Facilitator meeting your needs Scale of 1-7 (7 being highest)
"Enjoyed going through the story bible it helped me identify areas I could improve in." - 7/7
"I enjoyed all the activities especially hearing about Nadia’s work and professional experience. I always think it’s useful to get an idea of how to get started in the industry and also what life is like when you are a full time writer." - 7/7
"All the activities were very insightful and helped me to make a start with my ideas" - 7/7
"Nadia gave extra extensive insights that made me look at things in a different way" - 7/7
"The booklet has been extremely useful..." - 7/7
Fully Focused is a genuine youth-led media organisation that uses the power of film to challenge perceptions, raise awareness, change mindsets and transform lives.
It was a privilege to be asked to deliver a Saturday masterclass as part of Fully Focused's on-going youth engagement and training initiative. After a few discussions with the wonderful facilitator, Jade Newton-Gardener, it was decided we'd offer a mash-up of Scribble Nation creative writing workshop models - a morning session on script coverage followed by an afternoon of story bible development.
Using the Scribble Ink Script Coverage Report template, participants identified the benefits of script analysis, read through an extract of a script and made notes on the character arcs, dialogue, narrative, pace, script format, etc. They were then able to use their notes as the launchpad for developing their own practice as writers, critics and editors.
After a break and a snack...okay...a few snacks...okay, maybe a few too many snacks, we moved onto the second half of our masterclass!
Creating story bibles has always been an essential skill for creative practitioners in many disciplines. Using case studies, (largely inspired by what led to my signing with an agent) and a story bible-builder workbook, participants identified the major components of a story bible, including layout, content and length and created their own bible for any project of their choosing - whether for screen, stage or a manuscript. It was amazing to see the group exercise skills in independent learning, team-building, presentation, personal development and creative writing.
It's also no secret that young people often get a bad wrap in the media - often stigmatised as 'entitled', 'lazy' and 'hypnotised by drill music,' blah, blah, blah. However, I can say with confidence that our masterclass challenged these negative stereotypes with ease, as every participant lived up to their company name - the really were fully focused. The biggest challenge I had was encouraging the participants to take a break! I'd like to thank the Fully Focused team for inviting me to their space, and I look forward to delivering more classes in future.
If you'd like to provide a similar experience for your community, check out the bespoke workshop proposal put together for Fully Focused if need of a little inspiration, check out the Scribble Nation Creative Writing Workshop Catalogue for deeper insight into what's on offer and to make a booking.