My name is Abigail Martin, I’m twenty-three years old, and I’m from Devon, now living in Somerset.
I’ve been a writer for as long as I can remember beginning with fiction, and eventually moving onto scripts, which are now my biggest passion. Aside from scripts, I also write short stories, novels, articles and blog posts.
After leaving school with three A-Levels, I went to Falmouth University in Cornwall to complete a BA (Hons) in English with Creative Writing, where I confirmed my passion for screenwriting during my final year. Since this course only scratched the surface of what I wanted to do, I applied for MA Scriptwriting at Bath Spa University so I could hone my skills on that particular topic.
In terms of scriptwriting, I mainly write for television, and particularly enjoy drama, thrillers, and fantasy. I have written the pilot episodes for two TV series, one of which is a dystopian drama inspired by The Hunger Games and 1984 , and another which is a supernatural comedy-drama inspired by Killing Eve, Good Omens, and Hazbin Hotel.
My supernatural drama, Hellish, is my favourite project to date, and is something I would like to pitch to production companies as soon as I can.
I have also produced a couple of short films: The Bunker Game, a 10-minute film produced by undergraduate Bath Spa University students which I wrote the script for, and Bruise, my 7-minute film created for this showcase project.
Bruise
My film for this showcase is about a nurse named Kate Wilson who must decide how far she is willing to go to save a victim of domestic abuse. It explores the difficulty of having professional boundaries in an emotional situation, the responsibilities nurses face every day, and of course, the sensitive subject of abuse.
This idea came to me during a workshop, where our tutor, Robin Mukherjee, told us how he’d witnessed a young woman coming to a hospital repeatedly with abuse injuries. I wondered what the point of view of a nurse would be in this situation, and so I came up with the story idea in January 2020, which developed for the next six months.
I felt compelled to write Bruise to empathise with both the nurse and the victim. Abuse is a difficult topic for anyone to discuss, but even more for those who are facing it, and those who have to help the victims. I also felt that my final Master’s project needed to be something emotive that I felt strongly about. This is not just fiction – it’s a real issue that people need reminding of.
For now, Bruise is a self-contained short that I would like to enter into competitions if I can, but if it’s successful enough, I could see it becoming a longer feature one day. Even though my main focus is TV, I plan to write more short films and make them a reality, thanks to the connections I’ve made through my production of Bruise.