The blog
Long thoughts and late-night stories from our writers.
AllSingularity50Screenwriters FestivalPodcastIndustryVerticalsFeaturesTVPitchingStory AdviceOnlineSciFiAnnouncementsImpact50Twisted5050 KissesLondonSWF
›Browse by tag
✕ clear “memoir”1980s cinema1980s nostalgia50 kisses80s nostalgiaabuse of poweractingactor's processadaptationadolescenceadviceafricaai narrationai storytellingai text-to-speechai voice generationamazonamazon bestselleramazon kindleambitionanalog horroranalogue horrorannouncementanthologyanthology filmanthology submissionapocalypseapocalypse filmarchiveart house filmartificial intelligenceaspiring writersatmosfearatmosphereatmosphericaudience connectionaudience engagementaudience feedbackaudio dramaaudiobookaudiobooksaustralian outbackauthor bioauthor experienceauthor platformauthor reflectionautobiographicalautumnaward certificateawardsawards ceremonyawards eventawards nightbath spabehindbehind the scenesbeing publishedbeing watchedbelongingbest sellerbestsellerbeta testingbinaural soundbittersweetblack humourboard gamesbody horrorbonfirebook coverbook cover designbook cover revealbook launchbook publishingbook seriesbrevitybritish televisionburnoutcall for submissionscall to actioncandidcannibalismcareer changecareer developmentcareer launchingcastingcatharsiscathartic fearcelebrationcelebratorycelebrity guestscharacter craftcharacter developmentcharacter voiceschildhood fearchildhood influenceschildhood memorieschildhood memorychosen familychris jonescollaborationcollaborativecollaborative creativitycollaborative filmcollaborative filmmakingcollaborative projectcomfort zonecommunitycommunity achievementcommunity announcementcommunity buildingcommunity celebrationcommunity challengecommunity engagementcommunity etiquettecommunity feedbackcommunity mobilisationcommunity mobilizationcommunity platformcommunity supportcommunity surveycompetitioncompetition analysisconfidenceconfronting fearconservationconstructive criticismconstructive feedbackcontemporary artcourtroom dramacraftcraft advicecraft developmentcraft of writingcraft tipscraft toolscreate 50create50creative achievementcreative ambitioncreative challengecreative collaborationcreative communitycreative confidencecreative constraintscreative encouragementcreative experimentcreative feedbackcreative freedomcreative industrycreative inspirationcreative isolationcreative journeycreative originscreative passioncreative pridecreative processcreative reawakeningcreative writingcreativitycreativity blockcreature featurescrowdfundingcrowdsourcingcult cinemacultural anxietydan mccurrydarkdark desiredark fictiondark humourdark sidedarknessde-extinctiondeadlinedeadlinesdeathdecay and rebirthdepressiondesign decisiondialoguedidndirectingdirector's processdirectorsdirk maggsdisciplinedocumentarydocumentary filmmakingdomestic horrordopaminedramatic ironydreaddylan spicerdyslexiadystopiaearly adoptersedgar allan poeeditingediting adviceediting craftediting techniquesediting tipseditorialembracing the weirdemerging writersempathyempoweringencouragementencouragingend of the worldenfield poltergeistensemble storytellingerotic horroreuphoriaevent photographyevent photosevent recapexcitementexecutive producerextinctionfacing fearfacing nightmaresfahrenheit 451fatherhoodfearfear and desirefear of rejectionfear of the unknownfearless creativityfeature filmfeedbackfeedback culturefestivalfestival submissionfiction writingfilm adaptationfilm awardsfilm communityfilm distributionfilm editingfilm festivalfilm festivalsfilm posterfilm premierefilm promotionfilm recommendationsfilm reviewfilmmaker advicefilmmaker communityfilmmaker diaryfilmmaker journeyfilmmakersfilmmakingfilmmaking advicefilmmaking challengefilmmaking communityfilmmaking craftfilmmaking journeyfilmmaking on a budgetfinding flowfinding meaningfinding purposefinding your genrefinding your tribefinding your voicefirst dayfirst publicationfirst submissionfirst-time