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Screenplay Tips # 9: Advanced Characterisation

So, in the post about Character and Plot, I posted about the importance of having a protagonist with a definable goal and an antagonist with a need to get in the way of that goal. As mentioned in the post, those are the VERY basics – but all too often missing in the spec pile. If a reader hasn’t a clue who to root for, their interest isn’t going to be hooked; if their interest isn’t hooked — well, you know what happens. Applying the very basics then helps a writer understand where they could be potentially going wrong, especially… Read More »Screenplay Tips # 9: Advanced Characterisation

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Screenplay Tips # 8: Character & Plot

We all know *that* saying: characters are what they DO, not what they SAY. But what does it mean? Characters all need to have a REASON to physically be in your script. It’s no good writing someone in who is witty, vibrant or whatever, yet has no purpose. No matter how great a character is *is*, if they have no motivation or role function, they’re going to stick out like a sore thumb – and not for a good reason. As unfashionable as it is to say this, plot CAN exist without good characters, as long as they all have… Read More »Screenplay Tips # 8: Character & Plot

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Guest Post: The Story Engine 2010 Pt 2 by Helen Bang

Helen’s notes from Day Two of The Story Engine 2010 – thanks Helen! New Horizons Andy Smith from Mere Mortals and Ian Fenton presented a case study of the alternative reality game “Let’s Make Mischief” and argued for screenwriters to think beyond a single platform. Ian began with a brief look at the history of entertainment; first there were games like chess and hopscotch, then there was cinema and television, the new online games combine both and are a pioneering field for writers. Examples included secretlewis.com (Lewis Hamilton has a double life as an art thief) and Nikegrid.com where people… Read More »Guest Post: The Story Engine 2010 Pt 2 by Helen Bang

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Guest Post: The TV Forum at The Script Factory by Hilary Wright

Two days at the Soho Theatre in Dean Street for The Script Factory’s take on TV drama. Mornings featured lectures by Rob Ritchie: four-act structure, handling multiple storylines, writing to immovable deadlines, dialogue vs. pictures, rules and conventions of British TV drama formats… and that was just the first morning. As ever with Script Factory courses, participants receive a helpful binder of notes covering the content in great detail. I’ve heard some Script Factory presenters simply read these notes out, which is dull, but Ritchie was far more adept, rounding out the printed content with explanation, anecdote and reminder, deftly… Read More »Guest Post: The TV Forum at The Script Factory by Hilary Wright

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How To Write A TV Series Bible That Sells Your Pilot

What Is A ‘TV Series Bible’? A TV Series Bible refers to the treatment, or  pitch document that accompanies a spec TV pilot when it goes out on submission. Since there are spec TV pilot scripts flying all over the place, your bible needs to “stand out” from the rest of ’em. But how? Well, for me, that’s a no-brainer … You write the PERFECT spec TV series bible and hook the reader! Sadly, I’d venture a whacking 95% of spec pilots are let down by their accompanying TV series bible. In the course of this post, I will break down… Read More »How To Write A TV Series Bible That Sells Your Pilot

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Research or Die # 6: Crime

Dumb Crooks’ Crime Database The 14 Characteristics of a Serial Killer Top 100 Serial Killers Of All Time Crime Library: Notorious Murders, Assassins, Spies, Serial Killers, Terrorists Notorious Murders and Criminals in History Casebook devoted to Jack The Ripper Unsolved and Missing # 1: Lord Lucan Unsolved And Missing # 2: Genette Tate Unsolved and Missing # 3: Ben Needham Unsolved and Missing # 4: Madeleine McCann A – Z of Crimes and Police Procedure UK Police Roles, including Special Constables and Community Support Officers The Ranks of UK Police FINALLY: An A – Z of Crime Drama! It’s pretty… Read More »Research or Die # 6: Crime

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10 On TV Drama: Mark Greig, Ashes To Ashes Vs. Life On Mars

It’s no surprise that the sequel/spin off to the celebrated Life On Mars has caused quite a stir: it was kind of inevitable that Ashes To Ashes would be considered not quite as good by critics. All manner of negatives have been chucked its way: it lacks the ambiguity of LoM. It takes inspiration from stuff like Dempsey And Makepeace instead of The Sweeney. Even Gene Hunt has been accused of being more like a “horrible dirty old man” than in the original where he was apparently infinitely cooler. This hasn’t stopped ATA being a big hit of course: myself,… Read More »10 On TV Drama: Mark Greig, Ashes To Ashes Vs. Life On Mars

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10 on TV Drama #3: Cops N’ Docs, Part 1: Cops, 3 of The Best

WARNING: Spoilers Ahoy When TV Drama Bibles and pilot episodes come into Bang2write, I get a distinct lack of cops and docs, drama’s all-time staples. In fact, I would venture I get anything but. Yet why is this? Time has shown, over and over again, that “cops and docs” are favourites – and for this very reason, a new angle on this would surely be welcome on any commissioner’s table? If we look at the evidence CSI-style, we can see that cops and docs have any number of variations that people are willing (or have been willing) to watch. Here… Read More »10 on TV Drama #3: Cops N’ Docs, Part 1: Cops, 3 of The Best

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10 on TV Drama #2: CSI: MIAMI and CSI:NY

WARNING: SPOILERSIn any franchise, there’s bound to be some dilution: if the subsequent Alien films lacked the shock value of that very first chestburst because we’d seen it before, then it’s kind of inevitable that CSI: Miami and CSI: NY are thought of as “nowhere near as good” as Crime Scene Investigation. I saw Anthony Zuicker on telly and he said he was literally whisked into an Exec’s office after a successful run of Crime Scene Investigation and told, “Come up with a city.” He said, “Erm…. Miami.” Whammo, said faceless Exec puts the wheels in motion: we’re gonna do… Read More »10 on TV Drama #2: CSI: MIAMI and CSI:NY

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10 On TV Drama #1: CSI [Las Vegas]

WARNING: HERE THERE BE SPOILERS When Bang2write first started, I got nearly without exception only features. These days I get a lot of shorts and competition entries (I read a lot of Red Planet ten-pagers for example) as well as proposals, treatments and even short stories that scribes write for themselves so they can “know their story and characters inside out” which I think is a particularly good idea. In the last year, TV Drama has become a big thing amongst my Bang2writers. With every week that passes I get at least one TV Drama Pilot, sometimes with a Bible… Read More »10 On TV Drama #1: CSI [Las Vegas]

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