Thanks for the replies everyone... it gives me a lot more inspiration to - at the very least - attempt to write a screenplay.

cob

The best advice I can give is just don't rush things.  Take your time, plan it out and when your finished proof read and rewrite it.  I'm about to post my first feature that i've been slowly writing for well over a year!

Note: I am originally from The Netherlands and immigrated to the U.S. about 4 years ago.

I studied International Economics Studies (IES) at University back in Holland, got dispirited with it and quit in the final year. Even though my grades weren't bad, I spent most of my time reading Philosophy.

I then proceeded to work at a Glass Factory for the next 3 years. In the meantime, I got married to an American woman, who then first moved to Europe to live with me.

We then moved to the US, went through all the paperwork involved for immigration and such.

Got a Customer Service job at PeopleSoft. This lasted until Oracle took PeopleSoft over.

Had serious family affairs to deal with (difficult to explain and personal as well). Recently returned to the job market, doing IT courses on the side now.

I'd love to earn a living as a scriptwriter, but I have to be realistic and make sure I have a steady source of income first until then.

"Our kids on the other hand are overachiving A+++++ students with the longest and most impressive resumes. They know nothing about life however...." -- Pia

"sometimes the best results are achieved by weirdos who sit in front of their computer for months talking to no one and producing a fantastic script.  Oh how I long to be a weirdo" -- Alffy

I love those two quotes.

Quoted from Alan_Holman "Our kids on the other hand are overachiving A+++++ students with the longest and most impressive resumes. They know nothing about life however...." -- Pia

Yeah my daughter is head of the class in science and gets top marks in advanced maths. However, she has been studying drama for six years and has great taste in music. So I have had some influence.

I went to four year school out by the farmlands of New York State and got a Theatre/English dgree which works wonders in the financial business.  But I took a whole passel of screenwriting, novel writing, and playwrighting courses as well as reading some of the books and reading produced and unproduced scripts.  I also varied the movies and television shows I;ve watched to see what's good and what really doesn't come close to good.

The best thing for a writer is someone to read scripts who is not you.  When I came up with a play for the Strawberry festival, I ran it past a fellow writer (that's also what these classes can do, they get you friends if you're not a jerk) which helped.  The people who worked on the play still feel I got robbed to this day.  I take that as a compliment.

But another set of eyes will always tell you what you've missed.  I drive myself crazy with re-writes, but sometimes you need someone to ask "what is your story?" to smack some sense in you.

I'm in high school, and have had no prior education in screenwriting or acting. I'm new to this business. It is something I have found to grow on, and it surely keeps me entertained. I am hoping to go to a film school of some sort after high school.

This is an interesting topic. I often wondered if I should cruise on out to LA, get a busboy job so I can take some night classes at USC...My wife said no.

But she did get me Final Draft for Xmas and armfull of books and magazines on the subject. Read em all, and got the courage to enter the One Week Challenge, which I learned a great deal from.

Professionally I'm a freelance graphic artist (what I'm supposed to be doing instead of this).
Majored in Art in College, Minor in English.

I'd like to do this when I grow up though, if there's still time...

Quoted from Alan_Holman I failed all five of the classes I took in the one semester of university I attended in 2002 because I spent most of my time cavorting with sexy women.

Me too! Except it was more like 7 classes and they were sexy men.

Quoted from ABennettWriter Me too! Except it was more like 7 classes and they were sexy men.

Sounds like you were trying to do your work with the wrong pencil.

In five days, I'm starting my junior year in college. I'm majoring in film and, believe it or not, that doesn't help one break into the business. A student in one of my Fall 2006 classes almost had a nervous breakdown and was thinking about dropping out as a result of a friend getting an intership at a production company in Hollywood and finding out that no one, no one, had degrees. Another student in the same class had to talk him out of it. I was naive to ever think that college graduates had a better chance than anyone else. Still, you learn the technical skills needed to work on films. As far as screenwriting is concerned, I learned how to write screenplays prior to college and haven't learned anything knew about it whilst in college.

I think it's safe to say nobody's going to be looking at your academic credentials.

It's interesting what brings people to writing whether it's for screen or otherwise.

