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Top 10 Fearless Female Archers In Movies And TV

Female Archers in Fiction You don’t have to look far to find female archers in fiction. Though male archers obviously do exist too, this is often part of their specific characterisation (Arrow and Hawkeye are the most obvious here). In contrast, female archers in fiction frequently use the bow and arrow as their weapon of choice as a warrior: nothing more, nothing less. In fact, female archer warriors use the bow and arrow so often, it’s become a trope of its own. Tropes are those recurrent ideas or motifs we see in novels, movies or TV. Whilst many internet commentators believe… Read More »Top 10 Fearless Female Archers In Movies And TV

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Top 10 Tips From Neil Gaiman On Being A Writer

About Neil Gaiman Neil Gaiman is a British author, screenwriter and producer. A prolific writer, he started his career as a journalist, then writing biographies and comics. His acclaimed and groundbreaking series, The Sandman (1991) was the first ever comic to receive a literary award – 1991 World Fantasy Award for Best Short Story. The series has been adapted for TV and is currently on Netflix. Gaiman’s work crosses genres and reaches audiences of all ages. His books for younger readers include M is for Magic (2007); The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish (1997); The Wolves in the… Read More »Top 10 Tips From Neil Gaiman On Being A Writer

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Ask The Experts: 15 Industry Pros Share What’s On Their Wish Lists For 2023

Industry Pro Wish Lists It’s January, so that time of year again when B2W asks industry pros what’s on their wish lists for the year ahead! There’s an eclectic mix of literary agents, editors and other experts sharing their wish lists this year. They come from both the worlds of publishing and screenwriting. Enjoy the article and don’t forget to read B2W’s pointers at the end. Ready? Let’s go … 1) Anne Perry, Jo Fletcher Books (Quercus) “I want the happiest of happy endings. I want every character to walk away happy (maybe even the villains?!) and everyone who reads… Read More »Ask The Experts: 15 Industry Pros Share What’s On Their Wish Lists For 2023

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6 Things I Learned Writing A Fantasy Novel

Writing Your Own Fantasy Novel The rules of good writing apply to every fictional genre and a fantasy novel is no different … You need to: Put your protagonist through the wringer, facing ever greater dangers and tougher dilemmas Build the story, tie in the subplots, and construct a satisfying resolution Do all this in clear and comprehensible prose! I’m Glyn Carter. When I was writing my own fantasy novel Gog-Magog, I realised the fantasy genre offers writers specific opportunities and challenges. Here are six ways in which fantasy has its own demands. 1) Characters need a ‘reason to live’… Read More »6 Things I Learned Writing A Fantasy Novel

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Top 10 True Life Female Serial Killers Of All Time

All About Female Serial Killers Female serial killers have always been a fascination of mine, as a writer, reader and viewer. True crime is super-popular because many people share this interest (but most of us are rightfully repulsed as well!). My fascination is due to the fact female serial killers don’t tend to be motivated in the same way as their male counterparts. They will frequently have ‘reasons’ for doing what they do. The rest of us may even understand some of them (though of course we won’t condone such tactics!). While male serial killers are typically coined ‘Thrill Killers’… Read More »Top 10 True Life Female Serial Killers Of All Time

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Top 5 Mistakes Writers Make Adapting Their Books For The Screen

All About Adapting Your Book Why not make a movie out of your book … You wrote a great book, so surely it will make a great movie — right? Not so fast! Adapting a book is not as easy as it looks. A movie or TV series needs to pack in a LOT of action. A slow-paced, emotional tale might not adapt to film so easily. Even if you wrote a fast-paced action-adventure, you will have to adapt your thinking as much as adapting your manuscript. Newbie screenwriters can make many mistakes. This list will help you avoid those specific to… Read More »Top 5 Mistakes Writers Make Adapting Their Books For The Screen

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5 Top Tips From The Black Phone Writers Can Learn

Watch & Read The Black Phone Now The Black Phone is a movie adaptation of the 2004 short story of the same title by Joe Hill. Directed by Scott Derrickson, the screenplay is written by Derrickson and his long-time collaborator C. Robert Cargill. I’m a HUGE fan of both Hill and this duo’s previous output including Sinister and The Exorcism of Emily Rose, so I was keen to watch the movie regardless. The logline for The Black Phone on imdb reads, “After being abducted by a child killer and locked in a soundproof basement, a 13-year-old boy starts receiving calls… Read More »5 Top Tips From The Black Phone Writers Can Learn

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8 Spot-on Ideas To Make Your Book Cover More Eye-Catching

Your Book Cover Wanting to make every effort to make your book stand out from the undeniably huge crowd is something everyone wants for greater success. Choosing a book cover that is unquestionably eye-catching is one of the best ways to do this. Fortunately, you can use a few strategies to create a cover image that stands out from the crowd. And to help you out in the process of creating the magic, we outlined eight ideas that make your book cover eye-catching. Read the article to find out more as we gathered everything from accents to typography to everything… Read More »8 Spot-on Ideas To Make Your Book Cover More Eye-Catching

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5 Top Tips For Converting Your Screenplay Into A Novel

Screenplays –> Novels So you’ve written a screenplay, then bust a gut to get it financed and produced … But two years later you’re still no further on. Don’t give up just yet! You’ve created characters and a story so why not use this as your template and convert your script to a novel? Here are five tips to help and inspire you converting yours. Ready? Let’s go …  1) Take Back Control  A film is a story told in pictures and a screenplay is really a set of short-hand instructions rather than a complete work of art. Film is… Read More »5 Top Tips For Converting Your Screenplay Into A Novel

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10 Common Mistakes People Make Marketing Their Book You Should Avoid

Book Marketing is TOUGH I don’t care what anyone says: the hardest part of the process is book marketing! Knowing where to start is difficult, which is why knowing what NOT to do can really help. So when Jenny got in touch asking about writing a post on this topic, I bit her hand off! Here’s some gold dust tips for you Bangers … over to you, Jenny! All About Book Marketing You don’t need me to tell you that writing a book is hard work. The process of taking it from the initial idea into a fully-fledged novel you… Read More »10 Common Mistakes People Make Marketing Their Book You Should Avoid

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Top 3 Tips to Write a Perfect Query Letter

All About The Query Letter (Or Email!) A great query letter or email can make all the difference to your writing career. It can mean hooking an industry pro with your writing … or having to shelve the screenplay or novel you have worked so hard on. Eek! But do not worry, we got your back. Let’s go! 1) Get Them Hooked Bad query letters often miss that extra ‘oomph’ that is supposed to intrigue agents in your writing. So how do you hook them? Mention if you have ever met the agent at a conference or a similar event.… Read More »Top 3 Tips to Write a Perfect Query Letter

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10 Big Mistakes To Avoid When Writing Female Characters

Don’t Underestimate Or Underwrite Fifty per cent of your potential audience is female, so it does NOT pay to underestimate your female characters. Women in audiences everywhere have made it clear in the past decade on social media … Underwrite female characters at your peril! Too often, female characters become stereotypical in unpublished novels and spec screenplays. A stereotype is a simplication. Whilst writers CAN use stereotypes on purpose for effect, too often writers use them by accident. This makes characters feel flat and two-dimensional. There are lots of lists of female stereotypes online, but I always think it’s more illuminating… Read More »10 Big Mistakes To Avoid When Writing Female Characters

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