Creativity for Scriptwriters
Venue: Birkbeck College, University of London, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HX
Cost: £95.00
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.
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 – will talk about how he generates his 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?
Sunday March 8th 2020, 10.15- 5.15, Central London – at Birkbeck College, the University of London, in Malet St, London WC1E 7HX. 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 £95. 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 9 years and am currently running it again in 2020. 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. This year I have run several courses for BBC writers room (in London, Cardiff and Salford). Among many others, I have recently run courses for Warner Bros in London, BBC Studios, De Montfort University Leicester and Vice UK. I run regular script-editing courses for SCREENSKILLS.
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 (most recently Bryncoed Productions, Silver Reel and Conker Films).
I run an industry showcase for the pick of the writers from my script consultancy. The most recent event was 100% full, packed with potential employers from many of the best broadcasters, drama-producing indies and literary agents, and there have been some notable successes from the event.
I have always hugely enjoyed working with screenwriters and helping them find their place in the industry. Last year I produced and launched the podcasts series, tributepodcasts.co.uk which has acted as a great showcase for several new, exciting dramatic writers. And I will be producing series 2 in 2020.
Guest Speaker...
Anders Lustgarten
With illustrations from his own work, Anders will discuss what drives him as a writer – how his personal passions inform his writing; and what lessons this has for your own writing.
Anders read Chinese Studies at Oxford before heading to Berkeley in California to work towards a PhD. With his studying completed, Anders devised academic courses for prisoners in the UK and USA and taught drama inside prisons in both countries.
Anders Lustgarten won the inaugural Harold Pinter Playwright’s Award for If You Don’t Let Us Dream We Won’t Let You Sleep at the Royal Court Theatre Downstairs. He is currently under commission to the RSC and the National Theatre among several others, and adapted David Peace’s The Damned United for the West Yorkshire Playhouse.
His play Lampedusa had two runs at the Soho Theatre – back by popular demand – and at Hightide. The incredibly relevant piece about the current refugee crisis toured in 2016 and continues to be performed around the world.
The Seven Acts of Mercy, opened at the Swan Theatre in Stratford-Upon-Avon to critical acclaim in Winter 2016. His play The Secret Theatre played at the Globe in the beautiful Sam Wanamaker Theatre.
Anders is developing original projects for television and radio. He’s also a long-standing political activist who’s been arrested in four continents.
