freelance ghost writer

7th January 2018

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Ghostwriter in the Sky – Winter Warmers

Winter is not everyone’s favourite time of year but I have to say that so far this one is proving quite productive.

Back in September I attended the London Screenwriter’s Festival. This was my first time and I was a bit apprehensive but I have to say I found it a very positive experience and I would encourage anyone with aspirations to write for the screen to get themselves a ticket.

The particular highlight was the Pitchfest. Essentially a speed dating session where a group of producers were confronted by a long line of us wannabees who each had 5 minutes to pitch our ideas to them.

Pitching sounds easy but most definitely is not. Fortunately I took in a couple of YouTube vids beforehand and picked up some very helpful pointers the most important of which is that to pitch successfully you have to be as excited and enthusiastic about your idea as if you had just invented Christmas. It sounds blindingly obvious but in fact it is not as easy as one might expect.

To have the confidence to put your idea which you have conceived and crafted from your own imagination in front of a total stranger and defy him not to be blown away by it is not an easy accomplishment. I confess I have not been so nervous or so exhilarated about an event for years.

Anyway the upshot is that I have had subsequent meetings with two producers about the Caterpillar. The feedback is interesting. Previously I have been talking about the script to people who are themselves writers and so concentrate on plot, structure and character. The producers, however, look at money. How much will this cost to make, does it need so many characters, do we really need a helicopter?

So back to the drawing board but I am beginning to realise that this is how it goes. Writing is re-writing someone once said and if you cannot accept that then  better take up knitting.

 

 

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