Skip to content

film festivals

Top 5 Mistakes Writers Make With Short Films

Short Film Mistakes Writing short films is exceptionally difficult. In recent years, many film festivals have started to prioritise short films that are ten minutes or under. Telling a story in such a short timeframe is a big challenge. As a script editor, I’ve spent a lot of time in the world of short films. In the past 20+ years I have been … Involved with numerous produced films, including award winners & nominated ones A judge for Shore Scripts’ Short Film Fund A mentor on numerous screen agency short film schemes, including BFI New Voices Part of the steering… Read More »Top 5 Mistakes Writers Make With Short Films

Share this:

Why Your Screenwriting Career Is Stalling (And How To Fix It)

Feel like you’re stalling? If you feel like your screenwriting career is stalling, you’re not alone. The past ten years have created huge problems for the industry. Screenwriting circa 2026 is more challenging than it has ever been. Industry pros have left in record levels, with those that remain telling me it’s the worst they’ve ever seen it. But the point of this post is not to make you feel despondent. Instead, it’s designed to help you stop stalling and get your best chance of getting out of the spec script trenches. Ready? Let’s go … 1) Concept still sells!… Read More »Why Your Screenwriting Career Is Stalling (And How To Fix It)

Share this:

What Writers Can Learn From The Short Film That Launched a $1 Billion Franchise

Selling, Not Selling Out ‘Write me a low-budget screenplay that launches a $1 billion dollar franchise.’  A producer said this in a room full of writers I was in, back at the very beginning of my career. To say it landed with me BIG TIME is an understatement. It made me realise that story is not the only thing writers must contend with. As a collaborative medium, it’s also our job to come up with ideas that SELL. Of course, this is where writers might say: ‘But I don’t want to sell out!’ I totally get this. It can seem… Read More »What Writers Can Learn From The Short Film That Launched a $1 Billion Franchise

Share this:

5 Pitch Deck FAILS That Make Industry Pros Say, ‘I’m Out’

Pitch Deck FAILS I’ve seen a LOT of pitch deck fails in my time as a script editor here at B2W. And whether it’s film funds, script labs or co-production markets, the same problems show up again and again. Here are 5 red flags that make professionals quietly close your deck before you’ve even got to the good bits. Ready? Let’s go! 1) Opening with a bloody quote Look, I get it: you love storytelling. You’re deep, poetic, meaningful. Maybe even a bit mystical. But that’s not what your pitch deck is for!! Agents, investors, broadcasters, producers want clarity and… Read More »5 Pitch Deck FAILS That Make Industry Pros Say, ‘I’m Out’

Share this:

Happy Valentine’s! 14 Iconic Movie Kisses That Defined Romance

14 Iconic Movie Kisses  There’s something undeniably magical about well-executed cinematic movie kisses. They can encapsulate longing, passion, heartbreak, or even triumph in a single moment. Few movies capture the power of the silver-screen kiss as poetically as Cinema Paradiso (1988). In the film’s unforgettable ending, we see a montage of classic kisses from Hollywood’s Golden Age. These moments were once deemed too risqué for audiences … But they’re now recognised as cinematic treasures. This tribute article to romance in film reminds us of a great kiss’s impact … On a story, an audience, and even pop culture itself! And… Read More »Happy Valentine’s! 14 Iconic Movie Kisses That Defined Romance

Share this:

#1 Error That Kills Interest In Your Pitch 100% Of The Time

#1 Error That Kills Your Pitch Obviously there are lots of ways to kill your pitch, but there’s a #1 error I see most often. This error is so widespread and so simple, you’ll kick yourself once you see it … … HIDING your story behind intangible, thematic stuff. In other words, writers go for VIBES over the actual events of the story. Instead of being overt about what literally happens, the writer will fall back on that #1 pitching error like this … A retired bodyguard faces his demons from his traumatic past as he guides a kidnapped girl… Read More »#1 Error That Kills Interest In Your Pitch 100% Of The Time

Share this:

30 Years of Priscilla: What Can Writers Learn From This LGBTQ Classic?

All About The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert I remember the first time I saw Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. I was a closeted bisexual teen in deep denial and I saw it in the middle of the night on TV. (If I recall correctly, it was on BBC2). To say it blew me away is an understatement. I lived in Devon, in the middle of nowhere, with no sniff of even so much as a Pride parade. (The closest I got back then were the ubiquitous rainbows on cans of Lynx body spray). A few years before… Read More »30 Years of Priscilla: What Can Writers Learn From This LGBTQ Classic?

