When people look at their favourite TV shows and movies, they see the actors, they see the directors but they wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the words of another. Okay, so, name some writers…We can all name actors and directors. How many writers can you name. without googling? My guess is not many. That shows how undervalued writers are, they’re not given the credit they deserve for their life-changing creations. This is where it started.

Why now? Original content is being demanded left, right and centre, it’s demanded on a narrower timeline which adds to stress. Writing say 45 pages times 8 re-drafts and episodes. That’s a lot of time which means the pressure is immense to conform to those who sit back and boss around. If you want bad quality TV & films, that rating tank, keep going. If you want quality, you have to give time to perfect the craft.

Writers, who? They’re the foundation of every production, they slave away hours/days/months to get the perfect script only to be thrown a last minute re-draft. Some may say that’s what they’re paid for, the reality is, they’re paid significantly less than others on the production.

Some may also say, well the big names bring so much to the project. They deserve to be paid what they’re worth. Nobody is saying that they don’t deserve that. When a script goes into production, to attach big names, you need to be a top of the game creator and a unique one at that with a compelling story. Take it from a writer (myself) to gain an actor’s attention, it’s got to have unique, driven, complexed character who are three dimensional. When it comes to deciding whether someone wants to join you on your journey, it always comes down to the script. It’s a yes or no. A yes means going through to the next stages.

Take away the writer’s work from the equation. You approach an actor about working with you on a project, they ask for a script and you don’t have a writer. It’s an instant turn off.

When it comes to the monetization of work, writers only get a small cut of the profits. Sometimes not even enough for a living wage. This equates to any job, if you put the same or more effort of work in as your colleagues and you get paid less, it would make you angry too.

If you don’t think writers are important after all this, why are actors and almost every production suspended? Also, never watch anything again.