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Top 5 Mistakes Writers Make Writing Women

Writing Women Character development is a part of writing mined with lethal pitfalls even at the best of times. But for male authors writing women, or vice versa, the challenge is made more problematic by one pretty large obstacle: gaining insight into the opposite sex. So in a bid to see more authentic women grace our pages, I’m here to address five common pitfalls authors run into when writing women, and how you can circumvent them! 1) Substituting appearance for personality The problems tend to fall thick and fast within the first few pages. Lots of writers introduce a female… Read More »Top 5 Mistakes Writers Make Writing Women

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6 Genius Writers Share Their Writing Secrets

Genius Writers Do you have a favourite genius writer? Genius writers are those we admire. We may admire them for their craft, their work ethic, their perspective on life … Maybe all of this and more! I’ve always believed it’s a good idea to check out what others who’ve gone before us think … We can then decide ourselves if we agree, disagree or are neutral. In turn, this helps us work out how we see our own writing craft working. Look, before anyone gets their knickers in a knot, let’s get one thing cleared up. As every Bang2writer knows, there… Read More »6 Genius Writers Share Their Writing Secrets

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1 Pesky Word That Kills Your Loglines DEAD

Writing Loglines and Pitches Loglines can be pesky little things. For the uninitiated, loglines are those 1-2 sentence descriptions of your story (aka ‘short pitch’ if you’re a novelist). When I work with my Bang2writers, one thing I’ve noted is most really struggle with them. Yet being able to pitch our stories in just a sentence or two actively helps us SELL them to literary agents, publishers, producers, filmmakers, audiences or readers in … Cover letters Query Emails Pitchfests (both online & in real life) Meetings and networking events (‘What are you working on?’) Writing contests, schemes and initiatives Funding bids… Read More »1 Pesky Word That Kills Your Loglines DEAD

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6 Top Tips On Writing Characters of Colour

Writing Characters of Colour Lots of white Bang2writers say they want to write characters of colour, but are afraid of ‘getting it wrong’. So I am delighted to welcome eight talented black screenwriters to the site today to share their top writing tips. The writers below all appear in the curated list Highly Recommended Scripts by Black Screenwriters, curated by @avishaiw. If you are a producer or filmmaker, make sure you check the list out! If you are not, please pass it on by sharing it via your profiles and pages. Thanks! 1) ‘Be open to others’ thoughts’ ‘My best tip:… Read More »6 Top Tips On Writing Characters of Colour

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Plotters Versus Pantsers: What Type of Writer Are YOU?

Plotters Versus Pantsers The ‘plotters versus pantsers’ debate often rages between writers. Should we … … plot everything in advance, writing outlines and even populating spreadsheets with everything that will happen? Or should we fly ‘by the seats of our pants’ and surprise even ourselves AS we write? The  mighty Margaret Atwood and Stephen King count themselves as  pantsers. King even goes so far to say, ‘Outlines are the last resource of bad fiction writers who wish to God they were writing masters’ theses.’ EXCEPT not so fast hombre! With famous plotters including the likes of JK Rowling and John… Read More »Plotters Versus Pantsers: What Type of Writer Are YOU?

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5 Lessons From 50 Movie Reviews In 50 Days

All About Reviews Movie reviews: you can’t move for them online. So why on earth would I write fifty of the damn things? That’s right! FIFTY! It all started when I lost any motivation to write. I fell into a downward spiral of “I’m not a good writer… I wasn’t meant to write… it’s not for me… I’ll NEVER succeed in this industry”… I guess many of you have gone down that road, too. But how do we get out of those non-supportive thoughts?? We take ACTION. For me, I decided it was time to see how others did what… Read More »5 Lessons From 50 Movie Reviews In 50 Days

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Spotlight On Structure: The Story Circle by Dan Harmon

All About Dan Harmon Dan Harmon is an American writer, producer, and actor. Harmon created and produced the NBC sitcom Community; he also co-created the animated series Rick and Morty. He’s also an industry mover and shaker, having co-founded the alternative television network and website Channel 101. In other words, he’s not only a creative, but a guy who knows the whole caboodle! Harmon is also the creator of a structural visual representation he calls ‘The Story Circle’. One of the primary remits of B2W is writing craft, especially structure, so I thought I’d put it under the microscope like… Read More »Spotlight On Structure: The Story Circle by Dan Harmon

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6 Crucial Storytelling Tips You Will Thank Me For

Every Bang2writer knows storytelling is not easy. But whether you’re writing a novel, screenplay or any other kind of writing (including sales copy, blogs and other content), incorporating storytelling in your writing is a MUST! Ready? Let’s go … 1) Show, don’t tell Yes, this line has become a bit of a cliché throughout the writing industry. However, that doesn’t make it any less true. As we rush to meet deadlines or to push out new content, it’s one of the easiest habits to forget. The concept seems straightforward, but the subtle difference between the two can trip up writers… Read More »6 Crucial Storytelling Tips You Will Thank Me For

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2 Important Types of Protagonist You Need To Know

Types of Protagonist Protagonist … Main Character … Hero. We use lots of interchangeable words for this character. Most writers know the gist of what makes this type of character great …She or he needs to want something and go through hell to get it, whether that’s literal, metaphorical or both. But now audiences want more more variety to their protagonists and the types of story they are in. With this in mind, I thought I would put B2W’s two types of protagonist under the microscope. I put it to you there are TWO types of main character … Ones… Read More »2 Important Types of Protagonist You Need To Know

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Why Theme In FRIENDS Is Better Than You Think

Theme in Friends It’s fair to say the internet erupted with news of a Friends reunion, recently. I’ve written about Friends a fair amount this year on this blog, so thought I would return to the show, with reference to theme. Theme refers to ‘an idea that recurs in or pervades a work of art or literature.’ Friends is about a bunch of young friends, all getting through life and love, dealing with whatever it throws at them. Being a sitcom, it’s about dysfunctional family too. Le duh. However, with theme we make our OWN meaning too. How each individual audience… Read More »Why Theme In FRIENDS Is Better Than You Think

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In JOKER, The Big Lesson Is There Is No Point

What’s The Point If you’ve seen JOKER (or even if you haven’t), you will be aware of the trillion articles, thinkpieces, tweets, statuses etc arguing about its point. I don’t think it’s unfair to say the reaction of the storytelling blogosphere and social media has been profoundly negative … Yet at the same time the movie has also reached dizzying heights of critical acclaim, also generating $290m in its first week. So what gives? Myself, I’ve never been a fan of the Joker as a character. As far as I’m concerned, he’s the poster boy for the stigmatising ‘psycho-killer’ trope in… Read More »In JOKER, The Big Lesson Is There Is No Point

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How To Use ‘Bad Words’ In Your Writing

Please note: bad words aka slurs, swears & other nasties appear in this article.  Bad Words As writers and as people, we all have ideas on what constitutes ‘bad words’. Hardly week goes without someone contacting me and saying that whilst they enjoy B2W’s writing advice, they’d like to ask me to stop swearing. Yes, you heard that right. A platform literally built on sweary writing advice should apparently be less sweary. Erm, okay. BACDEFUCUP! This blog and its accompanying social media accounts uses swears; it always has and it always will. If a small minority of would-be Bang2writers don’t… Read More »How To Use ‘Bad Words’ In Your Writing

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