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6 Weird Ways To Approach Your Writing

Every writer has his or her own obstacles that impair their work. The common word used to describe this miserable feeling is the author’s block. In most cases, this springs from the author’s state of mind. If you don’t feel well, you can’t write well. Writing is not about finding the right words. It’s all about dealing with your emotions and desires. If you’re stuck at your last chapter and can’t get that novel done, here’s a helping hand. Check out these 6 (weird) ways to approach your writing: 1.    Don’t Stay in One Place Changing the location might help… Read More »6 Weird Ways To Approach Your Writing

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15 Reasons Your Story Sucks

Your Story Sucks Look, I’m not saying your spec screenplay or unpublished novel SUCKS but if you’re consistently getting … rejected ‘It’s not bad but …’ radio silence Then sorry, but it PROBABLY DOES!!! But how do you know, for sure your story sucks?? Well, check out these reasons below and BE HONEST with yourself … Could you try harder on any of these, below??   1) Your concept is not clear enough Concept, premise, seed of the story … Do you know what yours IS? And can you actually describe what it is? Sounds mad, but a huuuuge proportion… Read More »15 Reasons Your Story Sucks

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Top 5 Mistakes Writers Make (And How To Avoid Them)

Continuing with my Top 5 Mistakes series, Mary’s jumped in for me today to share her thoughts on what NOT to do *as a writer overall*. She’s telling it like it is, so you better listen, Bang2writers … Enjoy! We all want to be the pinnacle of perfection, but reality has to kick in sometime. As a writer, you’ve made mistakes before and you’re going to make them again. This doesn’t make you a bad writer: it merely makes you human. But learning from our mistakes is what prevents us from repeating them, and being aware of what to look… Read More »Top 5 Mistakes Writers Make (And How To Avoid Them)

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Top 10 Killer Words That Make Readers Switch Off

When you’re reading all day, every day, for work AND for pleasure you tend to notice how *certain things* slip by (maybe?) unchallenged, even into produced and published works. So here’s B2W’s official top 10 of the words that MOST make me, “WTF??” when I see them, again and again and again … Enjoy! 1) Obviously This is a huge screenwriting no-no in scene description, but I see it pretty much every day, usually describing something we’re supposed to be seeing on screen that pertains to the plot in some way. I’ve noticed too this has started to slip into… Read More »Top 10 Killer Words That Make Readers Switch Off

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6 Ways Writing Flash Fiction Will Help Your Craft

As any Bang2writer knows, I LOVE short stories (aka “flash fiction”, dependant on word count), which is why I threw my hat in the ring over at www.create50.com for its “Twisted” initiative! (Read my short story for Vol 1- THE RETRIBUTION OF ELSIE BUCKLE, here. Plus you can also check out my entry for Vol 2, SUPER NITS). So Gay Degani has some GREAT advice if you’d like to join me over at @Create50 – or indeed enter any other short story contest … Lawks knows there’s PLENTY OF THEM! You can get a free PDF of 25 of my… Read More »6 Ways Writing Flash Fiction Will Help Your Craft

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Writing Adages Explained: ‘Hit The Ground Running’

Remember, we live in a visual and demanding age. Audiences are more media literate than they’ve EVER been and readers are more sophisticated. They simply will not wait for a story to start. But what does this mean? Well, every writer – novelist or screenwriter – HAS to hit the ground running. In other words, character AND story has to be introduced hand-in-hand. If your draft smells of set up as I call it – ie: “HERE are my characters, I am introducing you to them … and five pages in, the story begins!!” – we don’t like it. So if… Read More »Writing Adages Explained: ‘Hit The Ground Running’

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5 Reasons To Write **Where** You Know

Everyone’s familiar with the writing adage “Write WHAT You Know”, but not everyone thinks about how WHERE they know can help their writing, too. So when Richard suggested looking at storyworld in this way, I jumped at the chance for a guest post … Over to you, Richard! Reason Number 1: The setting is your story’s principal supporting character Traditional writing wisdom says writers should write **what** they know. ‘What’ you know informs the storyline of what you write. But that maxim overlooks the fact that the action (and the inaction) of any story occurs in a setting. That setting often… Read More »5 Reasons To Write **Where** You Know

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A Look In The Spec Pile: 12 #Twisted50 Thoughts

So, the first round of Create50’s Twisted: 50 Vol 1 reading is done and judging is well underway … I read approximately 120 stories of the 500 (approx) that were submitted to Twisted:50 initiative, so here are some thoughts from reading them: 1) The Boring Stuff First up, the boring stuff like punctuation, grammar, spelling etc: I’m happy to report this was mostly very good. There were some obvious typos here and there, plus a couple of the Non-native english speaking writer made classic errors this ex-TEFL teacher spotted. But overall, I saw very few stories that were absolute shockers on… Read More »A Look In The Spec Pile: 12 #Twisted50 Thoughts

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6 Things To Remember When Dealing With Writing Feedback

If you’re involved in Create50 (if not, WHY NOT?? It’s a great opportunity!), then you will know the cornerstone of the initiative is giving others feedback on their entries for @Londonswf‘s second crowd-sourced feature film The Impact, as well its first volume of short stories, Twisted. However, giving good feedback is not only an artform in itself, so is RECEIVING IT. With this in mind, I composed a list of 6 reminders for all writers, whether they’re dishing it, getting it or BOTH: 1) You are the authority on your own work This is the key element of dealing with ANY feedback,… Read More »6 Things To Remember When Dealing With Writing Feedback

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Top 10 Writing Misconceptions

Whenever anyone asks what I do and I reply, “I’m a writer” and/or “I’m a script editor“, they’ll reply, “Wow! How interesting.” My reaction to this is always an indulgent, “Awwwwwwwww …” because as anyone knows, there’s a STACK of misconceptions laypeople (and indeed other writers!) have about writing in general. Here’s just ten of them … Enjoy! 1) Writers love writing Hahahaha. No. And Yes. And NO NO NO NO … just no. I hate writing SO MUCH. Except when I don’t and it’s awesome. MORE: 7 Writing Reminders 2) Writing is all about talent Some of us are uber-talented.… Read More »Top 10 Writing Misconceptions

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10 Common Errors In Your Writing You Need To Fix Right Now

Common Writing Errors When it comes to common writing errors, there are PLENTY doing the rounds in the spec pile. Rightly or wrongly, this is how ‘professional writing’ is perceived … Professional formatting + Professional layout + Professional grammar, spelling & punctuation = Professional writing. It’s not rocket science. Look, the odd mistake or typo will always slip through. NO reader, agent, producer or assistant worth their salt will ever care about that. What we’re talking about are the CONSISTENT CLANGERS that can get you marked down, or worse, thrown in the dreaded OUT tray! So here’s a list of those… Read More »10 Common Errors In Your Writing You Need To Fix Right Now

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Top 10 (Normal) Struggles When Writing A Novel

1) Title dilemmas Like every author on the planet, I’ve spent endless hours mulling over title options for my work. One strives, of course, to be both memorable and honestly descriptive of the content. But then, by and large, a great title is an art form unto itself and a great title does not necessarily signify a great book. MORE: More About Titles 2) Deleeeeeeeete!!!! This may seem insane but I normally know whether or not I am on to something good only after being 100 pages into a story. I’m willing to bet some you go much farther?? MORE: WHY… Read More »Top 10 (Normal) Struggles When Writing A Novel

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