Our blogs

Regular news and insight from our many poets, writers, educators and facilitators

11 October 2025

Posted by Susan L. Edser

Refining the Script

Ali Sparkes is a children’s author who leads writing sessions for Junior and Young Writers every Saturday morning at MAST Mayflower Studios. To learn more about her, visit her website: https://www.alisparkes.com and click on her profile: https://artfulscribe.co.uk/facilitators/ali-sparkes

Susan L. Edser, MA graduate in Creative Writing and Publishing and winner of Bournemouth University’s prestigious Vice Chancellor Award 2024, is Ali’s assistant and writes the weekly blog. To learn more about her, click on her profile: https://artfulscribe.co.uk/facilitators/susan-l-edser


The writers were full of beans today, excited to continue their scripts for Play Creators. They began by considering who might play each character, and the Junior Writers asked Sue who played Captain America, Hermione Granger and even C-3PO. Do you know? Thank goodness for Google!

Ali had worked on each script during the week to help structure the stories and guide the writers on the dialogue. She shared this with them, and they worked on it for the rest of the morning. They split into smaller groups to focus on distinct sections, such as a fight scene, adding the necessary parts and advancing their plays. They then read their scripts to each other to round off the session. 

Ali gave positive feedback on the parts that worked well and offered suggestions for the parts that needed more writing. One of the plays has songs, for example, so she discussed how the tune could be conveyed to the actors. Does it follow a well-known tune already, like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and can the audience be involved?

The children and young people were fully immersed in the session today, working hard to reach the final stages of scriptwriting. There will be a final read-through next week, before the scripts are handed to Play Creators and Solent University students to work their magic.

There was no Writer of the Week this week, as the sessions focused on collaborative writing rather than solo work. After half-term… [dramatic drum roll, please]…it will return [theatrical laughter]!

Previous

Archive

Back to blog

What's on

Find out more

Our projects

Find out more

Our films

Watch now

Headlight Press

Find out more

Latest news

26 September 2025

Newsletter September 2025

News and Opportunities for Solent Writers and WritingBreakthrough Assistant ProducerAmelia Simpson joins ArtfulScribeArtswork is a charity encouraging young...

Read more

Our blogs

Regular news and insight from our many poets, writers, educators and facilitators

Find out more

Resources


Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in the New Forest

Why not get in touch?