Watch your step.

August 23, 2013 8:00 PM

In the spring I made a decision to move back home to find myself and really figure out what it is I want to do with the rest of my life. I'd like to tread water carefully with my next adventure. What makes sense for me?

Wherever you go, there you are. That sums up why I moved back in with the parents. Relocating cross-country probably wasn't the best way to address psychological and existential crises, I realize that now. It's been a whirlwind past six years for me. I cannot believe the person I was even just two years ago. In making the hard decision to settle back home, I decided to tackle all these issues head-on. Since getting back in early May, I have done therapy, lost weight, changed a legal mistake I made when I was 18 which was the main cause of my issues, and in general just done much thinking.

I'm much better now, and I truly believe that. Like I've lifted a massive brick off my shoulders. I'm ready to live now. None of these things are a problem for me now. Of course it's naive to say it all disappears at the drop of a hat like that, but I have moved past this stuff enough to where I'm not constantly worrying about it like I was before. So obviously, I want to make my next move very carefully here.

The place I moved back from was Los Angeles, and my main reason for being out there was to pursue a screenwriting career. I haven't had anything accepted but have gotten some positive feedback from people in the industry and they encourage me to send more work. I have entered my work in screenwriting contests and had some success. I have taken classes on writing and screenwriting and everyone says my work shows real promise. I got paid to do journalism for two legit media outlets in the past. So I know I have what it takes.

But I'm not sure I'm ready to move back and do the LA thing again. Not that I don't have the perseverance or motivation/desire to pursue and make it happen no matter the cost, I'm just not sure that living in a city I don't really care for is a sacrifice I'm willing to make again. Living a normal life in LA while waiting around for a script that may never get sold is not something I don't think I'm really down for.

So my first option would be to move back out there or somewhere else entirely. Minneapolis was my second choice behind LA for relocation and I think I could be happy there. What isn't an option is staying here in Florida, I'm the type of person who has to live somewhere that I think I can have a good quality of life and this isn't it. This place would only drive me into the ground again.

A career in screenwriting is what I ultimately want, but I think I have a lot to gain by doing some traveling outside of my own culture. Something that would help me grow up even more, meet more people, and give me more life experience.

I have been thinking about that for a few years now, such as volunteering abroad. Or WWOOFing. I've even located some volunteer programs/organizations that hold interest to me. As it stands now, I have 14.5 grand saved up. So I'm at the point where my life can go in any direction right now. Ideally I'm looking at getting back on my feet in the first half of 2014, so I would have even more money saved up. The working holiday visa in Australia/New Zealand also sounds like something that is totally for me. I have a general plan if I were to do something like this, but the one thing that is crystal clear to me is that I don't want to end up back home again, which is why I'm taking my time deciding the next path I choose.

I am not really torn between the two options as much as I am trying to decide what really makes sense for me and where I am at in my life. Should I just go and see where life takes me? Am I making sense right now? Is making a move to Minneapolis/LA filled with more logic? I am absolutely willing to put a writing career on the backburner, but at the same time pursue it the best I can.

posted by signondiego to Human Relations (7 answers total)

Best answer: If I could go back to NZ for an extended period of time, I would.

There's a fair amount of movie and TV production in NZ and especially, Australia.

Go!!
posted by jbenben at 8:08 PM on August 23, 2013

Best answer: Go travel. The experiences you gain will not do any harm to your screen writing career. You can obviously keep writing while travelling, and maybe get some work published.

The other thing about travelling is that you will be able to see your own country with a different perspective, one that is informed by experiencing other cultures.

As an Australian, I recommend coming here on a working visa while you can. Plus, we have some awesome screen writers here whose work would be worth reviewing.
posted by Kerasia at 8:10 PM on August 23, 2013

Best answer: Look, I love LA, it's my favorite city in the entire world. But if you hate it, it will eat you alive and all that terrible stuff about it will wear you down and turn you into another broken soul that loathes LA but is too broken to function anywhere else.

I went abroad when I was young, spent a year in a foreign country. I worked for a place I hated where they hated me and came close to divorcing my wife and spent an awful winter cooped up in a tiny apartment. And even with all that, the experience was totally worth it because it opened my eyes and changed me as a person.

Go and travel. It'll be there when you get back.
posted by Ghostride The Whip at 8:38 PM on August 23, 2013

Best answer: When you're ready to really, really focus on the screenwriting, you basically have to come back here to LA. Or go to NY. You can go around this fact a million times, but the gist is that when that time comes you will have to put yourself in the place where the vast majority of the decision-makers are.

HOWEVER - that doesn't at all mean that you have to do it now. Go travel. Go have adventures. Every part of that will feed your creativity - both the good things that happen and the bad. All of that will factor into your creative output going forward.
posted by BlahLaLa at 10:05 PM on August 23, 2013 [1 favorite]

I think that traveling is getting "away," which is tempting. However, it can be just as enriching and elucidating to move "toward" whatever it is that was challenging you.

In specific, maybe from the safety of home, you can reach out to some more mentors in the screenwriting industry. Try to really dig deep and understand what steps you need to take, what the milestones look like, how much work (in terms of hours and years) is between you and a screenwriting career, and what that career will look like when you actually get there (pay, hours, vacations, lifestyle). Try to get more informed so you have a real game plan -- with milestones and an understanding of the work ahead -- not just a nebulous idea that you're motivated toward this career.

There are people who say that what you do for your career doesn't define you. But, you will be spending 8-ish hours per day working for the next 40 or so years, if you're lucky.

There are certain things that are easier to do when you're young, free, and have money in the bank. Travel is one of those things. Exploring and learning big-time to understand the details of your chosen field, and making a game plan, is another such luxury. It's a luxury to be able to poke around and make career decisions while you don't have bills to pay. And if the more you learn, the more you decide screenwriting isn't for you (as a career, anyway), you still have the luxury of time to pivot in a different direction.

I would spend some time traveling, if I were you, but also some time getting mentorship in your career of choice. That is, set up informational interviews with people who are in roles you might want. Use your alumni network, if you have one, and/or your personal and professional network.
posted by htid at 10:23 PM on August 23, 2013 [3 favorites]

looking at your posting history it looks like you were in LA for around 3 months. is that right? that really isn't giving a move to any major city a fair chance at all. it takes time to get acclimated, make new friends and feel at all at home in a new city, especially one as large and spread out as LA. the specific neighborhood you settle in will make a big difference as well. i wouldn't move back here unless you are ready to really commit to staying and pursuing screenwriting for at least a few years. it can take many years to break into the industry. maybe going abroad is a good idea although it could just be running away. you could always just go travel for 1-3 months rather than a year.

if you can feasibly pursue screenwriting in another major city great. i have no idea if that is possible. if it isn't you'll need to be where the industry is. from what you've written i think the issue for you may be having unrealistic expectations and being rather impulsive. if you had stayed even a year in LA you might feel totally different about living here. your experience here can be vastly different depending on the specific area you live in.
posted by wildflower at 12:38 AM on August 24, 2013 [1 favorite]

I am not a screenwriter, but you don't sound THAT motivated to become one. Everyone else in plenty of other threads have said that you have to be in LA if you really want to be one, period. Sounds like backburning it is what you actually want to do if you aren't highly motivated to actually live there. So....I guess privately writiing on the side and go traveling is what it sounds like you want to me.
posted by jenfullmoon at 7:18 AM on August 24, 2013 [1 favorite]