Across four writing weeks in November 2025, we created a virtual community of writers - we wrote alone, but together. Participants received a new prompt at the start of each week to help shape and develop their story, and a short check-in prompt at the end of the week to reflect and share progress. These gentle prompts helped to keep momentum, make space for writing, and strengthen connection within the group.

We used a three-act narrative arc (Field 1979) to build our stories:
1. The set-up, focused on establishing the narrative world. Participants were prompted to consider characterisation: who is present in the story, and how do they identify (as neurodiverse or neurotypical)? What is the setting, and who is telling the story? Importantly, this stage encouraged writers to attend closely to behaviours, emotions, and underlying assumptions, laying the groundwork for reflective depth.

2. The confrontation, introduced narrative tension. Participants were asked to identify an inciting incident or catalyst: an event that disrupts the status quo and presents a challenge or moment of change. This need not be dramatic in a conventional sense; participants were equally encouraged to explore moments of surprise, discomfort, or even joy that reveal something significant about teaching and learning relationships.

3. The resolution, turned toward meaning-making. Here, participants were invited to articulate what had shifted: What was learned? How had perspectives or practices changed? What insights or advice might be offered to others? This stage foregrounded the connection between narrative and professional growth, positioning reflection as both personal and pedagogical.

4. Focus on presentation. In keeping with the ethos of the Creative Pedagogies consortium, participants were encouraged to consider how their stories might be communicated in creative and engaging ways. This extended beyond traditional academic prose, opening possibilities for multimodal expression and challenging conventional assumptions about what constitutes “academic writing.”

Field, S. (1979). Screenplay: The Foundations of Screen Writing. Bantam Dell.