London Screenwriter's Festival: My Script Surgery Experience with Euroscript

I'm clearly delighted with the insights of my session with Paul from Euroscript. Paul's delight was more reserved, but definitely there, I'm sure of it.

One of the benefits of attending the London Screenwriters’ Festival is access to the Script Surgery, run by the brilliant team at Euroscript. As part of the process, you submit an outline and the first ten pages of your script, then sit down for a one-to-one consultation with a professional script editor. My session was with the writer and mentor Paul Bassett Davies—and it was exactly the mix of rigorous, constructive and generous feedback I’d been hoping for.

It's Always About Character

We talked about Ground Down, a character-driven dramedy about a woman whose life unravels the moment she thinks she’s made it. Paul was positive about the potential, but rightly pointed me back to the heart of all good drama: character.

For the session, he wanted to set aside the jokes (for now) as there were plenty of comedic moments, and solid set-up and pay-offs, and laughs on the page. Instead, we focused on asking deeper questions about who Katy really is. What is her core flaw—and how is she the one digging her own hole?

We spoke about emotional access points and empathy. I don’t need the audience to like Katy, but they do need to understand her. Her drive to prove herself, her obsession with image—these are rich flaws, but they need to be dramatized through cause and effect. Why does she lose her job? How has her own behaviour led to that moment?

The Power of a Well-Timed Implosion

We also explored how some elements—like her boyfriend George—might land harder if played more ambiguously. Instead of making him a clear villain, there’s more potential in questioning whether he’s genuinely into her or just passively checked out. Similarly, moments like the cake shop and the homeless man scene raise interesting ideas (class, money, self-worth), but Paul encouraged me to focus the reader’s attention more cleanly: what exactly is the takeaway? What tension or flaw are we exploring?

There was also practical advice—tighten the opening, compress the story beats, get to the bus scene (her emotional rock bottom) earlier. Introduce the best friend sooner. Reduce the clutter. Get all the essential ingredients of the show in play quickly and clearly.

From Notes to New Ideas

What I appreciated most was how energising the session felt. The notes weren’t deflating—they were fuel. I left with a clearer sense of the next steps: a stronger hook, a sharper character spine, and a pitch that focuses not just on what happens, but why it happens. I already have ideas for how to rework the first ten pages and strengthen the series arc.

Ground Down still feels like a solid script—and I have a better understanding of developing it. I'm genuinely excited to get to the next draft.

If you ever get the chance to do a Script Surgery—do it. It’s not just editing. It’s proper story medicine