I did this and I have learned a lot about screenwriting. In fact, a lot of it I thought I didn't know, I already knew. The most I have spent was the amount I paid for my Final Draft software and a few books, but the bulk of what I have learned came from sites and professionals who have shared their knowledge freely to help the writes who are coming up after them. I can't thank you guys enough.

Thanks for that feedback, jonesvibe42. This approach may not be for everyone. Every writer is different and each of us has to find our own path into a writing process. Let me ask you: What of your own personality traits helped you to learn as much as you have by being proactive and taking advantage of available resources? Persistence? Daily routine? Some writers benefit from a structured educational environment. Some from one-on-one mentoring. No matter what approach, finding a writing group can be a net plus. But again, everyone is different. And the fact we can learn so much from available resources is a nice bottom line to have when learning the craft.

A useful and informative article :) I have learned the craft of screenwriting on my own mostly by reading scripts (started ten years ago). Books are very helpful for learning the technical aspects such as structure or understanding the different character types. I'm taking a few classes for the first time (thank you, Scott, for valuable lectures and discussions) because I like learning and because I don't have that many writer friends so it's nice to "meet" new people, some of whom I'll hopefully stay in touch with. I have never paid anyone for notes because I believe that one single person can't give a definitive opinion on something and well, paying several people only gets expensive. It's a long and arduous road so it's all about hanging in there and trusting yourself.

When I was in high school, my folks took me to a Star Trek convention and I got my first script. It was Star Trek 3: The Search for Spock. So, I started out knowing what a script looked like but never gave much thought into writing one. Watching movies throughout my life gave me some idea of how a story is suppose to unfold. From what the characters are doing and saying to how they made me feel about the story as a whole. About two years ago I decided to try writing a script I had been kicking around in my head and my mother liked it. (Mind you this idea was ten years in the planning.) She started questioning me about the characters and what happens during the story which forced me to fill in the blanks where thought there were none. She forced me to flesh out my story and bring it to life. She still does it. From there I bought my first book, "The Screenwriter's Bible". When the opportunity came I bought the Final Draft software, registered the script and entered the Big Break contest. Shortly after that, I joined Twitter and started following all kinds of writers and that was very beneficial because these writers all shared their knowledge freely. I starting reading scripts, browsing websites, listening to podcasts, looking at interviews, reading articles and blogs, purchased a few more books and tried to keep up with the conversations on my Twitter timeline and it's been amazing. I don't have a daily routine and my method is very unorothodoxed but I can't deny the fact that everything I need is right at my finger tips. Every answer to every question.