The "Waiting Game" of Development

Here’s a fun little surprise they don’t teach you in film school: most of a script’s life is spent … waiting.

Waiting for a response from that exec you sent your project to … weeks ago.

Waiting for notes from the same elusive exec who was excited about your project …months ago.

Waiting for a talent attachment to “check their availability.”

Waiting for financing to line up.

Waiting for that enigmatic green light that may or may not ever come.

Even if you’re a seasoned professional, you know this pain intimately. You’ve probably mastered the art of pretending you’re “totally chill about it.” Or you’ve at least developed a few coping mechanisms to address this.

Development is never a straight line. In reality, it’s a long, winding, often circular, sometimes maddening process that can span months into years, making delays feel personal and frustrating.

In short, it’s a waiting game.

Your next question is: What causes these delays? And how am I supposed to understand and navigate these as my project languishes in that layer of hell known as development purgatory?

The truth is, a script in development may be awaiting several factors, including (but not limited to) notes from a producer, a rewrite decision, a director or talent attachment, financing, etc.

From the outside, it looks like nothing is happening. Internally? Everyone’s juggling at least ten other fires.

Don’t fret, I’m here to help! Once you understand how to play the waiting game, then maybe you’ll be able to hold onto some semblance of your sanity. I’m not guaranteeing this will make logical sense, but you’ll at least know a bit of the background and the how and the why of a few of these aspects, coupled with some realistic expectations to keep you from pulling all of your hair out.

Talent Attachments: The First Domino

Securing talent is often the first major hurdle—and one of the slowest. Actors are busy. Directors are busy. Reps are very busy. Even when someone loves your script, interest doesn’t necessarily equal immediacy.

Here’s how it usually goes:

• The producer sends the script to an agent or manager
• The script sits in a queue behind 50 other scripts
• The talent reads it … eventually
• They like it, but want to “circle back”
• Their schedule doesn’t align for another 6 - 12 months (if at all)

Remember, “they’re interested” is not the same thing as “they’re attached.”

Show Me the Money (Please?)

One key thing to keep in mind is that financing runs on things such as market timing, risk tolerance, and spreadsheets—not creative passion. Financing tends to operate in a chicken-and-egg loop: financiers often want talent. Talent, in turn, is waiting on financing to fall into place.

Financiers want projects with bankable elements, clear budgets, realistic sales projections, and a package that feels undeniable (my favorite word right now).

To make matters worse, many financiers only review projects at certain times of the year. Some only commit once they’ve closed other deals. Others disappear entirely when the market tightens (which, spoiler alert, happens a lot).

While your script may be “ready,” the funding may not be.

Agency Politics & Packaging: The Invisible Chessboard

No one really explains this part to writers, but it matters more than people care to admit.

Agencies and management companies have their own internal dynamics:

• Which clients do the agents prioritize?
• Which producers do they want to strengthen relationships with?
• Which projects can they actually sell right now?

Sometimes your project stalls not because it isn’t good, but because it doesn’t fit the agency’s current strategy.

Packaging can take months. Negotiations happen quietly. Things get reshuffled. Momentum resets.

None of this is personal. It just feels personal when you’re the one refreshing your empty inbox.

Notes, Notes, and More Notes

Development involves multiple rounds of revisions, often with contradictory feedback. One exec wants it darker. Another wants it lighter. Someone else wants the third act completely redone.

And each round takes time. Time to receive notes, process them, rewrite and implement (or push back if it’s not working), and, of course, time for everyone to read again. And every pass along the way restarts the waiting clock.

The Fine Art of Scheduling

Schedules are always finicky.

An actor could book a series that takes up one of their “slots” for the year. A director commits to another “go film." A location becomes unavailable.

Any of these factors could cause a project to shift by a couple of months. Or a full year. Or even worse, indefinitely.

This is why you’ll hear veterans say, “Nothing’s real until cameras roll.” (and even then … things can go wrong). My buddy used to say nothing’s real until you’re sitting in the theater, actually watching it play out on the screen. They’re not being cynical—they’re being realistic.

Strikes, Shutdowns, and Global Chaos

Sometimes development stalls for reasons entirely outside anyone’s control. Strikes. Global pandemics.

Economic downturns. Studio regime changes (or even studios buying one another).

Notably, all of this has happened in the past 5 years.

When the industry hits pause, everything freezes. Projects don’t die, but they don’t move forward either. When things resume, priorities shift. Your script might still be loved … It’s just not first in line anymore.

The big question now is: how do writers stay sane through all of this??

Here’s the most important thing to understand: waiting is part of the job.

The mistake writers make is to tie their sense of progress to a single project. Trust me, that’s a recipe for burnout.

The writers who survive longest aren’t the fastest; they’re the most adaptable.

Let’s consider a few things we can do to combat all of this:

Treat Development as a Long Game

If a project takes 2 - 5 years to get made, that’s not failure—that’s normal. The goal is to stay productive as the machine turns.

Control What You Can

You can’t control when someone reads. You can’t control when money aligns. You can’t control when schedules open up.

You can control your output. You can control your professionalism. And you can control your ability to deliver quality, strong drafts on time.

Always Have the Next Thing

Writers are generators and should continually generate. Why wait for something when you can at least get a head start on the next thing? The healthiest writers are constantly developing something else, be it another spec, a pilot, or something in a totally different genre or format.

Detach Emotionally (A Little)

Care deeply about the work, but don’t let your self-worth hinge on external timelines. Development is not a referendum on your talent.

Ultimately, development is not glamorous, nor is it instantaneous. And it rarely follows the timeline you imagine as soon as you type FADE OUT. Even if a project doesn’t get made, momentum can still come from it. Scripts get you meetings. Attachments get you noticed. Development heat leads to other opportunities.

If you understand the process—and stop mistaking silence for failure—the waiting becomes manageable. Even useful.

Remember: the longest waits often belong to the stories that eventually make it to the screen.

If nothing else, you’ll at least get really good at waiting.

*Feature image by Cristina Conti (Adobe)