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The Edge

No, this isn’t a post about how close I am to the edge of sanity, though you’ll notice my flat has sold already, despite being on the market only three days so I suppose you could make an argument for it, especially as we now have approximately five minutes (really) to find a new place to live as well as a school for my son. Wow, that was a long sentence. Anyway. We’ve had all the posts about finding your voice, practice makes perfect, etc etc – but now, I’m thinking of those writers who have gone beyond the beginners’… Read More »The Edge

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Genre Crisis

Genre. Defined by screenwriters’ salvation Answers.com as “a category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, marked by a distinctive style, form or content.” The operative words here then? 1. Category. 2. Style. 3. Form. 4. Content. Category is pretty self-explanatory; it’s the label we afford the types of film that we write. Sci Fi (sorry Good Dog, SF); horror; comedy; romance; drama; thriller; supernatural and countless others. Then there are the genre hybrids – favourites being romantic-comedy, supernatural thriller/horror, horror-comedy. In addition, there are what I call “splinter genres”: examples include the slasher-pic (loner kills everyone, preferably in… Read More »Genre Crisis

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Back To The Drawing Board

It’s been a funny few days. A small monkey has been flushed down the toilet courtesy of Lilirose (don’t call the RSPCA folks, it was made of plastic); my husband and I had a row about Cheerios of all things (How? I don’t even know); my son has been offered a “cool ride home from school” in a Black Thunder (mind boggles) on wednesday next week courtesy of local radio station Gemini FM and I’m pretty sure I sent a rather amorous text message to one of the other Bloggers by accident yesterday. You know who you are. Soz about… Read More »Back To The Drawing Board

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Scriptwriting Courses

Many thanks to Steve May, Course Director on the MA Screenwriting and Producing for Film and TV at Westminster University who reminded me to re-post some particularly important articles from the old blog! Long term Bang2write Readers will remember my post on short scriptwriting courses and its follow-up on Scriptwriting degrees: there were some very interesting, albeit mixed responses. With another academic year on its way out then and September sneaking up on us like the crafty so-and-so it is, I thought now was the time to revisit my posts, update them, add to them and see if we could… Read More »Scriptwriting Courses

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25 Words or Less: The Debate

For those of you who don’t read the Shooting People List any more because of the amount of cyber whining that seems to go on, there’s a “debate” raging at the moment about whether it’s fair that the UK Film Council exclude non-repped writers from the 25 Words or Less Scheme. Oh, and yet another accusation has been levvied at Adrian Mead. I love Shooting People, it’s a fabulous resource, yet people are being put off posting – even their grammar and spelling is under scrutiny! This is crazy. Anyway, I waded in this morning: you know me, I can’t… Read More »25 Words or Less: The Debate

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Top Ten Unproduced Movies

So you’ve written a wicked spec script. It rocks. You are the wo/man. Everybody loves you. Hell, maybe you even have some critical acclaim on other “big” movies, perhaps an Oscar nomination or two. Maybe this spec’s even been bought! You’re well on your way to fame, fortune and becoming a household name… Right? Wrong. It would seem you can be the best spec writer in the world and still not get made. Several times over, even. Ouch. Read it and weep, my friends.

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Deus Ex Machinas

Two different people emailed me on Friday and asked me what a Deus Ex Machina was ‘cos apparently they’d both had feedback from course tutors saying they had one in their scripts and they were too embarrassed to say they hadn’t a fig what that tutor was talking about. Jinx or what! Now they are both under my power, *evil laugh*. However, because I am feeling charitable, before I make them dance down the street in their underwear, here is my article from the old blog* that I wrote last year. ——————————————————————————–I’ve said before that my lad is a chip… Read More »Deus Ex Machinas

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Grammar Revisited

Since there has been the second outing of the tri-annual scrap about grammar on Shooting People this week and since the lovely Lianne requested it, now seems an opportune time to revisit an article on grammar from the old blog. Enjoy.—————————————————————————— The two things I correct most in people’s drafts are grammar and spelling. That’s the nature of script reading as far as I’m concerned and I’m happy to do it (maybe I’m an anal retentive). However, in the past on various writing initiatives in particular (my private clients usually do not do this, thank goodness) I have had to… Read More »Grammar Revisited

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The Main Plot and The Sub Plot

I see a lot of scripts that are what I call, King Lear Drafts. King Lear drafts are screenplays with essentially two main plots: for those of you who have not read King Lear (shame on you!), we follow the fates of – unsurprisingly – a King called Lear whom is arrogant and proud and casts his good daughter Cordelia out of his kingdom for speaking her mind, keeping his evil daughters Goneril and Regan who plot to bring about his downfall. Pretty stern stuff one might think, but oh no: Shakespeare is a little worried perhaps we might not… Read More »The Main Plot and The Sub Plot

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Grammar – Again

Another debate on grammar is raging on the Screenwriters’ Bulletin of Shooting People. It’s funny, but it seems nothing like the machinations of the English Language get us writers talking more: there have been so many interesting, controversial and bizarre questions regarding actual screenwriting posed on that list, yet the average poster is lucky if they get two replies… Unless they post about grammar. Then the floodgates open: insults, accusations and assertions fly with abandon. It’s extraordinary. Regular Readers know that I’m a bit of a Grammarian. I think when you send your work out it should be the best… Read More »Grammar – Again

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Q & A: The Accidental Script Reader

If you’re wondering what I’m up to and I’m sure you are judging by the amount of emails I’ve had in the last week asking if I’m “still here” since I’ve “hardly written anything”, then I can assure you, my lovely bloggers that indeed I am. Just stressed. And ill, thanks to James Moran. No, we’re not having an affair, it’s his blasted Space Virus. Somehow he’s managed to transmit it over the radiowaves (or whatever the internet works on) and on to me. Cheers. Mate. The lovely Anya, whom I read for recently, emailed with a few questions about… Read More »Q & A: The Accidental Script Reader

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Directors etc Looking For Screenplays

If you want to find somewhere to send your unsolicited manuscripts, you could do worse than adding this blog Hollywood Screenplays to your favourites and/or links. Apparently it’s a re-launch of a website of the same name, only in blogform; Chris reliably informs us over on Robin’s blog he remembers a few success stories and “no horror stories”. Worth a try, anyway: gotta be in it to win it, no such thing as failure except not giving it a go, blah blah >INSERT CLICHE HERE

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