The blog

Long thoughts and late-night stories from our writers.

All Singularity50 Screenwriters Festival Podcast Industry Verticals Features TV Pitching Story Advice Online SciFi Announcements Impact50 Twisted50 50 Kisses LondonSWF Courses

›Browse by tag

✕ clear “london screenwriters festival”1950s cinema 1980s cinema 1980s nostalgia 50 kisses 80s nostalgia abuse of power acting actor's process adaptation adolescence advice africa ai narration ai storytelling ai text-to-speech ai voice ai voice generation amazon amazon bestseller amazon kindle ambition analog horror analogue horror announcement anthology anthology film anthology submission anti-corporate anticipation apocalypse apocalypse film appreciate life archive art house film artificial intelligence aspiring writers atmosfear atmosphere atmospheric audience connection audience engagement audience feedback audio drama audio editing audiobook audiobook production audiobooks australian outback author bio author experience author insight author journey author platform author reflection author stories autobiographical autumn award certificate awards awards ceremony awards event awards night bad monkey bath spa bbc radio bristol bbfc certification bbfc classification behind behind the scenes being published being watched belonging best seller bestseller beta testing binaural sound bittersweet black humour board games body horror bonfire book cover book cover design book cover reveal book launch book publishing book reviews book series british television burnout call for contributions call for submissions call to action candid cannibalism career change career development career launching casting catharsis cathartic fear celebration celebratory celebrity guests character character craft character development character voices child villain childhood fear childhood influences childhood memories childhood memory chosen family chris jones christmas ghost stories christmas horror cinema screening cinema technology cinema-going cinematographer clarity closer collaboration collaborative collaborative creativity collaborative film collaborative filmmaking collaborative project comedy writing comfort zone community community achievement community announcement community building community celebration community challenge community engagement community etiquette community feedback community mobilisation community mobilization community platform community spotlight community support community survey competition competition analysis confession confidence conflict confronting fear connection conservation constructive criticism constructive feedback contemporary art courses courtroom drama craft craft advice craft and commerce craft development craft of writing craft tips craft tools create 50 create50 creative achievement creative ambition creative challenge creative collaboration creative community creative confidence creative constraints creative encouragement creative experiment creative feedback creative freedom creative industry creative inspiration creative isolation creative journey creative messiness creative origins creative passion creative pride creative process creative reawakening creative spark creative writing creativity creativity block creature features crowdfunding crowdsourcing cult cinema cultural anxiety dan mccurry dark dark desire dark fiction dark humour dark side darkness dcp de-extinction deadline deadlines death decay and rebirth depression desert island discs design decision desire destiny dialogue didn directing directing debut director's process directors dirk maggs discipline diy filmmaking documentary documentary filmmaking domestic horror dopamine dramatic irony dread dreams and nightmares dylan spicer dyslexia dystopia early adopters edgar allan poe editing editing advice editing craft editing techniques editing tips editorial elevenlabs embracing the weird emerging writers emotional honesty empathy empowering encouragement encouraging end of the world enfield poltergeist ensemble cast ensemble storytelling erotic horror euphoria event announcement event photography event photos event recap excitement executive producer experimentation extinction facing fear facing nightmares fahrenheit 451 fascination fatherhood fear fear and desire fear of rejection fear of the unknown fearless creativity feature film feedback feedback culture festival festival run festival submission fiction writing film adaptation film analysis film awards film classification film community film distribution film dubbing film editing film festival film festivals film industry film marketing film merchandise film poster film premiere film promotion film recommendations film review filmmaker advice filmmaker community filmmaker diary filmmaker journey filmmaker spotlight filmmakers filmmaking filmmaking advice filmmaking career filmmaking challenge filmmaking community filmmaking craft filmmaking journey filmmaking milestone filmmaking on a budget filmmaking opportunity finding flow finding meaning finding purpose finding your genre finding your tribe finding your voice first day first film first publication first submission first-time delegate first-time director first-time writers flash fiction folk horror following your passion forest found footage four-hander frankenstein freedom of expression friendship fundraising gaming franchises gaze gen x generosity genre analysis genre challenge genre clarity genre craft genre definition genre discovery genre fiction genre filmmaking genre inspiration genre metaphor genre switching genre television genx getting published ghost stories giving feedback global cinema global writers gothic gothic horror gothic influences gratitude gravatar grief guest blogging guilt and sin halloween hannibal lecter haunted places headshot hopeful horror horror anthology horror challenge horror comics horror craft horror fiction horror filmmaking horror films horror genre horror subgenres horror writing how-to human condition human connection human kindness humanity hypnagogic hallucinations identity image prompts imagination imdb credit imdb rating immersive storytelling impact50 imposter syndrome impostor syndrome in memoriam independent film independent filmmaking indie film indie filmmaking indie publishing industry advice industry insight influences inspiration inspirational inspiring interactive experience internal conflict international collaboration internship interview introduction japanese horror just do it kafka influence kickstarter killdozer killer vehicles kindle unlimited late blooming late night later-in-life writing launch event learning legacy letting go lifelong learning light and darkness liminal horror limited edition literary influence live event lives local press location shooting lofi horror log lines logline london london event london screenwriters festival london underground loss low budget low budget filmmaking low budget production macabre magic realism marketing marketing your work marriage breakdown masterclass maximum overdrive memoir memorabilia mental health mentorship merchandise metaphysical meteorite micro short micro-budget midjourney milestone mise en scène mortality motivation movie poster moving mukbang music influences mythology nanowrimo narrative voice nature networking networking event neurodivergence new beginnings night shift nightmares nostalgia nostalgic novella novice writer obituary obsession on set onboarding online online presence opening lines opportunity overcoming excuses overcoming fear overcoming illness overcoming loss overcoming perfectionism overcoming rejection overcoming reluctance overcoming self-doubt owning your identity panel discussion paranormal parenthood patience peer feedback peer review people perfectionism perseverance persistence personal branding personal essay personal experience personal inspiration personal journey photography physical book pitch pitches pitching plagiarism playful podcast podcast interview politics of horror poll portugal post-production posters pr and press pr and promotion practical advice practical effects practical filmmaking practical guide practical tips pre-production premiere pride problem solving product feedback production diary productivity professional identity prose style psychological horror published author publishing publishing economics publishing update radio drama radio interview reacher reaching new audiences reader engagement reader feedback reading struggles real receiving feedback recognition recurring character red carpet reflection reflective regret reigniting creativity reinvention rejection remembrance renewal resilience retro horror review reviews revision revision process richard osborne rock band royalties running time sacrifice sci-fi sci-fi anthology sci-fi comedy science fiction science fiction history screenwriters screenwriters festival screenwriting screenwriting advice screenwriting career screenwriting challenge screenwriting community screenwriting competition screenwriting contest screenwriting craft screenwriting inspiration script competition script consulting script development script format script presentation script recommendations script submission seasonal affective disorder seasonal writing seizing opportunity selected writers self-acceptance self-belief self-discovery self-doubt self-promotion self-publishing sense of place serial killer serial killers short fiction short film short film awards short film competition short films short script short scripts short stories short story short story anthology short story collection short story competition short story competitions short story craft short story showcase short story submission shows signature lines silent role singularity50 sitcom sizzle reel slasher genre sleep paralysis social media soho radio sound design speculative fiction star trek statistics stephen king stepping outside comfort zone story description story premise storytelling storytelling craft storytelling techniques storytelling tools stroke recovery subgenre submission call submission guidelines submission process submission tips submissions submissions closed subtext subverting expectations subverting the familiar success story super 8mm supernatural supportive critique suspense suspension of disbelief tag lines taking action team effort teamwork tech horror technology and writing tension testimonial testimonials text to speech the car the impact the impact50 the mind the uncanny the-fens theatrical distribution threshold timing titles tone transparency tribute tropes and clichés true story tutorial tv drama tv writing twist ending twisted twisted 50 twisted anthology twisted50 unreliable narrator unsettling user experience validation villain perspective visceral obsession voice acting voice and pacing voting wordplay words work workflow workshops world premiere world record worldbuilding writer writer community writer feedback writer identity writer testimonial writer's bible writer's block writer's journey writing advice writing challenge writing community writing competition writing contest writing craft writing feedback writing habit writing horror writing initiative writing inspiration writing journey writing process writing prompt writing tips wry

