Monday 3 August 2020

Script Life in Lockdown


Hey there! Really long time no see. Networking drinks have taken a big hit this year as we all went into lock down in March and group gatherings indoors, as well as use of public transport, are still no one’s favourite, high-risk endeavour. 

Like the rest of the population, some members have been hit hard, whether in terms of physical or mental health, financially, or emotionally. Loss of work, space/time, as well as increased isolation all take their toll, even if you are relatively safe from virus. I’m already at least two virus scares and one test, (negative), in and we’ve a long road to go before we can safely claim to be out of the woods. 

Like many, I went into full retreat at the start of the lock down, with illness, and have only very gradually begun to emerge. As a script consultant and screenwriter, I’ve been lucky to be able to gradually get back to working from home, providing online meetings, reports and story development, alongside home school and childcare. I managed to get my thriller pitch in for the Red Planet Prize and was delighted to get to the final 4% (top 50) of 1,280 entries, competing to develop a series for ITV.

Sometimes the best way to deal with the anxiety amidst rising danger is to switch off from social media and not engage too much with the news. I've been pretty absent out there. 


With the extra time at home I’ve made new forays into exercise, gardening, home organisation, décor and DIY (trying to fix a kitchen tap with guidance over video call, no easy feat), cooking (the same meal miles apart), hair experiments, home lattes, Warhammer and chess, family film quiz. For a while I was practically living on a popular video calling app, as a lifeline to loved ones far away. 

There’ve been darker times and humour, new perspectives, and experience. I’m very lucky to have a garden, but the impact of our world narrowing down to one little isolated box away from some of our closest loved ones, without enough hope of it changing soon, is not to be underestimated. 

It was momentous in June when I was first reunited with my partner after months, or able to get out of the local area and into the countryside for a day.

It’s meant a lot as I start to see more of friends and family and even look forward to a holiday perhaps. We may be back in lock down again at some point, so good to appreciate any freedoms while we have them. 

On that note, In Development will stay on ice for August. But all being well, we'll be back, at least in some form, in September. If it’s possible to gather in person we will, or if not then an online gathering to chat about what we’ve been up to and how projects are progressing. 

In the meantime, please do email with a photo from your lock down life and any thoughts you’d like to share, and I can post again in September. Stay safe out there In Devvers. Sarah x