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HOST – How To Write, Make And Sell A Horror Movie

All About Host Host (2020) is a low budget British Horror movie that IMDB describes as, ‘Six friends hire a medium to hold a séance via Zoom during lockdown, but they get far more than they bargained for as things quickly go wrong.’  Receiving rave reviews and a whopping 100% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, Host was conceived and shot in Lockdown! That’s right, Host did not exist even in its creators’ minds BEFORE March 23rd, 2020. In fact, had the pandemic not happened, this horror movie may never have been written and produced at all. So I met the… Read More »HOST – How To Write, Make And Sell A Horror Movie

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Yes, Male Writers CAN Write Fantastic Female Characters

Not ALL Male Writers It’s true, male writers can get a bum rap when writing about female characters. As the headline of this article suggests, OF COURSE male writers can write great female characters. In fact, some of my all-time favourites have literally been written by male writers!!! From my time as a script reader, I’d venture there’s no correlation between gender and talent of writers. This obviously means there will be GREAT writers who happen to be female … But it ALSO means a female writer will not automatically write a great female character too. No one knows where talent comes… Read More »Yes, Male Writers CAN Write Fantastic Female Characters

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No, Woke Culture Is NOT ‘The Death Of Storytelling’

On ‘Woke Culture’ Hardly a week goes by without some (white) guy lamenting some version of the ‘death of storytelling’. Recently it was film director Todd Phillips’ turn, saying ‘Woke Culture’ is Killing Comedy Movies. Another director, Adam Hertz also chimed in on this saying American Pie wouldn’t get made today. (His position was slightly more nuanced than Phillips’ however, ultimately conceding that’s ‘probably a good thing’.) This is the cruncher though: TIMES CHANGE. This is how the industry works. It is not ‘woke’, it’s just good business sense. What is popular in one decade, is not in another. What’s more, audiences are becoming… Read More »No, Woke Culture Is NOT ‘The Death Of Storytelling’

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1 Important Thing To Remember About Rejection

All About Rejection The thing about rejection is, IT STINGS. When we put all our hopes and dreams into a piece of writing and it gets rejected, it can feel devastating. What’s more, rejection happens to ALL writers. It’s not something that ever magically goes away. Even if a successful pro writer gets most of his or her projects greenlit, there’s still some that will fall through the net. Also, there’s no guarantee of success with target audiences! Pro writers’ work may fail at the box office, bookshops or streaming. That’s just the way it is. Basically, rejection is part… Read More »1 Important Thing To Remember About Rejection

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infographic version of how to write TV series bibles

What No One Is Talking About In The Great Screenplay Format Debate

The Debate Every year or so, what I call ‘The Great Screenplay Format Debate’ pops up. Some years it’s just once, others it’s multiple times. It never gets more heated than on Twitter, where produced screenwriters will  insist over and over it’s about ‘great writing’, NOT ‘great format’. Mic drop. Debate over. So, are these guys right? Of course. B2W also bangs on about this, after all. As far as I’m concerned, the notion of great writing ultimately comes down to just three things (that’s concept, characters and structure, for anyone wondering). OF COURSE there’s a bunch of other stuff… Read More »What No One Is Talking About In The Great Screenplay Format Debate

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7 Casting Debates That Need To Die The Death

Casting Trouble Casting controversy … It seems hardly a month goes by without some! The same-old arguments and responses get wheeled out every time. Sometimes, writers may have trouble separating their own feelings about various casting troubles from the realities of the industry … Plus other times, the realities of industry actively entrench those same-old problems. Now what?? Well, here’s a round-up of the consistent casting mistakes, misgivings and confusions writers have when diverse characters and the actors who play them intersect. Enjoy! 1) “It should be the ‘best actor for the job’ You’re right, it absolutely should – so… Read More »7 Casting Debates That Need To Die The Death

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We Need To Talk About Lionel Shriver

Shriver Roars Again Is Lionel Shriver okay? The reason I feel I have to ask is because she’s been making waves AGAIN about diversity in the arts. So much so, it would seem she’s got herself booted off the judging panel of the Myslexia short story contest, as you may have seen on social media yesterday: (Being so against the concept of diversity I’m only surprised Shriver ever wanted to be part of a judging panel that ‘favours’ female writers when they ‘should’ be picked SOLELY ON THEIR MERIT, but moving swiftly onwards). But Who Is Lionel Shriver? But okay,… Read More »We Need To Talk About Lionel Shriver

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Writers, Everyone Hates Us On Social Media. Here’s Why …

Social Media Hate If you spend a lot of time on social media like I do, you’ll have noticed a LOT of writers blotting their copybooks lately with their potential friends and followers. Here’s what’s happened to me lately, in just the past 2 or 3 weeks: Facebook Fiends. Writers may send me Friend requests. That’s obviously fine, but within SECONDS of accepting their request, they may send another asking me to LIKE their page. (Plus the really persistent ones will send a private message as well). Facebook Fiends #2. Writers on Facebook may ‘tag’ me from their timeline, especially into… Read More »Writers, Everyone Hates Us On Social Media. Here’s Why …

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5 Things I Learned About Going Viral on Twitter

B2W likes to offer perspectives from writers on the ‘X Things I Learned’ series, not just about writing or careers, but also some of the weirder things our lives may include from time to time … Cue children’s author Maz Evans, who went SUPER viral on Twitter recently! If you’re on there, you may have seen this play out in real-time, like me. Here’s what Maz learnt during a crazy 72 hours and I’m sure it’ll pop up in her writing at some point. It’s all material! Over to you Maz … It was no big deal. I was awaiting… Read More »5 Things I Learned About Going Viral on Twitter

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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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How To Write Fast Like A Pro

1) Set a DEADLINE ‘I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by,’ said uber-author Douglas Adams, but seriously? If you want to get stuff done – and done FAST – set yourself one. I always advocate looking ahead at the calendar, breaking down what’s possible in what time and having THREE deadlines: one ‘likely finish’; one ‘hopeful finish’ and one ‘unlikely finish’. Try it! 2) Work out your BEST TIME I work best mid-morning till lunchtime on my own writing. This is because first thing in the morning I’m doing admin and social media… Read More »How To Write Fast Like A Pro

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6 Ways To Get Great Writing Ideas From Social Media

Social media gets a bad rap as a ‘time suck’ for writers, but as any Bang2writer knows, I think social media is BRILLIANT for us … Not only can we get ideas and inspiration, we can use it as a ‘water cooler’ to chat ideas through (either overtly or covertly). We can crowd fund for opinions and answers to our queries, as well as observe debates, talks and even flame wars too. What’s more, we can even find out what our potential audiences are interested in (or conversely, NOT interested in!) too — this is one of the main reasons… Read More »6 Ways To Get Great Writing Ideas From Social Media

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