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The Powerful Lesson ALIEN COVENANT teaches writers

No real spoilers So, I saw Alien Covenant last night. I’ve been waiting for this one for ages, so it’s fair to say my expectations were high. Here’s what I thought of the movie (note: not the screenplay), broken down in the two main questions script readers consider: ‘What’s working?’, plus ‘What needs more development?’. Enjoy! What’s Working? It looks fantastic, but then that’s really a given. Ridley Scott has embraced the digital age whole-heartedly and I’d say that like most modern blockbuster directors, his movies are really meant for cinema. That works for me, since there’s nothing I like… Read More »The Powerful Lesson ALIEN COVENANT teaches writers

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3 Things I Learned From Literary Agent Fiona Kenshole

It’s not very often you get to hear it straight from the source EXACTLY what producers, publishers or literary agents are looking for. However, I was lucky enough to sit down recently with Literary Agent Fiona Kenshole who shared more than a few great tips for Bang2writers! Fiona was a guest of InDevelopment, a network of professionals who work in film and TV script development. InDevelopment meets regularly for drinks and discussion about the craft of developing, script editing and producing fiction for the screen and is organised and hosted by script consultant Sarah Olley. Fiona has over twenty years… Read More »3 Things I Learned From Literary Agent Fiona Kenshole

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5 Reasons Every Writer Should Have A Blog

If you write for a living, you have a career that many others envy. You pick your own hours; you pick your own location; you pick the type of writing you want to do – so long as someone is willing to pay for it, that is! Being a freelancer means constant hustling; you will always have to market yourself to potential new employers, marketplaces, agents, publishers and filmmakers. And one of the best ways to do that is to have a blog, creating a following and platform for your work. Here are five things you will get out of… Read More »5 Reasons Every Writer Should Have A Blog

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How To Assign A Character’s Race In A Screenplay

Race, Variety & Authenticity It’s important for writers to think about race, because representation matters. It’s part of the B2W remit. If you follow me on social media, you’ll know one of my books is titled, Writing Diverse Characters For Fiction, TV or Film. In the course of my research for the book, I talked to a multitude of producers, literary agents, filmmakers, publishers, authors and even actors for their thoughts on this issue, from ALL types of backgrounds, which has been a real eye-opener. I’ve also put my own thoughts under the microscope about what ‘diversity’ really means when it comes… Read More »How To Assign A Character’s Race In A Screenplay

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How To Use Social Media To Market Your Novel

I love these tips … I think they’re useful to ALL writers, not just authors! As I’ve said many, many times on this blog – social media is great, because it lets us get our voices heard … but it’s also TERRIBLE!! Whilst there’s no ‘right’ way to do social media, there’s a gazillion errors we can make and then get noticed for all the wrong reasons. Yikes. So, if you have a book, campaign, message, brand or something else you want to get out there, make sure you check out these great tips from Sarah. Enjoy! Everyone markets on… Read More »How To Use Social Media To Market Your Novel

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How To Write Daytime TV Drama

 Three TV Writers What do Rachel Flowerday (co-creator & writer of “Father Brown” with Tahsin Guner and writer of The Moonstone”with Sasha Hails), Roland Moore (creator & writer of Land Girls) and Sally Abbott (creator & writer of The Coroner) have in common? All three of these writers got their big break writing for Doctors. From there on their paths diverged. It took Sally five years to get a second gig writing for Doctors, proving that you should never give up! Eventually she found her way into continuing drama, which is also the route Rachel took. Roland meanwhile continued writing… Read More »How To Write Daytime TV Drama

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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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5 (More) Things I Learned Pitching In Hollywood

The ‘X Things I Learned’ series is becoming a REALLY great source of insider and ‘behind the scenes’ info — if you want to share the insights you’ve learned out in the industry; on a course; when you met a famous writer — or something else! – then please do get in touch. Us Bang2writers want to hear all about it! In the meantime, here’s another perspective on pitching in Hollywood for you. If you recall, Tim gave his POV 3-4 of years ago, so here’s KT with her own nuggets of wisdom. Enjoy … Whether you’re pitching in London… Read More »5 (More) Things I Learned Pitching In Hollywood

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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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5 Things Screenwriters Can Learn From Musicals

Whether it’s the sequins in Chicago or the corpses in Sweeney Todd, there’s something for everyone in the extraordinary world of musicals. But did you know that your secret, or not-so-secret, indulgence in this most over-the-top of artforms could also be good for your writing? Here are five lessons that musicals can teach screenwriters. And it’s a double whammy: you get to kick back and soak up some classic show tunes while improving your writing technique in the process. Overture and beginners, please … 1) Structure It’s even more true for musicals than for almost any other kind of script:… Read More »5 Things Screenwriters Can Learn From Musicals

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