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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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10 Important DON’Ts You Must Think About When Writing Your Story

Important DON’Ts Storytelling is much harder than it looks, so I have composed a list of DON’Ts to think about when writing your story. If you find this post useful, please pass it on to your writer friends and followers. Ready? Let’s go … 1) DON’T: Start Too Early If you begin too early in your story, you end up with a ‘top-heavy’ draft. This is no good, because modern readers and viewers do NOT want to wait for your story to start. But how do we avoid starting too early? Well, think about beginning with some kind of EVENT… Read More »10 Important DON’Ts You Must Think About When Writing Your Story

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3 Steps To Writing, Editing & Submitting Your Novel

Writing, Editing AND Submitting (Or Self-Publishing!) Your Novel  B2W is best known for its screenwriting advice, but being a novelist and author myself, I also love to write and read about the art of novel writing, too. So, with lots of you Bang2writers out there resolving to write a novel then, here’s my top tips on getting yours written, edited AND out there! Enjoy … 1) Writing Your Novel DYK? Writing a novel is HARD! Le duh. The good news is, there’s a plethora of help online to get us through the process. Here’s some popular B2W articles with the… Read More »3 Steps To Writing, Editing & Submitting Your Novel

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5 Examples of Story Structure You Should Know About

All About Story Structure Whether you’re writing a novel or screenplay, story structure matters. Building a story structure is like crafting a backbone for your narrative. It helps the audience understand the timeline and meaning of each event, keeping them engaged until the very end. All too often writers focus solely on describing their characters rather than the story’s overall architecture. This has a knock-on effect and an under-developed story structure can literally ruin your characterisation. The truth is that plot building is just as important, if not more, than the protagonist’s quirks and conflicts. So you’ll need to become… Read More »5 Examples of Story Structure You Should Know About

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How HOME ALONE Nails Set Up / Pay Off And How You Can Too

All About Home Alone (1990) The original Home Alone is a stone-cold classic. I was a child when it first came out and as the member of a gigantic, dysfunctional family myself I loved it right from the off. It launched Macaulay Culkin’s career as probably the biggest child star in the world back then. Though his career didn’t have the kind of longevity most of us expected, Kieran Culkin (Fuller McCallister) has proved his acting chops ever since. Combining cartoon-like Tom & Jerry style violence with a Christmas story about a kid fighting off burglars seems an unlikely pairing.… Read More »How HOME ALONE Nails Set Up / Pay Off And How You Can Too

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That’s How It Works: Bob Saenz Offers His Top 8 Screenwriting Tips

All About Bob Bob Saenz is an actor and writer, known for Extracurricular Activities (2019), The Right Girl (2015) and Help For The Holidays (2012). He’s also known for being a legend in online screenwriting groups. After offering his own brand of ‘smack talk’ for new and seasoned writers online, he wrote a fantastic book: That’s Not The Way It Works: A No Nonsense Look At The Craft & Business of Screenwriting. I recommend it to Bang2writers all the time! I was thrilled to jump on a Zoom call with Bob and pump his delicious brain for his top writing… Read More »That’s How It Works: Bob Saenz Offers His Top 8 Screenwriting Tips

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10 Excruciating Mistakes Even Experienced Writers Make

Excruciating Mistakes So, you’ve been writing a while but there are still some excruciating mistakes you might make that could trip you up … Why ‘excruciating’? Because they’re SO EASY to avoid! 1) Weak Beginning First up, an obvious excruciating mistake … You need to START as you mean to go on! First impressions really count. If you’re a screenwriter, you may know you only have 10 pages maximum to pique a reader’s interest … What you may not know is you need to grab them from page 1, FIRST! This means you need a great opening image. Check out… Read More »10 Excruciating Mistakes Even Experienced Writers Make

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5 Things You Must Do To Level Up As A Writer

How To Level Up  You must always be ready to level up your game as a writer. No one can write an acceptable screenplay or novel without learning the craft. You must write and be as professional as you possibly can … but how?? Check out these five tips. Go! 1) Pay Attention To Formatting Formatting must become second nature to you. So, go get some screenwriting software. If you are serious splash out and buy Final Draft, which is the industry standard. This will take out a lot of the pain of formatting, but not all. Get some books… Read More »5 Things You Must Do To Level Up As A Writer

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10 Simple Steps For Revising Your Draft

So, You’ve Finished Your Draft! Congratulations, but you still have work to do: revising it!! But where to start?? If you are feeling overwhelmed, then check out these 10 revision pointers for novels or screenplays. They can act as a handy checklist for revising your draft. Good luck … 1) Wait! First up, do NOTHING. That’s right … Just let that novel sit in a drawer or on your computer’s desktop. Do absolutely zilch with it, for a couple of days (minimum) or weeks (preferred) or months (maximum). Let your subconscious bubble away, revising any of your story’s problems as… Read More »10 Simple Steps For Revising Your Draft

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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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IN THE SPOTLIGHT: 10 Screenwriting Commandments From William Goldman

About William Goldman William Goldman was a novelist and screenwriter. If you’ve never heard of him, then where have you been?? His contribution to the creative arts is phenomenal. He was also a huge influence on B2W!! Goldman’s works include his thriller novel Marathon Man and his cult classic comedy/fantasy novel The Princess Bride, both of which he also adapted for the film versions. Goldman also won Oscars for his screenplays Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) and All the President’s Men (1976). He also did a brilliant job of illuminating the process for writers in his non fiction books… Read More »IN THE SPOTLIGHT: 10 Screenwriting Commandments From William Goldman

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NEWSFLASH: You Can Learn How To Plot Watching TV

How To Plot One of the questions I get asked most by writers is ‘How do I learn how to plot?’ It’s easy to understand why … If screenwriting is structure (and it is), then plot is all-important, no matter the genre or tone of your story. Authors are not exempt either. Whilst novels can get away with less plot than the average movie or TV show, the convergence between the mediums is very strong. Readers demand a considerable amount  more plot as standard, especially from genres and subgenres that get adapted a lot. This means horror, romance, comedy and… Read More »NEWSFLASH: You Can Learn How To Plot Watching TV

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