It Starts Long Before the one ‘Yes’! – LondonSWF'27

Before I share my top takeaways as a first-time London Screenwriters’ Festival delegate, I must confess how insanely impossible this once felt to me.

Six months ago, even writing a cold email to the festival organisers felt intimidating. I still remember reaching out to Chris Jones and Lucia Landino, not really expecting anything back, and being genuinely surprised by how warm and encouraging they were. That small interaction honestly changed something for me. It might not have opened the big doors, but it did something far more important: it made me feel heard as a writer before anyone else.

Travelling all the way from India to London for a screenwriting festival without any industry background felt huge and honestly terrifying at first. But I’m so glad I did it.

My biggest takeaways:

• People work with people, not just projects.
  The conversations I remember most were not about pitching. They were about honesty, creative struggles, passion, and a shared love for storytelling.

• Everyone is figuring things out.
  No matter how experienced they were, almost every writer I met carried some form of doubt and uncertainty alongside their talent.

• It really does take one YES.
  One conversation, one connection, one person believing in your work can quietly change your direction completely.

Someone asked if I was a screenwriter, and I hesitated because I didn’t feel I had “earned” the title yet. Their response hit me hard: “If you’re writing scripts and building projects, you’re already a screenwriter. Own it.”

I returned home feeling far less intimidated by the industry and far more excited to keep creating. The organisers and the entire London Screenwriters’ Festival team have a way of making you feel seen, heard, and encouraged to believe in your story before self-doubt gets louder.

So, to all the screenwriters starting out, remember: it starts long before that one “Yes.”

Find my books and work here:

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B0FNWZZBHB
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neha-a-4523ab212/