Thank you Kartia, I am hoping you are right. Time will tell. But thank you for your kind words. :-)

Clive, sometimes you just gotta strike when the iron’s hot. Of course one wants to deliver the best script possible, but sometimes an idea fits a gap that people have funding for. It does happen. I just had a film financed from a synopsis. So don’t worry about it. You don’t have to do it that way, but I just did.

I’m glad this idea wasn’t something you came up with in the shower on the day of the pitch, but my point still remains:

Formulating idea in head for 3+ years – good!

Spent the last year working intensely on logline & synopsis – good!

wrote script in 1-2 weeks (was it one or two?) and delivered it to the industry – are you insane?!?

Am I the only one who thinks this? Are there any other professional writers reading this, or am I the only one? Help me out here guys!

Thanks Paul. There are so many different visa types. It’s well worth looking into them all. Some are easier to get than others but worth the pain of trawling through endless info. Google and a few websites will become your best friend. It’s worth it in the end.

Can I ask, how did you get a visa? I have often daydreamed about such a move but always came back to the same problem – needing a visa. Or more importantly, needing a job to get a visa.

To be fair, Clive, this was an idea that has been formulating in my head for 3+ years. I’ve also spent the last year working intensely on the my logline & synopsis, and gotten feedback from other writers for improvements. So know it was no 2minute noodle idea.

Point taken. Know this is not how I normally approach my writing, but I will continue to learn, forge ahead, grow and develop. I originally had five to pitch, stuck with one – it worked as I got company interest. But the others I will now write before going further and will indeed do with all my scripts. While this one, will be rewritten and improved all the time whether they bite or not. I know what I need to do and I will do it. :-)

You can write a script in a day if someone puts a gun to your head. But my point is, why would anybody in the industry want to read it?

Perhaps you could print ‘It can easily be rewritten and knocked further into shape’ on the front of all your scripts, just in case an industry reader thought that what you’ve submitted is your best work.

Seriously, though, this blog taps in the idea (very popular amongst beginners) that screenwriting is all about coming up with a brilliant idea that might make a cool film (‘the hard bit’) and then banging out a screenplay in a week (‘the easy bit’). It’s not like that. It’s the other way around. If you don’t believe me, ask yourself this. Why are writers paid the big money for the actual writing, rather than the coming up with the brilliant cool ideas?

Was never my intention for it to go this way, Clive. I merely wanted to see if my idea/s had wings first. They did. I had always wanted to have a finished screenplay before the event but well, life. Having said that, if you actually structure a screenplay correctly using the techniques required and needed, it can easily be done in a week. Would I have liked more time to go back and clean it up, yes. But we shall see if Hollywood like what I have or not. It can easily be rewritten and knocked further into shape. I’ll keep you posted. ;-)