This workshop is all about worldbuilding and the ways in which writers can describe their world in prose and audio. We'll talk about the different techniques for sharing information about the world with listeners including character dialogue and the use of a narrator or story-teller. We'll delve into the world of sound design and soundscape and talk about techniques for utilising the imaginations of listeners to generate information about the world in which the action is playing out. Emily Inkpen will offer advice from the perspective of a novelist turned audio dramatist and try to help prose writers make sense of world creation in audio using examples from herchart topping science fiction drama The Dex Legacy.

From panic-inducing radio plays based on The War of the Worlds via The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy to Audible's Sandman series and a huge range of modern podcast dramas, audio is a fantastic medium for telling sci-fi and fantasy stories.

In this workshop novelist, short story writer and audio dramatists Emily Inkpen of Alternative Stories will lead you through the basics of worldbuilding and the skills you'll need to acquire to turn your stories and ideas into fully realised backdrops for your stories scripts and productions.

With real examples from Alternative Stories audio drama productions including their flagship Global Top 3% serial The Dex Legacy , you'll learn about audio drama and fiction and the techniques needed to adapt your writing for a listening audience. So whether you want to use audio drama as a stepping stone towards scriptwriting for the stage or screen or you're curious about how your prose will sound in the mouths of professional actors this series will inspire you to have a go at writing in sound.

There has never been a better time to get involved in audio work. From podcasts to radio to paid services such as Amazon’s Audible platform, producers and content creators are searching for more material to meet demand from their listeners. In this series we’ll take writers through some of the different types of audio, from drama to fiction and poetry made specifically for listening audiences. We’ll look at the writing techniques you’ll need to learn in order to flourish in these areas and we’ll guide you through the opportunities for working in audio. Working alongside industry professionals including actors and writers with extensive audio experience our workshops will inform and entertain while hopefully inspiring attendees to have a go at getting into the world of audio.

Worldbuilding for Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers