Now that the writers' strike is officially over, how long will it take for the resolution to have an impact on soap operas?

As the World Turns Script Editor Courtney Simon isn't sure exactly how long it will be before new writers' work finds its way to TV screens again. It will be different for every show.

"I don't know if they waited before they got a team in place to write. If they waited and then started, then took time off at Christmas, then went back in January, there might not be that many shows ready to go on the air. It's been like a tomb. I have no information at all, but I'm expecting the phone to ring on Wednesday morning," said Simon before the writers officially voted to end the strike on Tuesday.

"I've been watching [As the World Turns], and to my eye, what's on the air right now is still playing out. Stories that had already begun when we left so there were no gigantic surprises, story-wise, but there may well be in the upcoming 3 to 4 weeks of air shows."

As for what she's expecting when she reports back to work, Simon was upbeat.

"I know that there aren?t going to be any hard feelings on the writers part. We did what our union asked us to do and I'm hoping that everybody there will understand that. A labor action is a labor action; it's not like we got together as one small group and decided to run off until we got a certain list of demands.

This was a huge action that we believed in. All I have to go on is what happened after the 88 strike. And in that instance, when we returned to work we were welcomed with open arms. Everybody was very glad to see us and we were glad tos ee them and so glad to be back doing what we love."

Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.