadlines vary greatly. In my experience producers are by nature pushy - they hire you and want something soon. But they also want something good. So, whether alone or with the aid of an agent - push back, politely and firmly. Demand the time you need to deliver good work - but at the same time, push yourself. Settle on deadlines that are both possible and challenging.
• Delivery on deadlines: Do-not-deliver-early. I've done it a few times when I started out. You know what happens? You end up doing more vastly creative rewrites because heck, there's all that extra time all of a sudden. Too much time is bad for both the writer and the producers - it doesn't focus the mind, it lets it meander. So stick to the agreed deadlines, deliver 2 or 3 days early, sure - but no more. 
• Producer pressure: The production side always wants it before they can have it. Professionals deserve to be treated like professionals. That cuts both ways. This is about the usual hurry-up-and-wait. You know that's going to happen - you'll bust your balls to beat the deadline - you deliver on time - and then you wait. A week later you'll make a call and find out that the person who wanted the script that urgently is off on holidays for three weeks. Basically, don't buckle under pressure, stick to your deadline - nothing else matters.
• Don't forget life: I've had to learn that the hard way - goes with what I've just mentioned about the holidays. You have a life, you may have a family, places to go, things to do ... don't forget to figure those into the deadlines you'll suggest. Just as producers will take their vacation when they're good and ready - so should you. Plan them into your deadlines and you won't only have the time to write a great script and come out looking like a pro at the end - you'll still have the time to be a human being between now and then.

That's about it on the topic, I'd think ... maybe one final thought on the actual word. The term "deadline" was first used on prisoners during the Civil War. The deadline was a real line drawn in the dirt and prisoners would get the warning: "If you cross this line, you're dead." Luckily, the deadlines we're faced with these days are slightly less existential - odds are, nobody's going to kill you, should you ever miss one (not that you ever will, right?).