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5 Important But Basic Things You Need To Know About Your Characters

All About Your Characters Characters are all-important in your spec screenplay or unpublished novel. Good characterisation feels authentic, layered and relatable. But how do we get there? Working with writers, I see them OVERthinking their characters. They will frequently overlook those important, basic details of what characterisation really is and what they’re for. So I thought I’d break it down, here. Ready? Let’s go … 1) Your Main Characters Are Your Protagonist & Antagonist That’s it. Nothing more, nothing less. But do take note of this: if your protagonist wants something? Your antagonist should stop them from getting it. What… Read More »5 Important But Basic Things You Need To Know About Your Characters

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Top 5 Monster Moments Of All Time In Movies

Iconic Monster Moments The best monster moments don’t always involve blood, screaming or a full reveal. Sometimes it’s a face behind someone who hasn’t seen it yet. Sometimes it’s a still image that moves when it bloody shouldn’t. These five scenes got under my skin and stayed there. Here’s why they work, and what horror writers can steal from them … Ready? Let’s go! 1) Ripley comes face to face with the Xenomorph  (Alien 3) Whaaaaaaat you say?? How about ‘Get away from her, you BITCH!’  Look, Ripley in the robotic loader versus the Alien Queen in Aliens is a… Read More »Top 5 Monster Moments Of All Time In Movies

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The #1 Lie About Female Characters You Should Not Believe

The #1 Lie About Female Characters There’s a #1 lie I hear all the time about female characters. You may have heard it yourself, or even thought it. If you have, it’s not your fault. On the surface, it seems like common sense. After all, blogs like B2W have been warning for years that bad female characterisation is everywhere. So-called self-styled ‘gurus’ online offer all kinds of female character fixes. These may range from sensible but overlooked ones like the ‘fridged woman’ through to the well-meaning but fundamentally flawed, like The Bechdel Test. So what exactly is the #1 lie… Read More »The #1 Lie About Female Characters You Should Not Believe

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How Intercut Can Help Tell Your Story In Just 8 pictures

All About Intercut Whether you’re writing a screenplay or a novel, intercut can help you tell your story. An intercut is a storytelling technique used to rapidly switch back and forth between two different locations. This might be during a phone call, text message conversation, or parallel action. An intercut frequently plays around with the sense of time in your story, too. They may reference something that has happened in the past. However, intercuts can also reference to the future, to different versions of ‘now’ (whatever that means), or even thoughts and feelings. When Intercuts Go Wrong While intercuts are… Read More »How Intercut Can Help Tell Your Story In Just 8 pictures

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How Your Story’s Opening Tells Audiences What To Expect (And Why It’s SO Important)

Your Story’s Promise To Your Target Viewers Or Readers Most spec screenplays don’t have a strong opener Instead, they open with generic scenes that could belong to literally any story. Yet *produced* movies and TV shows tell us exactly what we’re in for from the very first moments. All we have to do is really LOOK. 1) Opening With Your Genre Check out these stills I’ve taken of NowTV’s FROM, starring Harold Perrineau. From left to right, top to bottom: 1) The first image is of evergreen trees This shows we are in a rural area, near a forest. It’s… Read More »How Your Story’s Opening Tells Audiences What To Expect (And Why It’s SO Important)

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Why Your Screenwriting Career Is Stalling (And How To Fix It)

Feel like you’re stalling? If you feel like your screenwriting career is stalling, you’re not alone. The past ten years have created huge problems for the industry. Screenwriting circa 2026 is more challenging than it has ever been. Industry pros have left in record levels, with those that remain telling me it’s the worst they’ve ever seen it. But the point of this post is not to make you feel despondent. Instead, it’s designed to help you stop stalling and get your best chance of getting out of the spec script trenches. Ready? Let’s go … 1) Concept still sells!… Read More »Why Your Screenwriting Career Is Stalling (And How To Fix It)

