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Colby Day

@colbyday.com

1.5K followers 760 following 450 posts

screenwriter (Spaceman, In the Blink of an Eye) and TV writer (For All Mankind) and also I guess writer of other things Hollyweird.colbyday.com

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Colby Day @colbyday.com · Nov 14

Hello to the sudden influx of new followers!

I like big, bold, strange stories. I wrote the Netflix film Spaceman, have another coming out next year called In the Blink of an Eye. I’m putting together my directorial debut, and I have a (free) substack about all of that at Hollyweird.colbyday.com

Hollyweird with Colby Day | Substack

A newsletter about writing and living in Hollywood (a totally normal place). Click to read Hollyweird with Colby Day, a Substack publication with hundreds of subscribers.

Hollyweird.colbyday.com

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Colby Day @colbyday.com · 4d

Wife’s out of town. Quick, turn on The Ladykillers (2004)!

Reposted by Colby Day

Corey Atad @coreyatad.com · 7d

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Colby Day @colbyday.com · 8d

Anyway, that's the answer!

More thoughts about juggling on my newsletter (which is free) and feel free to hit me up (as always) with any and all screenwriting craft and career questions.

I love talking about this stuff!

Colby Day @colbyday.com · 8d

If you want to copy my development slate process and make your own, I went ahead and created a link to a free development template that you can copy and customize to your heart's content! docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

Development Slate Template

docs.google.com

Colby Day @colbyday.com · 8d

Here's what my current development slate looks like, if we're only looking at the "active" projects. Meaning, things I could expect to get an email about this week. How many things are "active" right now? I'd say 8-9. Is that sustainable? I don't think so!

Colby Day @colbyday.com · 8d

Then there are all the other active but not currently being written projects.

It's easier to juggle several of these at once than several writing projects. Talking to agents/managers, discussing ideas with producers, trying to help craft an edit, raising money, all feel easier to multitask.

Colby Day @colbyday.com · 8d

How do you balance having all of these happening at once?

Well, rarely are you WRITING all of these things at once.

My ideal workload is a sort of one in, one out method. On any given day I would ideally be focused on only one active writing project, while having the next one waiting on deck.

Colby Day @colbyday.com · 8d

I am putting more things “on hold” rather than in active development. There are only so many movies that a person can direct.

Colby Day @colbyday.com · 8d

I am also currently at a bit of an inflection point in which I am no longer just writing, but writing for me to direct.

Over the last couple years this has meant the number of new original ideas I’m actively pursuing has gone down, because I need time and energy and the ability to focus.

Colby Day @colbyday.com · 8d

But you can’t just chase paid work. I also always try to have at least one unpaid, spec project I’m working on. If you're just chasing writing assignments, you can spend a year plus working towards getting hired only to find that you got no jobs, AND, worse, you have no new work samples.

Colby Day @colbyday.com · 8d

Always have TWO paid jobs, and NEVER spend the money from the first one until you have already been paid at least part of the fee for the second one.

Colby Day @colbyday.com · 8d

Payment for everything takes SO LONG that you can't reasonably expect it to come in a timely manner in order for you to actually pay your bills. With this on deck approach I can always at least pay my bills with the last job's money, but only once I KNOW that I've started to receive the new job's $.

Colby Day @colbyday.com · 8d

While I can't comment on how many things OTHER professional writers juggle, I'd say for me the main priority isn't number of projects so much as this specific concern: there must always be a paid project in progress, AND a paid project on deck. One in one out, always. Why?

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Colby Day @colbyday.com · 8d

Someone DM'd me (my dms are always open ya weirdos) and asked a very good multi-part screenwriting question -- How many projects do you juggle at a current time? What stages are they at? And how do you keep track of them all? Let's dive in! hollyweird.colbyday.com/p/how-many-t...

How do you juggle all these projects?

Plus a free development slate template to keep track of them all

hollyweird.colbyday.com

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Reposted by Colby Day

Russell Hainline @russellhfilm.bsky.social · 14d

in half an hour, @colbyday.com (SPACEMAN) and I (HOT FROSTY) will be talking about screenwriting on IG Live! come to russellhfilm or hollyweirdwithcolby at 10 AM Pacific and ask us questions! #screenwriting #scriptsky

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Reposted by Colby Day

Russell Hainline @russellhfilm.bsky.social · 18d

hi! if you’re a screenwriter, @colbyday.com and I are doing a Q&A live on Instagram on Saturday morning— come by and ask us your questions!

screenwriters Russell Hainline and Colby Day are doing a Q&A live on Instagram Saturday, September 27th, at 10 AM pacific. IG handles are russellhfilm and hollyweirdwithcolby!

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Colby Day @colbyday.com · 17d

Hello #scriptsky! My pal @russellhfilm.bsky.social and I will be going live (on instagram) this weekend to answer any and all Q’s about craft, career, and breaking into the business. Swing on by!

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Colby Day @colbyday.com · Aug 14

really wish I’d given my AMC A list profile photo a little bit more thought considering it’s a blurry picture of me looking annoyed that I needed to add a picture and I’m not allowed to update it

Colby Day @colbyday.com · Aug 8

Last week I opened up VOTING on my newsletter for what movie I should write & then try to direct & then try to sell next and the results are in! Here's the feature film I'm going to write next! (hint hint 👻🚗) hollyweird.colbyday.com/p/what-will-...

What Will Colby Write Next?

you voted for it, so, drumroll please...

hollyweird.colbyday.com

Colby Day @colbyday.com · Aug 6

Gemini tell my wife I love her

Saleem @seemo.bsky.social · Aug 5

Grounds for divorce imo

A screenshot of a news article from the verge. It reads “With Gemini, Williams says, you can just give the details of the message and a tone. Maybe you're running late, so you say, "Tell my spouse I'm 15 minutes late and send it in a jokey tone." Instead of having to think of what to say, the bot will write it for you.”

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Colby Day @colbyday.com · Aug 1

Is all of this insane? Maybe! But I’m hoping it provides a door into a creative process that is ultimately extremely opaque and very rarely shared. The nitty gritty trials and tribulations of making a film, all the way through!

Let’s do it!

Colby Day @colbyday.com · Aug 1

In this article I lay out two movie ideas, why they’re appealing to me, what the pros and cons of each feel like to me, and how I’m thinking about what to choose. After that… I leave picking the movie up to you.

Want to vote which one I write and ultimately make? Here’s your chance!

Colby Day @colbyday.com · Aug 1

I want to make a new movie and do it all out in the open, from idea to casting to fundraising to distribution. So here we are at the very beginning. I have a couple ideas for movies and want YOU to tell me which one I should write and then make. Yes, I’m serious. open.substack.com/pub/colbyday...

Make a Movie with Me!

I want you (yes you!) to help me pick what to make next

open.substack.com

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Reposted by Colby Day

Rory Blank @roryblank.bsky.social · Jul 30

centering myself

a crude drawing of a person meditating on top of a mountain, with a thought bubble of them imagining themselves making out with garfield the cat from the comic strip garfield, captioned "when I feel overwhelmed I center myself again by holding a comforting image in my mind."

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Reposted by Colby Day

rax ‘levon honkers’ king @raxkingisdead.bsky.social · Jul 30

every now and then i catch myself diligently reading someone’s long-ass thread on here before im like…hang on. i don’t care about any of this

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