Earlier today I wrote a tweet introducing you to my new column, but I thought it was right to do a full blog post so you can understand exactly where I’m going with this. There’s only so much you can say on Twitter!
What is Mental Health Mondays?
For a while, I’ve been thinking of a way to open up a conversation and allow other passionate film writers a chance to feature on my blog. I really wanted to do something important, and also interesting for people to read, which is why I’ve settled on mental health.
Short Film Saturdays has seen some success since I launched it, so I wanted to have another dedicated day to allow others to tell their stories. This column isn’t about me, it’s about my contributors. I want them to be as open and honest as they’d like.
Why did I decide to focus on mental health?
The idea behind Mental Health Mondays is something that I personally have a lot of interest in, and hopefully others out there do too. We’re all passionate about the art of film, so I’m keen to explore exactly how it helps us with our own mental health. Having a hobby/interest in life is a wonderful thing after all.
I did a podcast episode on this with Mal Jutley, but I want to make this a regular thing and help to educate and break the stigma around mental health. We’re all valid and deserve a voice, so I’m giving you one.
If you’re interested, you can find all the guidelines below. Email me with your ideas on , and we’ll arrange a slot for you.
Submission Guidelines
- Please write in first person where possible, as I want each piece to have a personal feel.
- Each piece should be a minimum of 500 words, but no more than 1000. This is my personal house style.
- You do not have to give me your name if you’d prefer to keep this anonymous. I will not share any information about you if you don’t want me to.
- If you do want your name attached to your piece, please send me your social media links so I can credit you across social each week.
- Please include any relevant trigger warnings (eg: self harm) on your post if you reference something explicitly, or it’s very significant to your piece. I will ensure these appear in bold at the top of the page.
- Feel free to send any pictures along with your piece, but do let me know who to credit where relevant. If you took the pictures yourself, I will credit you.
- Email any drafts to me when they’re ready. If I think anything needs tweaking, I will let you know, but I won’t be heavily editing any contributions. It’s your story, not mine.