Tag: networking

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Go on, say hello.

I’m off to Cheltenham next week for the Screenwriters’ Festival. You can find my thoughts on previous years by checking out this handy-dandy magic blogspot tag thing.

Executive summary: it’s excellent, and well worth the money. You can still get tickets from the festival website.

If you’re going to be coming along too and it’s your first time at the festival, you might be a little nervous about meeting people, especially if you’re going on your own.

Fortunately, we have a solution.

The lovely and talented Michelle Lipton, Jason Arnopp, Phill Barron, and myself will be holding our now-traditional go-on-say-hello-what’s-the-worst-that-can-happen networking do on the Sunday night.

By which I mean:

We’ll be down the pub, and we’d love for you to join us.

You’ll be able to find us in the bar of the Queen’s Hotel on the evening of Sunday 25th October from about six o’clock onwards.

It’ll be a chance to put names to faces and get to know people before everything kicks off in earnest on the Monday.

Hope to see you there!

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Screenwriters Festival

Fortunately Lee Thomson (he smiles, you know) has a roundup of other people’s thoughts on the festival which means that I don’t have to.

I believe some comedic pictures of the event may also be available from Jason Arnopp. The majority of them, sadly, are on facebook, and I find myself completely unable to recollect his Facebook Name at the moment.

A few random thoughts:

  • Next year, I’m going to take first class on the train, and I think you should too – it’s only an extra tenner or so if you buy a week in advance, and will make the trip so much nicer.

  • If the screenwriting agencies don’t show up at their promised sessions, help any other people who arrive by giving them good advice, then escape by leaping through the window. You will receive biscuits for your kindness.

  • Croquet is a vicious, vicious game.

  • The chances of being able to find anything vaguely resembling a Martini within the vicinity of the festival range somewhere between slim and none.

  • We don’t do catchphrases. There’s no evidence for that.

  • Room parties are a fine invention. Though you should probably try to keep the noise down to less than, say, jet-engine levels. Or the hotel duty manager may swing by and politely ask you to keep it down.

  • Tony Jordan really is a lovely man.

  • The ways of The Dark Arrow are both mysterious and disturbing.

  • Networking is not going up to the most famous person in the room and asking them to read your script. Networking is actually about going and having fun with your friends who work in the same industry.

I haven’t laughed as loudly, as long, or as often for a long time.

I’ll be there next year. I hope you will too.