Beautiful shot and thoughtful, The First ultimately hits all the beats you expect it too, with no surprises. The First is a futuristic drama documenting the first manned mission to Mars. It’s set in the near future – the latter part of the 21st century – and as a result feels very contemporary, albeit with… Continue reading The First: No alarm and no surprises
Reflect and regroup
Just before I begin my next module, I want to take a while to reflect on what I learned during the last one: Collaborative Script Development. I struggled with this module for several reasons. Firstly, I found working with a team who I wasn’t in the same room as really challenging. Secondly I felt my… Continue reading Reflect and regroup
Week seven: Screenwriting culture in the digital age
Writing is an odd beast, both influenced and unchanged by technology. On the surface, the outcome of writing is for us exactly what it was for previous generations: print on a page. But in addition to that we have other ways to disseminate work: online, self publishing, podcast, etc. This carries with it an unprecedented… Continue reading Week seven: Screenwriting culture in the digital age
Nicola Shindler at the BFI
If you ask me to name some of the best British drama I would probably say Cracker, Happy Valley, Queer as Folk. The latter of these shows have come from the production slate of RED Productions in Salford which Nicola Shindler began in 1998, and the former is where she cut her teeth as a… Continue reading Nicola Shindler at the BFI
Week six: first draft
First Draft It’s been perfect first-draft-writing weather. Nothing to tempt me from the keyboard except to make more coffee and watch my dogs play in the snow for a while. Things I have learnt about writing my first draft since I started my screenwriting journey: Get it all out. Don’t get hung on bits. If… Continue reading Week six: first draft
Week five: How we tell stories
The step outline is my new best friend. I’ve spent a bit of time figuring out the best way to plan a story, for me. This is an entirely personal thing and the only way to solve it is through practice – my favourite kind of research. So I have looked at tech: index card… Continue reading Week five: How we tell stories
Let women tell their own stories
When I saw the list of new drama commissioned by ITV this year I was heartened to see the focus on female characters seems to have shifted, but confused to see that all these female led shows are being written by men. This is dissatisfactory on several levels. Firstly, female characters written by men do… Continue reading Let women tell their own stories
Week four: Screenwriting history and a deadline
This week I’ve written my first treatment. Previously I have been so eager to get writing the script I have forgone these stages of script documentation which are both methodical and sensible steps to take in planning a story. And it has meant that I’ve dived head first into a script where my understanding of… Continue reading Week four: Screenwriting history and a deadline
Dark River
I’ve just come back from watching a preview of Dark River, Clio Barnard’s new film, and hearing Clio speak about the making of the film and it’s pretty much all I can think about. I love the look of this film. The score is sparse with the sounds of the landscape making up a great… Continue reading Dark River
Meet me at dawn
My reading for this weekend was the brilliant and utterly heartbreaking, Meet Me at Dawn by Zinnie Harris. This play reminded me how much I can learn about dialogue from playwrights, it is a maze of half-sentences, and confusion that clears to the realisation that one of the characters has died and the other is… Continue reading Meet me at dawn
Week three: Moving things on
Embarking on this course was with a couple of objectives in mind. To develop a creative practice where I am writing regularly, and collecting and reflecting upon ideas. Deadlines. I’m a classic procrastinator and without a deadline I will never finish anything. Praxis. Learn through doing: the best way to get better is to write… Continue reading Week three: Moving things on
Week two: writing an outline
Right, an outline. See, this is confusing because I suppose my idea of outlining comes from writing prose fiction, and it’s quite in-depth. But I guess that’s a matter of length. For a 15 minute short you’re not going to need three sides of A4, that’d be almost the whole thing. So writing a 300… Continue reading Week two: writing an outline
Rita, Sue and Bob Too
In November of last year I saw Andrea Dunbar’s Shirley performed at Halifax’s Square Chapel so when a tour of Rita, Sue and Bob Too was announced, following a run at the Royal Court, I knew I had to see it. The play is a hilarious story, but it’s tragic too. The potential of Rita,… Continue reading Rita, Sue and Bob Too
Week one: Why we tell stories
Recently, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about why I write. Why I want to tell stories. This is the conclusion I have come to: I think storytelling can give us an insight into the worlds, minds and ideas of people who are not us and, in doing so we can learn more about… Continue reading Week one: Why we tell stories
Red by Somalia Seaton
Oh my god, I loved this play. An exploration of grief and friendship, I love the replaying of scenes, looking for the missed clues, dropped stitches, trying to make sense of things. It’s a motif I also found powerful in Rabih Alameddine’s I, The Divine where the book is entirely told in first chapters, as… Continue reading Red by Somalia Seaton
I wrote to survive – I am my reader
Astra Bloom’s Wild Horses of Suburbia is the real thing. Please read it. Support working class writers. Our stories can be this visceral. This surprising. This breathtaking. Wild horses of Suburbia by Astra Bloom
Hanna by Sam Potter
What’s a play? This short play by Sam Potter is a one-woman performance of the story of a child, accidentally sent home from the hospital with the wrong family as an infant, and the chaos that ensues when the mistake is discovered. Sadly, I didn’t to see this performed, but the story is so compelling,… Continue reading Hanna by Sam Potter
10 ways to make ideas happen
I’ve spent 15 years working in creative industries, a shortage of ideas has never been an issue. This is how I make ideas happen, and keep happening: Observe the world around you. The news, things you overhear at the supermarket, something that happened to someone you know. The best stories are rooted in truth. Write it… Continue reading 10 ways to make ideas happen
Don’t write the first episode, write the third episode
Don’t write the first episode, write the third episode I’ve heard Sally Wainwright say this a few times. The gist of it being that you enter into the throw of the action, not before it begins. You can tell the story of how we got here numerous ways, but it’s the being here that’s important.… Continue reading Don’t write the first episode, write the third episode
Mosquitoes
When I found out about Mosquitoes it was fully booked, but the gradual release of a few tickets and my willingness to head down to London for a Saturday matinee, meant I was lucky enough to see it. I think Mosquitoes is one of the most visually impressive plays I have ever seen, played in… Continue reading Mosquitoes