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1 Wrong Belief That Is Destroying Your Scene Description

NEWSFLASH: ‘Description’ is the wrong word! One wrong belief many screenwriters have is  that ‘description’ is really the wrong word when it comes to those pesky prose bits of our screenplays. This wrong belief that we have to DESCRIBE everything in a scene is literally holding us back! It ends up making us do these script killers …  ‘Set dressing’ when it comes to things physically in it that have no bearing on story (yawn!) ‘False movement’ aka a list of moving body parts (especially shrugging, raised eyebrows and other fillers) Pointless and extraneous details like what characters are wearing… Read More »1 Wrong Belief That Is Destroying Your Scene Description

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Top 5 Reasons To Use WriterDuet Screenwriting Software

Click onto any writers’ group on social media (such a Bang2writers on FB – join now!) and you won’t have to scroll far to find posts asking “what screenwriting software do you use?” There are a lot of options out there, some of which I talked about in my Top 5 Tips For The Long Distance Screenwriter article for B2W back in 2014. But that article was written B.W.D. – Before WriterDuet! There’s my top 5 reasons why you should be using it too: 5) Collaboration Collaboration with other writers is easier than ever in the digital age, and WriterDuet makes it… Read More »Top 5 Reasons To Use WriterDuet Screenwriting Software

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Top 5 Reasons To Use Trelby Screenwriting Software

One of the most popular articles on B2W is Which Screenwriting Software Is The Best? (Paid For And Free). It was written waaaay back in 2009, so lots of the tools listed are now obsolete, especially the free ones (though I do try and keep it updated). So when Mia got in touch with this review for free screenwriting tool Trelby, I jumped at the chance to share with you Bang2writers as I think you may like it. I will also add it to the original post, HERE too. If you want to review another free screenwriting tool (which I… Read More »Top 5 Reasons To Use Trelby Screenwriting Software

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Top 5 Screenwriting Mistakes Writers Make

Screenwriting shouldn’t be that hard. You have a story, and you turn it into a script. You just have to follow a precise format that’s easy to read. Unfortunately, it’s a bit more complex than that! The script has to paint a picture for the reader. If you want to get it on the desks of producers, directors, actors, and all other important people in the process of making a movie, you have to make things right. Everything starts by critiquing your own work. No matter how good you are, you’ll still notice mistakes when you’re careful enough!  We’ll list… Read More »Top 5 Screenwriting Mistakes Writers Make

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5 Things I Learned Converting My Screenplay Into A Novel

About Converting Screenplays Thinking about converting your screenplay into a novel? Bang2writer Brian did this and learned some interesting & useful lessons. Check out what he has to say below and make converting your own screenplay MUCH smoother! Thanks Brian and over to you … 1) Hollywood is not in the risk business What was I thinking?  I wrote an epic scale, special effects-laden science fiction action blockbuster.  And nobody in Hollywood knew who the hell I was.  How was I going to sell this screenplay? MECHCRAFT (the screenplay) began life some four years ago, and when it was ready,… Read More »5 Things I Learned Converting My Screenplay Into A Novel

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12 Quick Tips To Improve Your Writing Right Now

As a writer, you are often judged solely by what is on the page or the screen. This means you need to ensure you know exactly what you are doing! Here’s 12 quick tricks to take your writing to the next level and increase your confidence: 1)    Brush up on the basics The least you can do before you submit or publish is check for basic errors in spelling and grammar. Before you even begin an important writing task, read up on basic grammar rules and sentence structure, and never submit anything without running it through a spell-checker first. 2)   … Read More »12 Quick Tips To Improve Your Writing Right Now

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Focus On Format: All About Music

For more on format and script convention issues, visit:           The B2W Format One Stop Shop Lots of writers include music and/or lyrics in their unpublished novels and spec screenplays. There are lots of reason why this seems like a good idea: sometimes particular songs can add something to the plot, or to the storyworld (especially time period). Other times, that song might have been instrumental (arf) in inspiring the writer to pen the piece in the first place, so they’ll add it to give a ‘feel’ for the story. STOP!  9/10, the song will be COPYRIGHTED… Read More »Focus On Format: All About Music

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Focus On Format: All About Title Pages

Use. Your. Title. Page! I can’t tell you how annoying it is as a script reader to have an inbox full of scripts without names and titles on … It makes them SO hard to keep track of. In the very least, it looks like you don’t know how to use your own software – not a great first impression. So unless you’re told specifically NOT to add title information, always always fill in your title page with: Your screenplay or manuscript’s title Your name Your email address and mobile number Your agent’s contact details (if applicable) In this PDF… Read More »Focus On Format: All About Title Pages

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6 Things I Learned From Making Someone Else’s Script

2015 ended on an incredible high for Apple Park Films and we were keen to capitalise on the momentum this gave us, so we set about developing a short film. As a writer I struggle with the short film format, so I put out an open call for short film bloglines. We received over 200 applications, which lead to us producing Emotional Motor Unit. What follows are 6 things that I learned from being on the other side of the process and working with another writer’s work: 1) Only send what you’re asked for when responding to an open call This… Read More »6 Things I Learned From Making Someone Else’s Script

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Focus On Format: All About Caps (aka Capital Letters)

Listen very carefully, Bang2writers. Here is when you use CAPS – aka capital letters – in your spec screenplay: When we are introduced to a character for the first time only. Like this:That’s it. Seriously. You do not *need* caps in any other place in your spec. You *can* however use caps for these things: An object that’s going to be important in the story (ie. a plot point) An animal that’s not named, but IS a character (ie. not for a random animal) A sudden noise – ie. BOOM! SNAP! KA-BLAM! To indicate a character is reading a screen… Read More »Focus On Format: All About Caps (aka Capital Letters)

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Focus On Format: How To Write ‘Mini Slugs’

All About Mini Slugs No, this is not a post about killing off ‘actual’ slugs (mini or not), but rather sluglines, which some of you may also know as scene headings or scene headers. In recent years (and undoubtedly because of the internet), it’s become popular here in the UK to follow the American practice of NOT writing a ‘full’ scene heading IF characters are going, say into another room, within the same timeframe (whatever that means, literal or metaphorical):I think so-called mini slugs are great. Sluglines aka scene headings should always be as plain as possible so as to not… Read More »Focus On Format: How To Write ‘Mini Slugs’

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How Do I Format An Interruption In My Screenplay Dialogue?

All About Interruption If you want to signify an interruption in your spec screenplay’s dialogue, you have come to the right place. Many thanks to Bang2writer Mohammed, who’s been in contact this week with this writing-related query … Can I ask how to format this correctly? Someone is reading a letter out loud, and the voice of the letter writer cuts in to finish the letter. I’ve done plenty of hunting around but I haven’t found anything on it. Like many screenplay formatting questions beyond the non-negotiable ones (such as font, size, margins, etc)  there’s NO fancy or specific way to… Read More »How Do I Format An Interruption In My Screenplay Dialogue?

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