Career in Scripts

Scriptwriters are skilled writers who prepare scripts for commercials, soap operas, comedies, and dramas that appear on television, in films, and on stage.


One type of scriptwriter, known as the continuity writer, creates station announcements, previews of coming shows, and advertising copy for local sponsors. These editors may also write material for locally produced shows. They must be able to write persuasively, creatively, and quickly because of the pressure of deadlines.


Writing for television is quite different from writing scripts for films or stage plays. Broadcasting scriptwriters must be able to write "to order"—for a certain audience, to fill a certain time slot. It can be almost a technical job to turn out exactly thirty-five pages of double-spaced dialogue every day. Most importantly, the writer must tailor the script to the time of day the show appears on the air; scripts for shows that air at ten o'clock in the morning are different from those that air at ten o'clock at night or even four o'clock in the afternoon. The writer may also be working as part of a team under a head writer who makes many of the creative decisions. In television broadcasting, writing what the show calls for under a strict timetable is often more important than artistic expression.


Writers who want fewer restrictions on their artistic freedom tend to write for motion pictures or for the stage. Working with an agent, motion picture writers may submit an original screenplay to a motion picture producer or studio, or they may negotiate for the job of turning a novel or play into a screenplay. Playwrights hire agents to submit their plays for performance, or they may try to get their work published in book form. Although the rewards are lucrative, competition is keen in these fields. There are few highly successful playwrights or screenplay writers.


In all cases, scriptwriters must be able to imagine the effect of their words when they are spoken in a production. It is not enough that the words look good on paper—they Scriptwriters may need to work with designers to ensure that the environment they imagine can actually be built. (© Terry Wild Studio. Reproduced by permission.) must work well when one actor is speaking to another actor. Whereas a playwright usually includes only a few stage directions, a movie or television scriptwriter may detail the visuals as well as the written dialogue. These details are particularly important in movies, where a long and important sequence may require no speaking parts at all.


Like most writers, scriptwriters usually have the freedom to write when and where they choose, provided they meet their deadlines. Those who write for a television series or who are under contract to a motion picture company may share writing duties with others. They may attend script conferences where guidelines are set and may be very busy for several weeks while the shows are being prepared. When the shows are done, they can relax for a while; however, the pressure is seldom off freelance writers, particularly if they are trying to earn their living solely by writing. Stamina and persistence are very important for a successful freelance career writing for stage, television, or motion pictures.