Today, I was lucky enough to spend two hours with Dr Bradford Gyori, a principal academic in digital storytelling at Bournemouth University. The program leader for the MA in Creative Writing and Publishing, Gyori has worked as a writer-producer for such networks as MTV, VH1, E!, FX, and HBO online. He was the head writer of the Emmy-winning series Talk Soup. His scholarly articles have appeared in The Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, Journalism, Interactive Storytelling, and others.
Full details of him can be found on the #Bournemouth University website: https://staffprofiles.bournemouth.ac.uk/display/bgyori
Several students were also present at the Zoom meeting. We began by discussing writing dark #fantasy and romance novels, as I do. He had several questions to ask me specific to the genre I write, such as whether I include LGBTQ+ diversity in my books, whether I'm afraid of crossing boundaries by going into taboo subjects, where I get my inspiration to create my fantasy worlds, where my love of fantastical creatures comes from, etc.
Afterward, I read a short text, an extract from my next short story, "The Vampire's Pet" for around ten minutes, which was very well received. This was followed by discussing my text with the students and the teacher. For the rest of the time we had, other students presented a text of their composition, and as a guest author, I had to comment and criticize their text and give them advice. The meeting ended with a reading of a text written by Dr. Bradford Gyori, where I was once again invited to comment on and critique his story.
It was truly an honor to have the chance to speak with the students and see the creativity they displayed. I hope the advice I gave them will help them in their literary process.
This was a wonderful experience, and I'm so grateful for this chance!