Skip to content

novels

Are You On The Write Path?

When I was a child, I wrote to the journalist Julie Burchill and told her I wanted to be a writer. She wrote back with: Are you sure? Better to be a vet.  I thought she was nuts and promptly forgot all about it. Later, I decided I wanted to be a screenwriter. I did the BA (Hons) Scriptwriting for Film and Television at Bournemouth University and during the course of my dissertation, I interviewed a stack of working screenwriters at various stages of their careers. Each time I asked them the question, “Why be a screenwriter?” every single last… Read More »Are You On The Write Path?

Share this:

4 Great Prose Fiction Writing Guides by Angelita Williams

There’s lots of great books out there on writing, but which ones should you choose? Angelita steps in with her thoughts – and they’re not the “usual” either! Check ’em out. Listen: we know a novel is not a film is not a play is not a TV show. Each narrative medium works us over in different ways and possesses its own unique strengths. Nevertheless, the history of each is littered with successful adaptations (typically the newer medium cannibalizing the older one – though that’s been challenged with movie-based plays like The Producers, have you ever seen a film novelization… Read More »4 Great Prose Fiction Writing Guides by Angelita Williams

Share this:

Quick Question: Novel Writing

Bang2writer Erinmaochu asks via Twitter: What software are people using to write novels on these days @celtx or other examples, or simple pen and paper? First up, I use Microsoft Word. It’s what I started with, it came with the machine and it’s got everything I need (for those wondering, format-wise that’s 12point Times New Roman, double spaced. End of). A straw poll of Bang2writers revealed MS Word to be the most popular choice, with Scrivener and Word Perfect close seconds. Writers’ Cafe, CeltX, Write Way Pro and Final Draft also figured. Here is a great list of writing software to trawl through… Read More »Quick Question: Novel Writing

Share this:

How To Get A Literary Agent

So, You Want An Agent One question I get a lot is “How do I get an agent?” My first reply is usually, “Do you REALLY NEED one?” If you are a screenwriter and just starting out, then you probably don’t. Here’s an epic rundown of how to get produced WITHOUT the need for an agent. If you are a novelist, you still might not need an agent. Check out Authors Publish, which carries listings of publishers who accept manuscripts without agents. Alternatively, you may want to self publish – here’s 5 strategies for doing that on a budget. How… Read More »How To Get A Literary Agent

Share this:

Self Publishing & Ebooks by Lucy V Morgan (Part 2)

If you’re still thinking about self publishing: Good Reasons to Self Publish 1) You can handle all of the previous post without breaking out in a cold sweat. 2) Your other options are small presses with low sales (i.e. you’ve decided against traditional publishing, or you’ve exhausted all other venues). Personally, I’d go through a publisher at least once before self publishing, just so you can get a grip on the numerous processes involved. 3) You can’t find a suitable publisher/your book doesn’t fit neatly into one “box” (you still need to know how to market it, mind). E.g. I’m… Read More »Self Publishing & Ebooks by Lucy V Morgan (Part 2)

Share this:

Guest Post: Self Publishing & Ebooks by Lucy V Morgan, Part 1

Bang2writers are venturing into self-publishing more and more, so I asked uber-self-pubber and fellow writer and name-sharer Lucy V Morgan her top tips on self publishing and ebooks. Enjoy!—————————–Help! I want to self publish. I think. Maybe. Or I dunno, actually. All the cool kidz iz doing it. I want to stick it to the man. But how do I stick it, and where? Do I really want to do this? I can write 90,000 words of pure awesome, but am SUDDENLY INCAPABLE OF MAKING THIS DECISION! [Facepalm] Calm down, now. Deep breaths. Soothing owl noises. Twit twoooo. Here’s some… Read More »Guest Post: Self Publishing & Ebooks by Lucy V Morgan, Part 1

Share this:

Guest Post: Want To Write Better Screenplays? Read A Picture Book by Ezra Paris

A GREAT guest post from Bang2writer Ezra here, with some fab advice and writing exercises for screenwriters… Let the other Bang2writers know how you go if you give any of them a shot. Thanks Ezra! ————————-Picture books, you say? I am writing a Lynchian take on the Western. I’ve completed character biographies, a beat sheet and a coloured coded layout of my three act structure. Surely there is nothing for me to learn from plucky little steam engines, children who do not wish to sleep and an array of cute baby animals who are unable to locate their mother? Think… Read More »Guest Post: Want To Write Better Screenplays? Read A Picture Book by Ezra Paris

Share this:

How Free Writing Can Help You Get Started

Updated  You can’t fix a blank page I’d say the most important step in any writing related endeavour is the actual starting. But, like many writers, I often find this step to be the hardest. There’s something about staring at a blank page that makes doing something – anything – else seem suddenly compelling. After doing the laundry, washing the dishes and vacuuming every flat surface in the house, my self-promised ‘five hour writing session’ has dwindled to about 30 minutes. I was talking about this fear of the blank page with some fellow writers recently, and the topic of free… Read More »How Free Writing Can Help You Get Started

Share this:

USP, PT 2: You, The Writer

So three or four times a year I have a conversation with a writer that goes like this: WRITER: I’ve got this great script and I’m working with some great people, we’re going to take it all the way and get it made. ME: Brilliant, good for you. WRITER: Are you interested in collaborations? ME: Always. WRITER: Well, I’ve got this Science Fiction TV pilot… ME: … Ah. I won’t waste your time. I don’t do Science Fiction. Or TV. WRITER: Why not? ME: Because I haven’t seen a Science Fiction spec in about 5 years that’s sold me on… Read More »USP, PT 2: You, The Writer

Share this:

Build It And They Will Come: Lucy V’s Wager

Lots of screenwriters are fond of the Field of Dreams quote “Build It And They Will Come” – and good on ’em. I truly believe that if you keep going, no matter what, one day all will come good. I have to believe that, as it’s pretty much the story of my life, not just screenwriting. “Build it and they will come… ” Is it actually 100% true? Yes. And no. Common sense dictates that if you keep going, something has to happen for you eventually. But by that same token, common sense also says there are no guarantees either.… Read More »Build It And They Will Come: Lucy V’s Wager

Share this:

The End Is Just The Beginning: Adventures In Self Publishing by EJ Mack

“Why?” Surely the most common question of them all. We ask it constantly as a child and continue to do so right throughout our adult life. As humans we are constantly asking why things are as they are and why people do what they do. But little did I know that I’d be asked this question myself time and time again when people discovered I’d made the choice to self-publish. I’m not sure it was a conscious decision as such, more one of those organic, grows-on-its-own, kind of things. One minute I was happily taking my first baby steps as… Read More »The End Is Just The Beginning: Adventures In Self Publishing by EJ Mack

Share this:

#scriptchat Stephen Gallagher Q & A with Eleanor Ball – Ellie’s last post!

This is Ellie signing off! I’ve had a great time interning for Lucy over the last few months, meeting people I’d never usually have the chance to meet and learning things I’d never usually have the chance to learn, and I’ll consider myself a bona fide Bang2writer for years to come. For my final blog post I’ve been given the wriggle-worthy chance to pick the brains of Stephen Gallagher. He’s the screenwriter, novelist, director, and all-round Man of Many Bowstrings who created and wrote ITV’s Eleventh Hour and NBC’s Crusoe. He’s also written Doctor Who episodes from the Tom Baker… Read More »#scriptchat Stephen Gallagher Q & A with Eleanor Ball – Ellie’s last post!

Share this: