Need advice on staying or leaving Los Angeles

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Jack the Writer

Hello all,
I have a question that is bogging me down and I’m here in hopes that someone can set me on the correct path. I have been in Los Angeles for a year and a half and it has been rough.

I now have two options set before me:

1- Move back home (which is 1000 miles away from Los Angeles and is NOT a big city) and go back to school and get a new degree in something that can actually support myself and a family in the future and be secure in my life

or

2- Stay here in Los Angeles, be poor and miserable for god knows how long in my vain attempt to become a screenwriter.

You see, I have been working in the Entertainment Industry here and I have never been so poor and miserable and lost feeling in all of my short life. The rent for a one bedroom apartment with crack head neighbors is insane, a bachelors apt rent equals a HOME PAYMENT where I am from and the cost of food and gas sucks any extra income that I could hope of having right out of my pay check.

I want…no…correction…I WILL be a writer one day…hell, I am a writer NOW, its just that I haven’t sold a script yet. I know the odds are stacked against me, I know the chances are about the same as winning the lottery ….ok, not THAT low but you get the point. But you see… I don’t care, I want to write, I want to write and tell stories!

But, at the same time, I really don’t like LA. I don’t like the people, the traffic is mind numbingly bad, I don’t like the weather, I miss the rain, I don’t like the politics of the people (I am a closet Republican) and LA just isn’t, “me”.

So I am very close to moving home. Not to mention that my girlfriend is also wanting to move home as well (we both moved here together).

So my question to you all is, will me moving away from the entertainment industry capital pretty much kill any small chance that I already had of becoming a professional (PAID) screenwriter? Has anyone here known or even sold a piece without actually residing in southern California?

I know that some have made it without being in Los Angeles, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say that overall you “need” to be in LA.

Anyways, just venting and looking for support/guidance/advice/a online life preserver of some kind.

thanks
 

JustinoIV

How many scripts have you written, first of all? I'm just wondering what you're working with as you shop your screenplays around.

If whatever you're doing in the entertainment industry isn't enough, you could get a day job. That would enable you to live in a better neighborhood.

1 and a half years isn't a long period of time to a writer, so you may need to just stick in there.

Also, you may want to have people read your scripts to critique the quality. Just to make sure your script doesn't have any flaws that could be screwing you up.

Have you made any connections to industry people while in LA?

The major problem you will face with going back home is that if someone wanted to represent your work or make a sale, that might very well want to meet with you. You'd have to be on the next plane back to Los Angeles. Would your new job back home be so accomodating?

You may have a number of meetings that don't amount too much, before you find one that's worth your time.

Then again, you may need a sabbatical from LA. So perhaps returning home would be good for you.

Complicating things is that you moved out here with your girlfriend. Not sure what kind of work she does.

Basically, I can't tell you what the best course of action is. I was in New York City when I met with various film people, and I do think outside of LA and NYC, you've made things substantially harder for yourself as a writer.

A writer with a solid history of sales (especially if they are box office hits) could probably go live in Timbucktoo. His agent would be able to get deals/assignments from him. But beginning writers really do need to develop the social networks that can be found in Los Angeles (or secondarily, New York)
 

lowellgrippo

Have you considered moving outside of Los Angeles, far enough away that you don't have to put of with the problems of living there, yet close enough where you can take advantage of the contacts you've already made?

You may want to consider relocating to a smaller town an hour or two away. Chances are the cost of living in such a place would be more acceptable.

I have a friend who is a working actor who does this. When his agent calls, he just hops in the car and makes the two hour trip for an audition.

I would also venture that small town politics would be closer to your political center as well.
 

maestrowork

If you're miserable in Los Angeles (I mean, truly, truly miserable and not because you couldn't make it as a writer yet -- there's a difference), then I agree, move outside of Los Angeles. Find yourself a nicer neighborhood where you can walk to work, and people are nicer or more Republican :)grr )

You can write anywhere, but since you're already there, you should consider sticking around a few more years. If your job in the "Entertainment business" doesn't pay, you can find another job to pay the rent and food. Los Angeles is a land of opportunities, if you keep at it and be flexible. Preseverence is a virtue. But if you're truly miserable (e.g. you hate the people, you hate the lifestyle, you hate the food, etc. etc.) there's no reason you should subject yourself to torture.

But if you're only miserable because you're poor, then you'll be miserable anywhere else. I have a feeling that you're either homesick, or that if you "move back home" then you don't have to tough it out. That's a cop out, I believe.
 

JustinoIV

I've lived in both New York City and Los Angeles as an open Republican.

There's no need to try to agree with other people you meet just to keep the peace.

And yes, there are other Republicans in Los Angeles. The problems small town people sometimes face in big cities is that in your small town you've got your extended family and friends you grew up with to help you. When you move to LA or NYC you are on your own.
 

JustinoIV

"If your mind is made up, 'I have to be a screenwriter', then you have placed yourself at Hollywood's mercy and it will be difficult whether you live in L.A. or not, but even more so if you live elsewhere."

