Skip to content

Women & Writing

Top 10 Authors Who Pivoted To A Screenwriting Career

Pivoting From Novel Writing To A Screenwriting Career If you want to pivot from novel writing to a screenwriting career, you’re not alone. Of course, you may just want to be a screenwriter full stop (and that’s okay too! Or maybe you want to write a novel of your script??). LOTS of novelists have tried their hand at a screenwriting career. Some have had more success than others! Here’s just 10 of them. Let’s go … 1) Roald Dahl Frequently left off lists like these, Roald Dahl boasts an impressive screenwriting career. As well as adapting his own classic book… Read More »Top 10 Authors Who Pivoted To A Screenwriting Career

Share this:

Top 5 Reasons Producers Don’t Like Your Pitches

Your Next Step: Finding Producers You’ve got the script. You’re ready to get it made. Finding producers is your next step. But nobody seems to want to work on it with you. In fact, a lot of producers aren’t even replying to you!  So let’s see where you might be going wrong … Ready? Let’s go!  5) You didn’t make it personal Quite simply, you’re contacting a producer with no personal connection or interest in what you’re pitching. A producer will likely spend 6 months – 3 years devoted to a short film, and much longer for anything else. They’re… Read More »Top 5 Reasons Producers Don’t Like Your Pitches

Share this:

Top 10 Fearless Female Archers In Movies And TV

Female Archers in Fiction You don’t have to look far to find female archers in fiction. Though male archers obviously do exist too, this is often part of their specific characterisation (Arrow and Hawkeye are the most obvious here). In contrast, female archers in fiction frequently use the bow and arrow as their weapon of choice as a warrior: nothing more, nothing less. In fact, female archer warriors use the bow and arrow so often, it’s become a trope of its own. Tropes are those recurrent ideas or motifs we see in novels, movies or TV. Whilst many internet commentators believe… Read More »Top 10 Fearless Female Archers In Movies And TV

Share this:

VENOM and SAVING MR BANK’s Kelly Marcel: ‘So much of writing is luck’

All About Kelly Marcel Kelly Marcel is a British screenwriter and producer. She co-wrote one of my favourite dramas Saving Mr Banks (eagle-eyed Bangers will remember it is a case study in my Writing & Selling Drama Screenplays book!). She also received a BAFTA nomination for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer for it. In addition, Kelly is the screenwriter of Fifty Shades of Grey, Venom, Venom 2: Let There Be Carnage, plus she created and was exec producer on TV series Terra Nova. A fabulously eclectic mix there! But how does a writer who started her working life in a video… Read More »VENOM and SAVING MR BANK’s Kelly Marcel: ‘So much of writing is luck’

Share this:

10 Big Mistakes To Avoid When Writing Female Characters

Don’t Underestimate Or Underwrite Fifty per cent of your potential audience is female, so it does NOT pay to underestimate your female characters. Women in audiences everywhere have made it clear in the past decade on social media … Underwrite female characters at your peril! Too often, female characters become stereotypical in unpublished novels and spec screenplays. A stereotype is a simplication. Whilst writers CAN use stereotypes on purpose for effect, too often writers use them by accident. This makes characters feel flat and two-dimensional. There are lots of lists of female stereotypes online, but I always think it’s more illuminating… Read More »10 Big Mistakes To Avoid When Writing Female Characters

Share this:

Top 10 Tips On How To Break In As A Screenwriter This Year

How To Break In As A Screenwriter If you want to break in as a screenwriter, you’re not alone. ‘How to break in’ is probably one of the top Google searches that leads to this blog, in fact. Whilst it’s true B2W believes we need to build our careers over a sustained period (rather than the break in being just ONE act), we all have to start somewhere. I was joined in a B2W livestream recently by comedy writer Amanda Graham (@AGComedy). Amanda specialises in rebellious, irreverent, female leads going against nonsensical power structures. She has various projects in development (including with… Read More »Top 10 Tips On How To Break In As A Screenwriter This Year

Share this:

