Thinking about writing for a living

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Subject: Thinking about writing for a living

My current job is teaching, but I write bits and bobs in my spare time. I'm 30 and fancy a career change, I'd love to write full-time but don't know where to start. Do you have to have a degree in english or screenwriting etc to get work as a writer? I can't go back to university and do another degree as I need to earn money to service my debts and pay my monthly expenses, so I'm hoping I'll be able to get into writing without formal qualifications. Does anyone have any ideas about where I should start? I'm currently attempting to write a novel and I'm planning to send it to various literary agents when I'm finished to see if I can get it published. What else could I do to get into writing? I also quite fancy writing scripts for plays and tv, but again I have no idea where to start. Is it really difficult to get work in this field? Do you write a play and then try to sell it, or get a commission before starting to write? How does one even go about starting to get work writing scripts? At present I have a flat share (in Yorkshire) until the academic year finishes in September, and afterwards I'm considering moving to London - is the move worthwhile in terms of furthering my writing ambitions? I'm planning to get some part-time teaching work in London to tide me over, and hopefully top up my salary with some writing work if I can get it. Thanks