The Stages of Full Development Based on an expedient first-draft process, including emphasis on developing tools like the Unity Page, the 3-6-3, the Horizontal and brainstorming of setpieces, Writers Boot Camp estimates that a feature-length script can be readable by industry standards within six months, working at a part-time pace of ten hours per week.* The ratio of tools work versus writing during the first-draft stage would be 80% tools and 20% writing. Once the tools have been established, then the subsequent rewriting stages would flip that ratio to 20% tools, primarily updating and brainstorming for particular issues, and 80% emphasis on writing pages. Of course, the rewriting stages are the primary portion of a Six-Month Full Development process, even with earnest tools development and preparation. For television writers, the key to reducing this timeline is how quickly you master a working knowledge of the existing series you’re writing. While you may find the space to accomplish a rewrite a half-hour or hour-long script within the same period of time it may take to write a first-draft of a feature script, the campaign to study and intuit the conceits of a series can often take as long as the process of defining the original conceits of a feature. Unfortunately, learning the skill of breaking down the parameters and inner workings of existing movies and shows is not an overnight process. Four to six weeks for your first-draft process, two weeks to expand your draft and synthesize notes, four weeks for each Component Level Rewrite (three initial passes are commonly needed for a feature) and four weeks for various Craft Level Rewrites (Highlighting Exercises). Since there are actually 26 weeks in a half a year, this 24-week schedule accommodates the occasional need for additional breaks between drafts. This means that you can fully develop two feature scripts, or three to four television scripts, annually. Or, as you become more familiar with the process (not just Writers Boot Camp’s tools but the inherent nature of writing scripts) you may use the time to test more ideas in their early phases by writing quick mini-drafts. Due to the need to boost your working knowledge of the particular television series that you’re writing, or to do required topical research on a feature subject, certain stages may take longer. And none of this accounts for the obstacles that you let get in the way, or that you create for yourself. Of course, if you’re able to put in more than ten hours a week, you can be even more prolific. The work tends to fill the available time, so it’s important to create specific deadlines and stages of closure if you do suddenly have thirty hours a week to write. It’s also crucial to attribute the work and specific tasks to scheduled sessions on your calendar.
Six-Month Full Development Timeline Here’s how the Full Development timeline breaks down, factoring in your current deadline and the various stages of the rewriting process following this course: Eight weeks to complete the first draft, four weeks per Component Level Rewrite and an average of one week per Craft Level Rewrite.
The timeline of these development stages adds up accordingly: First Draft = 8 weeks That translates to approximately 24 weeks, or roughly 6 months. This is based on writing part-time, ten hours weekly. That's a minimum of 240 hours to fully develop your script and make it ready to submit to "friends in the business."* * For 1/2-hour & 1-hour television, the timeline can be reduced to 3 to 4 months, that is, after the tools have been learned.
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