Hi from Japan. I lurk here during my day job. I'm not permitted to use e-mail or download porn at work, and I'll risk at least getting a talking to from my boss by filling in this space.

I'm a writer by trade, but I haven't written anything of my own that's been published. I correct English translations all day long. Over the last ten years, I've corrected 40,000,000 words worth of broken English, so if I were to be included on the authors' lists of those corrections, I'd be one of the most prolific writers on Earth.

I have a friend who is a successful screenwriter in LA. He's a really good guy and very generous with his time. He's also got several actor friends in Hollywood.

I live with my family in a Japanese version of Hollywood, about 500 meters from the country's largest studio, which made Godzilla and the Seven Samurai, and about 100 meters from a large television production center.

I have no time to write my own stuff at work, and free time is non-existent in Japan, or at least for me it is, since I haven't taken a vacation in five years. My goal is to write three good scripts before I show anyone. Unfortunately, I've written only bad pages since 2006. When I think I've distilled a real story from my addled thoughts, I start writing. The story grows and grows until page forty or fifty but then I realize, 'Hey, I'm still in act one, and I haven't established the premise'. When I cut the script down to size, it doesn't make any sense. My brother says my plots are too complicated.

@yyyyyyyyy: Thanks for introducing yourself. I can relate to the whole prodigious writing thing. In the last six months, I've written over 200 pages of lectures for ScreenwritingMasterClass.com, countless pages of analysis and feedback, 80 pages of a screenwriting book, and of course all these blog posts. But I don't think I can top you!

If you don't mind some unsolicited advice. First I'm not sure what your training is per screenwriting, but as your time is precious, I would encourage you to take a screenwriting course or two to at least get your feet under you. If you've done that already, then take some of those basic principles to heart. For example, you have 10 pages to hook a script reader. By that point, they should know your story's genre, who the Protagonist is, what the basic conflict is, the story's tone and feel, introduced to most of the major characters, and so on. Screenwriting requires lean, tight, economical writing.

Second check out this post. If you can write 1 page per day - just that - you can write 2 full-length screenplays per year.

Good luck and stay in touch!

Hi Scott,

first, I'd like to thank you for all the precious info you provide on GITS.
I'm a french screenwriter living in Tokyo. Two scripts I worked on were turned into movies, I've got two more scripts in development in France and now I'm focusing on manga/anime adaptations.
If some fellow writers living in Japan would like to exchange point of views about working here, please drop me a line.
Cheers

@Jean: That is quite a combination -- French screenwriter living and working in Japan. Would love to hear about your two movies and happy to promote. Best of luck to you in your creative endeavors.