When I was quite young and still lived in Vancouver, I studied broadcasting.  I moved a lot.  Without stopping to count: about thirty times.  I've held a variety of positions which include factories and churches.  I've learned that you can find God in both the factories as well as the churches.  It must be that that little book I had when I was a kid was right: God is everywhere.  But back to academic skills and life skills: After high school I did a lot of self study which included me continuing with guitar and piano as hobbies.  I also took writing courses.

I spent some time working for a salon, enumerating for the government; I worked at a vitamin place and even a fish cannery when it still existed in Richmond, B.C.  (I think now there are a bunch of condos there and it's a touristy spot.)

My interests are all over the map.  Everything from quantum entanglement and the mechanics thereof to pet psychology.  I have two very important kitty cats named Merlin and Merry.    

During the 90s I opened a home daycare when I lived in Prince George.  Later, I home schooled my children after moving to Regina.  Since then, I've moved again (how many times since?) let's see, Redcliff, Innisfail and now Bowden, Alberta...  And everyone else is bragging about their kids so I might as well too.

My son ranked third in our province on his national star exam, went to Germany and other international exchanges with cadets.  He recently completed his Bachelor's in Science in Engineering Technology and has scored well on aptitude tests for becoming part of our Aerospace Engineering Program.  There's an air base in Cold Lake, so he might be stationed there.

I have two daughters, one who is interested in linguistic anthropology and is on the President's Roll at university.  She just received a writing award and is looking forward to the new fall term after finishing a summer working at the Penhold Air Base.

My other daughter just completed fifteen credits at the Rocky Mountain Cadet Summer Training Centre and is both happy to be back and sad that she had to part with the friends she made from Britain, America and France.

Up until 2004, I had been quite healthy and always active; however it was then that something I had been diagnosed with in my late twenties came out of remission.  It's some kind of auto immune disorder.  Mixed Connective Tissue Disease is what they had called it when I lived in Vancouver--something between Lupus and Scleroderma.  I don't know.  I've suffered extremely high ANA (anti nuclear antibody) counts with a nucleolar pattern which are indicative of systemic sclerosis.  I've had vascular problems with blue fingers, neurological problems, breathing troubles...

For anyone suffering out there, try and remain positive.  Work hard for the good of others and don''t give up.  There was a time I didn't even have control over my hands.  I couldn't even dial a push button telephone, but I can again type and work on the computer so I'm thankful for that.

I noticed a trend in this thread.  People come from a variety of backgrounds and educational experiences, but they all appear to be a very devoted bunch.

I think that if you focus on the passion of what it is you are doing and just work on doing it to the best of your ability, you can achieve great things, but as you do, it's important to keep humble.  It is for us to do the work, but I do believe that after that, after all of the time spent, the struggles, the endlessness of wondering how we will possibly complete the next project, it somehow comes through divine channels.  If not, then perhaps something else comes through divine channels.  But something comes.

One needn't have fancy degrees or come from a high income background.  Only they need a sincere honesty to work at whatever it is they're working on.

Good luck to everyone here as they challenge themselves to do things they never thought possible.

Dream.

Sandra

Quoted from Shelton Sounds like you were trying to do your work with the wrong pencil.

What's a pencil?

I've got a high school diploma, a lifetime as a film buff, three years in the Army including a tour of combat, five years working as a crisis counselor and a crapload of life experiences to draw from, some funny, some enlightening, some frightening as hell.

What got me into screenwriting: I fell into it.  Years ago I had a roommate who brought home Syd Field's book Screenplay.  I picked it up, bored, and thought, "Hey, I'm a movie buff...I could do this."  Here I am almost seven years later, still working at it and slowly -- very slowly -- getting better.

I will say this much: I wish every screenwriter here the best success.  The film industry is a bitch to break into, and most of us here are going the hardest way about it.  But, it ain't rocket science; it's more about tenacity, dedication and willingness to learn the craft.  

That, and straight-up luck.

The only education I have is in films. I have been watching them since I was three, and wanted to be a director ever since I was four. Later when I turned 10 I decided to write a screenplay. It was terribly formated, 1 page, and written like a novel. Over the years I would come here and slowly progress as a writer. Not fast. But SLOW.

The only academic education I have is Movie Trivia, Writing, and Reading. I feel stupid around people at school and frankly, I like it.