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Top 10 ‘Unlikeable’ Female Characters In Movies & TV

All About ‘Unlikeable’ Female Characters ‘Why are so many female characters unlikeable these days?’ That was a thread I had the misfortune to read recently, but it’s not the only one. Commentary on supposedly ‘unlikeable’ female characters never goes away, it seems. Men – and sadly, some women too – all chime in regularly about this topic online, saying shit like … … It’s ‘misogyny’ to write female characters with bad motivations or other bad behaviour (sigh) … Female characters have a RESPONSIBILITY to be role models to young girls (erm no, ENTERTAINMENT first!)  … Writers are showing their inexperience… Read More »Top 10 ‘Unlikeable’ Female Characters In Movies & TV

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The 10 Most Iconic Teachers in Movies, TV and Literature

Iconic Teachers In media, teachers are often relegated to secondary character status. They may appear onstage to inspire their students, drop a pearl of wisdom, and disappear from whence they came. And while this can be an accurate of the fleeting presence of teachers in our own lives, it doesn’t do justice to the impact a good (or bad!) teacher can have on us. With that in mind, I wanted to pay homage to the most iconic teachers from movies, TV, and literature in true Bang2Write fashion. Consider this a star-studded teacher’s lounge, featuring some of the most memorable mentor… Read More »The 10 Most Iconic Teachers in Movies, TV and Literature

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Top 10 Tips On How To Break In As A Screenwriter This Year

How To Break In As A Screenwriter If you want to break in as a screenwriter, you’re not alone. ‘How to break in’ is probably one of the top Google searches that leads to this blog, in fact. Whilst it’s true B2W believes we need to build our careers over a sustained period (rather than the break in being just ONE act), we all have to start somewhere. I was joined in a B2W livestream recently by comedy writer Amanda Graham (@AGComedy). Amanda specialises in rebellious, irreverent, female leads going against nonsensical power structures. She has various projects in development (including with… Read More »Top 10 Tips On How To Break In As A Screenwriter This Year

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5 Times It’s Okay To Write Stereotypes (Really!)

Writing Stereotypes So it’s accepted modern writing wisdom that writers should never, ever, ever, ever write stereotypes. A stereotype is a simplification, a short-hand if you will. It’s generally thought nowadays that only BAD writers use stereotypes. But what if I told you stereotypes are a writing TOOL like any other … it just depends how that tool is USED??? Really!! Writers can use stereotypes whenever they want … as long as it’s ON PURPOSE, not by accident. But what does ‘on purpose’ mean? Check out the below and pass it on to your writer friends and followers. Let’s go! 1) For… Read More »5 Times It’s Okay To Write Stereotypes (Really!)

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How HOME ALONE Nails Set Up / Pay Off And How You Can Too

All About Home Alone (1990) The original Home Alone is a stone-cold classic. I was a child when it first came out and as the member of a gigantic, dysfunctional family myself I loved it right from the off. It launched Macaulay Culkin’s career as probably the biggest child star in the world back then. Though his career didn’t have the kind of longevity most of us expected, Kieran Culkin (Fuller McCallister) has proved his acting chops ever since. Combining cartoon-like Tom & Jerry style violence with a Christmas story about a kid fighting off burglars seems an unlikely pairing.… Read More »How HOME ALONE Nails Set Up / Pay Off And How You Can Too

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Your Antagonist DOESN’T Have To Be A Villain. Here’s Why

All About The Villain Most writers ‘get’ the villain archetype intuitively. At their foundation, stories are often about ‘goodies and baddies’. Just like every story needs a protagonist, it usually needs an antagonist of some kind … … and that antagonist is nearly always a villain. A villain may have relatable and understandable motivations for their ‘evil plan’. We may invest in their journey every bit as much as the protagonist’s … Alternatively, they may just be evil because that’s their personality. They may be criminals, politicians, narcissists, abusers, serial killers, actual monsters … it doesn’t matter. The villain role… Read More »Your Antagonist DOESN’T Have To Be A Villain. Here’s Why