Share this:

Barbie Doesn’t Have An Arc?? Puhlease! Stop Revealing Your Lack Of Craft

Barbie At The Oscars So Barbie got a single Oscar win in 2024. After weeks of speculation and outcry online, I think the most surprising thing – for me, anyway –  is WHICH song it got the gong for … ‘What Am I Made For?’ by Billie Eilish. (I don’t know about you, but I barely remember this song in the movie, whereas ‘I’m Just Ken’ is still a banger IMHO). Since being released in the summer of 2023, Barbie has inspired countless ‘think pieces’ online. Inevitably, there were lots of calls from right-wingers about Barbie‘s supposed treatment of male… Read More »Barbie Doesn’t Have An Arc?? Puhlease! Stop Revealing Your Lack Of Craft

Share this:

Is Your Writing Falling Foul of ‘Moral Perfectionism’? Find Out Here

‘I Don’t Want To Get It Wrong’ Is your writing suffering from ‘moral perfectionism’? The reason I ask is that I’ve noticed a huge uptick in the writers I work with worried about ‘getting it wrong’. What ‘wrong’ means can depend, but usually relates to the depiction of marginalised characters and communities. A writer will feel stressed and even frozen by fear at seeming like an ‘over-privileged asshole’. This may relate to … Male writers writing female leads White people writing BIPOC characters Straight writers writing LGBTQ characters Able-bodied writers writing disabled characters More affluent writers writing about poverty and/or… Read More »Is Your Writing Falling Foul of ‘Moral Perfectionism’? Find Out Here

Share this:

3 Unusual Female Character Tropes Audiences Can’t Get Enough Of Right Now

Female Character Tropes Good news: female character tropes are finally becoming more varied as standard! Not so long ago, female characters were sidelined or defined by the men in their lives … but these days, we’re much more likely to see holistic and layered female characters in movies, TV or novels. However, when B2W talks about tropes, many writers say: ‘Aren’t tropes a bad thing??’ It’s not difficult to see why writers might think this. Many online commentators – including actual critics! – often conflate tropes with clichés. Whilst tropes can indeed become clichés when they’re overused, tropes are actually… Read More »3 Unusual Female Character Tropes Audiences Can’t Get Enough Of Right Now

Share this:

5 Reasons You Should Write Short Film Scripts

Why We Write Scripts Everyone who has written a script has dreamt of seeing their story on the big screen, having the accolades and the kudos of being a produced screenwriter … It’s why we write scripts. But how many screenplays actually get read by people who want to make films, let alone turned into produced films? It is a very small percentage. What can you do about it? Here are 5 ways to not only get your scripts read, but produced too. Ready? Let’s go … 1) Keep it short – REALLY short Try writing a two-page script. I… Read More »5 Reasons You Should Write Short Film Scripts

Share this:

5 Uncomfortable Facts You Must Face If You Want Your Scripts Made

OR: Why There’s NOT ‘Loads’ Of Great Spec Scripts Waiting To Be Made If you want to get your scripts made, you’re not alone. It seems everyone is working on a spec screenplay! I love to see it too … Nothing makes me happier than hearing about the stories Bang2writers are working on. Whenever people talk about screenwriting though, it doesn’t take long before someone drops this claim … ‘There’s LOADS of great spec scripts just waiting to be made.’  They usually say this when a new movie reboot is announced, or a favourite TV series has jumped the shark.… Read More »5 Uncomfortable Facts You Must Face If You Want Your Scripts Made

Share this: