NEW FOR 2023
Thrutopia
– self-study course for writers & aspiring writers in all media
Writing our way to a future we’d be proud to leave to the coming generations
We know that inspiring stories shape our futures.
Throughout human history, our power to imagine a better world has pushed – or pulled – us away from the comfort of the known.
But our stories of power, accumulation and self-aggrandisement have brought us to the edge of extinction and we urgently need new heroes, new ways of doing things, new peaks to aim for.
As writers, that's hard
We may know we badly need new systems, but we’re as much a part of the system as anyone else. Even if we can imagine a world better than this one, we don’t know how to write the road map that takes us from here to there.
So we write dystopias, because it’s easy to imagine how bad things could be.
Or we create utopias, because we can leap forward and imagine something better as long as it’s somewhere or somewhen distant.
“If you knew you were at the last days of the human story, what would you write? How would you write?”
BEN OKRI
We need to write Thrutopias: clear, engaging routes through to a world we’d all be proud to bequeath to future generations
So, if you are, or aspire to be, a…
NOVELIST
SCREENWRITER
POET
PLAYWRIGHT
SONGWRITER
or writer in any form including non-fiction
…we’ve identified 4 key ways to help you build the skills you need to be able to write the path to a flourishing future.
IDEA GENERATION
If we’re going to write a world that functions differently, we need to get granular, deep down in the mechanics, so that we can map a clear path from here to there.
We need to know how things work: how we generate power, how we use money, how we organise our politics differently, feed ourselves…
NARRATIVE INCUBATION
Most of us write alone, but this is new: we’re writing whole new systems, not just reworkings of business as usual So, we’ll need to road test our ideas on each other, find their weak points, the logical and emotional pain points where the shift from old to new just doesn’t work. We’ll need to bounce ideas around, shatter them and remake them in ways that resonate with as many people as possible.
DISSEMINATION GUIDANCE
We need to understand the current state of the industries that disseminate our writing in all its forms – and how to reach the audiences with whom our new narratives will resonate.
THE POWER OF COMMUNITY
We’re stepping into a world we don’t yet know. It’s inspiring and exciting, but it can also feel daunting – as if we have no solid ground. We need the support of others who understand what’s at stake.
We have an engaged WhatsApp group which members are welcome to join.
Thrutopias need to be everywhere: in every television soap opera and documentary, in the Netflix binge-watched blockbusters, in movies, plays and radio dramas; in novels, and short stories; in poetry and song and long-form op-eds. They need to be in blogs, and on Instagram, YouTube and TikTok and filling the cascading time lines of Facebook and Twitter.
THE THRUTOPIA COURSE
What you will learn
Our aim is to give you the resources, resilience and inspiration to write world-changing, life-changing stories in the widest possible range of styles and structures.
And to provide you with the best advice on how to get them out in front of the biggest, most receptive audience.
By the end of the course
You will have gained a wide ranging grasp of changes that are happening now and a sense of how they could spin forward into a flourishing future if we make good choices.
You’ll know what those good choices are in all the fields we cover – and how to shape them into stories that work.
You will understand the instincts behind our current hyper-polarisation so that you can shape narratives to appeal across the deepening chasms of our divides.
You will have the resources and support network to help you hunt out more depth where you need it.
You will have the inner resilience to encompass the challenges to your own belief-systems that new visions will need.
The concept of thrutopia says: Don't defer your dreams. We need those dreams now.
RUPERT READ – PROGENITOR OF THE THRUTOPIA CONCEPT
INSIDE THE SELF-STUDY COURSE
This course offers access to materials from the original 2022 live Thrutopia Masterclass.
Scroll down to find out what’s included in this self-study version.
Video recordings of the original live Spark Sessions in which 12 internationally renowned speakers offered their visions of inspiring near-term futures and how we could get there from here.
These hour long videos include a 30-40 minute presentation by the speaker followed by a Q & A session in which the speaker took questions from the live Zoom room.
The speaker’s slides, online resource and reading recommendations are also included.
Writing Prompts – working with the Spark material.
In this part of the self-study course you will find the writing prompts that were used in the live Masterclass to help re-weave the ideas, facts and images offered in the Spark Sessions into the building blocks for new, Thrutopian narratives.
These prompts are designed to help you shape characters, situations, challenges and resolutions.
Professional Priming recordings with industry professionals in publishing, film, television and theatre.
Our professional industry speakers share their opinions and experience on how best to reach the widest, and most engaged audiences.
A lively WhatsApp group of Thrutopian writers
Anyone joining the Masterclass can opt into the WhatsApp group. We meet regularly on Zoom.
The formation of a Thrutopian Writers’ Association is under discussion and publication of a Thrutopian Writing Anthology is in process. Members have been invited to submit writing for consideration.
Signposts for the Spirit: sessions to help connect you to the roots of your imagination and take you deeper into the creative heart of your work.
The roots of creativity lie deeper than our conscious minds.
This is the realm of the muse, of poetry and word-smithing, of the ancient myths and stories told around the fire by our ancestors going back thousands of generations.
In these one hour recordings, you will find guided visualisations, meditations or dialogues designed to take you deeper than your conscious mind allows, helping you connect to the roots of your imagination and tap into the deeper wells of your creativity.
Buddhist Monastic, Daniel Thorson, Regenerative land-worker Mary Reynaulds, narrative strategist Alina Siegfried and course leader Manda Scott speak of their spiritual connections to life, land and words.
INSIDE THE MASTERCLASS
More details about each element of the course
Video recordings of the original live Spark Sessions in which 12 internationally renowned speakers offered their visions of inspiring near-term futures and how we could get there from here.
These hour long videos include a 30-40 minute presentation by the speaker followed by a Q & A session in which the speaker took questions from the live Zoom room.
The speaker’s slides, online resource and reading recommendations are also included.
Writing Prompts – working with the Spark material.
In this part of the self-study course you will find the writing prompts that were used in the live Masterclass, to help re-weave the ideas, facts and images offered in the Spark Sessions into the building blocks for new, Thrutopian narratives.
These prompts are designed to help you shape characters, situations, challenges and resolutions.
Professional Priming recordings with industry professionals in publishing, film, television and theatre.
Our professional industry speakers share their opinions and experience on how best to reach the widest, and most engaged audiences.
Signposts for the Spirit: sessions to help connect you to the roots of your imagination and take you deeper into the creative heart of your work.
The roots of creativity lie deeper than our conscious minds.
This is the realm of the muse, of poetry and word-smithing, of the ancient myths and stories told around the fire by our ancestors going back thousands of generations.
In these one hour recordings, you will find guided visualisations, meditations or dialogues designed to take you deeper than your conscious mind allows, helping you connect to the roots of your imagination and tap into the deeper wells of your creativity.
Buddhist Monastic, Daniel Thorson, Regenerative land-worker Mary Reynaulds, narrative strategist Alina Siegfried and course leader Manda Scott speak of their spiritual connections to life, land and words.
What does it cost?
Joining the course offers you access to all recorded materials until the end of 2025.
The cost is £95