06/06/2026
Writer Wisdom: a series of posts spotlighting writers in our community, sharing their insights and the reason they return to the page, even on the hard days.
This month, writer William Gallagher shares some insight from his journey as a writer.
“Without question, the best thing any writer can ever do is hire other writers. Shockingly, it will be far from a happy experience because you will be appalled how bad writers can be -- but you'll also learn every single thing that you shouldn't do.
I hope that I write well. But I know from having been on both sides of this, that I get commissioned because I deliver what I say I will, when I say I will.
Don't underestimate that. I've hired writers I think are only okay, because it's been a choice between them and brilliant ones I know won't deliver.
The harsh fact, too, is that writing is a small world and bad writers get a reputation very quickly. For instance, one writer never delivers the word count he's supposed to, so he's been nicknamed "Half Page" and I know to never hire him.
Fortunately, good writers get known just as quickly. They get cherished, actually, and you only appreciate why when you've had to research and write a 5,000-word article overnight because they didn't deliver.”
William Gallagher is Deputy Chair of the Writers' Guild. He's been a visiting author at more than 100 schools, he's produced 450+ YouTube videos for writers, he writes Doctor Who radio dramas and is the author of 19 non-fiction books including the British Film Institute's BFI TV Classics: The Beiderbecke Affair. He's been a columnist for BBC Ceefax, BBC News Online and TV historian for Radio Times and continues to talk about TV across BBC local and national radio. He once had afternoon tea on a nuclear submarine and regrets calling the place a dive.