Javier Grillo-Marxuach: ‘Lost Was NOT Purgatory’ (And Other Tales)

About Javier Grillo-Marxuach Javier Grillo-Marxuach is a screenwriter and producer. He has the kind of resumé most Bang2writers would kill for, including iconic shows like Charmed and Lost. He’s continued with fantastic modern TV such as The Witcher, The 100 and The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance as well. Wow! I was delighted to Zoom with Javier recently. I love high concept, dystopian and post-apocalyptic story worlds. He’s literally worked on some of my favourite shows that have influenced my own writing! Javier also wrote the AMAZING 11 Laws of show running, an online essay/memo which really requires its own post.… Read More »Javier Grillo-Marxuach: ‘Lost Was NOT Purgatory’ (And Other Tales)

Share this:

3 Top Tips On Describing Your Character’s Appearance

All About Character Appearance Character appearance is a hot topic when it comes writing craft. How much is ‘enough’ or ‘too much’??? Needless to say, individual writers’ mileage may vary on this question. This is one of those ‘piece of string’ questions, but for the purposes of this blog post I will try and narrow it down in discussing the common main points. When it comes to novels, some authors may spend a lot of time on character appearance. Others may do it more intuitively, or leave it almost entirely up to the reader’s imagination. Most novelists will find themselves… Read More »3 Top Tips On Describing Your Character’s Appearance

Share this:

Top 10 Tips For Dealing With Writing Burnout

How To Deal With Writing Burnout It was another tough year, so chances are you may be dealing with writing burnout. I burned out HARD in both 2020 and 2021, perhaps you did too? You may be suffering from writing burnout if you … feel like you no longer care about your screenplay, novel or writing in general are increasingly forgetful, or have trouble concentrating feel like you’ve lost sight of yourself and your goals have difficulty maintaining relationships / being present with loved ones express frustration and irritability more than normal experience somatic pain, muscle tension, headaches or nausea Writing… Read More »Top 10 Tips For Dealing With Writing Burnout

Share this:

Movies Have Always Been ‘Woke’. You Just Didn’t Notice

Another week, another message So, apparently B2W is too ‘woke’ so somebody’s unfollowing … blahblahblah. Seriously, this ain’t an airport, no need to announce your departure! I do have one query though: WHO THE HELL HAS THIS PERSON BEEN FOLLOWING BEFORE NOW??  This site and its accompanying social media has always placed the ‘woke’ at its heart, FFS. If this was apparently a problem, you gotta wondered why they followed in the first place. But anyway, no skin off B2W’s nose. ‘Wokism’: A Short History Hell, B2W is so ‘woke’ I actually don’t even use the word (except when critiquing… Read More »Movies Have Always Been ‘Woke’. You Just Didn’t Notice

Share this:

5 Lies Writers Torture Themselves With About Their Projects

Writing Torture Do you torture yourself as a writer? If you do, you’re not alone. Working with writers, I hear about all kinds of worries and insecurities they have on a DAILY basis. Hell, sometimes hourly! Obviously the kinds of things writers torture themselves about will depend on the individual. That said, I have noted some significant patterns over the years. Writers may even say the same phrases, again and again. With this in mind, I have rounded up the top five lies writers torture themselves with about their projects. Ready? then let’s go … 1) ‘I’m being STOPPED from… Read More »5 Lies Writers Torture Themselves With About Their Projects

Share this:

How To Be A Wordsmith: 6 Writers Offer Their Top Tips

So You Want To Be A Wordsmith … It’s never been a better time to become a wordsmith. Whether you want to be a blogger, freelance writer, screenwriter, or author, there’s lots of information and tools online for you. If you want to be a wordsmith too, you’ve come to the right place. I’ve compiled tips from some of the greatest writers on how to get started and succeed in writing! Let’s go … 1) Angie Thomas Angie Thomas is a well-known young adult novelist in the United States. She is best known for her novel The Hate U Give. Her… Read More »How To Be A Wordsmith: 6 Writers Offer Their Top Tips

Share this: