I have no idea how to become a scab writer, but almost all my hits are coming from Google searches for “become a scab writer,” I thought I’d create this one post to try and catch them all.
Look, seriously, it’s probably a really bad idea to try and undermine the WGA like that. I understand where you’re coming from. You don’t have to explain it to me. You’ll do anything to get that writing credit because it’ll be your “in” for bigger and better things down the road. I get it.
Unfortunately, the strike won’t last forever and you’ll end up joining the WGA sooner or later. When you get asked about what shows you worked on and when, what are you gonna tell them? That you didn’t work on such and such a show during the time they were striking? If you’re not blacklisted on the spot, you’ll at least be instantly marked lousy. And as big as the industry is, word of mouth is still a powerful thing. So my advice is to sympathize with your fellow writers and support their cause instead of trying to capitalize off it.
Don’t sweat it. I had my moment of weakness too.
The best bet is to try to get and learn about the industry as much as possible find your “in” some other way. Build up your credibility by getting yourself published in a different medium. Work as a reader for an industry studio. Intern at an agency. Or do it the old fashioned way and query those agents. Of course, for now, you’ll have to wait until the writers can sort out this madness.
Man, I’m beat.
I’m not sure if it’s because I shocked my deltoids tonight or because the marketing and sales department burst out in a fit of sporadic fall cleaning at work today. And if you’re joining the party late, I’m in the marketing department. Somewhere, someone high up (probably even the highest) decided that these two departments needed to be organized today. And I guess that meant vacuuming, dusting and general emptying of trash from drawers. The Executive Vice President was right next to us, digging through the refuse of empty cubicles. She apparently found Chiclets gum in one drawer. My parents used to eat chew that brand back in the 80’s. I didn’t know it was still in production.
Anyway, so here I am. I’m tired. My eyelids are heavy. But I refuse to sleep, probably because I’m masochistic. I think, also, that this is what you need to do if you’re going to get anywhere in the creative industry. Sure, you could be amazingly talented and be discovered with minimal work or you could just get lucky and catch someone’s eye who’s feeling whimsical. Barring those two circumstances, I think your best bet is to maximize your “off-time”: the time after you come home from your day/night job. Depending on what you do, I think it’s all too easy to just come home and veg in front of the TV or on the Internet and let your life pass you by. Thankfully, writing is my relaxation. So while I still haven’t shelled out the cash for satellite TV (all they offer at my complex), I haven’t felt it at all. Moreover, I’ll be able to weather the writers strike better than most who’ll have to deal with reruns. 
Anyway, I find that I’m in a unique position now in my career. Before, I had a day job that wasn’t related to writing in the least. That meant spending my off-time looking for a writing job, which prevented me from taking gigs that didn’t pay. Sure, I took a few non-paying gigs here and there to build up my portfolio, but for the most part, I looked for steady, paid writing work. Now that I am a professional writer (God, that sounds so weird in my head), I’m feeling the itch to get back out there in the freelance world just to get some creative stuff going again. More importantly, I want to get my name out there, as well. So, if you’re a fan of those small-time, free, regional magazines out in LA, look for my work.
Follow-up on the whole Scab Writer thing: I was chatting with a literary agent Online last night and she warned me about being blacklisted by the WGA if I did that. She’s not sure about the legality of it all, but I’m sure they could make it very difficult for me to find work after the writers strike blows over. That’s the last thing I want.
One more thing, I’m gonna be in Los Angeles this Sunday around 6:00 p.m. or so at a screenwriters’ seminar. It’s offered through ScriptShark for free to their customers. It’s supposed to go over the business side of screenwriting, like agents, query letters, etc. They’ll probably try to market software and other classes or whatever to me, as well. We’ll see. If you’ve been invited to this shindig too, drop me a line so that we can meet up. I hate going to these things alone.
I lied. Here’s the real last thing: If you use Facebook, add my page!
