How to Write a Radio Serial Drama for Social Development

This book is a practical manual for script writers preparing radio serial dramas for development projects. It will be useful both for novices and experienced script writers who have not yet written drama that educates as well as entertains. So that this book can be used as a course manual, whether in a formal class or for independent study, each chapter begins with a study guide listing learning objectives and expected outcomes and a suggested exercise.

This Guide was originally designed to assist script writers working in projects supported by Johns Hopkins University Population Communication Services. For this reason, many of the samples and examples it contains relate to family planning and reproductive health; however, the script writing principles discussed and demonstrated here apply just as well to other development topics. The manual largely concentrates on the practical aspects of script writing, although a prologue summarises relevant communication theory. For those writers who would like to learn more about theory, a bibliography / references at the end lists key books.

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