This covers elements of three major creative writing genres: short story, narrative essay, and memoir. Students will master the techniques that good writers use to compose a bracing story, populated with memorable characters in an interesting setting, written in a fresh descriptive style. They will analyze and constructively evaluate peer writing. In the Final project, they will draft, rewrite, and complete a substantial original story in the genre of their choosing about positive LAGOS.

We will cover the topics of why we write stories, fantastic first pages, character, dialogue, structure, the hero’s journey, memoir, the short story, top ten tips for writing and more.

Facilitators

Xavier IGHORODJE is an award-winning screenwriter and producer resident in Nigeria. He is the screenwriter of the documentary short – A WILL OF IRON, which won a SUNDANCE award for short documentary in 2014, sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation. His short film – The truth about B.A.E, won best cinematography, best screenplay, best directing and best actress in a lead role in the Lagos 48-hr film challenge in 2015, which earnt him and his team the chance to represent Nigeria at the world-wide festival in Atlanta, Georgia, March 2016. With over 4000 + minutes of primetime Nigerian TV writing to his credit, he has worked on either creating, head writing or story editing 60,000+ minutes of story on primetime Nigerian TV, having worked on nearly all of MNET’s Africa Magic Showcase’s hit Telenovela series.

Currently, he is the creator and head writer of the dramatic political thriller – COVENANT, an MNET 260 episodes Telenovela that premiered on the 3rd of October, 2022, currently on air. He is the creator, head writer and co-writer of the highly anticipated Netflix original SHANTY TOWN. He is also the creator, head writer and show runner for the TV show “Big Book of Lies” premiering on Accelerate TV, last quarter of 2022. He is credited with creating and writing companion materials for Burna Boy’s Grammy award winning album – TWICE AS TALL, 2020. He has a particular passion for stories that explore African identity in various genres, especially its religions and spirituality.

IFEANYI BARBARA CHIDI has worked on the development of widely known television shows on MNET’s Africa Magic. The shows include Riona and Unbroken where she was Head Writer, Battleground: The Final Showdown, Jemeji, and Hush where she was Story Editor. With responsibility for more than 50,000 minutes of TV under her belt, she is also Creator of television shows: Riona, Ajoche, and Co-Creator of Retreat and Head Over Heels.

She also has script writing credits on Jamestown, The Bachelors, Aduke Hotel, The Team, and Ebony Life TV’s Dowry. She is writer of web series – Our Best Friend’s Wedding Season 2, Love Like This on Ndani TV, Director on BukaFedGeeks’ Man of Her Dreams and Producer on Ndani TV’s One Chance. In 2020, Ifeanyi served as a Juror for the British Fantasy Awards in the Film and Television Category. Ifeanyi is also Creator and Head Writer on Africa Magic’s 260-episode Telenovela – Dilemma, which premiered in September 2021. She is also the creator of Showmax’s first Nigerian Original Drama series: Diiche – which premiered in September 2022.

Jude Idada is the winner of the NLNG Nigeria Prize for Literature, an AMAA best screenplay award, ANA prize for Drama. He is also a Goethe Institut Afrika Projekt finalist and a long-listed and short-listed nominee of the NLNG Nigeria Prize for Literature for his plays Sankara and Oduduwa – King of the Edos. He was also a finalist in the New Directions Filmmakers of the future project by MNET in addition to being selected as one of the playwrights for the British Council’s Lagos Theatre Festival. Amongst many, Jude was also selected as one of the writers for the University of IOWA International Writers Program, the Toronto International Film Festival’s ‘ADAPT THIS!’ and the Afrinolly/Ford Foundation ‘Cinema4Change’ projects and was an inaugural participant in the Los Angeles based Relativity Media/AFRIFF Filmmaking project.

Temilola is an industry expert with over 10 years in the entertainment industry as a media personality, broadcast journalist, and a TV producer. She created popular and award-winning web series Skinny Girl in Transit for NdaniTV. She also created and produced First Time Mom for Mnet Africa and DSTV, Things Men Say and The Cheat Sheet for BoxTV, and forthcoming medical dramedy series Clinically Speaking for Accelerate TV. Temilola’s work in film and tv production is inspired by a need to tell stories about the realities of women, especially Nigerian women, through a comedic lens. She has worked on several productions and has worked as a consultant for various television stations and production companies. She is the Co-founder and CEO of PICHR, a MediaTech company that simplifies access to funding for African Filmmakers.