Creativity for Scriptwriters
Venue: Birkbeck College, University of London, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HX
Cost: £135.00
This course is designed for anyone interested in dramatic writing, whether in TV, film, theatre or radio (from complete beginner to experienced writer).
It is all about generating ideas – you come to the day with no preparation, no pre-planned story ideas.
I am running this course on Saturday JANUARY 31st 2026.
You’ll go away at the end of what will be an intensive, interactive, packed, but hopefully very enjoyable day, with some new & exciting ideas, and ready to inject a fresh spark of creativity and energy into your dramatic writing ambitions.
This one-day course will teach you a mass of techniques for cutting through those days you think you’d rather break rocks for a living.
Who needs inspiration?
Every writer at some point or other will feel the well running slightly dry.
Well, fear writer’s block no longer. This brand new course is all about kick-starting a flood of new ideas for your dramatic writing.
Whether you’re a screenwriter, playwright or radio dramatist, whether you’re deep in the blues of a second act that won’t come clear, or whether you’ve been staring at a sheet of blank paper for weeks, the idea is that you come to the day with no preparation, no pre-planned story ideas, no anything beyond an open mind.
In return, we promise to give you an intensive, action-packed (and, we hope, highly enjoyable!) day and to send you away with a ton of exciting new ideas!
What's it all about?
We’re going to be doing a whole set of different creative, idea-generating exercises – focusing on:
- Story ideas – the big ideas that will form the basis of a really strong logline/central narrative idea to your work.
- Character – exercises that will engender the creation of unique and memorable characters.
- Idea-generating techniques – we will explore in depth the sort of techniques you need to develop, the techniques that you need to be using endlessly as professional writers to kick-start new projects and to awaken your creative instincts.
- Other Media – we will be looking at how you can use other media and unlikely areas of everyday life to access and consider universal story ideas.
- Writing exercises – we will be doing instant writing exercises to unlock your creativity.
- Inspirational Guest speaker – I will be joined by the brilliant ANDERS LUSTGARTEN, graduate of the CHANNEL 4 SCREENWRITING COURSE, 2012 – playwright, screenwriter & novelist. He will talk about his work as a writer – how he generates ideas, and where his dramatic inspiration comes from.
It’s going to be immensely interactive, you’re going to have to think on your feet, discuss and brainstorm with other writers, and generally open yourself up to your deepest creativity. And it will be fun!
The course is run in a supportive, constructive, positive and ego-free environment.
We hope it’ll make a great change from sitting on your own staring at a screen!
When & Where?
Saturday January 31st 2026, 10.00 – 5.00, Central London. And I’ll be available in a nearby pub afterwards to carry on the conversation!
What does it Cost?
For this whole day of creativity boosting exercises, plus hearing all about how an outstanding modern writer gets their ideas and inspiration, we’re asking just £135. No ‘Early Bird’ discount complications – JUST AN INCREDIBLY REASONABLE PRICE!
Places are strictly limited to 20 as we want everyone who comes to the course to feel they get heard and to get the maximum out of it.
As this course usually sells out some weeks in advance of the course, EARLY BOOKING IS ADVISED.
About Me...
Philip Shelley
I have run the C4 screenwriting course for the last 15 years and am currently running it again in 2026. I was one of the 10 ‘masters’ of the teaching of dramatic writing at the new MA Dramatic Writing at Central St Martins / University of the Arts London. I ran the BBC’s in-house script editing courses for 10 years. I also run the Greenlight Screenwriting Lab for Irish screenwriters and am author of the book SCREENWRITING, THE CRAFT AND THE CAREER (published by Nick Hern Books). I am running a script editing course in Northern Ireland for Screenskills in 2026 and have run screenwriting and script-editing courses for numerous organisations.
On top of this I run one of the most successful script consultancies in the UK, working with many different writers and independent production companies.
I have always hugely enjoyed working with screenwriters and helping them find their place in the industry.
Guest Speaker...
Anders Lustgarten
Anders Lustgarten has been an international 400m runner, a teacher on Death Row in California, a PhD in Chinese studies, an activist, a carpenter and a tree surgeon. Despite this, he does not believe in writing what you know.
Anders has had over twenty plays produced in the UK, including at the Royal Court, the National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company and Shakespeare’s Globe. He won the Catherine Johnson Award for A Day at the Racists and won the Harold Pinter Playwriting Award for If You Don’t Let Us Dream, We Won’t Let You Sleep. His play Lampedusa has been performed in over forty countries.
His first novel, THREE BURIALS, about a nurse who kidnaps the dead body of a refugee to take to his family but has to kidnap a policeman on the way, was named a Times Best Crime Book of 2024 and one of French Vogue’s Best First Novels of 2025. It was shortlisted for both the CWA John Creasey First Novel Dagger and the Prix du Roman FNAC, the French Booker Prize.
His second novel, KILL BILLIONAIRE, about a fourteen year old Australian girl who kills billionaires to stop climate change, will be published in April 2026. Anders is currently writing the screenplay for the Hollywood movie adaptation, a sentence which feels considerably more fictional than anything else he’s written.
Previous Guest Speaker...
Lisa Carroll
Lisa is an Irish playwright, screenwriter and comedian based in Surrey.
Recently, Lisa was Writer on Attachment at the RSC, and then Writer on Attachment at the National Theatre Studio. In 2021 Lisa was one of 12 participants selected for the Channel 4 Screenwriting Course.
In May 2023, Lisa’s second play, The Misandrist opens at the Arcola Theatre, directed by Bethany Pitts. ‘The Misandrist’ was shortlisted for the BBC Comedy Room, the BBC Writers Academy, and longlisted for Paines Plough’s Womens Playwriting Prize. Lisa was recently commissioned by Ireland’s national theatre, The Abbey Theatre, to write a new play. Lisa has also written a book with Milly Thomas, Making Your Solo Show: The Compact Guide, published by Nick Hern.
In 2018 Lisa’s play, ‘Cuckoo’ ran at the Soho Theatre, and she was a finalist for the Off-West-End’s Most Promising Playwright Award. ‘Cuckoo’ was also shortlisted for the Papatango Prize. Also in 2018, her half-hour comedy pilot KINK was longlisted for the Funny Women script writing awards. She was also selected to be part of Irish theatre company, Fishamble’s ‘A Play For Ireland’ Scheme, which celebrated the company’s 30th year by commissioning upcoming Irish playwrights.
Lisa’s short play ‘Snapdragon’ was performed at the Abbey Theatre in 2016 as part of the Future Tense commissions. She was also part of an invitation group at the Royal Court led by E.V.Crowe in the same year.
In comedy, Lisa recently made it to the semi-finals of the Gilded Balloon’s So You Think You’re Funny competition for emerging stand-up comedians, performing at the Edinburgh Fringe. Earlier in 2022, she was a finalist in the Comedy Virgins ‘Max Turner Prize’ competition for new comedians.