I'm a screenwriter, and I'm certainly not at Hollywood's mercy. Screenwriting is what I like best.

While there are those writers who do different kinds of writing, I generally I think the most successful writers are those who specialize in one kind of writing (whether screenwriting, songwriting, playwriting, novels, short stories, etc).

It can take years to develop talent in any one of these areas. So if the original poster is a screenwriter and that is what he really wants to do, then he should stick to screenwriting even if he has to leave Los Angeles for now. Because that is what he likes to do, and any other form of writing would divert from it. Also, he didn't ask questions about other forms of writing.
 

cleoauthor

I really think you need to be in L.A. to stand a chance to make it in the entertainment industry. When we moved to L.A. from my beloved Northern California, we gave ourselves 10 years "to make it" in the industry. I counted the days, weeks, months and years before I could move back home.

And then in year 9, I got a production job. It wasn't really what I had in mind, but suddenly I was on the inside. And I found producers were willing to read my material. The job led to other jobs and ultimately I was hired as a writer. That led to other writing jobs and eventually even an Emmy.

I don't believe that could have happened if I had been living anywhere else in the country.

When I taught TV writing at UCLA, I encouraged my students to get even an entry level job with a production company -- gofer, writers assistant, production assistant. Even a summer intern job will help your cause.

I truly believe the reason many don't make it in Hollywood is they just don't give it long enough. Remember there are thousands of people vying for even one writing position. You have to be present in Hollywood, you have to nework, and you have to keep writing and improving your craft.

But if writing isn't your absolute passion, then I question whether you should put yourself through all the angst of breaking into the business. Believe me, there are easier ways of making a living.

But also know that if you hang in there and continue to grow as a writer, it is a do-able dream!

Cleoauthor
 

FJ and G

"You see, I have been working in the Entertainment Industry here and I have never been so poor and miserable and lost feeling in all of my short life."
---------

Are you the writer of "Escape from LA" ? :grin
 

JustinoIV

Jack, have you come across any working screenwriters, agents/managers/lawyers, or other reps whilw you're working in your entertainment industry job?

That might be able to better advice you or give you a more qualified opinion. I suspect they'll say more or less the same as cleoauthor (who is an apparently accomplished tv writer)

You might give that ago, and who knows, maybe you'll find some useful questions or allies.
 

JustinoIV

I'm going to say one thing . I don't mean to be antagonistic, but if I had presented this scenario to you Joe, and allowed you to advise me to take the deal, quite possibly I would have ended up with no credit and only $10000.

Which sucks big time.
 

Writing Again

You say two things:

One is that you will be a screen writer.

The other is that you have the option of going back to school and getting a degree.

There is no such thing as a degree that will guarantee you will be able to support you and your family and make you secure. On the other hand there are degrees that will help you secure a job in Hollywood that would support you until your screenwriting succeeded.

While I don't believe you need a degree in Hollywood related subjects to succeed as a screenwriter, I think it would be foolish to discount them as worthless.

There are times when the best thing to do is to back off from the situation, regroup, prepare, and come back stronger than before.

This may be what you need.
 

Jack the Writer

First, I wanted to say thanks to all of those who replied. There is some great stuff here for me to chew on.

Sorry about the lateness, I have been doing odd jobs to pay the bills and my time online has been rather limited. As for those wondering, my "Entertainment job" that i refered to is working in Distribution of films, not the greatest and exciting of all jobs, but hey, its in the industry. I was laid off this year and have been struggling to find something to be able to afford to live here.

I am going to try to tough it out, but there is something in the back of my head that keeps telling me to move home where I can afford to live better (better as in it wont cost me a arm and a leg to live in a decent home) and for me to keep writing and try to make it work somehow, and that leads me to my next question...about screeenwriters agents, which is here:

p197.ezboard.com/fabsolut...1006.topic
 

Garpyboy

I may be a jonny-come-lately on this thread...but here's my tuppence worth.

If it's truly unbearable, why not go back home for a year or two, and use that time to knock out 2-3 scripts....then when they're ready to market, come back all afresh and ready to go.

For my part...I tried breaking into the biz about 5 years ago....whilst living in the UK! And, I made some progress believe it or not. I found a producer on a scriptwriting forum who optioned one of my scripts for a year...nothing came of it though. The point is, I think you can make a start on your career from anywhere in the world...and once you've got some quality material it is possible to establish some rudimentary contacts over the internet/phone. Then...if you start getting the slightest hint of interest in your work, that's when you need to be in LA.

Another alternative is to do what I've done....write novels instead. You can do that anywhere, although its highly competitive I think there are probably less people competing against you...and ultimately, if/when you get published, you can always return to scriptwriting but from a much stronger position. I plan to do that as soon as i get a book out there.
 

JustinoXV

"If it's truly unbearable, why not go back home for a year or two, and use that time to knock out 2-3 scripts....then when they're ready to market, come back all afresh and ready to go."

That sounds like a good idea. The actual writing can be done from anywhere in the world. You have electricity, computers, the internet, telephones, and the post office pretty much everywhere.:)
 
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