She thought she was insulting me when she said, "I don't enter contests. I don't compete with anyone. When my script is finished, that'll be it and it will sell."
Uh...okay.
Now, as you can see, there are writers out here who already think they're the bomb. Why bother to enter screenwriting contests and competitions when they already have the "winning" script? Maybe they even have Spike Lee on speed dial. I don't know.
What I do know is this: Writing at a high level is harder than hell and it takes more than placing in a competition to succeed. You have to write your ass off. All the freaking time. Not only that, your scripts need to be producible, one that won't cost two arms and a leg to get made. Having said that, I'm happy to be in the top 5 or 10 or 20 out of the thousands of scripts in the pile (which I usually am). It means my writing is getting better and that I can compete. Yes, some of these contests are biased and a complete waste of time and money. But some of them can change your life. So, while entering contests and competitions ain't for everybody, it's a great stepping stone to other things.
Oh, about that "writer" chick who said she doesn't enter screenwriting contests. Well, I see she reads tarot cards on YouTube. She can keep doing that while I stack up all these writing and film festival awards.
That's it, that's all.