Tag: workshops

Why you need to read Inside Fatherhood in 2018

Big news for a new year.

The edit is complete, the cover finalised [see above] and my book, Inside Fatherhood, will be published on March 23.

What’s more, you can now now pre-order a copy direct from BRF here.

Ten ordinary men talk about their extraordinary experiences of fatherhood and how it transformed their lives.

It offers a snapshot of life for modern dads in the year that Father’s Day turns 80 — and some advice for the next 80 years.

Here’s a brief taster of the text:

“The whole way we think about fathers has changed — from the distant Victorian dad to the hands-on, multi-tasking, nappy-changing, work-life-balance-juggling dad of today.

Our gender role as men has changed, too, from hunter-gatherers to nurturing bedrocks of emotional support.

Yet men are still often ridiculed in adverts as hapless and denigrated by society as secondary.”

Watch this space over the next couple of months for updates about launch events and how you can get involved in telling your own story.

Read a review here from amble.

Homework: Media writing workshop June

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Thanks to everyone who attended yesterday’s workshop at CHIC Chester [pictured above].

There was some great debate about how to pitch (please see links below) and some thought-provoking discussion about the problems we all face when approaching commissioning editors.

There’s a short Vimeo from the session here:

Now for the homework before our next session in July.

Here’s the brief:

Based on the feedback yesterday, please redraft your 150-word, three-paragraph pitch.

Think about the hook, your expertise and who you would quote in the article. Try to highlight the angle on the story.

Deadline: Friday, June 26, 5pm. Please post your work as comments below this post for feedback from the group.

And to help you reflect on your pitching skills, check out these links to further reading:

BBC Academy of Journalism: Pitch meetings

How to pitch a freelance article

How to: protect your ideas as a freelancer

I look forward to reading your homework over the next weeks and welcoming some of you back for our final sessions in July.

If you have comments about yesterday’s session, please post then below. Thanks. 

Media writing workshops: news of the next classes from May to July this summer

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It’s time to reveal plans for the next round of workshops.

Having listened to feedback from the first two groups for more one-on-one tuition time, I’ve decided to run a two-hour split session.

Here’s how it will work.

We will spend the first hour exploring a topic in depth with guided content from me, drawing on real-life experience as a jobbing freelancer and academic theory from my role as a journalism lecturer at UCLan.

The first three topics I am proposing are:

  • Interview skills (May)
  • Pitching ideas to editors (June)
  • Going freelance (July)

The second hour will be given over personal tuition (say 10-15 mins each) and will require you to come with a work-in-progress draft of an article, a blog post, a pitch etc.

I am expecting small groups for these workshops – probably around six people per session.

The proposed dates (*subject to change) are as follows:

  • Thursday, May 14, 7-9pm
  • Friday, June 12, 10-12 noon
  • Thursday, July 16, 7-9pm

You can book one session for £40pp, or book all three and receive a discount price of £100. Your place is only confirmed once I have received a payment – ideally by PayPal via the workshops link at my website.

All three sessions will be hosted at the new CHIC Chester co-working hub, located right next to Chester train station. You can find out more about the venue at the CHIC website.

The venue offers complimentary tea and coffee. We will send out for sandwiches for day sessions and retire to a local pub after evening sessions for a pint.

Please email me with your queries.

Liked this? Try also Feedback from learners at the second workshop.

Comment below.

Writing for online: The feedback from the learners at the second workshop

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So busy day then.

I ran the second workshop in my media masterclass series today. This time we looked specifically at writing and pitching stories for online.

Here we are [pictured above], hard at work in the Glynne Arms, Hawarden.

I structured the session around four key themes:

  • Getting ideas
  • Writing for the screen
  • Taking it multimedia
  • Getting paid

Here’s what people had to say about the experience at the end of the class:

“A great section on how to get ideas and develop them.” – Philip Parry

“In terms of structure, this has helped to demonstrate how to format my future blog posts differently.” – Shaun Best

“Very informative about how to get your message across, engage readers and build community online.” – Anya Hughes

“I liked the stories from personal experience and the point that writing is work and worthy of a fee.” – Bill Webster

“I’m going t use what I learned today to get my first article published.” – Conor O’Gorman.

The next workshop is pencilled in for late April. Please sign up for the newsletter on my home page for the latest news and updates.

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