Wigtown Book Festival hosts Screenwriting Course
Written by author on August 16, 2010
Develop your ideas into stories on this intensive double weekend course.
Start telling stories and study the craft of screenwriting with this well-established introductory course during the Wigtown Book Festival.
‘The Writers’ Factory: Introduction to Screenwriting course’ provides writers with foundation skills in screenwriting, and is now a well established part of Scotland’s creative writing landscape. The course takes place over 2 weekends and encourages you to explore more fully your storytelling instincts, study the craft of screenwriting, workshop with your peers, and develop and write a commercial ten minute film.
The course will take place over the opening and closing weekends of the Book Festival on Sat 25– Sun 26 September and Sat 2- Sun 3 October at Hillcrest House in Wigtown.
The course is taught by the award winning writer and director Eleanor Yule whose credits include the Scottish feature ‘Blinded’, starring Peter Mullan and Jodhi May, and the BBC documentary ‘Michael Palin on the Colourists’.
The course makes extensive use of screenings of short films and feature film extracts, handouts including first and second draft short screenplays, as well as extracts from key books, and combines lecturing, group discussion, individual writing exercises and small group workshops. By the end of the course participants will have developed a range of skills and critical facilities in screenwriting. In addition, you will have been offered the opportunity to develop and write a short screenplay with peer feedback. You should also be able to think critically and independently about what you have seen and read.
You do not need to have previous experience, but it is an intense course and you must be prepared to work hard and willing to participate in critical discussions on both your own and other writers’ work.
We expect the course to be very popular so to secure a place you are advised to book early. Further information and application pack are available from the Robert Burns Centre Film Theatre website www.rbcft.co.uk or please contact Film Officer Alice Stilgoe on 01387 263094 or Alice.Stilgoe@dumgal.gov.uk.
This is the third time the course will take place in Dumfries and Galloway. The course has been run successfully twice in Dumfries in recent years, and course organiser Alice Stilgoe is delighted that with the help of the Book Festival it is now possible to run the course in the West of the region.
The Wigtown Book Festival is an exciting, annual, literary festival held in the beautiful surroundings of Scotland’s National Book Town, Wigtown in Dumfries and Galloway.
This is the first time that the Introduction to Screenwriting course comes to the Wigtown Book Festival, to add to the rich programme of talks, performers, book signings, famous authors and writers, and we hope that people attending the Screenwriting Course are going to enjoy being part of the atmosphere of the festival and be inspired.
Here’s what past participants have said about the course….
‘Many thanks for arranging such a worthwhile and truly enjoyable course. I think I can say it was the best writing course I have ever been on.’
‘Excellent tutor. The course material and practical assignments led us step by step to be able to produce a finished script.’
‘I loved the course! What energy it’s given me. Thank you for your inspiration and open acceptance of me and my current skill level.’
‘I had been anxious about trying something different and producing writing/ work to share in groups. However, I found the course to be really fun, intensive, comprehensive and that Eleanor was a supportive and encouraging tutor.’
‘Eleanor was great – incisive, practical and inspiring. I’ve come up against a lot of moaning writers and it was very refreshing to meet someone so positive! The materials were excellent. I really wanted a practical and challenging course and this was it. People have different aspirations for their writing, but if you are serious about it, this is the one for you. I’m glad there was no compromise about that.’
