LSF 2014 Part 1: What is it?

Well it seems ages ago I said I would keep you posted on the London Screenwriting Festival 2014. I now know why people rarely blog while they are there. It is EXHAUSTING! There is so much to do from early in the morning until late at night.

Because I am still recovering from my treatment I could not manage a full day and had to take frequent rests. Even so I got so much out of it I have already bought my ticket for next year.

So what is it?

You probably know it is an annual event from Friday to Sunday in October run by and dedicated to writers. The day lasts from 8am to 7.30pm followed by networking events until late. You can get your ticket in one payment or instalments and they are going fast. See details here.

It takes place in the beautiful Regents University, sat in the corner of Regents Park behind Madam Tussaud's. The venue is a quadrangle of buildings and two marquees so everything is in easy reach. There were delegates with a range of mobility issues and we all got the help we needed so no-one missed out.

There are about 700 delegates and 100 speakers but it does not seem crowded except for the odd rush to the next session. There are lots of volunteers to help you get around (yes I got lost on the first morning). Everyone is approachable. Most speakers come and mix with the rest of us when they are not on stage.

I am actually quite shy when surrounded by strangers, stop snickering at the back, but decided to dive in and chat to everyone. First person I spoke to was in a café queue on the first morning. Sarah Gilani and I are now friends and she was a great intro to networking. I was therefore brave enough to keep at it.

So I practised pitches with fellow delegates in the canteen, shared jokes in the queues, thanked speakers for their presentations when I bumped into them, handed cards to anyone who couldn’t run away fast enough, sat and chilled in the quadrangle while people popped by to chat (some old friends and some became new friends).

What I did NOT do is corner everyone to push my script. Networking is getting to know people, not to harass them. We shared advice and information and funny stories instead. 

I met some fascinating people. Some were already making their own films, some had years of experience and were happy to share, some were just starting out, some had been banging their heads against the wall for years and came away with ideas for how to demolish it. I was also surprised how far people had travelled to get to the event. They were from all over the world which shows how much people value the event. Even those in the US that could get to LA.

What happens?

There are presentations all through the day, four at a time.

Some are showings of films while you discuss them with the writers – I attended Lost Boys with Joel Schumacher and Silence of the Lambs with Ted Tally but missed Finding Nemo with David Reynolds.

Some are discussions within the panel. Others have a lot of interaction with the audience. Usually the presenters then move to a separate room after for a script chat. You can talk to them with only 10 or so other people there. I sat next to John Lloyd!!!

There was so much information given out. Some recorded for later viewing, some edited out or not recorded at all that contained juicy gossip or to protect ideas.

The speakers are all really approachable through the weekend. I chatted to quite a few. To make the most of it you have to lose the fear and talk to anyone. I made lots of new friends and met up with old ones. 

Take lots of cards.  I took 300 and must have given out about 200.

Attendee site

So you can keep up to date on what is going on and get to know people. There is the LSFConnect site. I used the group area a lot.

I am in “Them There Northerners”, a great bunch of supportive writers but there are now similar groups for many areas of Britain and for abroad too. You can help each other prepare before the event. “Noobies” is for first times but also has regulars there to give advice. Without Dee Chilton and Liz Holliday I would have missed a lot of what is going on. There are also groups for Radio, Comedy, etc.

The chatroom becomes lively the closer you get to the event. Great to get questions answered and for courage. I told fellow newbies to feel free to just come up and say hello to me and they did.

Most important is planning, planning, planning. Treat it like a military operation.  If you want to meet someone specific then get in touch beforehand and arrange to meet or you will keep missing each other. It took 2 days to meet one of my friends and another only found me just before she had to leave.

Part 2 will tell you about the extra events and what I actually did.

Can't Stop Buzzing - LSF Nearly Here!!!!

Only 5 sleeps until LSF. It will be a busy weekend.

