From Flu to Film Success: A Writer’s Journey Through Talent Campus

In a fascinating conversation with Chris Jones, writer Dylanne shares her remarkable journey from aspiring screenwriter to having her work featured on Netflix. Her story begins with an unlikely twist – while sick in bed with flu, a friend’s chance encounter with a producer’s chauffeur led to her first major screenwriting opportunity. This serendipitous moment resulted in her writing “Father Christmas is Back,” a film featuring an impressive cast including Elizabeth Hurley, John Cleese, and Kelsey Grammar.

Before this breakthrough, Dylanne had attended Talent Campus 7 in the summer of 2019, though she nearly didn’t go. It was her daughter’s encouragement – “Mum, you deserve this. This is your time” – that convinced her to attend. The experience turned out to be a whirlwind of activities, meeting Oscar winners and fellow writers, all fueled by creative energy. While Talent Campus didn’t directly lead to her Netflix success, it likely influenced her confidence and readiness to seize opportunities when they arose.

The writing process for “Father Christmas is Back” coincided with the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. As her husband’s income from exam work disappeared due to cancellations, Dylanne received her first professional writing job. Working from her shed, she maintained a steady pace of 15 pages per week, enjoying the process of writing about Christmas during the summer months. However, the journey wasn’t without its challenges – she faced the difficult experience of seeing her work modified as it went through the production process, a common but tough reality in the film industry.

Beyond her screenwriting success, Dylanne has also ventured into publishing with her book “The Box of Silver Stars.” This project actually began as a film idea at Talent Campus, where industry expert Sam Hawley advised her to write it as a book first. Despite securing an agent initially, publishing houses weren’t ready to take it on, leading Dylanne to choose the self-publishing route. This experience taught her valuable lessons about perseverance and finding alternative paths to getting stories out into the world.

As a working teacher, Dylanne offers valuable insights into balancing creative pursuits with adult responsibilities. She’s found that working part-time actually helps her focus more intensely on writing during her free days, compared to taking extended periods off work. Her approach to creativity is organic – she doesn’t go looking for stories; they find her, often appearing as small ideas that develop over months before she can dedicate time to writing them.

For aspiring writers feeling stuck in adult responsibilities, Dylanne’s message is clear: don’t give up. She emphasizes the importance of having multiple ideas in development and being flexible about the format your stories take – whether it’s a short film, feature, TV series, or book. Most importantly, she stresses the need to get things “over the finish line,” even if just to close the creative loop and move forward. Her journey demonstrates that success doesn’t always follow a conventional path, and sometimes the best opportunities come when you least expect them, even when you’re sick in bed with the flu.