Writers can write from anywhere, right? So is it really still absotively mandatory for an aspiring screenwriter to physically live in La La Land? It’s a question that has been asked for decades. And the answer never changes: Definitely maybe.

Obviously it doesn’t matter where you do your actual writing. Coffee shops. Your bathroom. The Overlook Hotel in the off season. The latter spot doesn’t work out for every writer, but if you survive all the way to “FADE OUT,” you face an even scarier challenge: selling your script to Hollywood.

So do you need to be in Los Angeles to make that happen? If you want to get your foot in the door, shouldn’t you go to where the door is?

I don’t know. It’s not like you literally go door to door in this town like a traveling salesman. They have security to see that you don’t. And these days it’s possible for a writer from Pooler, Georgia to be discovered through a screenplay competition or a filmmaker from Nova Scotia to find exposure at a film festival or with a viral video.

So is there a benefit to being in L.A. or not? Aren’t the networking opportunities falling out of trees there? Don’t you need to be there if you’re trying to work in TV? What about the guy who moved there and started in the CAA mailroom and now runs a studio?

Stop hassling me with all these questions. I don’t know. Not yet. You see, I’ve been hearing that kind of advice for years, and resisting it. Until last year, when I finally took the plunge to see for myself if being here will make the difference.

So how has it worked out so far?

Well, more than a few of the pre-existing contacts I had have been too busy to meet with me. But within the first month, a video production literally came right to my door, shooting for two days in a vacant unit in my building, and I quickly volunteered to PA to make new contacts. I’ve joined new networking groups. I’ve gone to a lot of screenings. I had lunch with a well-known director who expressed interest in a new story I’m developing.

And a few weeks ago I happened to meet Mark Boal (see photo), last night’s big winner at the Academy Awards. He took home two Oscars, one as producer for Best Picture, and one for Best Original Screenplay. It was his first screenplay. And he didn’t move to L.A. to make it. Which begs the question: Which is more treacherous -- navigating Hollywood or being an embedded journalist with a bomb squad in Iraq?

I made my choice. I’ll update you here on my adventures in La La Land when there’s significant progress to report. In the mean time, I’ll leave you with a quote from my favorite acceptance speech from last night. It came from Michael Giacchino, composer of the Best Original Score for Up: “If you want to be creative, get out there and do it. It’s not a waste of time.”

Dan Margules is a Los Angeles based screenwriter. His award-winning short film, Begleiter, is available in a Special Edition from Amazon.com or happy-the-dog.com. He also co-founded, and was president of, San Diego Filmmakers.