You know that you’ve come home when it feels like Disneyland

I offered to write a blog as I had such a ball on the LSF live stream this April. Its my first time, having had no awareness of LSF (how did that happen?!) until a work colleague gave me a link about the Thursday Replays. I also did the March online-only festival and was able to sign up for streaming-only ticket on the April festival.

DAY ONE: ONE ROOM, TWO PITCH-A-THONS

I stayed on Tuke for my first day, as a I had an afternoon commitment which took me offline for a few hours. Here are a few highlights:

David Thompson’s talk really got me thinking about the importance of a writer’s lived experience in setting the tone of the story world (the miners’ strike for Billy Elliott, and mass unemployment for “The Full Monty”), and how “feel-good” stories have developed out of the usual British kitchen-sink (usually rather dour) feature-length dramas. Move over, “Cathy Come Home”…

I’d already developed admiration for Scott Myers from his March online talk, and he did not disappoint. It was great to see his excellent Coen Brothers analysis, and Scott’s enthusiasm for them was infectious. It was a whistle-stop tour of a deep-dive. In particular, Scott noted their ongoing relationship with, and desire to emulate, The Wizard of Oz – which of course, also got me thinking about David Lynch’s work.

Hayley McKenzie’s talk on thriller & crime drama opened up my understanding of the genre’s possibilities. As someone with a bit of an aversion to the proliferation of medical, police procedurals and detective series (with the notable exception of “Peaky Blinders”, because its told from the criminals’ point of view), it was a real wake-up call to be encouraged to look at the techniques being used, to appreciate the ‘propulsive question’, and to know where the story sits in the tonal landscape. Also the potential catastrophise a relationship drama into a crime, and the fact that you can tell any story, because the investigation is led by curiosity about Why someone has done something (usually committing the ultimate crime of murder) to someone else. But the piece de resistance was the golden tip to use the College of Policing Investigation manual, and the CPS Table of Offences to generate ideas and to learn the procedural elements of an investigation. Absolute genius, thanks Hayley!

But the out-and-out stars of the day were those brave attendees who stepped up for the two pitching sessions. The first session gave them two minutes each, and the second session only gave them one minute to get their story across to the panel. I have never seen pitching before, and that was the absolute best introduction I could have hoped for – to see and hear the panellists interacting with box-fresh ideas. I salute everyone who was brave enough to do it, it was a crash course for me.

DAY TWO: TWO ROOMS – FROM NUTSHELLS TO BOOTCAMP

I had to make some hard choices about sessions, so decided to stick with the initial talks and to catch up with the “script chats” on the archive. I opened with the new pitching playbook session, which was educational on some of the competitions that I hadn’t been aware of (Studio 21, BAFTA Rocliffe). The top tip from this session was that ‘brands love stories’ – its where the new opportunities are for new writers. Also to look at the speakers list for the Create London festival (which was the weekend after LSF). Who is spending money on stories in that space? Invaluable insider insight. This was complimented later in the Pitching bootcamp session with John Yorke, whose wonderful book “Into the Woods” is never far from my work area. I counted 30 pitches in that session – epic feedback, laser-point incisive, helpfully consistent.

Pick a genre was also a wonderful insight into the importance of understanding target audiences and genre, while the Nutshell technique and mastering the middle act sessions provided great analysis tools. Another pitching session kept that awareness of the need for practical and communication skills. The highlights of the day for me were the worldbuilding chat with Frank Spotnitz and Peter Harness (I am a fully paid-up sci-fi and fantasy geek) and the wonderful audience with Graham Yost, followed by his live commentary on “Speed”. Quite the finale for day two!

DAY THREE: I HEART GENERATING I.P.

I’m sure that Sunday was a hung over day for many in-person, after the networking party. By this point, I was on ‘howdy’ terms with the wonderful tech team who’d been looking after the live stream and trouble-shooting the chat all weekend.

I made it for Lucy Van Smit’s session on ‘The Creative Heart’ which was fascinatingly broad and clearly very well-researched. My takeaway was her closing: your story river is designed to teach you initiations (obstacles), energy can only be  transformed. Your soul has chosen to ask who you need to become, to get past A.I. lets just say I was not expecting to go that deep, so early in the morning! I’m glad to hear there is a book due in November, so that I can dive into it. Julian Friedmann’s session on what agents actually want to hear was heartfelt, but slightly intimidating.

Alex Parkinson’s “Last Breath” session was quite the journey, and it was wonderful to hear about his commitment to the story and how he transitioned from factual to drama in the process. It was a good preparation for the ‘Write the book first’ panel on creating your own IP – which has encouraged me to resurrect a children’s story that I submitted last year to Penguin WriteNow (and a huge Thank You to Nicola May for the lovely 121 chat about the basics of online publishing a few days after LSF!).

Hayley’s series DNA session was tantalising but could only scratch the surface of building a series engine in the time allowed. It still gave me a lot to think about. LSF saved two absolute corkers for the last day: Bob Schultz’s logline clinic (conducted after 92 hours without sleep – hero), and the General Meeting Panel. Again, this was a new concept for me – I’d never heard of a general. The session was absolutely chock-full of great tips, including (from Rachel Paterson) – start a google doc, with a spreadsheet of the ideas discussed after the meeting, and email the Producer / Commissioner giving them a link to it. Then you can both tinker and add to the slate. Simple, but elegant.

I also ordered a copy of “Its Not Yet Dark” based on the rousing speakers in the Closing Ceremony about the history of the “F*ing Awesome” Award. All in all, for me LSF felt like coming home. I finished the weekend exhausted but exhilarated. As I wrote to Chris afterwards; I laughed, I cried, I yelled (closing ceremony), and I’m all-in for 2026. I hope to see you there!