WRITING AND DEVELOPING GENRE STORIES

This workshop is a hands-on, practical guide to writing and developing genre stories. It demonstrates an approach to genre, which once learnt and understood, you can apply to any story genre you are working with.

7 & 8 Dec. 10.00 - 16.30
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This workshop is a hands-on, practical guide to writing and developing genre stories. It demonstrates an approach to genre, which once learnt and understood, you can apply to any story genre you are working with.

On the first day Stephen Cleary will explain his approach and guide you through it step by step, showing numerous examples to illustrate the approach, and facilitation questions and discussion.

On the second day, Stephen will explore Character Genres, and entirely different way of using genre ideas, and one that may be more useful than using traditional story genres when it comes to writing TV drama using genre ideas and formats.

The workshop concludes by mapping out how to write the set piece scenes that are at the heart of generic writing. What a set piece is, how it is structured, and what kind of set pieces to master within the genre you are writing in, are some of the areas covered.

We’ll also look at what happens when you mix genres together and how to predict and deal with the problems genre mixing raises before you write your script.

The workshop is essential for anyone working with genre, and is designed with screenwriters, script developers, producers, and directors in mind. The approach is equally useful for TV drama or feature film development.

Stephen Cleary has worked in television and film for over 30 years, first as an independent TV producer/director, then a feature film developer and producer.

​​He has developed over 60 produced feature films including Before the Rain (Milcho Manchevski), Butterfly Kiss (Michael Winterbottom), Love and Death on Long Island (Richard Kwietniowski) among many.

From 1996 to 2006 he founded and ran Arista, Europe’s largest private film development agency. Arista was declared a “centre of excellence” by the European Commission in 2001.

He was the co-author of Nina Simone auto biography, I Put a Spell on You which has been optioned for a feature film project and a musical project.

Stephen present workshops and seminars on all aspects of screenwriting and development