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How To Write A Great Story Arc For Your Character (With Examples)

A Great Story Arc Needs Conflict Every great story has a beginning, middle, and end, also known as a story arc. In order to keep your audience engaged, your story should have a clear story arc with a conflict that is resolved by the end. Le duh! But what is a story arc? As you may guess, it’s the narrative structure of a story. How that story arc works will depend on the story being told. Characters may deal with problems – aka conflict – in order to make changes in their lives or important realisations. The most common of these… Read More »How To Write A Great Story Arc For Your Character (With Examples)

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Top 10 ‘Unlikeable’ Female Characters In Movies & TV

All About ‘Unlikeable’ Female Characters ‘Why are so many female characters unlikeable these days?’ That was a thread I had the misfortune to read recently, but it’s not the only one. Commentary on supposedly ‘unlikeable’ female characters never goes away, it seems. Men – and sadly, some women too – all chime in regularly about this topic online, saying shit like … … It’s ‘misogyny’ to write female characters with bad motivations or other bad behaviour (sigh) … Female characters have a RESPONSIBILITY to be role models to young girls (erm no, ENTERTAINMENT first!)  … Writers are showing their inexperience… Read More »Top 10 ‘Unlikeable’ Female Characters In Movies & TV

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It’s My Publication Day, So Here’s A Free Gift For You

Happy Publication Day To … Me! (Again) So it’s publication day and my second book launch in a month … Yup, this is a first, even for me!!! I wrote so much in lockdown that I created a bit of a bottleneck of projects going all the way to January 2024! Oops (sorrynotsorry). Anyway, this time around it’s publication day for B2W’s non-fiction book, WRITING & SELLING THRILLER SCREENPLAYS: FROM TV PILOT TO FEATURE FILM. That’s right, the book includes TV this time around! The first edition came out in 2013 and it’s fair to say a HELLUVA lot has… Read More »It’s My Publication Day, So Here’s A Free Gift For You

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No, There Are NOT ‘Loads’ Of Great Screenplays Waiting to Be Made. Here’s Why

Wanted: Great Screenplays ‘There must be LOADS of great screenplays in the pile just waiting to be made!!!’ I hear this, constantly. It’s a lament from wannabe screenwriters that NEVER goes away, it seems. But I can tell you, as a script reader & editor, IT’S NOT TRUE. Here’s why … First off, define ‘great screenplay’ Do you mean WRITTEN WELL? Hah, good luck. Finding well-written screenplays in the pile is harder than you think, especially when what constitutes ‘good writing’ means different things to different people. ‘Great screenplays’ #2 Do you mean a KILLER CONCEPT? Yeah, this shit is… Read More »No, There Are NOT ‘Loads’ Of Great Screenplays Waiting to Be Made. Here’s Why

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Why Remakes And Reboots Are Here To Stay (And No, It’s Not A Bad Thing)

The Pain of Remakes And Reboots Whenever I teach a screenwriting class, it won’t be long before someone brings up remakes and reboots. This person will most often* be a middle-aged white man at the beginning of his screenwriting journey. (*But obviously doesn’t have to be). Anyway, he will confess that remakes and reboots make him very angry … Hell, he may even GET angry just talking about them. Then he will insist that remakes and reboots are enemies of creativity and that Hollywood shouldn”t be so ‘risk averse’. When I ask him how many movies he’s watched this year… Read More »Why Remakes And Reboots Are Here To Stay (And No, It’s Not A Bad Thing)

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The 10 Most Iconic Teachers in Movies, TV and Literature

Iconic Teachers In media, teachers are often relegated to secondary character status. They may appear onstage to inspire their students, drop a pearl of wisdom, and disappear from whence they came. And while this can be an accurate of the fleeting presence of teachers in our own lives, it doesn’t do justice to the impact a good (or bad!) teacher can have on us. With that in mind, I wanted to pay homage to the most iconic teachers from movies, TV, and literature in true Bang2Write fashion. Consider this a star-studded teacher’s lounge, featuring some of the most memorable mentor… Read More »The 10 Most Iconic Teachers in Movies, TV and Literature

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Writers Ask: What Does ‘Authenticity’ Really Mean, Anyway?

Accuracy Vs. Authenticity Last weekend I taught B2W’s Breaking Into Script Reading workshop where I talked about accuracy versus authenticity. I said that audience preferences have changed in the past ten years quite considerably. Whereas not long ago creatives had to be accurate or risk being considered a ‘bad’ writer, this is now the case when it comes to authenticity. This lead to a discussion of authenticity and HOW writers can ensure their writing feels real. I thought this might be useful for all the Bangers, so here goes. First things first, let’s define the actual word ‘authenticity’. Here it… Read More »Writers Ask: What Does ‘Authenticity’ Really Mean, Anyway?

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5 Simple Gender Flips To Freshen Up Your Story

All About Gender Flips Traditionally, ‘gender flips’ refer to when a character’s gender is changed through an adaptation. For example, if a character is male in the book but is made female in the movie or TV version. Over time, ‘gender flipping’ has expanded beyond specific characters and begun to include character tropes as well. A character trope is a recurring idea in fiction. The concept of the hero or villain are traditional character tropes, as well as archetypes. You can read more about tropes HERE. Flipping ‘Eck Gender flips have been in discussion across B2W lately because of remarks made… Read More »5 Simple Gender Flips To Freshen Up Your Story

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The Mindy Project: 10 Top Tips So You Can Be Just Like Ms. Kaling

All About Mindy Kaling Mindy Kaling doesn’t fit the Hollywood mould, and that’s just the way she likes it. Making her name as a writer and actor on the US version of “The Office”, she was hired after the producer read a spec script she had sent him, and by the end of her time on the show she had been promoted to executive producer. Now that’s what we call a promotion! She then landed her own show, The Mindy Project, which she wrote, produced and starred in. She has most recently co-written the script for Legally Blonde 3. She’s… Read More »The Mindy Project: 10 Top Tips So You Can Be Just Like Ms. Kaling

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10 Tips On Getting An Agent (Or Doing Without One!)

How To Get An Agent Want an agent? Most writers do.  Julian Friedmann has been an agent for nearly 40 years, handling books and scripts. His TEDx talk on the mystery of storytelling has been viewed over 900,000 times. His new book MAKE MONEY SCREENWRITING: Creative Strategies, has just been published by Amazon. With all this in mind, B2W asked Julian’s advice on getting an agent … or doing without one. So without further ado, here’s his top 10 tips … pass them on! Julian’s Top Tips 1) Choose a saleable idea and format Killing Eve was huge, but it… Read More »10 Tips On Getting An Agent (Or Doing Without One!)

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Cop Week, Part 2: Inspiration For Your Own Cop Story

Your Own Cop Story ConsultingCops.com are back for part 2, this time with inspiration for your own cop story. I think these snippets of info and suggestions are fascinating and offer some real food for thought. If you are writing a cop story, make sure you check them out … they’re the real deal! Don’t forget you can read read part 1, HERE or by clicking any of pics in the article. 6) Kim Booth (@K_B_Author) “Fraud can be a great source material for your cop story” I think the tip I would give is that anything is possible in… Read More »Cop Week, Part 2: Inspiration For Your Own Cop Story

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Cop Week, Part One: How Police Work

All About Cop Stories  Want to write a cop story? One of the most popular posts on B2W in the past six months has been Top 5 Mistakes Writers Make With Police Characters. Since cop dramas and novels are so popular and savvy Bang2writers prize both accuracy and authenticity, it’s not difficult to see why. So when Lyndon from ConsultingCops.com got in touch to offer more insights into how police work, I said YES PLEASE! Here’s the first 2 parts and a whopping NINE cop experts who can shine a light on cop procedure. This post contains the first five.… Read More »Cop Week, Part One: How Police Work

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