Terry Rossio I was given an assignment to perform a Page 1 Rewrite (where you throw out everything you've written and rewrite everything, generally eschewing even ctrlC ctrlV) in ten days. I finished the script in seven and used the final three to write RESTAURANT.in the afterward of Stephen King's book "Different Seasons," he explains how the four stories in the volume came about. Each one was written after he had completed writing one of his novels. He writes, "...[I]t's as if I've always finished the big job with just enough gas left in the tank to blow off one good-sized novella." So he wrote "The Body" after "Salem's Lot." "Apt Pupil" after "The Shining." "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" after "The Dead Zone." And "Breathing Method" after "FireStarter."
Aw, I followed the link looking for your quote, and came away feeling rather depressed. And I'm not even trying to become a screenwriter. Basically, if you have any shot of making it in this town, you'd already've made it. Whew. Like Aaron Eckhart's character says in THANK YOU FOR SMOKING, if you wanted an easy job, join the Red Cross.