When television writer Brenda Lily goes to the supermarket these days, she steers away from the steaks and lobster. “I still remember those lean years when things were tough and you had to save every penny,” said Lily, referring to the Writers Guild of America strike in 1988 and choosing now to remain thrifty. “I’m definitely not going to splurge on anything or go buying things right now.” After the abrupt end to negotiations between the Writers Guild and the major film studios earlier this month, a strike on the horizon seems more certain and Lily is just one writer who is taking no chances when it comes to her finances. The current guild contract with the major studios Dreamworks SKG, Inc., Universal Studios, 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, Walt Disney Co. and Warner Brothers expires May 1. At issue are improvements to the writers’ share of profits, particularly in new media. The union also wants more influence on the part of writers on productions and more prominent on-screen credits. When he left the negotiating table, Dreamworks co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg told the Associated Press that the studios can ill afford to increase writers’ pay in a declining economy. But Lily, a Guild board member with 20 years of Hollywood experience, has heard it all before. During the 1988 strike, Lily went five months without work and was forced to move into a tiny studio apartment to make ends meet, finding work where she could. Although she now earns about $250,000 a year as a writer and producer on “State of Grace,” Lily is leery of the potential impact the strike could have not only on her own finances, but the future of her new show, slated to begin airing in June on the Fox Family Channel. “You may strike or may not,” she said. “But your show could get canceled the next week and you may not work for six months. That’s the reality.” Lily and her husband have what they call a “modest” mortgage payment on the four-bedroom home in Studio City they bought in 1996. They had planned a room addition and repairs, but those plans are now on hold. “It was going to cost about $60,000 to make the addition, but I don’t want to take the chance,” she said. Likewise, Lily’s plans to visit Italy this summer are off. She says she’ll be lucky to get home to visit relatives in South Carolina. Across town in Burbank, another 20-year veteran television writer, Mike Chitlik, isn’t worried about lost opportunities for European travel. “I wanted to paint my house, but I’m going to wait now,” Chitlik said. As one of the scores of writers who survive by selling television scripts one at a time, Chitlik says he’ll be among those hardest hit by a strike. “I’m not one of those writers at the top of the income scale, or one of those at the bottom. I’m right in the middle,” he said. Although he would not say how much he earns, Chitlik sells two or three scripts a year, allowing him to make the mortgage on his three-bedroom house and payments on his 1999 Volvo station wagon for him and his 12-year-old daughter. “I have a little left over, usually,” he said. But as a freelance writer not on the staff of any particular show Chitlik must hustle to avoid a major financial hit, with or without a strike. Already, Chitlik is looking to teach a writing class this summer through UCLA Extension to keep his cash flow in decent shape. “And I’m writing my third book. It’s a mystery novel and the second in a series but, of course, you don’t get paid until the publisher buys it,” he said. But as a workaday TV writer, Chitlik has always had to scrimp and save. “That’s the nature of the business,” he said. “You squirrel things away and stay optimistic.” The five-month strike in 1988 is still fresh in Chitlik’s mind too. “That last one really kicked my butt,” he recalled, noting that he had to postpone his honeymoon as a result. So far this time, Chitlik has canceled his vacation plans and the scheduled renovation of his daughter’s room, shopping only for necessities. Cheryl Rhoden, guild assistant executive director, said the union has a $7.2 million strike fund members will be able to draw on; others can take advantage of a no-interest or low-interest loan program. “The strike fund isn’t like unemployment (insurance), so the amounts must still be decided by a guild committee,” Rhoden said. The guild also offers loans from its year-round Good & Welfare Fund, for members who have unexpected emergencies. “It’s all money that’s directed from the dues and it’s there for them when they need it,” she said. Meanwhile, Lily stays busy, meeting with writers and passing on the latest news about the contract impasse.