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Philosophy

Writing Adages Explained: ‘Write What You Know’

Probably the most talked about writing adage of all time is, “Write what you know.” The phrase often causes confusion amongst writers. After all, if we ONLY wrote what we *literally* know, there would be no science fiction or fantasy, plus all Crime and Horror novelists and screenwriters would *need* to be serial killers! And that’s just for starters. However, thinking about it metaphorically may produce disatisfying results, too. The notion that one HAS to be a woman (or vice versa), to write from the female perspective seems bizarre. As I am fond of reminding the Bang2writers, B2W has seen NO… Read More »Writing Adages Explained: ‘Write What You Know’

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3 Reasons Why Writers Should Keep A Journal

I do a lot of courses and talks, plus I get lots of emails, tweets and messages from writers … A popular question is, “Where do you get your ideas from?”  My answer: EVERYWHERE! But my life is busy, so I keep a journal to record various fleeting thoughts, observations and important elements of my day. That’s why I thought this post from Tess is great advice for writers … Enjoy! To many of us, journals seem like a thing of the past. We have a tendency to treat the art of keeping a journal as something that’s no longer… Read More »3 Reasons Why Writers Should Keep A Journal

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23 Famous Writers On Feminism

Feminism seems to be very much in discussion online at the moment. In fact, it’s probably one of the main reasons you come to B2W, since we place feminist critique very much at the heart of our storytelling, characterisation and representation articles. So I thought now was a good time to curate some quotes from well known writers, authors and/or performers about how they see feminism, in both a societal and writing context. I don’t agree with all of them, but it certainly makes for interesting reading, especially if you’re struggling with your own female characters right now. Enjoy! 1) Callie… Read More »23 Famous Writers On Feminism

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25 Writing Secrets of Famous Authors

 Sign up for the B2W Mailing List, HERE! 1) Stephen King If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There’s no way around these two things that I’m aware of, no shortcut. 2) Suzanne Collins All the writing elements are the same. You need to tell a good story… You’ve got good characters… People think there’s some dramatic difference between writing ‘Little Bear’ and the ‘Hunger Games,’ and as a writer, for me, there isn’t. 3) George Orwell For a creative writer possession of the ‘truth’… Read More »25 Writing Secrets of Famous Authors

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5 Reasons Why The ‘Rules’ Will Kill Your Writing DEAD

No more writing rules (seriously) Ah, the ‘Rules’ … Every single time I write about there being NO writing ‘rules’, yet more writers come rushing out the woodwork with counter-arguments on why there ARE. Look, I understand. When someone says you can do WHATEVER YOU WANT, it can feel weird and scary. But what if I told you the ‘rules’ are just considered BEST PRACTICES … and even then that can depend. Eeek! Human beings are pack animals, so it makes sense to stay with the crowd doing what is considered “common sense” rather than forging out on your own and… Read More »5 Reasons Why The ‘Rules’ Will Kill Your Writing DEAD

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On Writing “Rules”: 8 Things I Remember

On Writing ‘Rules’ One thing that never goes away is the mythical notion that there are writing ‘rules’. No … just NO! There’s no such thing as writing ‘rules’. All I (or anyone) can offer is what we’ve seen work. In return, we also have to remember there’s always going to be someone who does the exact opposite (and it’ll STILL work!!). But this got me thinking … what would MY top tips, pointers, advice (even writing ‘rules’! :P) be? So here’s a round-up of some of the insights and philosophies I’ve had rammed home to me (fnar) in my own career, time… Read More »On Writing “Rules”: 8 Things I Remember

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How To Elevate Your Writing

So I’m working on my writing style at the moment: what I want to write about; how I express myself; my worldview. I need to dig deep, identify those elements that make me and my writing unique … My “voice”, if you will. It’s really hard This is why so many writers don’t – or won’t – go through this process. ‎It HURTS and remember, we want to avoid pain. So instead those writers will tell themselves voice is about reader response, or even that voice is accidental; that there’s no real way of moving forwards and developing it actively.… Read More »How To Elevate Your Writing

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Writing Women: 5 Lessons From Shakespeare

I’ve said it, countless times now: I’ve seen NO correlation between gender of writer and how “well” s/he writes female characters. In my experience, a male writer is just as likely as a female writer to write a GREAT, complex, flawed character who just so happens to be a woman. ‘Cos that’s what we’re aiming for, right? RIGHT. “Shakespeare’s a dead white guy, but he knows his shit!” YES, Shakespeare is well old and NO, he’s not PC because he was writing a trillion years ago, but he STILL managed to pull of complex female characters who were a helluva lot… Read More »Writing Women: 5 Lessons From Shakespeare

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Writers, Make A Choice

I believe anything is possible. Yet some people do not. It’s perhaps one of the hardest and surprising lessons I learned as a young adult. I didn’t understand why these people would resist. If they JUST TRIED to see it my way, they would be so much HAPPIER, surely?? Besides anything, can’t they SEE THE EVIDENCE: I didn’t have auspicious beginnings, yet I say we can – and I have!! MORE: I Am Not A Lucky Person BUT: “It’s different for you” How I hate these four words. Let me cite the ways it was NOT different for me, how… Read More »Writers, Make A Choice

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Rejected? 3 Industry Pros tell you: DON’T GIVE UP!

Never Give Up We all know as writers the worst thing we can do is give up. But sometimes that’s exactly what we feel like doing! Those of you who’ve attended London Screenwriters Festival  and succeeded in getting synopsis and script-read requests from Producers at Pitchfest may be starting to get rejection messages round about now. I know I am. Rejection is unpleasant. Nobody likes it. But know this … … Even those who’ve “made it” experience rejection on a regular basis. I spoke to three industry pros to get their take on this thorny issue: –  star writer/director HOSSEIN AMINI… Read More »Rejected? 3 Industry Pros tell you: DON’T GIVE UP!

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5 Reasons “Missing” Female Characters Might Not Actually Be Missing After All (Plus What Writers Can Do Instead)

So this week, Twitter broke two pieces of news. Sheffield Theatres here in the UK are pledging to have an equal split of male and female roles in plays developed in-house: their artistic director (a man, by the way) says it’s “not just about numbers, but also about the scope and range of parts female actors get to play”. On the very same day, it was announced that Colin Farrell and Vince Vaughn will be helming series 2 of HBO’s TRUE DETECTIVE. It would be fair to say a minor avalanche of tweets erupted in my TL and @ box  at both announcements. I didn’t… Read More »5 Reasons “Missing” Female Characters Might Not Actually Be Missing After All (Plus What Writers Can Do Instead)

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7 Things You Must Stop Doing If You Want To Be A Professional Writer

Want to be a professional writer? One of the most-hit searches leading to this blog is ‘how to become a professional writer’. So good news – you’re here! I can definitely help advise you on this. But this is the thing. You’re doing all the classes … You’re reading all the sites and trades … You can even pitch and network like a pro … but there’s one problem. You’re not thinking like a professional writer. That’s the bad news. The good news: you can start, TODAY!! Here’s what you’ve got to stop doing, NOW … 1) Stop sweating the… Read More »7 Things You Must Stop Doing If You Want To Be A Professional Writer

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