A competition being run this autumn by writing agency Circalit in partnership with the BBC is providing a great opportunity for the Onlineability team to get creative in an emerging entertainment field.

The Immersive Writing Lab competition aims to attract writers who can create a storyworld – described as a setting big and encompassing enough to allow the audience to get totally lost and absorbed in it. Popular examples given by the organisers include the films The Matrix and Star Wars, popular TV shows Lost and Doctor Who and comic book publisher Marvel’s story universe.

The winner will see their storyworld developed with a £6,000 fund by Portal Entertainment, a cross-platform production outfit that has worked on Doctor Who. And five runners-up will have their work reviewed by Sarah Clay, Executive Multiplatform Producer at the BBC, whose work includes Becoming Human, E20 and Waterloo Reunited.

The competition involves working through a series of exercises in order to produce, polish and prepare a story treatment for submission, the challenge that Onlineability directors Lisa Hutchins and Andy Darley are now taking on with their own entry.

Lisa said: “As soon as we saw this competition was in the offing we knew it was for us. Much of our day-to-day work involves factual writing with strict constraints – so we both love to tackle something a bit more imaginative and genre-busting from time to time.

“We’ve had some great experiences with alternate reality and other kinds of gaming, so this feels made for us. I’m not sure if we’ll hit the target this time but it’s a fantastic opportunity to stretch our boundaries and have some fun doing it.

“If we can come up with a really compelling and exciting storyworld idea in the process, I will be delighted.”

There are still more than five weeks to the competition deadline – so, if you also have a head full of ideas and a bit of spare time, and you fancy a crack at it yourself, use the links above to find out more.