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How Your Story’s Opening Tells Audiences What To Expect (And Why It’s SO Important)

Your Story’s Promise To Your Target Viewers Or Readers Most spec screenplays don’t have a strong opener Instead, they open with generic scenes that could belong to literally any story. Yet *produced* movies and TV shows tell us exactly what we’re in for from the very first moments. All we have to do is really LOOK. 1) Opening With Your Genre Check out these stills I’ve taken of NowTV’s FROM, starring Harold Perrineau. From left to right, top to bottom: 1) The first image is of evergreen trees This shows we are in a rural area, near a forest. It’s… Read More »How Your Story’s Opening Tells Audiences What To Expect (And Why It’s SO Important)

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Why Your Screenwriting Career Is Stalling (And How To Fix It)

Feel like you’re stalling? If you feel like your screenwriting career is stalling, you’re not alone. The past ten years have created huge problems for the industry. Screenwriting circa 2026 is more challenging than it has ever been. Industry pros have left in record levels, with those that remain telling me it’s the worst they’ve ever seen it. But the point of this post is not to make you feel despondent. Instead, it’s designed to help you stop stalling and get your best chance of getting out of the spec script trenches. Ready? Let’s go … 1) Concept still sells!… Read More »Why Your Screenwriting Career Is Stalling (And How To Fix It)

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Why Most Spec Scripts Fail (It’s Not The Idea – It’s The Execution)

It’s All In The Execution? Most scripts don’t fail because the idea is bad – they fail because the execution is not doing the work. But how can we tell if our execution is not cutting it? Here’s 8 common pitfalls I see regularly in spec screenplays. Ready? Let’s go … 1) A situation is not a story A cool idea or set-up isn’t enough. Your concept at the heart of your story needs to be road-tested at foundation level. A story = movement. This means your story requires escalation, cause & effect, and a protagonist driving towards a clear… Read More »Why Most Spec Scripts Fail (It’s Not The Idea – It’s The Execution)

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What Writers Can Learn From The Short Film That Launched a $1 Billion Franchise

Selling, Not Selling Out ‘Write me a low-budget screenplay that launches a $1 billion dollar franchise.’  A producer said this in a room full of writers I was in, back at the very beginning of my career. To say it landed with me BIG TIME is an understatement. It made me realise that story is not the only thing writers must contend with. As a collaborative medium, it’s also our job to come up with ideas that SELL. Of course, this is where writers might say: ‘But I don’t want to sell out!’ I totally get this. It can seem… Read More »What Writers Can Learn From The Short Film That Launched a $1 Billion Franchise

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How 600 Seconds Can Kill Your Script DEAD

600 Seconds To Victory? NEWSFLASH: 600 seconds can mean the difference between a full read of your spec screenplay … or not. Why 600 seconds? Well, the received wisdom is that a page of script is equal to one minute of screen time*. If a minute is 60 seconds, then your first ten pages = 600 seconds. It really is simple as that. (*Of course, this measurement is not an exact science. Pages with lots of dialogue may be faster, whereas those with more visuals may be longer. But that’s a conversation for another time!). But First, The Elephant In… Read More »How 600 Seconds Can Kill Your Script DEAD

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Boy Meets Girl: How To Write Romance That Impacts Your Reader

All About Boy Meets Girl ‘Boy Meets Girl’ is a plotting archetype that underpins probably 90% of romance stories. Across all subgenres and cross-genres of romance, we can see it in action because that’s what our readers and viewers WANT. I thought I would trace this powerful archetype and what makes it hit so hard. Ready? Let’s go … ‘Boy Meets Girl’, Beat for Beat 1)  The Set Up Like all stories across all mediums and genres, this archetype begins with the set up. We join the protagonist in their normal life and understand what missing there on an emotional… Read More »Boy Meets Girl: How To Write Romance That Impacts Your Reader

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5 Reasons Why You Should Build Fear Into Your Story’s Turning Points

Why You Should Build Fear into Your Turning Points When it comes to storytelling, fear is more than a feeling; it’s an underlying force that runs through multiple story elements. Influencing plot, character arc and development, conflict, and theme, fear draws readers in and makes the story feel human and authentic. This emotion is at its most potent when plot and character arc dovetail to create the question readers most want to answer: Will the character surrender to their fear or master it? Using Turning Points to Plot a Character’s Fear Journey Turning points – those pivotal events or complications… Read More »5 Reasons Why You Should Build Fear Into Your Story’s Turning Points

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5 Top Tips For Writing Romantasy That Bites Back

How To Write Romantasy That Bites Back I was at London Screenwriters Festival this weekend just past, where I did a masterclass on writing romantasy. This subgenre has exploded in the past three or four years across all media, yet many people get it wrong on why it’s so popular. Romantasy is NOT just fantasy with some kissing. The romance angle powers the story, while giving us brutal worlds, high stakes and love that complicates everything. It is all about danger and desire, fused. Ultimately, good romantasy is all about that core promise: if it doesn’t hurt, it’s not romantasy.… Read More »5 Top Tips For Writing Romantasy That Bites Back

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Ink and Emotion: Tracing The Path Of A Romance Novel

From Idea to Page: Tracing The Journey Tracing the path of a romance novel is all-important in understanding what your target reader wants. The latter is not about ‘selling out’, but selling. It’s what professional writers DO. As I’ve written before on this blog, romance is the #1 genre of all time. Whether you love it or loathe it yourself, it’s fair to say readers LOVE it! Tracing what they enjoy and why does not have to mean writing solely for the marketplace. It’s possible to give readers what they want, while also writing what YOU love too. It may… Read More »Ink and Emotion: Tracing The Path Of A Romance Novel

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The #1 Killer Opener Mistake That Nearly All Screenwriters Make

Killer Script Opener Mistakes There are lots of killer opener mistakes your spec screenplay needs to avoid. The beginning of your spec screenplay needs to do some serious heavy lifting for your story – not just for your characters, but the plot as well. This means screenwriters simply must do the following in their spec screenplays … Start with a strong, visual opener. Spec screenplays need to start with a visual that places us in the storyworld, genre and tone of your story. For more on this (including screenshots of opening images from produced TV shows, CLICK HERE). Introduce us to… Read More »The #1 Killer Opener Mistake That Nearly All Screenwriters Make

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Self-Editing Your Draft: From “WTAF?” to “Hell Yes, I Wrote That!”

All About Self-Editing Your Draft Whether you’re writing a novel or a screenplay, self-editing is key. Yet many writers don’t realise self-editing is even a thing! They may get in contact with a script editor like me to tell them what to do. Yet as I always say on this blog and the B2W social media, self-editing is a great idea. Doing this first is always going to get you better, more robust results than going straight to paid-for feedback-givers like B2W. It’s also A LOT cheaper! But how, exactly, do writers self-edit? Here’s my checklist, step by step. Ready?… Read More »Self-Editing Your Draft: From “WTAF?” to “Hell Yes, I Wrote That!”

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Bad Deals, Brave Asks and Why You’re Allowed To Walk Away (Yes, REALLY!)

All About Bad Deals NEWSFLASH: bad deals are not worth it! One thing I see over and over again with writers is this: They want it so badly that they’ll accept almost anything. An “opportunity” lands in their inbox. It sounds exciting, even flattering. It sounds like this might finally be the thing. Then, because they don’t want to miss out, writers don’t ask questions. They don’t push back. They don’t stop to think whether the deal actually helps them advance in their careers. Here’s the truth many writers don’t want to hear: A bad deal is often worse than no… Read More »Bad Deals, Brave Asks and Why You’re Allowed To Walk Away (Yes, REALLY!)

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