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The 10 Most Iconic Teachers in Movies, TV and Literature

Iconic Teachers In media, teachers are often relegated to secondary character status. They may appear onstage to inspire their students, drop a pearl of wisdom, and disappear from whence they came. And while this can be an accurate of the fleeting presence of teachers in our own lives, it doesn’t do justice to the impact a good (or bad!) teacher can have on us. With that in mind, I wanted to pay homage to the most iconic teachers from movies, TV, and literature in true Bang2Write fashion. Consider this a star-studded teacher’s lounge, featuring some of the most memorable mentor… Read More »The 10 Most Iconic Teachers in Movies, TV and Literature

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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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Hey Writers: Stop Being Your Own Worst Enemy. Here’s How

Are you your own worst enemy? If you suspect you might be your own worst enemy as a writer, this one is for you. There’s so much self-sabotaging behaviour out there (especially online, but also IRL – in real life – too). I thought I would pull together some DOs/DONT’s on how to avoid being your own worst enemy. Do you spot any you are doing right now, or perhaps in the past? Let’s go … 1) Set concrete goals … I saw a mug once that read, ‘A goal without a plan is just a wish’. Whilst cheesy, it’s true. If… Read More »Hey Writers: Stop Being Your Own Worst Enemy. Here’s How

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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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It’s Never ONLY About The Story In Screenwriting – And That’s A GOOD Thing

‘It should ONLY be about the story!’ I often talk to writers about the commercial aspects of screenwriting. As someone who has seen lots of deals happen, I know that money talks. The industry is NOT a patron of the arts. It follows the $$$ because it’s ‘show BUSINESS’ after all. This means … Remakes and reboots are here to stay Great TV shows get cancelled if they don’t get enough views in the first few weeks (yes, really!) Why badly-written movies may still earn stacks Or why indie productions can sink without a trace if they don’t have enough… Read More »It’s Never ONLY About The Story In Screenwriting – And That’s A GOOD Thing

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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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The Witcher: 7 Important Lessons In Adaptation

The Witcher On Netflix  The Witcher is an epic fantasy adventure filled with magic, monsters, and romance. It is based on books written by the Polish author Andrzej Sapkowskiare, as well as a video game series. It’s an excellent example of how to adapt an original source. Here are 7 adaptation lessons from The Witcher … Enjoy! (SPOILER ALERT – If you have not watched or read the books, be aware there may be some in this post). LESSON #1: Add more PoVs to Make It More Interesting Geralt of Rivia is the main character of The Witcher, both in… Read More »The Witcher: 7 Important Lessons In Adaptation

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How Do I Know When It’s Time To Let Go Of A Draft?

If You Love Something, Let It Go  When should we let go of a draft? Well, like so many writing-related things, this can be a real ‘piece of string’ question. That said, there are some best practices to consider that will help you know when to let go. Ready? Let’s go …  1) Have THE GUTS To Finish!  To often, writers can’t let go of drafts. They will tinker with them endlessly, making submissions alongside these endless edits. This frequently leads to them trying to make multiple resubmissions. This is a bad idea, because industry pros want to see fresh… Read More »How Do I Know When It’s Time To Let Go Of A Draft?

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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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VENOM and SAVING MR BANK’s Kelly Marcel: ‘So much of writing is luck’

All About Kelly Marcel Kelly Marcel is a British screenwriter and producer. She co-wrote one of my favourite dramas Saving Mr Banks (eagle-eyed Bangers will remember it is a case study in my Writing & Selling Drama Screenplays book!). She also received a BAFTA nomination for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer for it. In addition, Kelly is the screenwriter of Fifty Shades of Grey, Venom, Venom 2: Let There Be Carnage, plus she created and was exec producer on TV series Terra Nova. A fabulously eclectic mix there! But how does a writer who started her working life in a video… Read More »VENOM and SAVING MR BANK’s Kelly Marcel: ‘So much of writing is luck’

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