Time will pass by any way. How do you want to spend it? Reading gossip magazines, listening to other people's relationship problems, waiste it on many things that not really make your heart tick, OR, do you want to explore your passion, dive into the great writing adventure, create new worlds and stories, and when you die you can happily say: "I did it my way. I set off to sail into my dream destination. " When we die, we only get to take our memories with us. Which memories do you choose to make? Real wealthy is he who embraced his dreams and went for it. I want to die rich.

Shari, indeed. Obviously material wealth is one goal as a writer, at least the ability to be able to sustain oneself by plying the craft. Bills don't get paid by dreams alone. However to riff on Matthew 4:4, we don't live by bread alone, and that is especially true of creative types. We live to create! And if that particular calling is screenwriting, there is no other choice, at least existentially, than to pursue it. Fortunately you don't have to spend a dime to learn the craft. Watch movies. Read scripts. Write pages. Lather, rinse, repeat! Therefore the ONLY things needed beyond that are time, commitment, passion, persistence, and a refusal to give up. Of course, free sites like Go Into The Story and the Black Board don't hurt either! A blast of creative juju for everyone who passes by this way today. Whooosh! Onward!

Scott, this site is a HUGE support to me. Without it, I couldn't work on make my screen writing dreams come true. Besides the great content, I also feel connected with other writers. The bonding is important as writing is a solitary activity. I live in Holland, the screen writing community is small and closed for people who didn't attend the film school. So, many infinite thanks to you ! As for getting paid for the writing, that's the ultimate goal, but, it all starts with a dream. You work on it, improve your craft, and one day you hope to get paid for it. Passion is the infinite well to keep you going when the going gets tough. If we would only focus on the statistics, we would hamper ourselves. What if, you really could make your dreams come true? What if..

You are, as ever, that beacon in the storm, that voice in the night, GO INTO THE STORY forever! Y'know as much as I dig your "Feet...ground...clouds" thing up there, I think the great Casey Kasem's version, which he used to sign off the old American Top 40 show with, is an even better tweak on it..."Keep your feet on the ground...and keep reaching for the stars!" Hollywood is nothing if not overflowing with "stars." My kids are about to return to school in a mere three days. Full day, 5 days a week, and for the first time in 7 years I will have the house to myself for 8 hours a day. While laundry, dishes, and vacuuming those damned little dustbunnies that hop around my living room are eternal, I've been given the 'green light' by my wife to heap extra attention to my writing in the coming...well, YEARS. For whatever reason, this crazy lady I married actually believes in me. It's a huge turning point, one I feel I've absolutely earned (so many diapers...just...so many diapers...), and I couldn't be more thrilled. So...after this weekend...I'll be popping my head into those clouds and reaching for those stars! "When we die, we only get to take our memories with us." What a beautiful thought, 14Shari. I've never considered mortality from that angle before. Thank you for that.

"Feet on the ground... head in the clouds" It is an incredibly tough challenge to break in as a writer. There is no denying the amount of hardships that lies ahead for any aspiring writer. Why would anyone want to achieve the impossible? Because it has been done before and can be done again. There are still movies being made and there are stories that need to be written. For every few writers who manage to make those inroads there are countless others who have given up trying. Yet.. stories need to be told! I look at my own struggle in trying to put pen on paper and wonder if ancient Buddhist torture was anything like this. Slow painful deathless torture. But I want to do it. I need to do it. More than anything else in the world. I want to tell this story and make a difference to those who hear it. I guess every writer wants to do the same. Do something significant that will stay behind. @14Shari: You are so correct when you define true wealth. What's a life if there's no dream worth dying for? Scott, in all my pain & suffering, I always take respite in the GITS blog. Its like a secret fire-place that keeps driving the passion in my daily life. I cannot thank you enough for creating this blog. Here is a quote from Stanley Kubrick that I remember in times like these. “The most terrifying fact about the universe is not that it is hostile but that it is indifferent. But if we can come to terms with this indifference and accept the challenges of life within the boundaries of death - however mutable man may be able to make them - our existence as a species can have a genuine meaning and fulfilment. However vast the darkness, we must supply our own light” http://imgur.com/9dI2eSG

Shari, nice to learn more about your background. And you hit on a key word: Passion. "Write because you love it." I stumbled onto that at some point, don't know where, but isn't that true? As much as I hammer home the importance of working with a strong story concept when writing a spec script, I always make the point that the final point of assessment as to the potential of any story idea is this: Do I have a strong emotional resonance with it? A critical consideration. Re being from Holland: If your goal is to break into Hollywood, while the odds are long for anyone, there has never been a better time for those living outside the U.S., not only because of email and scripts as PDFs so no need for snail mail, Skype for teleconferences, but also because 70% of movie revenues derive from the international market, which means the studios and producers are more open than ever to foreign-based writers. May your passion stay alive and fan the flames of your creative inspiration!

Jeff, it is always great to hear from you as you are one of the earliest readers of this blog. And great to hear you get to devote more time to your craft. Yes, reach for the stars. Clouds. Stars. Either works relative to the dichotomy. Somehow we need to be aware of the long odds against success, but also find inspiration to fuel our drive to succeed. Keep on keeping on!

That is an awesome quote, crackednut. And apt re Hollywood. Don't know if you got a chance to read the latest guest column from writer-producer Gavin Polone ("No, I Will Not Do You A F---ing Favor"), but it's an apt representation of how many, if not most of the people who work in the business as reps, producers and execs feel. The thing is, it is a completely understandable perspective. They are all as busy as hell and this is finally a business, so there is little room for favors without some potential benefit from that particular exchange. Which is why the line of least resistance for a writer is to simply write a great script. Then their indifference becomes enthusiasm. For your story and you. In other words, we must supply our own light, just like Kubrick says, but with a slightly different meaning re Hollywood. Glad you find inspiration here. So many negative people out there and I understand why as Hollywood can crush a person's spirit. But we need places, like this blog, to find some uplift as well as - I hope - sage advice. Onward!