Screenwriting 101: Stirling Silliphant
“The writing is the easiest part of it. The trying period is the period of conceptualization, followed by research. This prewriting time can take anywhere from six months to ten years. But once I know everything there is to know about my characters, the actual writing of the script switches to automatic pilot. It makes no difference whether the script is for TV or feature — the writing period is the same: five pages a day, seven days a week. That’s it. Nothing magical. You just sit there and keep typing.”
— Stirling Silliphant (In the Heat of the Night, Charly, The Poseidon Adventure)