The Scriptwriters Life - free tool from Tim Clague

LAUNCH OF FREE TOOL FOR WRITERS

The Scriptwriter's Life is just a diagram. I say 'just' a diagram. In fact it puts the whole of a scriptwriter's life, everything we would need to do to be successful, all the elements that would need to be in balance for a long-term career, EVERYTHING, all on one page.

For the first time ever.

This diagram is free to every writer in the world. Its been developed at the grass roots level from writers in the UK - bloggers, on-line advocates and Netribution readers. It is free of any bias due to current trends and it doesn't bow to any producer or particular company or any special way of working. It is genre free and medium free. This is, simply, what we need to do if we want to successful.

With no launch it has already been downloaded by 200 writers from www.scriptwriterslife.com

They are already using it, exploring it, sharing it, discussing it, printing it and changing it - its a work in constant progress.

If you're a writer you should be using it too.

Hello. I'm Tim Clague [formerly interviewed on netribution - ed]. I'm aware that the crazy diagram above doesn't look that a traditional piece of advice for scriptwriters. So let me tell you how it came about.

I'm a scriptwriter and director. I believe, as writers, we all seek to get better. It's hard wired into us - probably because we love redrafting and rewriting. We always seek a better way. Personally, I've always been interested in structure and form. But I know of contemporaries and colleagues that are equally excited about dialogue. So I worked on my structure and they worked on their dialogue. And we got better at writing.

But then a few years ago I started doing some corporate work - scriptwriting for financial institutions such as HSBC.

Once I got over my initial prejudice that the sales people there were dull bankers I realised that they were on a similar journey. They were trying to get better at their job as well. But they did all this other stuff. They worked just as hard at getting better at their pitching skills, at their mentoring, at keeping an eye on the industry, at speaking on the phone, at having meetings, at keeping in touch, at knowing what to charge.

This was all stuff we should do. But no one ever said! No one told me! Yes, we got better at writing over time. But were we getting better at being a writer? Did we know what was really required for a successful scriptwriter's life?

I got together with colleagues, fellow writers and people from outside the industry to put all these ideas together, in one place, on one page, for the first time.

I use it everyday. Have it in front of you. Today, in your writing time, don't just do what you want (whatever is easiest in my case). Look at the chart. What haven't you done in a while? Who haven't you spoken to? What's your weak spot?

The goal is to help us all be better at making a living from writing. I want to take this further and South West Screen are seeking finance to help me do just that. In the meantime - print it out, use it, share it, tell me what's missing. Get your copy here.

by Tim Clague

Published 10 October 2006