Very interesting perspectives, guys. Thank you.

I think the reason I shifted to prose writing for a while was partly because writing prose fiction seems to come with relatively fewer practical drawbacks than screenwriting -- there are always limits to what you can conceivably show on screen based on a plethora of outside or "real-world" limitations, which I felt could stifle a writer's creativity.

For a while, prose writing felt much more liberating to me, but I feel like certain tales are truly meant for the screen and the screen only, so I'm back at it. I don't avoid writing with a budget in mind (in fact, I almost always used to) but I've come to think I've let those thoughts dominate my process too much. For now, I'll just try to focus on creating the best screenplays I can.

And Anthony, again, God bless, man. I don't know if you're religious or not, but God bless anyway!

-Julio

Quoted from PrussianMosby Imo, getting interest and a personal market for you or me is 51% of the whole game. That's why our situation as free but unpaid working people is a catastrophe. More than we need to become writers, again, we do need to become vendors, what is far away from our usual introvert nature. It's an absurd scenario. What happens to writers in the times of this ultra capitalistic economy is simply a catastrophe to arts and freedom. That's why so many shy gals und guys prefer the 80$ for the contest that only milk them. Those are great writers but they simply cannot sell.

So sad - so true.

I love to write. I hate doing everything that has to do with selling a script -  it's against my nature, it's tedious, it's unrewarding - it feels like work.

I am over 60 now and had a career totally unrelated to writing and do this as a hobby. However, starting out writing as an old fok and seeing the walls one faces in selling, I would have advised a 20 something version of myself to:

- Spend 50% of your time writing and 50% honing and using the skills it takes to sell a script.
- If you can't do that - partner with someone that will
- Write stories that you love, but also write stories that will sell.

I'm not Julio but I really appreciate both the sentiment and thought!