Re: ATTN JMS: Your "typical" day?

 Posted on 4/15/1998 by jmsatb5@aol.com to rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated


>Howdy, I was just wondering what you'r typical day was/is like. I've heard
>rumors about how much you write, but I've never hear that you actually "eat"
>or
>"sleep".

Too much of the former, not enough of the latter.

>How much time did you spend on the B5 set while they were filming?

It varies. In the beginning of the series, I spent a lot of time on the stage,
because we were setting the style and look of the show, and directors were
still trying to figure out what I wanted, and how to deliver what I wanted.
Over the last couple of years, though, that's decreased...in part because the
directors and the cast all know what's expected, and it's become a well-oiled
machine. It's also in part due to the increase of my responsibility on the
writing/producing side...by the time I take care of what needs doing, the day's
nearly over and I haven't even made it out to the set once (which kinda bums me
out when it happens).

> How much time do you spend answering these on-line questions?

I'm on line generally 2-3 hours a day.

> How much time do you get to sleep?

On weekdays, during production, average about 3-4 hours a night. I'm at the
stage in the morning, lunch is usually about 1, I'm there until about
6:30-7:00, I get a bite to eat on the way home in most cases, I get behind the
keyboard at about 8-8:30, and I'm there until I crash about 4:30 a.m., and then
I crash. On weekends I try to make up for the lost sleep as best I can.

> How much time does it take to write or "fix" a script?

Writing a script is invariably faster than fixing an outside script. I can
write a script from zero in an average of 5-7 days. On a few rare occasions
it's gone longer, but when that happens, I find I lose the white-heat of the
story, and it wanders a bit. In a few cases I've written a script in a day or
two (A View from the Gallery all came out of my keyboard in one day, between
about 4 p.m. and 3 a.m.)

> How much time do you spend at home or at "work".

It's all work. Just the office differs.

>Just typical everyday things.


jms

From: (jmsatb5@aol.com)
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