Latest

Four Minutes of Horror at LondonSWF by Suzy Miller

An email flew in from London Screenwriters’ Festival, calling out for maximum four minute horror audio scripts. To be recorded live with actors and mixed during the session with the legend that is Dirk Maggs. I happen…

Suzy Miller·17 April 2026·4 min

Get Your Four Page Twisted50 Screenplay Recorded As An Audio Drama At LondonSWF

OK, we are running a last minute competition. At the London Screenwriters Festival this year, Audio Drama LEGEND Dirk Maggs is returning to deliver a session on Audio Drama. But we have a twist! And a Twisted twist at…

Chris Jones · 10 March 2026 · 2 min

Everybody, even the elderly, can have a go!

Having attended LSF in the past and taken part in several workshops as well as submitting a screenplay scene for direction at the festival, my fear of trying to write horror stories was not as great as it might have b…

Susan Law · 16 September 2024 · 1 min

Four Star Review of ‘The Impact’ with Film and TV, Review by John Higgins

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ The world may be emerging from a global challenge, but film-makers are still determined to show the bad side of what is going on. We are still very vulnerable emotionally and financially, but creativity w…

Chris Jones · 5 May 2022 · 2 min

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 organiser…

Neha Ansari · 26 January 2022 · 2 min

Twisted: Ghosts of Christmas Now Available in Paperback and eBook

Twisted: Ghosts of Christmas Now Avaialable in Paperback and eBook! Help us hit the Amazon Best Seller List. It feels like Groundhog Day, the horror movie! No sooner has our Santa’s Bedtime Book of Adventure Stories b…

Chris Jones · 13 December 2020 · 2 min