Script Development in the UK & The Role of the Dramaturg

Exploring how scripts are developed for UK theatre, the role of the dramaturg, and how they support writers in shaping new plays.

Figuring out Writing Productivity

I was lucky enough to work with crime writer Peter May on a soap opera many years ago. He had, for some reason, a baseball bat in his office. I never saw him play baseball.

How I card a story.

Carding is a great technique to work out your story in miniature before writing scenes. As Hitchcock said 'First we write the screenplay, then we add the dialogue'.

The Third Wave - Radio 4 Short Story

A short story commissioned by BBC Radio 4 to mark the Anniversary of the Iolaire Disaster.

Writing about the Iolaire

Writing a short story about the Iolaire Disaster affected me in unexpected ways. Māori writer Tihini Grant, calls it ‘the deeply saddening burden’. The more you enter in stories like this, the more the burden grows.

On mentors you never meet

The famous investor, the late Charlie Munger, wrote in depth about developing his 'latticework of mental models'. Finding mentors was part of this, and he made the point that you don't have to meet a mentor for them to have a profound impact on your life.

Developing a Writing Practice

On why developing a writing practice is highly beneficial, and how to go about it.

Mentors

There’s a compulsion. Maybe it's writing. Taking photos. Making music. Whatever your compulsion is. How do you take it and turn it into a life doing it.

How Brecht became Brecht.

“This is my first attempt at a sonnet. I must work harder”. (Bertolt Brecht).