RECOMMENDATIONS AND COURSES
Hi There, This fortnight, some recommendations. Some of the outstanding stories I have read and watched in the last few months, but first… SCRIPT READING & DEVELOPMENT Q&A September 10th 2025 The next evening zoom session will be on Wednesday September 10th 6-8.30pm and I am now taking bookings. Taking part in this session also […]
THIS IS A TRUE STORY
THIS IS A TRUE STORY Except, in the case of The Salt Path it turns out it may not be. I have read and enjoyed the book and this week went to see the film. I saw it after the Observer story had come out – https://observer.co.uk/news/national/article/the-real-salt-path-how-the-couple-behind-a-bestseller-left-a-trail-of-debt-and-deceit and was therefore a little surprised to see […]
20 SCREENWRITERS IN 1 ROOM FOR 2 DAYS
Hi There, 20 SCREENWRITERS IN 1 ROOM FOR 2 DAYS This past weekend I ran my 2 day screenwriting course – for the first time for 3 years. I really enjoyed it and this newsletter has a few thoughts / observations that came out of the weekend. One of the things we discuss is what […]
LONDON ROAD – different ways to tell dramatic stories
Hi There, On Wednesday afternoon I was lucky enough to go to a matinee preview at the National Theatre of the revival of LONDON ROAD. This is a verbatim musical about the community response to the killing of 5 female sex workers in the London Road area of Ipswich in 2006-7 – ie both dialogue […]
GREENLIGHT SCREENWRITING LAB 2025 – the first weekend
GREENLIGHT SCREENWRITING LAB: 1st Weekend Galway May 10-11 I was lucky enough to go to Galway earlier in May for the first weekend of this year’s GREENLIGHT SCREENWRITING LAB, a scheme for new Irish screenwriters and script editors, now in its 3rd year. The quality of the submitted scripts we receive for Greenlight is outstanding. […]
DRAMATIC IRONY – TOM HANHAM
DRAMATIC IRONY by Tom Hanham HELP! I don’t have much time. I’m being held hostage and Philip Shelley is forcing me to write a newsletter, I don’t even know what dramatic irony is… Dramatic irony is a literary device, in which the reader knows something that the characters do not, to create suspense, conflict or […]
ORDAINED: a short story by DAVID ARMSTRONG
Hi There, As you will see, this newsletter is very much longer than usual. This is a short story sent to me by writer DAVID ARMSTRONG. David is one of my favourite novelists. When I worked at ITV I was always trying to persuade the powers-that-were, that we should do TV adaptations of his brilliant […]
CHANNEL 4 SCREENWRITING COURSE 2025 – READER FEEDBACK – MATT MCNALLY
Hi There, This fortnight, some reader feedback from the excellent MATT MCNALLY, who covered 280 of your script entries for the 2025 Channel 4 screenwriting course – ‘I thought I’d write something for the unlucky writers. The ones looking for explanations, enlightenment, encouragement or just reasons to feel even more cheesed off. So here is […]
TWO MORE COURSES
Hi There, 2 more courses – 2 DAY SCREENWRITING COURSE, LONDON June 21-22 https://script-consultant.co.uk/2-day-screenwriting-course/ I’m really pleased to be running my 2 day / weekend screenwriting course again for the first time in 2 years. I’ve met so many wonderful writers over the years when running this course, many of whom I am still in […]
CHANNEL 4 SCREENWRITING COURSE SCRIPT READING FEEDBACK
Hi There, This fortnight, some of the notes I made as I was reading script submissions for the 2025 Channel 4 screenwriting course. None of these are ‘rules’ (there are no rules!), just observations I made in the moment of reading, thoughts that occurred to me in the process of reading so many scripts – […]
