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Why A Vague Logline Kills Your Pitch DEAD

Vague, A Definition Newsflash: a vague logline kills your pitch … But then we know this. Every Bang2writer paying attention knows a logline (aka short pitch) should have CLARITY. It’s one of what B2W calls ‘The 3 Cs’ (clarity, conflict, clarity). Without clarity, we got nothin’. So why then, are there SO MANY vague loglines flying about?  First, it’s helpful to consider what we mean by ‘vague’. Here’s the dictionary definition of vague, below. Check out those keywords and synonyms … uncertain indefinite unclear hazy cloudy For the purposes of this post then, when we say a logline is ‘too… Read More »Why A Vague Logline Kills Your Pitch DEAD

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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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Writers, Everyone Hates Us On Social Media. Here’s Why …

Social Media Hate If you spend a lot of time on social media like I do, you’ll have noticed a LOT of writers blotting their copybooks lately with their potential friends and followers. Here’s what’s happened to me lately, in just the past 2 or 3 weeks: Facebook Fiends. Writers may send me Friend requests. That’s obviously fine, but within SECONDS of accepting their request, they may send another asking me to LIKE their page. (Plus the really persistent ones will send a private message as well). Facebook Fiends #2. Writers on Facebook may ‘tag’ me from their timeline, especially into… Read More »Writers, Everyone Hates Us On Social Media. Here’s Why …

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Top 5 Tips To Deal With Writer Burn Out

So with not one, but TWO of my novels to edit recently (not to mention various other deadlines, including my IFS students’ end projects), I have been feeling the BITE of burn out lately. So, when Rachel Jackson got in touch with me to share some ideas on how to combat this feeling, I was all ears!! I particularly like her points 3 and 5. Enjoy! What Is Writer Burn Out? Burn out is silent and sneaky. It creeps up on people when they least expect it. Stress levels slowly begin to rise … Before you know it, you’re in… Read More »Top 5 Tips To Deal With Writer Burn Out

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How To Write Fast Like A Pro

1) Set a DEADLINE ‘I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by,’ said uber-author Douglas Adams, but seriously? If you want to get stuff done – and done FAST – set yourself one. I always advocate looking ahead at the calendar, breaking down what’s possible in what time and having THREE deadlines: one ‘likely finish’; one ‘hopeful finish’ and one ‘unlikely finish’. Try it! 2) Work out your BEST TIME I work best mid-morning till lunchtime on my own writing. This is because first thing in the morning I’m doing admin and social media… Read More »How To Write Fast Like A Pro

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6 Ways To Get Great Writing Ideas From Social Media

Social media gets a bad rap as a ‘time suck’ for writers, but as any Bang2writer knows, I think social media is BRILLIANT for us … Not only can we get ideas and inspiration, we can use it as a ‘water cooler’ to chat ideas through (either overtly or covertly). We can crowd fund for opinions and answers to our queries, as well as observe debates, talks and even flame wars too. What’s more, we can even find out what our potential audiences are interested in (or conversely, NOT interested in!) too — this is one of the main reasons… Read More »6 Ways To Get Great Writing Ideas From Social Media

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5 Debates On Female Writers That Really Need To Die

Yesterday, in the Fantasy Faction Discussion Facebook group, people were asked how many books they’d read this year. They were also asked for the gender split. Of those who provided figures, female readers came down 53/47 in favour of female writers, while male readers were 75/25 in favour of men. This is hardly surprising, given how women struggle for visibility in a conservative genre, but the results attracted the usual slew of excuses to justify an obvious bias. So, I’m here to smash five assumptions about female writers which are too often used to excuse or even ‘forgive’ outright sexism, not… Read More »5 Debates On Female Writers That Really Need To Die

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Why You NEED To Stop Spamming Everyone Online NOW

When you spend as long online as I do on social media, you tend to notice the patterns and pitfalls people fall into when trying to get the word out about their products and services, especially when it comes to crowdfunding campaigns and Amazon listings. Most people seem to know the difference between spam and useful content when they see it, yet there seems to be a weird disconnect between people and what they actually post online themselves! As a result there are places online that are literal no-go areas for finding anything as they’re chockfull of junk! But what… Read More »Why You NEED To Stop Spamming Everyone Online NOW

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Are You A Binge Writer, Or Do You Write Every Day?

Out in the blogosphere, there’s often a lot of discussion around the idea of writers being ‘plotters’ or ‘pantsers’ (for the uninitiated, the former is a writer who plots everything out, knowing the ending in advance; whereas the latter will just begin and see where the story takes them, the idea being they ‘fly by the seat of their pants’, hence the ‘pantser’ epitaph). As any veteran Bang2writer knows, B2W advocates being a plotter, especially if you’re a screenwriter. Structure is key in screenwriting, so starting without an end point in mind can land you in what I call The… Read More »Are You A Binge Writer, Or Do You Write Every Day?

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4 Easy Ways To Track Your Online Buzz

We’ve all done it before. Come on, be honest! You see that little rectangle box and all you have to do is type your name and you can see how many times you come up. It’s a little narcissistic, but it’s also human … … I’m speaking, of course, of Googling yourself. Whether you admit it or not, it’s perfectly natural to want to know who’s talking about you online! This is even more true with authors. If someone wrote a blog about your book, you want to know so you can see if it did anything for your sales. Or… Read More »4 Easy Ways To Track Your Online Buzz

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