I am going to Pitching Thursday hosted by Pilar Alessandra so she can knock my pitches into shape. I wanted to pitch everything but common-sense kicked in. Better to do a few well than loads poorly.

Next will be Advanced Mentoring Scriptlabs. I am one of six selected for "Creating Fantastical TV" with Steve La Rue. The others are Alexandru Ruchelaru, Amy Amani, Cera-Rose Pickering, David Young and Keith Storrier. We are already chatting to each other. Well they told us to bond. Their projects look really awesome!

I managed to get a Script Surgery session with Euroscript. It is a shared slot with two others but I don't mind that. More input. I need help on my Famous 5 meets Shameless project to make sure my tone is OK for a family slot.

By some miracle I got the pitching slot I wanted. Amazed the LSF servers didn't crash with all those hits but they worked their hearts out to keep it going.  My slot is one of the busiest but I aim to avoid the long queues that can happen when everyone goes to one table. After all everyone is going to be interesting to talk to. Plus, as my kids say, "Mum doesn't do queues."

Oh and I am going for the Elevator Pitch. You have only got the time from when you enter the lift to getting out to pitch to someone interesting. You don't know who they are until you step inside but new people are always interesting.

Squeezed between all of that there are a whole bunch of presentations and discussions. There will be some difficult choices on which to go for. I also need to remember to rest and eat. I still get tired very easily. It won't be wasted time because there will be even more people to chat to there. Yes I do love to chat.

If you are going then I'll see you there, somewhere in the crowd of 800.  I will be the mad hair lady wielding a stick. If you are not going then I will let you know on here what happens and make sure you go NEXT YEAR!!!

LSF is nearly here.

Hmm. Been a while since my last post. So what have I been doing?

Well I have a new profile photo.  I am using it on all my social media sites so you will know when you have found me. I was going to do a fancy pose but that really isn't me so I went for the natural look.

If you haven't noticed there is a list on the left of Sages and Sinners.  Take a look to find a bunch of friendly writing bloggers. Blogging went very quiet for a few years with people moving to Facebook, Twitter, etc.  The lively debates still tend to be on those sites but people are returning to blogging when they have something to say. So do take a look at the interesting people to your left.

Unsure whether I should put my one page pitches up on this site. Some people worry that the ideas would be stolen. Others think it is an easy way for people to find out what you write and if they are interested. Hmmm.  Maybe I will just put up a logline and people can contact me for more details. I shall have a think.


The script reading session at TBTL was last month. This was organised by NCS and Mary Papadima (Assistant Director at TBTL) and the theatre's resident Summer actors.  I submitted the first act of a film script and got lots of feedback from that. Take note, if you ask actors to let rip on feedback they will. It was brutal but constructive. Just as well I am not a delicate flower.

I knew my characters in my head but wanted to see how they came across on the page and their relationships. They clearly needed some more work. However I came away with lots of ideas for developing the script. Really worth getting a script-in-hand reading of your work if you can.

Planned to put a nice picture here but the internet is currently slower than dial-up and won't play ball.  So imagine your favourite image tucked in just about here.  No naughty stuff mind. I will know.

Now to the LSF. I didn't make the final 5 for the scriptangel mentoring scheme but chuffed I got to the final 20. I didn't mope. I got it submitted for a different feedback scheme.

There was a lovely gathering of Them There Northerners in Liverpool. It was wonderful to meet them all in the real world. A really supportive crowd.  Yvonne Grace and Lisa Holdsworth helped us knock our pitches into shape ready for LSF.  They had really helpful advice which I have implemented in my pitches and scripts.

Business cards are sorted and I am narrowing down which PitchFest session I will be trying for. Now it is a case of tidying up my top three scripts and making my pitches as efficient as possible. But they still need to be chatty. I prefer to chat than recite.

Really excited about the event. I am not going expecting to sell a script or get an agent. I going to learn and to network with a lot of lovely people. So. I'd better get some writing done now.

London Screenwriting Festival is drawing near.

Like my new logo? My son designed it for me. Just got to remind him to finish designing my business cards.

Well I have been keeping busy getting ready for LSF, when I am not being my alter-ego. There are still tickets available so get there if you can.

Things are hotting up as labs, script readings and mentoring schemes come on line. I want to make the most of my time there so am applying for as much as I can. This means getting loglines, one page pitches and scripts up to scratch.

I heard yesterday that I got through the first stage for a mentoring programme. Delighted to see I knew quite a few of the others that got through too. Next week the group of 20 gets reduced to a group of 5. So that is 20 writers holding their breath. Does it seem quieter?

I won't have a fully developed script for all my projects but I aim to have good pitches ready for all of them. Them There Northerners, one of the LSF groups are having a gathering in just over a week.  We will be helping each other get ready with the assistance of some lovely mentors.

That is the nice thing about the writing community.  You pull each other up rather than pushing each other down. I am just as chuffed at a friend getting an opportunity as when I do. Well maybe a little less but only a little.

This will be my first time at the festival. I have wanted to go since it started but my day job always clashed with it. This year, no clash. Yay.

Like a lot of writers there I will be hoping to write a post on each day. From what I have seen for previous years I may be too exhausted to do it.  But I will try.

And what am I doing right now? Well I have the first act of a horror film, Symbiosis, being workshopped at the Theatre by the Lakes. I do enjoy seeing what directors and actors do with a script. Quite excited. I'll let you know how it goes.

Something Medical

Well I posted this on fb but a couple of friends though I aught to make it public. This is my public area so here it is.  Yes I will get back to writing posts.

The post was inspired by this BBC article. 

I am here today because of a very expensive drug. When it first came out the NHS would not provide it because of the expense. There was a long campaign and, a couple of years before I was diagnosed, they relented.

This drug, Herceptin, is vital for the 1 in 5 of of breast and stomach cancer sufferers who are HER2+. This is an extremely aggressive form of cancer.

When my Mum got breast cancer 27yrs ago the drug did not exist. She didn't make it. She had the same form and presentation of the Cancer as me.

Thanks to the drug I am still here.


I understand that the NHS has a limited budget and is further hampered by the Government's insistence it acts like a business rather than a service.

I also understand that drug companies need to recover the cost of years of research and only have the time until the patent expires to do this.

However they all need to think more about people and less about profit. Let the share holders and Government go hang. We are talking about people, not numbers.

Something Different 2

Did you enjoy my last post?  Well here is one on the joy of trusting Satnav in a county full of lanes. 
The advantage of teenage kids is you can sometimes escape and do things on your own. There is a huge independent bookshop here so I had to investigate. Once we had emptied the place of books we got in the car and turned on the Satnav.
Only 15mins to home. Goody. It was telling us to drive away from where we'd come from but why should that worry us? Satnav knows best. We drove on.
And on and on and on down a lane that got narrow and steeper.
Then the Satnav screeched. We had missed a turning. Well I say a turning but it was more a slight dent in the grass heading across a field.
The Satnav then gleefully pointed out we had no way to turn back and it would now be 30mins to get home. What could we do? We drove on.
Driving over Glutton Bridge (yes really) was the nicest part of what happened next. I swear I heard banjos at one point. We went down and down then, goody, up and up.
"Welcome to Staffordshire" said the sign. But we didn't want to leave bleeding "Derbyshire" we wailed. Still no turning points.
We imagined our poor bairns starving, alone, while we went from county to county looking for a turning point.
I know. Starving? Them? Fat chance. They would be raiding my chocolate!
Now we were driving along a single track with traffic lights to stop two cars trying to get cosy and inch past. Just as well because there was a flimsy fence then a sheer drop. Aaaaaaalllll the way down to the valley bottom.
I told Hubby not to look to his left and keep his eyes on the road. "What do you think I was bloody doing?" He retorted. I think we were both a bit stressed by then. Well my fingertips were buried in the dashboard.
At last we reached the top.
"Well done" said the satnav. Now you have to take that teeny, weeny branch off the road and back down the cliff face (well it looked it to me) to get home.
This time we did not argue and bit our lips as we inched down in what was now monsoon weather.
At last. We made it home. Shaken, tired and hungry. 
Did we get met with loving embraces? Kids wiping a tear in relief? Did we sod. We got "When's tea?"

