Neo Noir and the Dark Thriller

Do you find antiheroes and flawed, conflicted or damaged protagonists intriguing?

Are you attracted to stories that resist the easy certainty of happy endings and neat resolutions?

Do you suspect that human psychology and motivations are more twisted and disturbed than many people are willing to admit?

Then the Dark Thriller/Neo-Noir is probably the genre you should be writing - and you need to know more about it.

Neo-Noirs/Dark Thrillers are an identifiable body of stories which show us that our deepest nature - and, by extension, the world we live in - is darker than we'd ever imagined.

They do so by telling gripping, highly contemporary tales, loaded with suspense.

The workshop will look closely at this crucial story element, and some powerful recent narrative and filmmaking innovations in achieving suspense.

These are stories which show us the dangerous, self-damaging side of human nature.

They also reveal the flaws in our institutions and places of work which enable it to flourish, making the genre a useful vehicle for social commentary with its focus on wrongly accused

Breaking Bad is a recent story with strong Neo-Noir elements. Nightcrawler, Dirty Pretty Things, Mad Men and Memento are other examples.

This seminar unpacks the genre to find the ideas that make it tick, and shows how these can be applied to make great new stories.

We'll focus particularly on the way in which the genre deals with sexuality, gender and female protagonists.

We'll watch entertaining and inspiring clips which illustrate each important element of the genre.

Fun and interesting exercises will help you to create the elements of your own Neo-Noir story, ending the process with a basic outline.