The writing process is different for everyone and infinitely fascinating. Since we are surrounded my successful screenwriters and novelists here at theOffice, I thought I’d nose around and see how it is they do what they do. I’ll post whatever anecdotes/confessions/advice they have to offer here on the blog. We’ll call it Member Chatter. Let us know your thoughts on their thoughts. Comment here on on our Facebook page. First off…

On reading the trades…

I once heard an old Hollywood saying about Variety — “Two minutes to read, two weeks to get over.” And it’s true that getting too caught up in the trades can incite jealousy and be otherwise distracting. Still, I find it very useful to keep track of what projects are selling, moving from development to production, etc. I am writing for a market and it’s essential I know what kind of material is in demand. Also, on a purely practical level, you don’t want to spend six months working on a Martin Luther King biopic — only to find out after that every studio already has one.

Noah Oppenheim, screenwriter Jackie and the new 1984 adaptation