So we scribble down a few words, a few pages, hurriedly sketch out a few images. But then…. LIFE. There’s work to be done, bills to be paid, relationships to be had, the patriarchy to be smashed. There are many demands on our time and attention.

So the joy and impulse you were filled with subsides. Your confidence crumbles. And the idea? It languishes on your hard drive, lurks in the back of some yellowing notebook. It calls, periodically, “write me write me” in an increasingly irritating voice until eventually it gives up. And dies.

OK, that was a bit over-dramatic. But God, I envy any writer who can drop anything to work on their stellar idea immediately. But that’s rarely possible. Sometimes it will take years, even decades for great ideas come to fruition. How can we keep those ideas alive while Life is happening? And develop them into fully fledged projects? In this online workshop we will look at:

• Writing exercises for developing ideas.
• Identifying your ‘Anchor’ – what thrilled you about the idea in the first place and how to get back there easily.
• Designing a programme of inspiring and targeted research
• Getting away from your laptop
• Finding a little inroad into a big subject
• Developing characters and their stories organically
• Drawing inspiration from other work
• Finding inspiration in other art forms
• Support networks and writing buddies
• Developing and sustaining an idea when you have NO TIME and EVERYTHING IS SHIT

All you need is a pen, paper, and an idea that you once had and never followed through on, no matter how vague. If you don’t have one, don’t worry. Instructions will come the week before the workshop and there will be very little prep. This workshop is specifically designed for playwrights and screenwriters but you do not need to be experienced. It could also be useful for writers of other mediums or other artists and will definitely be useful for theatremakers. This £5 workshop is part of Without a Paddle Theatre’s #CreativeSurvivalKit.

Anna is a playwright, screenwriter, theatre director and acting coach. Credits include TV: Succession, Killing Eve, Becoming Elizabeth. Theatre: Yen (Royal Exchange / Royal Court / MCC New York), We Anchor In Hope (Royal Court / Bunker) Pop Music (Paines Plough / B’ham Rep – National Tour) Mother Courage and Her Children (Headlong / Royal Exchange) The Unreturning (Frantic Assembly). Anna has taught playwriting at RADA, The Royal Court Theatre, The Royal Exchange, Italia Conti as well as independently through Without a Paddle Theatre.