I wasnt surprised that WGA was going to go on strike. I was following the news very closely. I watched the strike authorization vote pass with such a wide margin, so I knew that the Writers Guild was going to stand behind its leadership 100% of the way. Frankly, I had a lot of doubts that the studios would be able to meet the very pressing, very important demands.

I remember when it was finally announced that the WGA was formally going on strike. It was overwhelming. Obviously, there was a lot of uncertainty there. A couple of days after, I met up with my writers group, some of whom are in the WGA and some of us are not. We all had this cathartic open discussion about what the strike meant the fear and uncertainty of none of us knowing when we were gonna be able to go back to work. We also talked about the excitement of knowing that our leadership and that all these writers were going to be standing up and fighting for the viability of our career in the future. That was really something to see and experience.

In 2021, there was a lot of momentum behind me that my reps felt as well. We were picking up a lot of traction, and I was getting some really great meetings. Then, the fear of the strike coupled with this looming recession thats been looming for what feels like years now cut the momentum short very suddenly. I found myself having to find a day job very quickly, but a role that still allows me to write. I currently work at a law firm in Los Angeles County.

I personally had been preparing because I had seen, along with a lot of people, the warning signs for months. I had been talking with friends about how, as early as last September, executives were not taking meetings. It seemed like the whole town was packing up early in preparation for the strike. I had friends who were putting money in savings. Then again, I know plenty of people who didnt have that ability, or who were working on shows until the very last minute. Plenty of my peers have picked up Uber jobs or part-time service worker jobs just to get them through the strike. I also have peers who have taken advantage of programs like Green Envelope Aid , which provides grocery resources for support staff whove been laid off due to the strike. Its a mixed bag of how much youre really able to prepare in such an uncertain time.