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What Writers Can Learn From The Short Film That Launched a $1 Billion Franchise

Selling, Not Selling Out ‘Write me a low-budget screenplay that launches a $1 billion dollar franchise.’  A producer said this in a room full of writers I was in, back at the very beginning of my career. To say it landed with me BIG TIME is an understatement. It made me realise that story is not the only thing writers must contend with. As a collaborative medium, it’s also our job to come up with ideas that SELL. Of course, this is where writers might say: ‘But I don’t want to sell out!’ I totally get this. It can seem… Read More »What Writers Can Learn From The Short Film That Launched a $1 Billion Franchise

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Boy Meets Girl: How To Write Romance That Impacts Your Reader

All About Boy Meets Girl ‘Boy Meets Girl’ is a plotting archetype that underpins probably 90% of romance stories. Across all subgenres and cross-genres of romance, we can see it in action because that’s what our readers and viewers WANT. I thought I would trace this powerful archetype and what makes it hit so hard. Ready? Let’s go … ‘Boy Meets Girl’, Beat for Beat 1)  The Set Up Like all stories across all mediums and genres, this archetype begins with the set up. We join the protagonist in their normal life and understand what missing there on an emotional… Read More »Boy Meets Girl: How To Write Romance That Impacts Your Reader

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5 Top Tips For Writing Romantasy That Bites Back

How To Write Romantasy That Bites Back I was at London Screenwriters Festival this weekend just past, where I did a masterclass on writing romantasy. This subgenre has exploded in the past three or four years across all media, yet many people get it wrong on why it’s so popular. Romantasy is NOT just fantasy with some kissing. The romance angle powers the story, while giving us brutal worlds, high stakes and love that complicates everything. It is all about danger and desire, fused. Ultimately, good romantasy is all about that core promise: if it doesn’t hurt, it’s not romantasy.… Read More »5 Top Tips For Writing Romantasy That Bites Back

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Ink and Emotion: Tracing The Path Of A Romance Novel

From Idea to Page: Tracing The Journey Tracing the path of a romance novel is all-important in understanding what your target reader wants. The latter is not about ‘selling out’, but selling. It’s what professional writers DO. As I’ve written before on this blog, romance is the #1 genre of all time. Whether you love it or loathe it yourself, it’s fair to say readers LOVE it! Tracing what they enjoy and why does not have to mean writing solely for the marketplace. It’s possible to give readers what they want, while also writing what YOU love too. It may… Read More »Ink and Emotion: Tracing The Path Of A Romance Novel

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Bad Deals, Brave Asks and Why You’re Allowed To Walk Away (Yes, REALLY!)

All About Bad Deals NEWSFLASH: bad deals are not worth it! One thing I see over and over again with writers is this: They want it so badly that they’ll accept almost anything. An “opportunity” lands in their inbox. It sounds exciting, even flattering. It sounds like this might finally be the thing. Then, because they don’t want to miss out, writers don’t ask questions. They don’t push back. They don’t stop to think whether the deal actually helps them advance in their careers. Here’s the truth many writers don’t want to hear: A bad deal is often worse than no… Read More »Bad Deals, Brave Asks and Why You’re Allowed To Walk Away (Yes, REALLY!)

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6 Fantasy & Sci-Fi Female Leads Who Made Their Mark On Storytelling

All About Fantasy & Sci-Fi Female Leads It’s fair to say female leads have come a LONG way in the past 15-20 years. This is never more obvious in fantasy and sci-fi. From romantasy to sci-fi – and everything in between – these female leads exemplify sacrifice, bravery, skill and fierce independence. As a huge fan of both fantasy and sci-fi, I thought I’d put 6 of my fave modern protagonists from these genres under the microscope. Ready? Let’s go … 1) Bella Swann, The Twilight Saga A fish out of water when she stays with her father Charlie in… Read More »6 Fantasy & Sci-Fi Female Leads Who Made Their Mark On Storytelling

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