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10 Tips On Being A Productive Writer

How To Get Productive Do you struggle with being productive? There’s an old saying I took to heart at a very young age, “If you want something doing, ask a busy person”. As a result I’m perpetually busy, but crucially I also get things done as well. I never thought this was weird or unusual, until I became an adult, as others kept remarking on it. A common declaration is that I must be able to somehow “bend or stretch time” to get so much in!! So, here are my tips to get the most out of your time so you can… Read More »10 Tips On Being A Productive Writer

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Starting NOW: Lizzie’s Diary, on Twitter & Facebook

So … in case you’ve been hiding under a rock or visiting Outer Space in the last few weeks, you’ll know I have a novel out, called THE DECISION: LIZZIE’S STORY, which was published yesterday and is now available on Amazon. It’s the first in The Decision Book Series, in which a female protagonist is faced with a dilemma and ALL its possible consequences. The second in the series, JASMINE’S STORY will be out later in the year. In LIZZIE’S STORY, teenager Lizzie will have to deal with an unexpected pregnancy and will live through ALL its potential outcomes in… Read More »Starting NOW: Lizzie’s Diary, on Twitter & Facebook

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6 Ways To Make Hollywood Fall In Love With Your Pitch

Pitching is just like being the nervous suitor asking for a date. Is she or he going to like you? Do you have an exciting or intriguing personality? Do you have passion? This is where initial appearances do matter. Here are 6 ways to make sure you go home with them at the end of the evening. 1. Google, Facebook and IMDB them. i.e. Do your research. How promiscuous are they? How many projects have they done and what genres do they like? Pitching horror to someone who does comedy is a sure way to go home alone. 2. Don’t… Read More »6 Ways To Make Hollywood Fall In Love With Your Pitch

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5 Ways To Fall In Love With Your Character

Many thanks to novelist Mya Kay, who provides us with our second Bang On post on the theme of “Love”. Mya offers up some GREAT writing exercises for those of us who need to get to know our characters better and I ESPECIALLY like number 5, which I’d never heard of before. Thanks Mya! Enjoy, Bang2writers and make sure you check out Mya’s links at the end of this post … Often, writers find themselves caught between a love/hate relationship with their characters. A month later, they’re abandoning their story, without even realizing that it’s not their characters that may… Read More »5 Ways To Fall In Love With Your Character

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7 Dark Loves Of Cinema

Many thanks to Bang2writer Ian Martin, who has provided our first Bang On Themed Guest Post on the topic of “Love”! As I’m always going on about unusual characters and scenarios, Ian’s sharing his thoughts on those love stories with a difference from his favourite films (also, make sure you check out Ian’s thought provoking questions at the end of each one to ask of YOUR stories).  Enjoy peeps! (Want to write a guest post for our “Bang On” series? Check out the details). “He kill them wi’ their love. Wi’ their love fo’ each other. That’s how it is,… Read More »7 Dark Loves Of Cinema

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6 Reasons To Follow The Decision

So I’ve written a lot online about teen pregnancy (especially on Twitter, via #teenpreg & #FeminismIsForTeenMomsToo), as well as  my prochoice novel, THE DECISION: LIZZIE’S STORY, not to mention my own experience of becoming a mother as a teenager. Lizzie’s Story is out this year sometime in English, having been published in the German Language last year … And she’s a character that just won’t stay confined to the pages of the novel, ‘cos she’s JUMPED OUT and got her own Facebook page and Twitter account! Follow her here, as LizziesDecision, tweeting about the ins and outs of #prochoice matters,… Read More »6 Reasons To Follow The Decision

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7 Ways To Name Your Characters

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet.”  Names. They’re important. They’re not important. It depends. For me, names are important. I spent a long time choosing my children’s. I had various reasons for this and the names I chose (and I did choose them all; my Husband had power of veto, but we came to the agreement I carried the babies, so I named them. And no, don’t feel sorry for him – he suggested this!). Ultimately, I wanted a name for each of the children with a meaning… Read More »7 Ways To Name Your Characters

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5 Top Tips On Visuals For Your Novel From Hollywood Blockbusters

I love RJ’s ideas here, especially the notion of a “mental back pocket” and using “ordinary” places and experiences to evoke EXTRAORDINARY detail in your novel! Nice on RJ … Enjoy! What makes the pages of an action thriller turn into a treat for the mind’s eye? It is a question that has a one word answer: visualisation. My name is RJ Mitchell and I am the author of a Glaswegian crime thriller series which has just seen its third novel “The Longest Shadow”, published on November 21, by Fledgling Press of Edinburgh. I am an ex-cop from Glasgow and my… Read More »5 Top Tips On Visuals For Your Novel From Hollywood Blockbusters

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9 Ways To Celebrate The Progress Of Female Characters, Writers & Makers

Great news, Bang2writers: I think we can safely say 2013 was a good year for female characters. Why? Well check this out:  And this: Aaaaaaand this:  [If you want to read more, click on the pics.] The three movies above were not the only big budget fare this year to feature unusual female characters; THE WOLVERINE featured not just one, but TWO Women of Colour in prominent roles; PACIFIC RIM also featured a WoC in a prominent role: Mako Mori, who was widely praised for her representation by feminist commentators. In addition, there has been a veritable EXPLOSION of commentary about… Read More »9 Ways To Celebrate The Progress Of Female Characters, Writers & Makers

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Is “Good” Characterisation Really About Change?

Characters SHOULD change? At first glance, it would seem the answer to this question about character change is obvious. It’s oft said so-called “good” characterisation is about change by writing Gurus, script readers, editors and educators. It’s said that a character – usually the protagonist – must make a personal realisation or change something physical (or indeed, both), whilst DOING something else (usually the situation apparent). What’s more, the notion of  “arc” and “character development” is drummed  into writers of ALL descriptions, but especially screenwriters. Since the advent of transmedia and convergence of all the mediums then, it makes sense that novelists… Read More »Is “Good” Characterisation Really About Change?

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10 Ways To Kill Your Writing Career DEAD (And 3 Great Clues To Improving Your Chances)

This week I’m turning over the blog to narrative structure goddess Linda Aronson for some tough love  … She’s definitely given me a run for my money in the “smack talk” stakes! Thanks Linda 😉 1.    Impersonate what you think is “writerly” behaviour. I was once in an elevator at a very prestigious film school with some students. They were unaware who I was, and quite unselfconsciously they started to discuss their major graduation piece, a short film, due very shortly.  None of them had properly started it. One had an aunt who, he claimed, was quite a funny character… Read More »10 Ways To Kill Your Writing Career DEAD (And 3 Great Clues To Improving Your Chances)

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Heroes, Villains & Disposable Men (AKA 5 Reasons Male Characterisation Needs An Overhaul Too)

On Male Characterisation It’s not fashionable or cool to talk about male characterisation … but then when Bang2write started, it wasn’t cool to talk female protagonists either. Look what’s happened since!!! Critique of any kind is very important in challenging the status quo. However we are SO focused on female characters I fear we are in danger of two things … i) Putting undue pressures and expectations on individual films, characters and their makers/writers Commentators love to wax lyrical about supposed “empowerment”. Yet a single work cannot stand for ALL women or undo decades of BS. As I’m fond of saying,… Read More »Heroes, Villains & Disposable Men (AKA 5 Reasons Male Characterisation Needs An Overhaul Too)

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