delegatefirst-time directorfirst-time writersflash fictionfolk horrorforestfound footagefrankensteinfreedom of expressionfundraisinggaming franchisesgazegen xgenre analysisgenre challengegenre claritygenre definitiongenre discoverygenre fictiongenre filmmakinggenre inspirationgenre metaphorgenre switchinggenre televisiongenxgetting publishedghost storiesgiving feedbackglobal cinemaglobal writersgothicgothic horrorgothic influencesgratitudegravatargriefguest bloggingguilt and sinhalloweenhannibal lecterhaunted placesheadshothopefulhorrorhorror anthologyhorror challengehorror comicshorror crafthorror fictionhorror filmmakinghorror filmshorror genrehorror subgenreshorror writinghow-tohuman conditionhuman connectionhuman kindnesshypnagogic hallucinationsidentityimage promptsimaginationimdb creditimdb ratingimmersive storytellingimpact50imposter syndromeimpostor syndromeindependent filmindependent filmmakingindie filmindie filmmakingindustry adviceindustry insightinfluencesinspirationinspirationalinspiringinternational collaborationinternshipinterviewintroductionjapanese horrorjust do itkindle unlimitedlate bloominglate nightlater-in-life writinglaunch eventlearninglegacyless is moreletting golight and darknesslimited editionliterary influencelive eventliveslocal presslocation shootinglofi horrorlog linesloglinelondonlondon eventlondon screenwriters festivallondon undergroundlosslow budgetlow budget filmmakinglow budget productionmacabremagic realismmarketingmarketing your workmemoirmemorabiliamental healthmerchandisemetaphysicalmicro shortmicro-budgetmidjourneymilestonemortalitymotivationmovingmukbangmythologynanowrimonarrative voicenetworkingneurodivergencenew beginningsnight shiftnightmaresnostalgianostalgicnovellanovice writerobsessionon setonboardingonlineonline presenceopening linesopportunityovercoming excusesovercoming fearovercoming illnessovercoming lossovercoming perfectionismovercoming rejectionovercoming reluctanceovercoming self-doubtowning your identitypanel discussionparanormalparenthoodpatiencepeer feedbackpeer reviewpeopleperfectionismperseverancepersistencepersonal brandingpersonal essaypersonal experiencephotographyphysical bookpitchpitchespitchingplayfulpodcastpodcast interviewpolitics of horrorpollportugalposterspr and presspr and promotionpractical effectspractical filmmakingpractical guidepre-productionpremiereprideproduct feedbackproduction diaryproductivityprofessional identityprose stylepsychological horrorpublished authorpublishingpublishing economicspublishing updateradio dramareaching new audiencesreader engagementreader feedbackreading strugglesrealreceiving feedbackrecognitionrecurring characterred carpetreflectionreflectiveregretreigniting creativityreinventionremembrancerenewalresilienceretro horrorreviewsrevisionrevision processrock bandroyaltiesrunning timesacrificesci-fisci-fi anthologysci-fi comedyscience fictionscreenwritersscreenwritingscreenwriting advicescreenwriting careerscreenwriting challengescreenwriting communityscreenwriting competitionscreenwriting contestscreenwriting craftscript competitionscript developmentscript formatscript submissionseasonal affective disorderseasonal writingseizing opportunityselected writersself-acceptanceself-discoveryself-doubtself-promotionself-publishingsense of placeserial killerserial killersshort fictionshort filmshort film awardsshort scriptshort storiesshort storyshort story anthologyshort story collectionshort story competitionshort story competitionsshort story craftshort story showcaseshort story submissionshowssilent rolesingularity50sizzle reelslasher genresleep paralysissocial mediasound designspeculative fictionstatisticsstephen kingstepping outside comfort zonestory descriptionstory premisestorytellingstorytelling craftstorytelling toolsstroke recoverysubmission callsubmission processsubmission tipssubmissionssubmissions closedsubverting the familiarsupernaturalsupportive critiquesuspensetag