Digital Writes
Development & Publishing C.I.C.
creativity – inclusion – growth
We enable anyone, regardless of age, disability, gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, or economic disadvantage to take part in creative projects – including creative writing, the arts, game design, physical computing, and robotics – and have their work exhibited, published or distributed:
- for fun
- to satisfy personal goals
- to develop their artistic career
- to push the boundaries of their art form
Schools and colleges
Youth groups, clubs and organisations
Community groups and clubs
writers
illustrators
musicians
animators
actors
developers
The team are professional industry experts who know how to engage and break down concepts to a range of students with special needs and emotional and social difficulties. Students enjoy the work and learn a wealth of transferable skills.
– Ms Dare, Commonweal School, The Bath Studio School
Immersive Authorship
Young people are writing, illustrating and publishing their own interactive fantasy-adventure gamebook.
We already write and draw things but nothing comes out of it. It’s going to be so cool to see our book in the library and see other people enjoying what we’ve made.
And you could be part of it!
Our tutors – including published authors and professional artists – have real industry experience to share with you during our online workshops. You will get to use your own ideas to create something exciting – constructing the characters, settings, and storyline, creating the scenes, deciding the player’s options, and designing enemies to defeat.
They have called their book A Moral Paradox. This is because their idea is that your best friend, Paradox the Dragon, will grow differently depending on the choices you make – as illustrated above, by Lauren.
But don’t worry if you haven’t written or illustrated before! Your ideas are important. Join the team and contribute as much or as little as you want.
I would like to express my thanks for the support you have provided [my daughter]. She is both enjoying it and gaining experiences and confidence that will serve her well in life.
– Parent
Theatre of the Air
Theatre practitioners, who had been unable to practise their craft due to the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020, came together to write and perform an audio drama, and broadcast it on Swindon Radio 105.5 and distribute it as a podcast.
Project participants came together to form an informal theatre company to make an audio drama based on Wiltshire myths, legends, mysteries and folklore. They wrote the scripts, performed and recorded all the parts, edited every episode and created all the music and sound effects. The show they created is called FOLKLORE.
FOLKLORE: When Tamsin Wheatley receives a series of mysterious cassette tapes from her late University Professor, she finds herself drawn into a world of ghosts, demons, standing stones, and terrifying black dogs.
This project was funded by an Arts Council Covid Emergency Grant. It enabled us to bring together an otherwise isolated group of theatre practitioners and enable them to form a new independent company.
Being involved in this project has made a huge difference to my life as a newly blind woman. It has given me focus, the inspiration to be creative and has allowed me to be more engaged with the community, to feel part of something special and unique. Being disabled can be really isolating but everyone has made me feel so welcome and valued.
Our students have always had a brilliant experience, growing in creative confidence and developing their social and communication skills as well as gaining a wealth of cutting-edge technical expertise.
– Ms Urquhart, Lydiard Park Academy
Project: Beyond Reality
Primary aged children designed and drew and animated a surrealism inspired video game and published it worldwide.
Children from a number of primary schools and a home educated group studied surrealism with artist Beatrice Markopoulou, including a trip to see an exhibition of Dorothea Tanning’s work at the Tate Modern.
They then made and published a surrealist video game called Paper Dreams. Everyone designed their own surreal worlds and stories, drew and animated their own surreal characters, and wrote their own whimsical dialogue.
I’m really impressed with what I was able to achieve
It’s massively better than I expected … I feel it’s like a proper game that you would actually see on Steam
It was like actually being an adult
The way you supported the young people was superb. … the way you gave young people the freedom to develop their own ideas, whilst sticking to the brief was quite a juggling act and handled both professionally and creatively; thank you.
– Paul Dobson, Project Manager, STEP
Project: Adventures in Interactive Storytelling
Young people with a variety of physical disabilities, special educational needs and autism spectrum condition made a Japanese inspired interactive visual novel
A fantastic opportunity for students to work with professional artists and game designers to stretch their technical and creative skills in ways that’s very hard for me to do as a classroom teacher.
– Mr Mercer, Crowdys Hill Special School
63 young people studied illustration with graphic novel illustrator David Cousens, and interactove storytelling with gamebook author Keith P. Phillips.
In a model of mutually supportive collaboration across their schools and colleges, they designed a rich story with complex, interesting characters, wrote, performed and recorded the dialogue, and coded the interactions.
They even organised a launch event with proud parents, amazed friends, and press photographers everywhere!
Their game, Binary: Decoded had more than 4000 downloads on the app stores!