We are thrilled to welcome Lucy V Hay to Retreats For You for the first time! Find details of her Beginners’ Scriptwriting Retreat below, and book your place now.
Arrive Monday afternoon (day one), leave Friday morning (day five). Cost is £789 per person (standard rooms. Supplement payable for premium rooms please ask but please note en suite bedrooms always go first).
About Retreats For You
Full board, wine included at supper, mini gym, summer house, roaring fire in cooler months. Own room with an amazingly comfortable bed, crisp white sheets, writing table, tea and coffee making. (Two ensuite rooms are available at a supplement, please enquire – first come first served.)
£125 deposit is required to secure your booking. (There will be a waiting list if over-subscribed). Balance payable when we invoice you about 6-8 weeks beforehand. In case of postponement, you can transfer your deposit to the next retreat no problem.
Beginners’ Scriptwriting Retreat
with Lucy V Hay
Whether you’re an author who wants to adapt your own novels, or a new writer who simply wants to try their hand at screenwriting for the first time, this retreat is for you!
Screenwriting is not like novel writing. Though it obviously shares some common storytelling elements, new writers are often surprised to discover there are certain things screenwriters must take into account that novelists don’t.
Writers on this retreat will have the opportunity to work with Lucy V Hay, a veteran script editor for movies and TV. Being both a script editor and a novelist herself means Lucy can help authors understand how to move from publishing to screenwriting, including adapting their own novels.
Along with being available throughout the week for individual discussions and feedback on your writing, Lucy is delighted to offer both 1:1 sessions and group workshops during this retreat.
DAY 1:
Arrive in the afternoon and settle in, before pre-dinner introductions! Lucy will encourage you to share your writing goals for the retreat, plus you can also chat with her and your fellow writers about whether you want to adapt your own novels or write an original screenplay.
DAY 2:
In the morning, Lucy will lead a workshop on the foundations of screenwriting – concept, characters and structure. During this interactive session, writers will be encouraged to ‘zero in’ on the concept of their screenplay, especially with reference to ‘The Hook’. Each writer will attempt their own logline (or ‘pitch’) of their project.
In the afternoon, writing time plus writers will meet 1:1 with Lucy about their project loglines so she can help put your concept under the microscope and ensure it’s road-tested.
After dinner, Lucy and writers will discuss their favourite movies and TV shows — why they’re so memorable and what we can learn from them in writing our own scripts.
DAY 3:
In the morning, Lucy will lead a workshop about characterisation – especially with reference to role functions, character arcs and archetypal characterisation, but also tropes and other important elements. We will also discuss genre and why certain characters turn up in certain genres more than others.
In the afternoon, writing time plus writers will meet 1:1 with Lucy to discuss their chosen characters – who is your protagonist? antagonist? Secondaries? Where do they start and end up?
After dinner, writers and Lucy will discuss G.O.A.T (‘Greatest of all time’) characters and why target audiences love them so much.
Day 4:
Where it all gets complicated – structure! There’s no such thing as ‘pantsing’ in screenwriting — it’s plotting or BUST … Lucy will take writers through why structure is SO important in screenwriting, plus the different plotting archetypes and styles of screenwriting, from short film to movies to TV.
In the afternoon, more writing time – plus writers will meet with Lucy 1:1 to map out their scripts’ plot.
After dinner, writers will reflect on their key takeaways from the retreat – what’s the most SURPRISING thing they’ve learned about screenwriting?
DAY 5:
Vacate rooms, leave late morning with a fully-fleshed out ‘treatment’ (aka plan) for your screenplay. You are also welcome to stay in touch with Lucy as a ‘Bang2writer’ via her platform online.
ABOUT LUCY
Lucy has been the script editor and advisor on numerous UK features and shorts & has also been a script reader for over twenty years, providing coverage for indie production companies, film investors, screen agencies, producers, directors and individual writers. She has most recently been working for Screen Australia.
She’s also an author, publishing as both LV Hay and Lizzie Fry. Lizzie’s debut, The Coven was a breakout hit in 2021, reviewed in Heat magazine, The Independent, The Sun, Woman’s Weekly, Woman & Home and across social media. Lizzie’s latest novel, Little Boy Missing with Joffe Books, which hit the Amazon Hot New Releases charts for the whole summer of 2024.
Lucy’s site at www.bang2write.com has appeared in Top 100 round-ups for Writer’s Digest & The Write Life, as well as a UK Blog Awards Finalist and Feedspot’s #1 Screenwriting blog in the UK (ninth in the world.).
She is also the author of the bestselling non-fiction book, Writing & Selling Thriller Screenplays: From TV Pilot To Feature Film (Creative Essentials), which she updated for the streaming age for its tenth anniversary in 2023.