Advice For Those Just Starting Out

Pro Writer’s Advice On Making Time To Write – Steve Harper

Filmcourage

Published

July 8, 2024

[Watch the video interview on Youtube here]

Film Courage: We had this comment come in yesterday under one of our videos and it is:

“How do you guys write if you have people around you? I find it very hard. I feel antisocial and they keep talking to me. Wife and kids can be hard on your writing.”

Steve Harper, Screenwriter/Writing Coach/Podcaster/Youtuber: I think you’ve got to negotiate with your loved ones. That’s one of the things that I tend to do and also to find ways to carve out time to be able to say to family members:

I need x amount of time.

I’m going to be working for this hour or the next hour and a half.

I also find that there are times that I can put on headphones and white noise and kind of go into a space where I can concentrate pretty fully.

I think partly for me that comes from growing up in New York. I’ve written on subways and in parks and coffee shops and there’s kind of a way to find a Zen moment in the middle of busyness that can sometimes work for me.

Film Courage: Is there an amount of time that you schedule to write daily no matter what?

Steve: That’s such a good question. I feel like we writers get really hung up on the amount of time to write and…(Watch the video interview on Youtube here).

About:

STEVE HARPER’s TV writing includes Co-Executive Producer duties on Tracker and D.C.’s Stargirl and wrote episodes of God Friended Me, Tell Me Your Secrets, American Crime and Covert Affairs. His web series SEND ME earned a 2016 Emmy Nomination for series lead Tracie Thoms. Through his company Your Creative Life he coaches writers, posts advice on YouTube and co-hosts The Secret Writer Podcast – heard in 21 countries. He graduated from Yale, the A.R.T. Institute at Harvard and the Juilliard playwriting program.