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How To Write A Protagonist Who Is A Total Asshole

Asshole, NOT Antihero So, you want to write a protagonist for your screenplay or novel that is a total asshole. There’s nothing wrong with doing this … but first, let’s identify what actually makes up an asshole protagonist. I’d first say an asshole character is NOT an antihero. As we know, antiheroes are in demand in the 2020s, both for male and female protagonists. An antihero is defined in the dictionary as simply ‘lacking traditional heroic attributes’. What this means is left open to interpretation. That said, since The Hero’s Journey is still super-popular, we can assume those traditional attributes are… Read More »How To Write A Protagonist Who Is A Total Asshole

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The Mindy Project: 10 Top Tips So You Can Be Just Like Ms. Kaling

All About Mindy Kaling Mindy Kaling doesn’t fit the Hollywood mould, and that’s just the way she likes it. Making her name as a writer and actor on the US version of “The Office”, she was hired after the producer read a spec script she had sent him, and by the end of her time on the show she had been promoted to executive producer. Now that’s what we call a promotion! She then landed her own show, The Mindy Project, which she wrote, produced and starred in. She has most recently co-written the script for Legally Blonde 3. She’s… Read More »The Mindy Project: 10 Top Tips So You Can Be Just Like Ms. Kaling

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10 Quick Tips From TV Showrunner Ashley Pharoah

About Ashley Pharoah  Ashley Pharoah is a British screenwriter and television producer. He is best known as the co-creator/writer of TV classic drama LIFE ON MARS and creator/writer of the family drama WILD AT HEART, BONEKICKERS and THE LIVING AND THE DEAD. He’s currently working on an adaptation of AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS with David Tennant playing Phileas Fogg. Lots of you Bang2writers love genre and television, so I thought I’d ask Ashley for his top tips on getting ahead. Ready? Let’s go! 1) Concept is key This is a tip after B2W’s heart … After all, as… Read More »10 Quick Tips From TV Showrunner Ashley Pharoah

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NEWSFLASH: You Can Learn How To Plot Watching TV

How To Plot One of the questions I get asked most by writers is ‘How do I learn how to plot?’ It’s easy to understand why … If screenwriting is structure (and it is), then plot is all-important, no matter the genre or tone of your story. Authors are not exempt either. Whilst novels can get away with less plot than the average movie or TV show, the convergence between the mediums is very strong. Readers demand a considerable amount  more plot as standard, especially from genres and subgenres that get adapted a lot. This means horror, romance, comedy and… Read More »NEWSFLASH: You Can Learn How To Plot Watching TV

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10 Quick Tips About Writing TV From Gina Fattore

About Gina Fattore Gina Fattore is a television writer, showrunner and author. Gina’s credits include Dare Me, Better Things, UnREAL, Masters of Sex, Parenthood, Californication, Gilmore Girls and Dawson’s Creek. Wow! That’s quite the resumé. Gina has also written a comic novel about her life as a TV writer, The Spinster Diaries, which is available now. Her TEDx talk, ‘Become What You Believe’ has had 16,000 views and you can watch it HERE. Since you Bangers love TV writing, I thought I’d ask Gina for her tips about it! Ready? Let’s go … 1) Write The Script Only YOU Can Write… Read More »10 Quick Tips About Writing TV From Gina Fattore

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7 Important Writing Lessons From The Simpsons

The Simpsons Gets An A+++ One of the most popular posts on B2W is my case study of two episodes of The Simpsons. Both from season 10, I break down the plotting of two classic Simpsons episodes, Lard of The Dance and Maximum Homerdrive. You can find that post, HERE. Since it’s been a few years now, I thought I would revisit The Simpsons and make another case study. Regardless how you feel about the show, most writers have seen multiple episodes, plus at only approx. 20 mins long it is useful for watching in the classroom. As a result,… Read More »7 Important Writing Lessons From The Simpsons

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