THE SCREENPLAY
As part of the ‘So you want to write a …’ series, Nicola Cassidy, Meath Writer-in-Residence 2020, interviewed Mary Kate O’Flanagan in September 2020 discussing the foundations of writing a screenplay and storytelling for TV and cinema. Mary Kate O’Flanagan is an award-winning writer and story consultant working in the film and television industry. She works with writers in The UK, The US, South Africa, and across Europe. Mary Kate works as a credited co-writer and an uncredited script doctor. She was Ireland’s First Grand Slam Champion Storyteller at The Moth. She was also a Grand Slam Champion Storyteller at The Moth in Los Angeles and a Champion Storyteller at The Dublin StorySlam. With her sister Rachel O’Flanagan, she gives training in the storytelling skills for professionals in cinema and television. They are particularly interested in the stories individuals and entities tell about themselves and how those stories inevitably shape their futures. You can see more about their work on www.adramaticimprovement.com.
You can view this webinar back by clicking the video here. https://youtu.be/y9FOZMXkNR0
We have linked some of the resources that screenplay writers may find useful, particularly when starting out. www.nicolacassidy.com/resources
THE NOVEL
As part of the ‘So you want to write a …’ series, Nicola Cassidy, Meath Writer-in-Residence 2020, interviewed Andrea Mara on the novel in September 2020. Andrea Mara is a crime novelist from Dublin, Ireland. Her first book, The Other Side of the Wall, was shortlisted for the Kate O’Brien Award 2018 and an Amazon number one bestseller in Irish Crime. Her second book, One Click, was shortlisted for Irish Crime Novel of the Year at the 2018 An Post Irish Book Awards, and a number one bestseller on Amazon in Irish Crime and Northern Irish Crime. Her third novel, The Sleeper Lies, published in February 2020, was an Irish Times Top Ten Bestseller. Andrea also runs multi-award-winning parent and lifestyle blog, OfficeMum.ie. She has recently signed a two-book deal with Transworld.
Click on the webinar video to watch the session back. https://youtu.be/F6WxHz8eMBM
We have also included some of the helpful links discussed during the event. www.nicolacassidy.com/resources
THE PODCAST
As part of the ‘So you want to write a …’ series, Nicola Cassidy, Meath Writer-in-Residence 2020, interviewed Ronan McQuillan on the podcast in September 2020. Ronan is a musician, composer, producer and sound designer. He holds a diploma in communications and media production and completes a masters in audio production and technology in 2020. He has worked with world leading brands to produce music for advertising campaigns across TV, radio and interest broadcasting such as Coca-Cola, Playstation, Manchester Utd, and Unilever. He is the producer of Celtic Soul podcast. He is currently developing a new podcast studio and training centre for the North East of Ireland. You can view his website at www.ronanmcquillan.com and email hi@ronanmcquillan.com for more information.
The podcast webinar was packed with practical information and tips, from what sort of software, technology and equipment to use, to information on how to classify your podcast and get it to chart. Since the webinar Ronan has kindly made available a pack of transition sounds that may be helpful for podcasters starting out. Below you will see an image of the podcasts discussed in the webinar.
You can also watch the webinar back here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KVc553icZc&feature=youtu.be
Before you start researching and producing your podcast, Ronan recommends you visit: Apple: Podcast best practices & guidelines.
We have also included some of the helpful links discussed during the event. www.nicolacassidy.com/resources
THE SHORT STORY
In the recent ‘So you want to write a …’ webinar series, Nicola Cassidy, Meath Writer-in-Residence 2020 spoke to Michelle Coyne about the short story. Michelle is a multi-award-winning short story writer from Co. Galway, Ireland. She is the winner of the Listowel Originals Short Story Award 2015, the Short Fiction Journal Competition 2016 and a 2018 Hennessy New Irish Writing Winner. She was runner up in Doolin Writers’ Weekend short story competition in 2016 and highly commended in the Colm Toibin International Short Story Award a year later.
Here is a link to some of the resources and competitions discussed in the webinar. www.nicolacassidy.com/resources
National Novel Writers Month - November 2021