When we start writing screenplays, it’s easy to become obsessed with the destination.

The meeting. The manager. The producer who loves our script. The competition placement. The option. The words: “We want to make your film.”

Those things are the dream. They’re the reason many of us keep putting ourselves through the strange combination of rejection, rewrites, self-doubt and ridiculous hours that comes with trying to build a career in film.

But recently, I found myself asking a different question:

What if the journey itself is giving us more than we realise?

Living Near the Studios Without a Way In

A few years ago, when I joined Stage 32, I didn't know anyone in the film industry.

I live just minutes from Screen Queensland studios and about an hour from Village Roadshow Studios on the Gold Coast. Yet being physically close to film studios didn't mean I had any idea how to actually get inside that world.

I had a full-time job and kids. I couldn't simply walk away from my responsibilities and volunteer on sets or spend every waking hour trying to network.

For a while, my film dreams felt exactly that - dreams.

The 4:30 Mornings

So… I started logging onto Stage 32.

Often, I'd get up around 4:30 in the morning, before the rest of the house was awake, write for a while and then spend some time reading the Lounge and blogs.

I wasn't expecting those early mornings to lead to anything particularly life-changing. But slowly, almost without me noticing, something happened. I started forming relationships. Not hundreds of superficial connections. Genuine ones.

People I could ask questions. People who had experience I didn't have. People who understood the industry and could sometimes answer the questions I'd previously only imagined being able to ask.

And that's when I realised that perhaps I'd been measuring progress too narrowly. My film career hasn't exactly taken off. But I have changed. And the people I've met along the way have become an important part of that change.

"Those Relationships Aren't a Consolation Prize"

One of the responses to my original post really captured this evolution. Adam J Spencer described moving through different stages of the writing journey - from believing Hollywood simply couldn't recognise his genius, through frustration and insecurity, towards humility and determination.

His conclusion stayed with me:

“Those relationships aren’t a consolation prize. They’re part of the prize.”

I think that's something writers can easily forget. We spend so much time thinking about what we're trying to get from the industry that we can overlook what we're already gaining from being part of it. We're learning. We're meeting people. We're developing our voices. We're becoming better at receiving feedback. We're learning how the industry actually works. And sometimes, we're simply finding people who understand why we care so much about something that can be incredibly difficult to explain to everyone else.

The Learning Curve That Pulls You Back

Another writer, Meriem Bouziani, described the journey as becoming more complicated the more she learned. Writing isn't just about having a good idea. There's language, structure, budgets, industry expectations, and countless other things to understand.

That learning curve can be exhausting. Sometimes it leads to burnout. But then the ideas pull us back.

That resonated with me because I think that's one of the strange contradictions of being a writer: the journey can frustrate us to the point where we want to walk away, yet something inside us keeps pulling us back to the page.

And perhaps that's not failure. Perhaps that's passion.

What We Don't Put on the Scoreboard

Michael Dzurak shared another perspective that I loved. He talked about originally writing in a little bubble, with modest hopes of contest recognition. Since joining Stage 32, the feedback and interaction from the community have given him a huge boost in both morale and productivity.

That's another thing we don't necessarily put on our career scoreboard. We might not have sold a screenplay this year. But did we finish one? Did we learn something? Did someone give us feedback that changed the way we write? Did we become brave enough to share something we would previously have kept hidden? Did we make a connection with someone whose experience opened our eyes to another part of the industry?

Those things count. Perhaps more than we think.

A Global Community, Closer Than the One Down the Road

For me, one of the biggest surprises of being on Stage 32 has been discovering that a global film community can sometimes feel closer than the industry sitting on my own doorstep.

I've had opportunities to attend Zoom events, listen to industry professionals, ask questions, and learn from writers and filmmakers around the world.

And somehow, this platform has made a previously inaccessible industry feel a little less intimidating. I'm still chasing the dream. I haven't stopped wanting to see my work made. I still want the meetings, the opportunities, and the eventual yes.

But I'm trying to remember that getting there isn't the only measure of whether I'm moving forward.

Part of the Prize

The people I've met matter. The lessons matter. The confidence matters. The friendships matter. The moments when another writer says, “I feel exactly the same,” matter.

Maybe that's one of the most important things we can remind ourselves as writers:

We don't have to wait until we “make it” to recognise that we're already part of the journey.

The destination might still be the dream. But perhaps the people we meet along the way are part of the prize too.

Let's hear your thoughts in the comments below!

Got an idea for a post? Or have you collaborated with Stage 32 members to create a project? We'd love to hear about it. Email Ashley at blog@stage32.com and let's get your post published!

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