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N<\/span>icky is comfortable giving small creative writing workshops for 15 or talking to 250 people. She will always tailor her presentation to the needs of the group that invites her and she is happy to talk about her novels, the creative process in general (particularly the importance of story), plus her adaptations for screen, theatre and opera.<\/p>\n Most talks are 50-60 mins long and include time for Q&A. Nicky prefers creative writing workshops to be a minimum of one and a half hours \u2013 with breaks as necessary.<\/p>\n Ideas and How you Get Them – <\/strong>The inspiration behind Feather Boy<\/em> (Nicky really did go in that spooky house\u2026.) and\/or The Flask<\/em> (what magical thing is in this bottle?) and\/or Island<\/em> (the true tale of erupting graves on the Canadian island of Herschel…). Book talks centred around Nicky\u2019s YA books Knight Crew<\/em> was made into an opera premiered at Glyndebourne. Knight Crew talks can include clips from the film of the show. Most teenagers find this considerably more interesting than they thought they would!<\/p>\n Duration: 90 mins or 1 hr<\/p>\n Nicky says:<\/p>\n The ideal workshop number (where I can actually give individual attention to every student) is 20 or fewer. It remains pretty successful (less attention but good results) up to about 25 max. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n It works like this:<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n <\/p>\n I can just deliver the hour \u2018tool kit\u2019 session to larger groups, but prefer not to because it\u2019s only in the actual writing (and the editing of that writing \u2013 which is actually most of what a real writer does) that the students really begin to understand how make and evaluate work.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Making fiction from your own life. We storyboard (as in sections 2-4 above) and I try to pull out the \u2018tool kit\u2019 stuff as we go. Suitable for larger groups and where time is limited to an hour.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n 1. Book signing. In conjunction with a local bookshop or Nicky will bring a suitcase of books and provide a template letter to go to parents in advance.<\/p>\n 2. Interview. Nicky is happy to give any budding school journalists an interview.<\/p>\n 3. Meet the Book Club. Nicky is happy to host an informal question\/answer session with a small group of librarians, bookworms etc.<\/p>\n 4. Careers Talk. As well as being a writer Nicky has worked in publishing, the arts and television. Jobs have included: Associate Director of Talks at ICA; Co-founder and Co-Director of Performing Arts Labs (a charity dedicated to training writers for stage, screen and opera); researcher for Channel 4\u2019s VOICES programme and on-screen presenter for BBC2\u2019s documentary series LABOURS OF EVE. A talk about how to make a life in writing and the arts.<\/p>\n Nicky has written for stage (<\/span>Island<\/span><\/i> for the National Theatre) and also adapted her work for stage (eg <\/span>Feather Boy the Musical<\/span><\/i>, National Theatre and <\/span>Knight Crew <\/span><\/i>the opera, Glyndebourne). Her work has also been made into film (BBC adaptation <\/span>Feather Boy<\/span><\/i>).<\/span><\/p>\n Drama sessions include:<\/span><\/p>\nTalks<\/h2>\n
For Years 5-8:<\/h3>\n
\nThe Feather Boy<\/em> talk includes clips from the BAFTA award winning BBC film of the book, which highlights how things change from page to stage\/film. The Island<\/em> talk includes discussion of climate change and man’s responsibility in nature, with stills from the National Theatre production and a soundtrack of marine creatures under threat.<\/p>\nFor Years 9 up:<\/h3>\n
\n<\/strong>GemX<\/em> (a love story for the genetically modified\u2026);
\nThe Innocent\u2019s Story<\/em> (what would drive someone to be a suicide bomber?);
\nor Knight Crew<\/em> (a re-telling of the King Arthur legend set in contemporary gangland).<\/p>\nCreative Writing Workshop (all ages)<\/h2>\n
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General sessions<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nDrama<\/h2>\n
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\n<\/b>An on-your-feet workshop based around the \u2018haunted house\u2019 scene in the musical where students get to \u2018play\u2019 with the material and create their own mini-scene. Nicky introduces the characters\/music etc but the workshop does require the active participation of drama staff at the directorial end (which is beyond Nicky\u2019s competence!).<\/li>\n
\nThe process of adapting book to film; book to opera; play to novel etc. Including stills from Island<\/em> and film footage of Glyndebourne\u2019s Knight Crew opera and BBC\u2019s Feather Boy film. The impact on story of different media.<\/li>\n
\n<\/b>Nicky is also able to \u2018storyboard\u2019 with GCSE or A-level students who need to create their own material. This session is most helpful to students who are just beginning the story-making process, ie who can bring initial ideas with which we can \u2018play\u2019.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n![\"visit04\"](\"http:\/\/nickysinger.com\/new\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/visit04.jpg\")
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