javi --

I know you probably get hounded about this sort of thing quite often, but as an aspiring writer, curiosity couldn't get much better of me.

I have wanted to be a writer since about the age of five. I'm now 20 and majoring in English lit/creative writing, but my parents are determined that I will be heading to law school after graduation. Law is something that I am interested in pursuing, but I have the same desire to try my hand at screenwriting/playwriting. Based on your own personal experience, is there anything I can do to give myself a decent chance in such a career? (ie, making contacts, entering contests, that sort of thing). Also, is there anything that I might be able to say to my parents that would make them less concerned about my aspirations? I understand that I should do what *I* want, but at the same time -- they're almost entirely funding my undergrad tuition so I owe them quite a lot :)

Any advice you have to give would be greatly appreciated :) Thanks!
Terra

terra -

i don't know what you can tell your parents to make them more comfortable with the thought of becoming a writer - it is a tenuous and difficult field to get into - but look at it this way - all of us who write this show (with a few notable exceptions) are pretty much ordinary people - our talent just happens to lean in this direction. it only seems like an impossible pipe dream of a career - it can actually be done.

if you want a decent chance at making it in television, you have to first of all, live in LA and find yourself in the community - make friends and connections, try to work with people who are doing this job and find ways of getting your writing seen. an advanced degree (i have an mfa from the usc school of cinema-television) certainly helps.

and frankly, more than anything, you have to have writing in your blood. i was a writer long before i was a professional writer - i know a few people who sort of fell into writing, but for most it's an itch that they have to scratch. like anything else, having a passion for it is the key.

good luck!

ja
vi

javi:

thanks for replying to me -- it means a lot :) I have to admit that I feel like a bit of an idiot bugging you about this sort of thing, but I'm pretty much on my own in this field... mom's an English teacher, but everyone else in the family is a mechanical engineer. So any sage advice coming from wiser and more experienced writers is certainly appreciated! (dude, you're like my Yoda...)

I'm looking into grad schools in the LA area, but am not sure if I'll have the means necessary to pay for it/actually get there. I'm sure there are ways, it's just a matter of finding them.

As for the passion thing... I have to say that there's no question there. I don't even remember the first time I wrote a story or read a book. It's just always been with me. My mother tells stories of how my grandmother used to think I had multiple personalities at the age of two, because I would make up different characters with different voices whenever I was bored... a rather embarrassing tidbit on the lengths that my imagination will go to, but a pretty good example, nonetheless, lol. basically, I've been writing since before I can remember and it has never stopped... I just haven't had the opportunity to make anything of it/ do anything with it. That's what I'm hoping to do now :)

Thanks again!
Terra