Writing for Screen: Level 1

Public booking opens at 11am, Monday 26 October. Join our mailing list before Friday 23 October to receive priority booking. 

Ages 18+

Course Dates & Times

About Writing for Screen: Level 1

This eight-week evening course will develop your creative writing skills and provide you with inspiration to translate an idea into a screenplay. The course, which is led by writer and actor Emma Dennis-Edwards, will focus on the techniques required for screenwriting for Film and TV.

Emma, who has a wealth of experience in the industry, will share her knowledge of writers rooms, how to pitch and write treatments. 

Who is the course for?

For writers at a beginner’s level, who wish to gain tools to write or develop a screenplay for TV or film or continue working on their existing ideas.

What can I expect?

A mix of practical writing exercises and group discussions, the course will cover the following topics:

• Pitching a screenplay
• Writing a treatment
• Four-act structure, including shaping the beginning, middle, and end of a story
• Character development
• Episodic writing
• Writing a spec script

By the end of the course, you will have developed the skills and structure needed to begin a first draft of a spec script, with a final shared outcome of an extract (around five pages).

A spec script (short for speculative screenplay) is a valuable way to showcase your ideas and develop your own writing voice.

Please note, the course will combine practical and theoretical elements with weekly homework encouraged.

The session on 2 March will be a table read.  

Do I need anything for the course?

Optional: some professional writing software such as Final Draft, Adobe, Celtx, Art Studio etc. (but this is not essential).

It was a truly lovely environment to be in and it felt like a safe space.

– Participant, Writing for Screen: Level 1, Spring 2025

Course Fee

£400

Public booking opens at 11am, Monday 26 October. Join our mailing list before Friday 23 October to receive priority booking. 

Eligibility

• We welcome participants from all ages 18 and over
• Participants must have sufficient English language skills in order to fully engage with the course 

About the Course Tutor

The course is taught by Emma Dennis-Edwards. 

Emma is a writer and actor of Jamaican and Trinidadian heritage. Emma’s TV work includes writing an episode of Champion (Candice Carty-Williams' new show for BBC) and Story Consultant for six-part thriller Ragdoll (UKTV/AMC). She was part of the BBC Writers Academy with John Yorke and has written episodes of Casualty, EastEnders and Holby City. Alongside her episodic writing Emma is developing original projects with The Forge, Moonage and Red Planet.

For stage, Emma has been a participant at Royal Court, Soho Theatre, Lyric Hammersmith and Oval House writers’ programmes. Plays include Funeral Flowers which won the Scotsman’s Fringe First Award and the Filipa Bragança award for best female solo performance and went on to tour venues across London including Bunker Theatre, Roundhouse, Bernie Grant Arts Centre and Hackney Empire Studio.

Her play Bricks was developed on the Old Vic 12 scheme and was shortlisted for the Alfred Fagan Award.