‘People think it’s a hobby. And it’s not a hobby’

Everyone, so it’s often claimed, has a book in them – or a script, or a play. The idea of being a writer is a potent one, creating something that’ll last – unlike the pointless, Sisyphean routine of a nine-to-five – and harnessing the imagination, that most neglected part of our psyche.

Writing a screenplay is even more glamorous, adding the frisson of someday seeing one’s name on Netflix –