Nik Perring, London International Screenwriting and Film Festival Short Screenplay Finalist, Over and Over

London International Screenwriting and Film Festival Short Screenplay Finalist: Over and Over by Nick Perring

- Can you please tell us about you and your daily life?

Sure, though there’s not always a whole lot of order to it…

I write, professionally, I teach others how to write. I’m a prose and poetry editor and a script doctor. So there’s a lot to balance but also a lot of beauty if you know how to look just a little harder. But I get to make stories and help other people and I’m very grateful I’m still, after twenty-one years, able to do that.

- When and how did you get into writing? 

I started publishing stories about twenty-one years ago. I’ve published six books. When the Beast From The East stopped everything  a few years ago, I used the time to learn how to write scripts. Cut to: now – What Liba Felt, (dir, Frank Nesseman) was shot in Berlin over the summer and is in post; and there are a couple of other shorts being made by Ali Kareem in the US this year.

- How often do you write/create ideas? Do you have a working routine? And what inspires you to create?

Ideas are everywhere, it’s down to us to put ourselves in the best place to receive them and then make sure we have enough time to do them justice. Screenwriting is a long process so I’m pretty picky, these days, which ideas I commit to.

Routine? Write fast, edit slow.

What inspires me to create? I like to make people feel. And give them what might be a different angle to see the world from.

- How does it feel to have your work recognised?

It’s a good feeling. The point of art is to make people feel something. If I’m doing that, I’m happy.

- What's the best and most challenging thing about writing a Screenplay? 

Two things: time and Funding. Even a short film costs a lot of money and there are very few funding streams open to everyone. I’m excited though – now AI has seduced the bigger bros with promises of cheap content over anything good, I think it’ll open up a gap for exciting and interesting independent movies which will – because they’ll connect with people – make money which, in turn, will find its way to new projects.

Time’s an interesting one. I can write first drafts really fast but I need to know I’ll be able to give the project my attention over a long period. Nothing good comes out fully-formed.

-  How did you develop the idea for your LISP-selected script? Is there a story behind your story? And, how long have you been working on it?

Over and Over was first written a couple of years ago. Like I said, screenwriting is a long process…

- Can you please give us a few tips about writing a Screenplay?

Learn how to do it. Learn how to finish it. Learn how to make it better. Repeat.

- What's the best thing and the most challenging thing about competitions and festivals? 

The best thing’s easy – it’s success! Recognition. I wouldn’t have sold anything had I not won some competitions. All that said, the decisions are always rooted in someone’s opinion – so while something is the best script or movie to them, not winning or being placed doesn’t suddenly make it no good.

- Lastly, do you recommend the writers submit to LISP?

Of course! What a way to get your work out there!