linestaking actionteamworktech horrortechnology and writingtensiontestimonialtestimonialstext to speechthe impactthe impact50the uncannythresholdtonetransparencytributetropes and clichéstrue storytutorialtwist endingtwistedtwisted 50twisted anthologytwisted50unreliable narratorunsettlinguser experiencevalidationvillain perspectivevoice actingvoice and pacingvotingwordsworkworld premiereworld recordworldbuildingwriterwriter communitywriter feedbackwriter identitywriter testimonialwriter's biblewriter's blockwriter's journeywriting advicewriting challengewriting communitywriting competitionwriting contestwriting craftwriting feedbackwriting habitwriting horrorwriting initiativewriting inspirationwriting journeywriting processwriting promptwriting tips
From Shadows to Spotlight: My Twisted 50 Adventure by Rebecca Golby
When I first submitted Murderabilia to the Twisted 50 anthology, I had no idea where it might lead. It felt like a chance to dip my toes into horror—a genre I’ve always admired but carefully avoided (blame that on my…
Rebecca Golby · 11 December 2024 · 3 min
There’s never a write time by Andrew Perry
“I don’t have the time.” The main excuse of the writer for not writing. An excuse I’ve used myself, although I have managed to write an IT self-help guide, comics and a couple of graphic novels, as well as having stor…
Andrew Perry · 18 November 2024 · 3 min
My first run at Twisted50 by Thomas M Pritchard
After the inevitable race over the finish line, my first submission for Twisted 50 2024 is in. A few years ago. I volunteered for the London Screenwriters Festival . At the time, I was a struggling film student and fo…
Thomas M Pritchard · 11 October 2024 · 3 min
Are you a Reader, or are you a Writer? by Rusty Rushfeldt
Are you a reader, or are you a writer, or one of the fortunate ones who enjoys reading and writing? If you are of the latter, then color me jealous. From an early age reading was torture for me, unless there were pict…
Rusty Rushfeldt · 4 October 2024 · 2 min
Scream and Scream Again… with HookJaw!
It’s a funny thing being dyslexic. Especially undiagnosed GenX dyslexic. Turns out that paradoxically, many writers are also dyslexic. And it’s kind of a super power now. However, in the 80’s, loving horror and wantin…
Chris Jones · 24 September 2024 · 2 min
The Bonfire Effect by Rusty Rushfeldt
Finding Twisted50 , creating a horror story, and submitting it, was reminiscent of my grandfather sharing his stories by the night-time bonfires. Writing, like storytelling by a bonfire, can be a source of warmth and…
Rusty Rushfeldt · 19 September 2024 · 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
Living the Nightmare: How Hypnagogic and Hypnopompic Hallucinations Shaped My First Horror Story
For most people, horror is a genre that offers thrilling entertainment or a good scare. For me, horror is something I’ve spent years avoiding. This is because I experience both hypnagogic (falling asleep) and hypnopom…
Rebecca Golby · 7 September 2024 · 5 min
Looks like I might be getting more than one film premiere this year, by Lynn Robertson Hay
I fully expected that the first project I’d tell you about would be my film BRAVE THE DARK, starring Jared Harris, which shot in the States last year – but another project has leap-frogged over it. And amazingly, it’s…
Chris Jones · 21 June 2022 · 5 min
A Missive on the Singularity by Claire Rye
Monday night and a forgettable dream wakes me from my slumber. I look over at the clock. 11.53pm. My mind starts a conversation with itself.. It’s past midday in London. They have announced the winners. You were going…
Chris Jones · 28 November 2018 · 1 min
Family Business by Vera Mark
Writers are weird, in general. Horror writers are twisted. Sci-fi writers are visionaries. Comet writers are… trailblazers? And they’re all part of the Create50 community, my weird, beloved family. I joined Create50 i…
Vera Mark · 7 November 2018 · 2 min