Hello again,

I am an aspiring writer (but, who isn't, you ask yourself :D) and have been working on an idea for couple of years now. My hope is that it will be made into a motion picture, but I wanted to get your input. I am writing it as if it were a novel; would this make it a harder sell than a manuscript format?

Additionally, putting aside innate writing talent (which I am convinced I possess ;)), does a degree in a pertinent field increase an individual's opportunity in getting their product read by industry makers and shakers?

From one aspiring writer to an accomplished one, :-* / :'( (not sure which emotion is more accurate) ;)

Thanks, Bonnie

P.S. Thanks, again, for LOST. Finally a thinking-person's entertainment. Other than PBS and Discovery channel, I had given up on T.V.

bonnie -

thanks for your compliments on the show - and for not completely giiving up on tv - much appreciated.

as far as the format in which you ought to write - a successful novel and a successful script are two very different animals, and it takes very different muscles to get each to a plac where they are a saleable piece of material.

you really need to consider whether you want to be a scriptwriter or a novelist and then set out to master that particular form.

as far as whether a degree helps or hinders, it seems to me that it can go either way - i do however have a masters degree in screenwriting, and that pretty much opened the door that led to my career. it's not a hard and fast rule - a lot of film school people don't make it, and i also know a lot of people who get into with other experiences.

thanks for the question!

ja
vi