Moral of that story? Remember the bleedin' map!

Something Different 1

I have been a bit quiet again, haven't I?  Well for a good reason. I have been busy writing.

But I'm not going to tell you about that.  Here is something I put on fb which caused amusement so I thought you might like to share in my suffering too. Holidays can be hard work. Especially if you are still recovering from an 18month illness.


Went to the Heights of Abraham. You get there using a car on a wire thingy. Sorry, brain not cooperating. You can see my picrture of it on the right.
The bloody things don't stop for you to get on and off. Just slow down. I kind of toppled forward onto it.
We then decided to go into one of the two mines on a tour. When I say we... well they weren't deciding so I did.
"Right," said the guide in her broad Peak District accent. "It's a 15 minute walk and there are 178 steps. The good news is some are down. The bad news is only three of them. Anyone want to back out."
The family look at me. I stand firm. Done the Whitby Steps. I can do this.
"And the roof goes as low as 5ft in places. Anyone backing out?"
They give me another worried look. "I'm 5ft 5. I can do this."
"And it is as cold as a fridge."
"Oh goody. That will make it easier. And look at all those little kids going in."
"There is a video of the tour instead or 5 minute cave walk in another part of the park?"
"Nope."
Family shake their heads in exasperation. I ignore them and enter the tunnel.
So the steep, wet slope down wasn't too bad. I had the freezing handles on each side to hold onto. Good.
And the long, low tunnel wasn't too bad. Belly made breathing harder when I was bent over but I got there. Still good. Still good.
Lovely first cave. No problems.
Then the first set of steps. Varying heights and a low roof.
"Is she counting? Stop counting." from one of the family.
"Shut up". I mutter. 10...11...12...
The group ahead disappear from sight. Don't panic. It is a straight tunnel. You can't get lost. ...28...29..30...
At 41 the steps stop and so do I. Doubled over trying not to be sick. The family behind us ask if I am OK. "Yep." I gasp. They hurry on.
We slowly go up the slope to be met by the guide. She tells me not to worry because lots of others struggled too. I look around at the wall of sympathetic looks. Not a single wheeze amongst them.
Dave props me against the wall while the guide does her stuff. By now I am trying to imagine how they will get a stretcher down to me, let alone get me out. I also remember I did Whitby steps BEFORE I fell ill.
I realised how much I had slowed them when the next group, supposed to be 15minutes behind us, entered the cave as we headed up the next set of steps.
Thankfully these steps were all the same height, 30 odd and a high roof. The others in the tour group raced ahead but the guide was waiting for me at the top to encourage me.
Another nice cave that they all admired while I tried to pretend the flashing lights were crystals.
Then the final long, winding steps to the top. Well I did it with lots of stops. Over the moon when I saw the light at the end of the tunnel. All the others were out by then except the family.
I staggered out the top and got a well done from the guide and a few of the group who had waited to see if I made it. They had saved a place on a bench for me to recover.
I DID IT!!!
After a few hours I suggested the easy mine tour. Easy? It was at the bottom of the hill! The steep hill! The near vertical hill!!! 
We started down. A third of the way I saw super fit walking types practically crawling to get up the hill. If it was going to do that to them, what would it do to me?
Common sense finally hit and I chickened out. Just as well because family had to practically pull me up the hill again. Chocolate Fudge Cake helped me recover.

There. Did you enjoy that?  Got another one for tomorrow if I remember.