The weekend scriptwriting festival The Scripts the Thing came and went. It was an excellent experience to have actors deliver our comedy Half Baked in the Victorian Hall (Dorset Museum) to a receptive audience. There were some big names attending the event and I went to sessions delivered by Alison Steadman, Michelle Collins and Chris Chibnall who discussed the benefits of a good script. Alison Steadman was a right laugh – she delivered a few lines from Gavin and Stacey which had the audience roaring. Michelle Collins was erudite and thoughtful as she talked about commissioning her one-woman show Motorhome Marilyn. After the success of the Dorset-based crime drama Broadchurch, Chris Chibnell talked about his experience of turning to novel writing.
I’m now back in Dorset for the next four months and with the prospect of dark evenings drawing in, I’ve been looking for a new project. As I mentioned in a previous post, I’ve become a disaffected writer, have shelved my novel writing ambitions (for the time being) and have struck upon the idea of further study. Looking around, there are many opportunities for distance learning and I’ve joined a course offered by USC College Group with the title Understanding Mental Health. There is so much in the media that raises awareness about the challenges around mental ill-health that I’ve decided to improve my knowledge and skills in this area. The course offers accreditation to Level 3 (equivalent to an A level) and I’m getting to grips with answering assessment questions which involve describing, explaining, summarising and evaluating the context of mental health and wellbeing in the first unit. One of the benefits of this type of distance learning is that I’m offered a tutor. He’s the one that gets to mark my work and offer feedback. I’m looking forward to having his input as I progress.
Watch this space for more news of my studies.
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