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25 Epic Years of JURASSIC PARK: What Can Writers Learn?

Jurassic Snark Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom came out last week to coincide with 25 years of the franchise. Needless to say, many official critics gave the new instalment a kicking, plus there was the inevitable cries on social media about it ‘not being as good’ as the original. But love or hate the new Jurassic Worlds, there’s plenty for us to learn as writers from the franchise. You ready for another instalment of Movie Lessons For Writers? OBVIOUSLY there will be *some* spoilers for the franchise as a whole,  but only mild ones. So let’s go … 1) Entertainment first, ALWAYS… Read More »25 Epic Years of JURASSIC PARK: What Can Writers Learn?

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5 Things I Learned From Roland Moore, Showrunner & Screenwriter

At Bang2write today, we have award-winning screenwriter Roland Moore share his top tips about his creative-process, how to pitch and why writing a shit first draft is a GOOD thing! With credits including Smack The Pony, Doctors, Peter Rabbit and the hit Chinese television show Noodle, Roland is also the creator and writer of the BBC1 period drama Land Girls. He has also written audio dramas for the Doctor Who and Survivors ranges. Roland is currently the head writer for Fremantle working on an international TV series, so if YOU plan on writing the next hit show then Roland’s the… Read More »5 Things I Learned From Roland Moore, Showrunner & Screenwriter

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What Even Feminists Get Wrong About Crime Fiction

The Staunch Prize Vs Crime Fiction Do you love crime fiction? Me too. You may have seen towards the end of last week that The Staunch book prize was launched. This prize will be awarded to “a novel in the thriller genre in which no woman is beaten, stalked, sexually exploited, raped or murdered”. As the prize’s founder Bridget Lawless (an ironic name, if I ever heard one!), screenwriter and founder of the prize, asserts … “I’m certainly not alone in getting increasingly fed up and disgusted with fictional depictions of violence happening to women in books, films and television. It echoes,… Read More »What Even Feminists Get Wrong About Crime Fiction

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The Art Of The Unspoken: Give Your Reader A Chance To Fill In The Rest

If you want your readers to NOT get bored with a stereotypical ending and/or to keep them hooked, then it is high time for you to learn about The Art of the Unspoken! This technique can be hard to grasp and utilise effectively at first, but it means you will give your readers chance to fill in the rest WITHOUT you needing to be ‘on the nose’ with it. These 7 tips will make your journey to creating the breathtaking mysterious atmosphere easier. Chew on these for size: 1) Pacing With a purpose to create a mystery you need to control… Read More »The Art Of The Unspoken: Give Your Reader A Chance To Fill In The Rest

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3 Important Tips About Theme And Story

1) Theme – A Definition Many thanks to Robert Maitland who asks: I’ve written a screenplay and I am struggling to define the theme. I thought I had understood what the theme/premise was, but on sending it to someone they disagreed. I was wondering if you could offer any advice? If we look up ‘theme’ in the dictionary, you’ll see key words from the definition in the graphic above: ‘subject‘, ‘topic’, ‘idea‘, ‘recurs’ and ‘pervade‘. In layman’s terms then, theme is what your story is ‘REALLY ABOUT’ at foundation level. 2) The Importance of Theme Some writers attach a lot… Read More »3 Important Tips About Theme And Story

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5 Epic Problems Nearly Every Writer Has When Drafting

Drafting is DIFFICULT As every writer knows, drafting is difficult. As a script reader and script editor I help writers with drafting … and have discovered over the years there are 5 issues just about EVERYONE struggles with. Yes, even pro writers!! Enjoy — and pass it on! 1) Overdoing symbolism/ theme Every writer has a ‘message’, because writing is in itself a communication. I’d argue all of us want to SAY something, or PROVE something. It’s an innate part of being a writer. I’d bet real actual money on it. However, that message (or whatever you want to call… Read More »5 Epic Problems Nearly Every Writer Has When Drafting

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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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How to Identify And Own Your Writer’s Voice

One thing Bang2writers always ask me about is ‘finding’ their writer’s voice – that way of communicating, that expression, that ‘thing’ that sets them apart from other writers. However, writer’s voice is notoriously hard to pin down, so when Daniela suggested an article on it, I was intrigued by her ideas … Enjoy! Right now, we’re going through a golden age of writing. There is just so much content that needs creating! This does have its own problem, however, because when people need something, a lot of others are going to stand up and say that they can do it!… Read More »How to Identify And Own Your Writer’s Voice

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5 Ways Of Bringing Real Life Into Storytelling

For our latest venture at Broken Leg Theatre, the company I co-direct with Anna Jefferson, we spoke to a huge variety of women all over the UK. From a group of midwives in London, to a group of elderly women in Leeds (the oldest of whom was 102!), their real-life stories and experiences formed the inspiration for our new play, Three Generations of Women, which tours next month. These discussions, and our interactive online platform, provided us with some confessional and deeply personal stories. The response was overwhelming, flattering, and very humbling. At the end of the research process, Anna… Read More »5 Ways Of Bringing Real Life Into Storytelling

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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

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5 Male Secondary Characters Who Teach The Protagonist

Characters Who Teach The Protagonist A good secondary (aka supporting) character HELPS or HINDERS their protagonist, so a lot of them teach to do this. The lesson may be good or terrible, but when they teach, it helps push the story forward. Writers frequently think the Mentor Role Function *just* means the literal version of this character, such as Morpheus  in THE MATRIX (1999). But the reality is, a Mentor character can be ANYTHING!! That means mentor characters (of ANY gender) must teach the protagonist some kind of lesson, literal or metaphorical (or both!). That’s IT. That’s their ultimate purpose… Read More »5 Male Secondary Characters Who Teach The Protagonist

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5 Key Questions To Help Edit Your Own Writing

As writers, it’s really hard not to get too close to your work. And it should be! If you’re not getting too close to it then there’s no blood going to it, either. But there are some things that we find it incredibly hard to spot in our own writing because in our heads all the work is done already. Sharing your work is absolutely essential. My writing group, Kites and Violence, has been running for nearly four years now and these are some of the notes that get given out time and time again (including to me!): 1) Are… Read More »5 Key Questions To Help Edit Your Own Writing

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