About After Words

My name is Emma Hill and I created this story for the Alternarratives interactive short story writing scheme, which you can read more about here.

I was part of a shortlisted cohort of writers, who were given some funding to develop a new style of short, interactive fiction for readers aged 11-16.

My great interests are working with and for children and young people and also writing and producing stories for all kinds of platforms – from books to social media. You can read more about my work on my website.

The Alternarratives project was an exciting opportunity for me to pull several strands of work together and embark on new adventures in storytelling, which I love to do.

The timing of the project coincided with the COVID-19 Lockdown in the U.K. The idea I had originally submitted for the scheme didn’t seem relevant, or interesting, in the light of the emotions and challenges young people were faced with in lockdown.

I decided to create a story which explored some of the things I knew young people were experiencing and were concerned about during the pandemic – I looked to create something specific, while also being universal – one of the overriding themes of the piece.

Find out how I set about creating After Words.

I have plans for the next stage of After Words, which you can read about here.