Q: Is it true that a writers' strike is looming? What will that mean for soaps? — Charlene of Tempe, Ariz.

A: No. The strike, if there is one, will likely be in 2017. But there is tension between the Writers Guild of America and daytime. They are most unhappy with "The Bold and the Beautiful' and "The Young and the Restless."

According to Deadline Hollywood, this is why: Soap opera writers are being "bullied" by producers into requesting waivers from the WGA to take pay cuts. Deadline cites guild sources, one of whom described it as a "particularly insidious" problem that's "cropping up regularly on daytime TV." The guild has been powerless to do anything about it because the writers are afraid that they'll lose their jobs if they speak up.

While it has been made public that many a soap actor has been asked to take pay cuts, little attention has been given to the behind-the-scenes folks. The cameramen and stage mangers belong to unions. They have also been asked to take less pay. So far the unions have said forget it. Some soaps have tried to union bust.

Writers are fair game. In the days of 14 soaps, a writing gig was much easier to find. Down to four soaps, those days are long gone.

While you may think if they get rid of one writer they just have to pay another, think again. During the 2008 strike, actors and producers were writing scripts. When the strike was settled many kept their extracurricular activities.

A gazillion years ago, I wrote a week of scripts for "As the World Turns." To be honest, it had been my dream to write for a soap. The dream became a nightmare. I was asked on spec to write five shows. I used the head writers' ideas and then was guided by the breakdowns. The breakdown is what will happen and who will say what on any given day. If I noticed a character had taken a different stance on a previous show, I was not to bring it up.

I felt like a gerbil on a wheel. For one, there were pet phrases I was to use. The same phrase was to be used by almost every character. That is not very realistic. I tend to call people kiddo (I know, obnoxious). I do not know any one else who uses that term. What if everyone on "The Young and the Restless" used Victor's "you got that" go-to phrase?

Unlike the county clerk in Kentucky, I did what I was told. It took me weeks to finish the scripts, which of course had to be timed to the second. The commercial is more important than the show. So you have to time the script to the ad. It took six months to hear back. I was told, "Very good, but too artful." Huh? Maybe that was an excuse, like when you don't get a job and they say you were the second choice. But I love being able to say my writing was too artful for daytime.

There are writing tiers. Each makes a different amount. The head writers, the big kahunas, on a one-hour show make $33,345 per week and on a half-hour show make $19,106. Regular writers for one-hour shows get $3,373 per script per week and half-hour writers receive $1,827 per script per week. Breakdown scriptwriters receive $1,929 per script and half-hour writers are paid $1,028.

With money like that, perhaps I should have given up being "artful" to get the job. I can be as artless as anyone.

To find out more about Lynda Hirsch and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.