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10 Awesome Young Female Characters Recommended By My Kid

All About Young Characters Young characters are hard to write … Yet writers frequently under-research young people when it comes to characterisation. As I was a teen mum, I’ve been a parent for over half of my life now. It is often very clear to me which writers hang out with youngsters and which do not. As with all authentic characterisation, we need to do our research or get found out. If we want to write young characters, then it pays to find out what young people are actually interested in!! This might seem obvious – and it is! –… Read More »10 Awesome Young Female Characters Recommended By My Kid

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Female Leads Through The Ages: Top 10 Must-See Characters

On Female Leads The roles of women have changed dramatically throughout history, so female leads are no different. How does our evolution mirror that in the media? Here’s 10 must see television shows and movies to show female leads’ growth in the media. 1) Wizard of Oz, Dorothy Gale (1939) We love Dorothy for her path of loving where she is, in the moment. Apparently Judy Garland was not even first choice for this iconic role, but she really made it her own. I cannot imagine anyone else playing the lead in the 1939 movie. 2) Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Holly (1961) No… Read More »Female Leads Through The Ages: Top 10 Must-See Characters

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4 Controversial Writing ‘Debates’ To Avoid This Year

All About Writing Debates I love writing debates online. They can act as really effective ‘water cooler moments’ for writers, especially whilst we are all working from home. Writing is our passion, so it makes sense we have strong opinions. Yet some writing debates are more valuable than others. Some are not only repetitive, they can mark you out as an amateur if you don’t stop to consider the facts over your feelings. When so much of writing success can depend on how we present ourselves (including online), then this can be a serious own goal. So here’s 4 controversial… Read More »4 Controversial Writing ‘Debates’ To Avoid This Year

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B2W’s Top 20 Tips In 2020

Goodbye 2020 2020 is almost over … and thank goodness for that! I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that for most of us, 2020 has been a terrible year on a personal level. Creating our writing against a backdrop of anxiety, grief, isolation, trauma and anger as well as practical concerns like day jobs, unemployment, homeschooling/ caring and much more has been a real struggle. That said, 2020 has been a steep learning curve for many of us too. B2W is no exception. I reassessed and re-evaluated my goals and strategies. I also learned new technology and methods… Read More »B2W’s Top 20 Tips In 2020

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What Writers Can Learn From 5 Unusual Male Characters

On Male Characters When I say ‘name an unusual male character’, who do you think of? Whilst it’s true male characters tend to have more variety as standard, it’s still very easy to fall into expected tropes and characteristics. ‘The usual’ as we know is BORING! Since B2W is always banging on about going against the grain, here’s 5 unusual male characters we can learn from. Ready? Let’s go … 1) Detective Loki, Prisoners (2013) Why he’s unusual: Morally ambiguous Written by Aaron Guzikowski and directed by Denis Villeneuve, Prisoners is an unusual beast … A vigilante story with a… Read More »What Writers Can Learn From 5 Unusual Male Characters

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Yes, Male Writers CAN Write Fantastic Female Characters

Not ALL Male Writers It’s true, male writers can get a bum rap when writing about female characters. As the headline of this article suggests, OF COURSE male writers can write great female characters. In fact, some of my all-time favourites have literally been written by male writers!!! From my time as a script reader, I’d venture there’s no correlation between gender and talent of writers. This obviously means there will be GREAT writers who happen to be female … But it ALSO means a female writer will not automatically write a great female character too. No one knows where talent comes… Read More »Yes, Male Writers CAN Write Fantastic Female Characters

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3 Quick Tips On Writing Diverse Characters

Want To Write Great Diverse Characters? Every day I hear from Bang2writers who want to write great female leads, characters of colour, or characters from the LGBT and disabled communities … but they’re scared of ‘getting it wrong’. If this is you as well, I have great news. It’s possible to write great diverse characters AND avoid the mistakes that worry you in advance. So let’s skip the fluff and go straight to those actionable quick tips that you can implement immediately. Quick Tip # 1: Avoid those ‘samey’ stories for diverse characters When writers want to attempt a diverse… Read More »3 Quick Tips On Writing Diverse Characters

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6 Top Tips On Writing Characters of Colour

Writing Characters of Colour Lots of white Bang2writers say they want to write characters of colour, but are afraid of ‘getting it wrong’. So I am delighted to welcome eight talented black screenwriters to the site today to share their top writing tips. The writers below all appear in the curated list Highly Recommended Scripts by Black Screenwriters, curated by @avishaiw. If you are a producer or filmmaker, make sure you check the list out! If you are not, please pass it on by sharing it via your profiles and pages. Thanks! 1) ‘Be open to others’ thoughts’ ‘My best tip:… Read More »6 Top Tips On Writing Characters of Colour

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Dorothy Koomson: ‘No one Is Being Censored or Stopped From Writing’

About Dorothy Koomson Dorothy Koomson is a British novelist who has been described as “Britain’s biggest selling black author of adult fiction”. She’s also the writer of a whopping sixteen books! CHECK OUT HER WEBSITE. I think I’ve read a good chunk of Dorothy’s books (my faves are The Ice Cream Girls and The Brighton Mermaid). I was thrilled when she agreed to chat to B2W about writing. Check out her top tips for writers! 1) Emotion is key Dorothy calls her books ‘emotional thrillers’. The crime is secondary – it’s more about HOW the crime affects the characters. ‘So many whodunnits… Read More »Dorothy Koomson: ‘No one Is Being Censored or Stopped From Writing’

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No, Diverse Characters DON’T Have To Drive The Plot

Diversity Drive Calm down Doris I have not lost the plot! The drive for more diversity (*cough* variety) in all stories is still very much part of this website. Obviously B2W would never advocate ‘ignoring’ the politics of characterisation. It’s literally this blog’s remit … I wrote an entire book about this subject, FFS!  So, what am I banging on about? Well, there’s a common misconception writers have about diversity in storytelling … They think diverse characters can ONLY exist for **plot reasons**. I’m here to say NOPE. Here’s why.  A Quick History Lesson Not so long ago, diverse characters… Read More »No, Diverse Characters DON’T Have To Drive The Plot

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Top 10 Badass Female Antiheroes You Need To Know

All About Antiheroes Lots of writers believe antiheroes ‘have’ to be protagonists, but this is not the case. Antiheroes are defined in the dictionary as the following … A central character in a story, film, or drama who lacks conventional heroic attributes, eg. “with the age of the antihero, baddies and goodies became less distinguishable from one another”. Myself, I love an enigmatic female lead!! With all this in mind then, I am going to look at some badass female antiheroes, plus what writers can learn from them. Ready? Let’s go! 1) Aunt Lydia, The Handmaid’s Tale Aunt Lydia in The… Read More »Top 10 Badass Female Antiheroes You Need To Know

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Why Theme In FRIENDS Is Better Than You Think

Theme in Friends It’s fair to say the internet erupted with news of a Friends reunion, recently. I’ve written about Friends a fair amount this year on this blog, so thought I would return to the show, with reference to theme. Theme refers to ‘an idea that recurs in or pervades a work of art or literature.’ Friends is about a bunch of young friends, all getting through life and love, dealing with whatever it throws at them. Being a sitcom, it’s about dysfunctional family too. Le duh. However, with theme we make our OWN meaning too. How each individual audience… Read More »Why Theme In FRIENDS Is Better Than You Think

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