Skip to content

supernatural

What Are YOUR Writing Influences? Here’s 14 Of Mine

All About Influences We are not creating stories in a vacuum, so we all have writing influences. I also often say writers need to research ‘what’s gone before’ when it comes to … concept genre conventions character tropes plotting archetypes tones styles storyworlds Since B2W needs to practice what it preaches, I sit down at the beginning of EVERY project and do this too. The Coven Is Out Now Since The Coven is released NOW, I thought I would share 14 books, TV shows and movies that influenced me as I was writing. Some of these influences may be a… Read More »What Are YOUR Writing Influences? Here’s 14 Of Mine

Share this:

10 Quick Tips About Writing Horror

All About Writing Horror Loads of you Bang2writers are writing Horror, all year round. So when BAFTA-nommed Stephen Volk suggested a post on this subject, I jumped at the chance. Don’t forget to check out his book, too. Enjoy! 1) Get Your Brain Out of the Way Thinking doesn’t create monsters. Your unconscious does. Don’t think about recent movie hits. Don’t think of old movie legends. In fact, don’t think of anything. Cultivate a dream-time, a coffee-scape. Think of the worst that can happen. Don’t self-censor before you even dream. Go there and return with ideas. And trust them. 2) It’s All About… Read More »10 Quick Tips About Writing Horror

Share this:

How to Write Bloodcurdling Horror: Your Halloween Starter Kit

Happy Halloween! Halloween is always a great time to start thinking about writing a Horror screenplay, novel or short story. It’s a date on the calendar that never changes, plus Horror is always in demand around this time. So Halloween can act as a brilliant motivator for writing that Horror piece you’ve always meant to … Plus you can use the same date **next year** as your deadline. Perfect! So, without further ado, here’s a starter kit on all things Horror to get you going. Gooooooooood luck! 1) Learn From The Classics (AND The Clangers)! If you want to write… Read More »How to Write Bloodcurdling Horror: Your Halloween Starter Kit

Share this:

Top 5 Mistakes Writers Make With Low Budget Horror

Low budget horror has been all the rage for YEARS now. But don’t take my word for it  — I’ve drafted in an expert, Samantha Horley, an ex sales agent. Sam used to work at such companies as Salt and Summit Entertainment, so really knows her onions – she even helped make the commercial success that was The Blair Witch Project. Over to you, Sam! Low Budget Mistakes I get approached regularly by investors, sales companies and distributors, directors and producers, looking for low budget horror films. Some of them even  have that rare beast – the cash to fully… Read More »Top 5 Mistakes Writers Make With Low Budget Horror

Share this:

6 Things I Learned From Debbie Moon, Showrunner on WOLFBLOOD

The new year might seem like old news now, but there’s still a whole load of brand new writing opportunities for us to check out … Whether you’re planning on submitting your spec to an agent, or entering a few competitions –buckle up, read on and make some notes! Today, we’re lucky enough to have screenwriter and showrrunner Debbie Moon share her top 4 tips on how YOU can create a spec script that will stand out in any submission pile. Debbie is a television writer AND author, but she is also known as the creator and show-runner of the hit… Read More »6 Things I Learned From Debbie Moon, Showrunner on WOLFBLOOD

Share this:

How WONDER WOMAN Proves The Power Of Untold Stories

No Real Spoilers So the news and reviews and first weekend figures are in: Wonder Woman is an epic box office SMASH! This is great news not only for female lead characters, but female directors as well. Patty Jenkins has done a HUGE turn to female filmmakers everywhere. Whilst it’s obviously completely and utterly wrong that ONE film had so much to prove like this, that’s a conversation for another time. For now, I for one am delighted that Jenkins et al has pulled this off, against the odds. BRAVO! So now I’m going to take a look at the… Read More »How WONDER WOMAN Proves The Power Of Untold Stories

Share this:

Adaptation Showdown: which is better, the book or the film?

If you’ve been hiding under a rock or been away in outer space, you may have missed that last year I launched my own author site for my novel writing at www.lucyvhayauthor.com! I decided to combine my love of movies AND books and create a ‘Book Versus Film’ feature over there … So far we’ve had some BRILLIANT case studies and some surprising conclusions, written by moi and some other excellent contributors. If you want to read them, CLICK HERE. Don’t forget to follow me as @LucyVHayAuthor on Twitter for interviews with crime writers, reading recommendations and round ups of… Read More »Adaptation Showdown: which is better, the book or the film?

Share this:

Top 5 Diversity Mistakes Writers Make

Writing diverse characters isn’t just trendy, it’s becoming more and more necessary if you want your scripts to get read and commissioned. Nothing wrong with  heterosexual cisgendered white men – my very longterm partner is one and he’s just the best! – but there are a lot of other exciting stories to tell, and a lot of other compelling types of characters to create. The good news is, more and more writers are including more inclusivity in their scripts; the bad news is since this is new territory for many, there are a lot of common mistakes writers make that… Read More »Top 5 Diversity Mistakes Writers Make

Share this:

3 Things You Need To Know About Plot Holes

Whenever *anyone* discusses a movie or TV show online, it’s not long before someone in the thread laments apparent ‘plot holes’ in the narrative. But what IS a plot hole? This definition, from Wikipedia, is actually pretty good: In fiction, a plot hole, plothole or plot error is a gap or inconsistency in a storyline that goes against the flow of logic established by the story’s plot. Such inconsistencies include such things as illogical or impossible events, and statements or events that contradict earlier events in the storyline. This, from Urban Dictionary  is NOT good: Here’s what you need to… Read More »3 Things You Need To Know About Plot Holes

Share this:

Top 10 Words Or Phrases Storytellers Gave Us

Inventing Words Shakespeare was The Don when it came to inventing words and phrases, so we tend to think writers and filmmakers contribute to language a lot more than they do. It’s actually rather unusual for a writer or filmmaker’s words to get assimilated wholesale by popular culture, but here’s my top 10. Enjoy! 1) You do not talk about … An easy one to start. FIGHT CLUB (1999) is an iconic book and film, so whenever anyone says the phrase, “You do not talk about [whatever]” they’re usually invoking this particular scene from the movie. Over the last two… Read More »Top 10 Words Or Phrases Storytellers Gave Us

Share this:

20 Game-Changing Love Interests And Why They’re So Important

Love is a powerful motivator Most of us want to be loved, so I’ve found it a trifle bizarre just how much the love interest role function gets the boot in modern critique. Obviously no one wants cardboard cut out characters, but far from love interest characters automatically being two dimensional, we can often see they’re more nuanced than given credit for, or melded with other interesting role functions. Many thanks to my glam assistant Olivia aka @LivSFB for this GREAT round up and reminder that love interest characters CAN be great, as well as informing plot! Enjoy … It… Read More »20 Game-Changing Love Interests And Why They’re So Important

Share this:

10 Screenwriting Lessons From THE EXORCIST (Part 2)

It’s All Saints Day! But we’re still being spooookeee here at B2W Towers in celebration of Halloween weekend. If you didn’t catch the first part of David McClellan’s great 2-parter on what screenwriters can learn from 1973’s The Exorcist, then check it out HERE. Enjoy! 6) The Devil Well, technically the demon Pazuzu, though it is not stated at all in the film. The Exorcist goes straight to the top of the arch villain heap here and brings you the ultimate supernatural foil battling an aged priest over the body and soul of a twelve-year-old girl. The possession story has… Read More »10 Screenwriting Lessons From THE EXORCIST (Part 2)

Share this: