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London Screenwriters Festival

An Epic Rundown of the LSF365 Live Script Edit Pile

LSF365 Live Script Edit 2020 So, it was the B2W LSF365 Live Script Edit last night! I have been doing the Live Script Edit for the festival for years now. I’m never failed to be impressed by the plucky writers who offer up their pages for dissection in this session! Seriously, let’s all be upstanding for them … Round of applause! LSF365 is the first time I did the session virtually. This year, I got 52 submissions. This is not the most I’ve ever received for this session, but it’s definitely up there. This gave me a crazy idea … ‘What… Read More »An Epic Rundown of the LSF365 Live Script Edit Pile

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6 Things Writers Can Learn From The Handmaid’s Tale

The Handmaid’s Tale, Adapted The Handmaid’s Tale is that rare beast, both critically acclaimed and commercially successful. Just two series in and it’s obvious it will go down in television history. More importantly, countless Bang2writers tell me they want to write something ‘just like it’, that ‘says something’ … But how? At London Screenwriters’ Festival last weekend, I lead a talk titled What Writers Can Learn From The Handmaid’s Tale. It was a brilliant session, with some great questions and observations from the switched-on delegates. Obviously I can’t cover all everything we talked about in one blog post, sadly. But here’s… Read More »6 Things Writers Can Learn From The Handmaid’s Tale

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How To Produce A Film Using SEIS

So, MAD MAX FURY ROAD producer Iain Smith gave us all a shot in the arm about film production yesterday … But it’s all well and good SAYING we need to be brave and bold, HOW do we do it??? So, many thanks to @MarkMacNicol, a Bang2writer and LSF Talent Camper from last year’s intake who’s decided time waits for no (wo)man and istaking the bull by the horns … He WILL get his films made, using SEIS and film tax credits, thus taking on the role of producer!! OUTSTANDING!! Mark breaks down this complicated-sounding venture into just seven or… Read More »How To Produce A Film Using SEIS

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5 Things I Learned From Mad Max Fury Road’s Producer Iain Smith 

 All About Iain Smith With a resumé that includes movie classics I love like THE FIFTH ELEMENT and CHILDREN OF MEN, producer Iain Smith was already on my list of top UK creative professionals already … but then he only goes and gets MAD MAX FURY ROAD made, too! So I was delighted to chaperone the LondonSWF Talent Campers to an exclusive half-hour session with Iain this weekend.  Iain offered up some brilliant nuggets of advice and writing wisdom, so make sure you strap yourself in … Ready? Let’s go! 1) It all STARTS with the writing … Production is frequently… Read More »5 Things I Learned From Mad Max Fury Road’s Producer Iain Smith 

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5 Things I Learned From Oscar-Winning Screenwriter William Nicholson 

So, this weekend it was LondonSWF and the lucky writers selected for the 2016 LSF Talent Campus initiative had Oscar-winning screenwriter William Nicholson to themselves for a whole half an hour during the festival. The Talent Campers asked William Nicholson all about his time writing GLADIATOR on set in a caravan (!), but loads of other great snippets of writing wisdom came up too. Enjoy! 1) It’s about tenacity William Nicholson dropped the bombshell that whilst he’s had a whopping seventeen screenplays made, he’s had ‘at least fifteen’ polished scripts that have fallen by the wayside. So a return of… Read More »5 Things I Learned From Oscar-Winning Screenwriter William Nicholson 

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5 Lessons I Learned Pitching

As an unrepresented writer (and even one WITH an agent!), it’s essential to do your own groundwork to get your first foot in this business … And there’s no bigger step you can take than pitching your own material, the baby you’ve nurtured so tirelessly since its conception! It should be noted that every pitch you ever perform will be different. No two execs are ever the same. However, there’s some universal insights that will greatly benefit you. These following lessons relate to a project of mine, The Nth Degree, which is an espionage thriller with a sci-fi twist. This… Read More »5 Lessons I Learned Pitching

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How NOT To Pitch Agents: 21 Tips For Writers

How Not to Pitch Agents If you want to pitch agents, you have come to the right place. One of the most oft-hit articles on B2W is 29 Ways NOT To Submit To An Agent by BFLA’s Carole Blake. So, with LondonSWF around the corner, I thought now was a good time to invite another agent to give her tips … So please welcome Jennifer Johnson-Blalock! Jennifer is a lit agent in New York and is offering her top tips on how NOT to pitch at conferences and pitchfests. There’s some stellar advice here on how to pitch agents, so… Read More »How NOT To Pitch Agents: 21 Tips For Writers

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10 Things I Learned From Top Brit Screenwriter Julian Fellowes

Watch The Video Here So Julian Fellowes appeared at the recent LondonSWF Launch Event. I unfortunately wasn’t able to make it, but always Team LSF has us covered! LondonSWF videoed Julian’s fascinating and inspiring chat with Nik Powell, as well as the Q&A with the audience. So, in typical B2W tradition, here’s 10 things I took away from Julian’s chat. You can watch the video yourself, HERE, or click the pics in this post. 1) Relationships are KEY Julian is unequivocal here, when he says his relationships are what got him hired for GOSFORD PARK, which was a game-changer in… Read More »10 Things I Learned From Top Brit Screenwriter Julian Fellowes

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How To Be A More Productive Blogger

NEWSFLASH! We all know that part of “making it as a writer” (whatever that means) is STANDING OUT. If people don’t know about you, or what you do, then putting it simply: you’re at a MASSIVE disadvantage. Build It And They Will Come This is where the internet comes in. I’ve literally built my career as a script reader and script editor via this blog, so I know first hand a GOOD platform can not only help, it can bring you the very people you want to work with! “Productivity”, “blogging” and “success as a writer through blogging” are three… Read More »How To Be A More Productive Blogger

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5 Tips For Screenwriters To Find A Producer (And 3 More On Why You’re Failing)

Find Out How It Works So I don’t have to go far on internet-land before I find one of these guys: WRITER: Tell me how to get a producer??? ME: Sure. Come up with a great concept, make sure you know your audience. WRITER: ERM, YOU DIDN’T TELL ME ANYTHING! ME: Le sigh. OK, find out what is possible for what £££, then you’re more likely to hit the mark. WRITER: Fuck that. That’s the producer’s job. ME: OMFG, fine. Start networking, create some relationships. Find them that way. WRITER: WTAF??? But I only want to write!!! So this is… Read More »5 Tips For Screenwriters To Find A Producer (And 3 More On Why You’re Failing)

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The Screenwriter’s Toolbox

London Screenwriters’ Festival is here again! It’s LondonSWF time here at Bang2Write and we thought, what better way to celebrate than be fully prepared for your writing, networkiung and pitching … Here’s where the Screenwriter’s Toolbox comes in handy! Here’s 20 links you should definitely check out, full of helpful hints and tips that will come in handy for LSF and beyond, so make sure you bookmark this page! Don’t forget you can find many more free writing links and downloads on The B2W Resources Page, plus you can subscribe to this site HERE and get a free 28 page… Read More »The Screenwriter’s Toolbox

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Screenwriting Under The Microscope

As it’s Festival Week, now seemed a GREAT time to share this fab infographic, courtesy of screenwriting trainers Udemy. I love how they’ve broken down all the figures and presented them here… There’s some real food for thought for writers, particularly on drama screenplays. In my screenwriting book, Writing & Selling Drama Screenplays, I noticed too how there are MORE drama scripts than anything else, as well as the fact they tend to win awards more than genre pics. Check out the book, HERE, plus I’ll be signing copies of both my screenwriting books at the festival, too! It’s the… Read More »Screenwriting Under The Microscope

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