Skip to content

Diversity

5 Things I Learned From Screenwriter Stephen Beresford (PRIDE)

Talking To Stephen Beresford Stephen Beresford is an actor and screenwriter, who wrote the award-winning British lgbtq+ movie Pride. I had the pleasure of talking with him about getting the film made, his writing process, and any tips he had. Here’s what I learned. 1) There’s value in truth While the UK film industry is only roughly half of its American counterpart ($6.4bn compared to $11.4bn), there’s always something quite special when a new British film comes out, perhaps because the industry is so incredibly choosy. According to Stephen, the UK film industry is very conservative, but having something based… Read More »5 Things I Learned From Screenwriter Stephen Beresford (PRIDE)

Share this:

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!)

Share this:

5 Simple Gender Flips To Freshen Up Your Story

All About Gender Flips Traditionally, ‘gender flips’ refer to when a character’s gender is changed through an adaptation. For example, if a character is male in the book but is made female in the movie or TV version. Over time, ‘gender flipping’ has expanded beyond specific characters and begun to include character tropes as well. A character trope is a recurring idea in fiction. The concept of the hero or villain are traditional character tropes, as well as archetypes. You can read more about tropes HERE. Flipping ‘Eck Gender flips have been in discussion across B2W lately because of remarks made… Read More »5 Simple Gender Flips To Freshen Up Your Story

Share this:

Top 5 Mistakes Writers Make With Plotting (According To A Script Reader)

Script Reader POV Following on from his first post, script reader Allan is offering his POV on common mistakes he’s discovered in the spec pile. For me, it’s SO interesting to see the same old issues rear their heads, even in 2021. It’s almost like the foundations of writing craft are timeless! Over to you, Allan … What I Learned From My First 300+ Scripts Out of a sample of 435 scripts, these were some of the most common structural and plotting errors in scripts sent to Film Festivals in 2021. Ready? Let’s go … 1) Ending Act 1 At… Read More »Top 5 Mistakes Writers Make With Plotting (According To A Script Reader)

Share this:

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

Share this:

Movies Have Always Been ‘Woke’. You Just Didn’t Notice

Another week, another message So, apparently B2W is too ‘woke’ so somebody’s unfollowing … blahblahblah. Seriously, this ain’t an airport, no need to announce your departure! I do have one query though: WHO THE HELL HAS THIS PERSON BEEN FOLLOWING BEFORE NOW??  This site and its accompanying social media has always placed the ‘woke’ at its heart, FFS. If this was apparently a problem, you gotta wondered why they followed in the first place. But anyway, no skin off B2W’s nose. ‘Wokism’: A Short History Hell, B2W is so ‘woke’ I actually don’t even use the word (except when critiquing… Read More »Movies Have Always Been ‘Woke’. You Just Didn’t Notice

Share this:

5 Lies Writers Torture Themselves With About Their Projects

Writing Torture Do you torture yourself as a writer? If you do, you’re not alone. Working with writers, I hear about all kinds of worries and insecurities they have on a DAILY basis. Hell, sometimes hourly! Obviously the kinds of things writers torture themselves about will depend on the individual. That said, I have noted some significant patterns over the years. Writers may even say the same phrases, again and again. With this in mind, I have rounded up the top five lies writers torture themselves with about their projects. Ready? then let’s go … 1) ‘I’m being STOPPED from… Read More »5 Lies Writers Torture Themselves With About Their Projects

Share this:

The Uncomfortable Truth About #OwnVoices Stories

What are #OwnVoices Stories? For the uninitiated, #OwnVoices is a hashtag created by YA author Corinne Duyvis in 2015. The purpose of the hashtag is to highlight books that are written by an author that shares a marginalised identity with the protagonist. As time has gone on, the conversation around #OwnVoices has expanded informally to include TV and film too. If you are part of the underrepresented group like your main character, you’re writing an #OwnVoices story. For example, if you’re a BIPOC, neurodivergent or disabled writer writing a character or story about the challenges you have lived experience of,… Read More »The Uncomfortable Truth About #OwnVoices Stories

Share this:

10 Arguments Against Content Warnings … And Why They’re Wrong

All About Content Warnings Content warnings (sometimes conflated with trigger warnings) are those missives that suggest some viewers should exercise caution with watching or reading the story and characters of a book, TV show or movie. Here are some standard content warnings we have all seen … ‘Contains scenes that some viewers may find disturbing’ ‘Parental advisory: explicit content’ ‘Contains scenes of a sexual nature’ ‘Contains strong language.’ ‘Includes sexual violence or dubious consent’ Of course, for some people, content warnings have the opposite effect and make them MORE eager to read or watch something. This is why others may… Read More »10 Arguments Against Content Warnings … And Why They’re Wrong

Share this:

5 Things Writers Can Learn From MAYANS M.C

About Mayans M.C Sons of Anarchy spin-off show Mayans M.C is a great example of how diversity and inclusion can literally make storytelling better, both in front of and behind the camera. I was a huge fan of SOA back in the day. I love a hyper-masculine storyworld and I found the intricacies of this one were (mostly) delicious … BUT on re-watching all 7 series on Netflix I noticed it felt rather dated in comparison to other broadly similar crime series from the same era like Justified. I felt this was largely because of SOA’s fudged commentary on race,… Read More »5 Things Writers Can Learn From MAYANS M.C

Share this:

The #1 Diverse Character Mistake Writers Make

#1 Big Problem Most writers want to write characters NOT like themselves, but fear making a mistake doing this. ‘I don’t want to get it wrong’ is a common worry amongst the Bang2writers I talk to. Similarly, we know lots of writers HAVE made big mistakes writing characters in the past right up to the present day. Stereotypes, stigma and cultural appropriation get called out in the digital age, so it’s understandable why writers want to avoid this. But what if I told you there’s often one big problem at the root of diverse characters who ‘get it wrong’? The… Read More »The #1 Diverse Character Mistake Writers Make

Share this:

10 Awesome Young Female Characters Recommended By My Kid

All About Young Characters Young characters are hard to write … Yet writers frequently under-research young people when it comes to characterisation. As I was a teen mum, I’ve been a parent for over half of my life now. It is often very clear to me which writers hang out with youngsters and which do not. As with all authentic characterisation, we need to do our research or get found out. If we want to write young characters, then it pays to find out what young people are actually interested in!! This might seem obvious – and it is! –… Read More »10 Awesome Young Female Characters Recommended By My Kid

Share this: