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The Screenwriter’s Career Guide

3 Absurd Screenwriting Myths To Forget Right Now

Writing Myths Myths are everywhere in screenwriting, but it’s real success that attracts you. First, you watch GET OUT. Then, you watch the Academy Awards 2018 to see GET OUT winning its Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. And you think: ” I’ll become the next big shot Hollywood screenwriter! After all, I write screenplays, don’t I?” Yes, you do. You know all the screenwriting techniques; you understand that a stellar script is the result of hard work; plus you’ve read all the books like Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat! and you know a hero’s journey inside out. And yet, your Oscar… Read More »3 Absurd Screenwriting Myths To Forget Right Now

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The Truth About Success: 30 Top Creatives Who Broke In Late

It’s Never Too Late I get SOS messages, tweets and emails from writers all the time, but what they frequently boil down to is, ‘I worry it’s TOO LATE for me!’ NEWSFLASH – it is never too late. Now, I don’t want to put a downer on proceedings, but the facts are,  any one of us could die at literally any moment. So really, it doesn’t matter if you’re 19 or 90! We probably won’t die though, so in which case USE YOUR TIME WISELY. This means, if you want to be a writer?? EFFING WRITE. Go for it. Why wouldn’t… Read More »The Truth About Success: 30 Top Creatives Who Broke In Late

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8 Tips To Become A More Productive Writer

How To Become A More Productive Writer Lots of you out there want to become more productive …  I know this, because one of the top questions I get from Bang2writers is, “How do I find TIME to write?” My answer: you have to MAKE TIME! Yeah, I get it. There’s never enough time – especially if you have a day job, or a family. This is why you need to come up with a strategy, plus writing goals, if you want to progress. This isn’t to say you have to STICK doggedly to those goals – if you find… Read More »8 Tips To Become A More Productive Writer

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On Writing: Why Planning Beats Seat-Of-Your-Pants Every Time

I’ve worked with a lot of writers Most of them hate planning. Most of them want to dive head-long into a draft. They don’t want to think about target audience. OR to road test their concepts. They don’t want to write outlines, beat sheets or treatments. And they certainly don’t want to write novel pitches! But what if I told you that planning could not only help you avoid a world of pain … it could help you write a BETTER DRAFT?? Yup!!! Read on … I get it, I really do There’s something quite thrilling about writing by the… Read More »On Writing: Why Planning Beats Seat-Of-Your-Pants Every Time

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Why Writer Luck Is More Than Throwing Spaghetti At The Wall

Spaghetti Sticks … We’ve all heard the metaphor of writer luck being a case of throwing spaghetti at the wall. This makes sense, because the more spaghetti you cook up, the more you throw at the wall, the LIKELIHOOD of spaghetti sticking is increased. So, in other words, keep on keeping on. You’ve also probably heard of the notion, ‘The harder I work, the luckier I get’! But this doesn’t have to mean just randomly throwing spaghetti at that wall. There ARE things you can do to work smart, rather than hard, at getting that spaghetti to stick. Such as: 1)… Read More »Why Writer Luck Is More Than Throwing Spaghetti At The Wall

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On Writing “Rules”: 8 Things I Remember

On Writing ‘Rules’ One thing that never goes away is the mythical notion that there are writing ‘rules’. No … just NO! There’s no such thing as writing ‘rules’. All I (or anyone) can offer is what we’ve seen work. In return, we also have to remember there’s always going to be someone who does the exact opposite (and it’ll STILL work!!). But this got me thinking … what would MY top tips, pointers, advice (even writing ‘rules’! :P) be? So here’s a round-up of some of the insights and philosophies I’ve had rammed home to me (fnar) in my own career, time… Read More »On Writing “Rules”: 8 Things I Remember

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Writers, Make A Choice

I believe anything is possible. Yet some people do not. It’s perhaps one of the hardest and surprising lessons I learned as a young adult. I didn’t understand why these people would resist. If they JUST TRIED to see it my way, they would be so much HAPPIER, surely?? Besides anything, can’t they SEE THE EVIDENCE: I didn’t have auspicious beginnings, yet I say we can – and I have!! MORE: I Am Not A Lucky Person BUT: “It’s different for you” How I hate these four words. Let me cite the ways it was NOT different for me, how… Read More »Writers, Make A Choice

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Top 5 Tips For The Long Distance Screenwriter

As a Devon dweller, I can SO relate to Liam’s points here – but as I always say, you DON’T have to live in London to make a screenwriting career in the UK, so here’s his top 5 tips for the long distance screenwriter! Enjoy … I live in a part of rural Ireland where life is less like The Quiet Man and more like Deliverance. Here, writing isn’t a particularly celebrated profession; tell locals you’re a writer and you’re apt to get cock-eyed looks before they resume advising you about how to slope your slurry floor. Writers breaking in… Read More »Top 5 Tips For The Long Distance Screenwriter

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7 Things You Must Stop Doing If You Want To Be A Professional Writer

Want to be a professional writer? One of the most-hit searches leading to this blog is ‘how to become a professional writer’. So good news – you’re here! I can definitely help advise you on this. But this is the thing. You’re doing all the classes … You’re reading all the sites and trades … You can even pitch and network like a pro … but there’s one problem. You’re not thinking like a professional writer. That’s the bad news. The good news: you can start, TODAY!! Here’s what you’ve got to stop doing, NOW … 1) Stop sweating the… Read More »7 Things You Must Stop Doing If You Want To Be A Professional Writer

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10 Ways To Kill Your Writing Career DEAD (And 3 Great Clues To Improving Your Chances)

This week I’m turning over the blog to narrative structure goddess Linda Aronson for some tough love  … She’s definitely given me a run for my money in the “smack talk” stakes! Thanks Linda 😉 1.    Impersonate what you think is “writerly” behaviour. I was once in an elevator at a very prestigious film school with some students. They were unaware who I was, and quite unselfconsciously they started to discuss their major graduation piece, a short film, due very shortly.  None of them had properly started it. One had an aunt who, he claimed, was quite a funny character… Read More »10 Ways To Kill Your Writing Career DEAD (And 3 Great Clues To Improving Your Chances)

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4 Reasons Your Concept Counts Above All Else

I see a lot of spec screenplays and novels with concepts that “misfire”. There can be hundreds of reasons for these misfires, but generally speaking ends up one of these: i) There’s more than one story going on. This is a particular problem for spec screenplays, especially features, but it can adversely affect TV pilots and novels too. You see, even if you DO have various different story strands going on, they should generally relate back to that single central concept *in some way*, even if it’s just thematically. If you start introducing story strands willy-nilly, the reader is just… Read More »4 Reasons Your Concept Counts Above All Else

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3 Reasons To Write A Low Budget Marketable Screenplay

Many thanks to Simon Meacock, who asks: “Is it best to concentrate on writing a KICK ASS screenplay and use it as a calling card for other work as well as it having a (slim) chance of getting optioned? And should the screenplay be a very marketable low budget feature or should I go for broke and just write a screenplay from the heart with no regard of budgets?” First up, two things: Naturally, you should always aim for KICK ASS when writing *anything* – the writing world has enough vanilla spec screenplays. The only way forward is by writing… Read More »3 Reasons To Write A Low Budget Marketable Screenplay

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