Inspiring Hull to Write

Mission ‘Inspire Hull to Write’ had lift off last week and it feels really exciting.

That might be because I’m a total creative nerd who loves seeing peeps express themselves creatively and being part of that is giving me some real feels.

Our Young Writers 18-30 group has started and what a lovely and insightful bunch they are.

Great material is going to come from these individuals I can already tell.

This group is led by Hull Truck Theatre's associate director, Tom Saunders, with me supporting. It’s always so much fun working with Tom, something I have enjoyed since being an artist in residence here at the theatre when he was my mentor. Tom is so passionate about plays and an extremely talented dramaturg that as a playwright it is mega beneficial for me to get to work alongside him each week. To be working but also learning more about my craft as I go. With a practitioner that has many years of experience is an awesome opportunity that I am trying to absorb like a sponge. In turn, allowing me to pass on and share with my Young Writers group, the 14-18 years olds that start next week.

Our free workshops in Schools have started too and I’m loving getting out and about, meeting and working with a range of different ages. Primary schools, secondary Schools and colleges. The groups so far have all been keen, taken part and proven to me, what I already knew. That everyone can be creative. With just a little bit of guidance it doesn’t take very long at all for people’s imaginations to start up and before long their ideas for plays and an enthusiasm for story telling comes alive. From students in alternative education settings, to young children that have never engaged with theatre, to see them collaboratively create a world and write a short play together in just an hour is a wonderful and inspiring moment to be a part of.

College students that may have more experience in performing but not so much in playwriting have really engaged with exploring a new creative skill set and it’s been great getting feedback that some of them will continue to develop the ideas they have started creating in sessions with me, in their own time.

Even better, some have said that they may even submit to the 37 Plays project.

Which is awesome because that’s what my role is about. Inspiring the people of Hull to get writing and share their voice with the world, via the Royal Shakespeare Company.

While we’re chatting 37 Plays, why not get your notepad and pen out and get inspired too!

As I mentioned in my blog post last week, each week I’ll be sharing with you my favourite bits in the resource section on the 37 Plays website.

The first one that I’d like to share with you is about Finding Your Story.

Many people who are interested in writing often say that they want to write but just don’t know what to write about. Because I come across this a lot, I thought let’s start with that!

You may have heard the phrase ‘write what you know’.

This is the way I got into writing so I would say I absolutely agree with this advice.

The 37 Plays website asks -

What are you an expert in? You could write your story out of something you know loads about. is it boxing? Dog walking? Cooking? Fashion? Cleaning? Gaming?

I think this is a great place to start. Make a list of all the things you are well informed in, things that are meaningful to you that you are passionate about. This list is a starting point for you to expand from.

Next to each item that you list, write in further detail why you think it is important in as much detail as possible for each one.

You will most likely find there is one item on that list that has a lot more written next to it compared to the other items on your list.

I always suggest that this is a great indicator of where to start.

You’ve found your story!

Try it, there is only one way to find out.

If that task doesn’t inspire you, there are many other ways to get creative and find your story as suggested on the resource section on the 37 Plays website. Take a look here.

I also mentioned that I would be getting our local playwrighting friends to share their top playwriting tips with you. So, I will humbly start with myself.

My Playwriting Tip is...

Start immediately. Write as soon as you get the chance.

Lots of people have great ideas. Tell people about them verbally and then claim they might sit down and write it one day. “I’ll do some writing at the weekend when I’m not busy.” Or “I’ve just got to finish this work thing and then I’ll start.”

My tip is to just start. Don’t wait. Even if you just write a few sentences, it doesn’t matter. Starting with just a few words is still a start.

Stop putting it off for the perfect day. I don’t want to break it to you, but the perfect day doesn’t exist. So, when you are next inspired by an idea. Start it immediately. If it be a lunch break, just before you press play on Netflix or while you’re washing the pots.

Dry those hands, grab your writing materials and get started.

Once you’ve started. That’s the hard part done. Then let it flow.

There you have it, that’s my week, my activity suggestion and my tip.

See you back here next week for more.