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Women & Writing

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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8 Mistakes That Will Kill Your Drama Screenplay DEAD

Drama can be ANYTHING. Literally, anything. So why am I reading the same stuff??? Whether short film, TV pilot or feature, here’s how to KILL your drama screenplay’s chances in the spec pile: 1) Write about the same-old, same-old These are the facts. Everyone writes dramas about: i) depression/suicide ii) addiction iii) domestic violence iv) terminal cancer v) poverty Sometimes ALL of these in one piece! True story. Now, you CAN write about these things, but you gotta have some authenticity and emotional truth, otherwise DON’T BOTHER (see number 2). Also, make sure it’s not written the same way as… Read More »8 Mistakes That Will Kill Your Drama Screenplay DEAD

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1 Gender Swap That Could Make ALL THE DIFFERENCE In Your Story

On Gender Swapping When it comes to gender swap characters, we generally hear about … How Ripley was originally a male character How Lara Croft is a female Indiana Jones Or a single female in a team is THE GIRL CHARACTER (The Girl Character is invariably “There can be only one!” HIGHLANDER-style. So, there is a woman in this storyverse but her FEMALE-NESS is what defines her, whereas individual men can be The Funny One; The Clever One; The Hard Nut; The Geeky One and so on and soforth. UGH). In other words, it’s the same-old, same-old and frankly I… Read More »1 Gender Swap That Could Make ALL THE DIFFERENCE In Your Story

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Top 10 Quotes On First Drafts

Spanish speaker? Many thanks to Sergio from Bloguionistas for translating this post into Spanish! READ IT HERE. If like me you’re struggling with an unwieldy first draft of your novel or screenplay right now, I thought you might appreciate some of these quotes from famous people on the process. Some of the quotes are uber-famous (especially number 1), plus I don’t agree with all of them (number 8 can go jump in particular, I’d say it’s TORTURE atm!) but it’s definitely a useful exercise to remember ALL writers go through this. So keep on keeping on, Bang2writers! Need MORE inspiration?… Read More »Top 10 Quotes On First Drafts

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9 Female Movie Screenwriters Worth Watching

It’s widely known that television is much more likely to be the female screenwriter’s stomping ground, with Tinsel Town in particular a super deluxe sausagefest. But I’m glad to say there ARE women in the man’s world of film! Whilst the likes of Diablo Cody and Nora Ephron may be two of the best known female screenwriters at the moment, I’m going to take a look at some of the female names we may not know quite as well … Let’s hear it for the girls! 1) Leslie Dixon, Limitless. Dixon has had a long and fruitful screenwriting career, but it was 2011’s… Read More »9 Female Movie Screenwriters Worth Watching

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11 Experts Share What They’d Like To See Next From Trans Characters

In my previous post on transgender representation, I spoke to a range of people – writers, journalists, filmmakers, activists – most of them trans, to find out their thoughts on how transgender people are represented* in Comedy and Drama, on television and in film, at the moment. *Pics inspired by this post from the BFI: 10 Great Transgender Films, check it out. To find out where we’re going, I asked people what they want to see next. This is what they said: 1) Jo Clifford, playwright/performer. Trans* characters who are just getting on with our lives. Where our ‘transness’ is not particularly an… Read More »11 Experts Share What They’d Like To See Next From Trans Characters

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11 Experts Share Their Notable Trans Characters Of Recent Years

2014 was – according to TIME magazine – a ‘transgender tipping point’. Increased visibility of transgender people in the media – Laverne Cox, Laura Jane Grace, Paris Lees – brought the trans community into the spotlight. Here in the UK, transgender characters are starting to become a staple of our rich diet of cops and docs, popping up as bit parts in Doctors, Holby and Casualty with increased regularity. Last year, Hollyoaks introduced a trans character, Blessing, and Paris Lees became the first openly trans person to play a trans person on UK television in a cameo on the show.… Read More »11 Experts Share Their Notable Trans Characters Of Recent Years

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Top Tools Of 8 Famous Writers

I love this infographic from NinjaEssays.com – I started on a typewriter, aeons ago: it was an Olivetti Lettera 35! What was particularly annoying about typewriters (slipping into old folk mode now kids) was you had to hit the keys hard and there was always a chance of getting your fingers caught between them and ripping a cuticle back. Ouchy. Also, the ribbons were a pain in the ass and duplication (beyond photocopying!) was difficult: you could use carbon paper between two sheets, but the second copy always ended up wobbly. And no such thing as delete: it was tippex… Read More »Top Tools Of 8 Famous Writers

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The Habits Of Successful Writers

Do you have any writing habits? Do you drink coffee or tea while writing your next story? Have you ever thought how this habit can influence your writing, or whether it influences your writing at all? Let’s take some famous writers, such as Jack London, Mark Twain, or Jane Austen for example: it’s not difficult to suppose all of them had writing habits and some of those habits were hard to call ordinary! Did you know that Victor Hugo wrote naked …  Or that Honore de Balzac drank 50+ cups of coffee daily and chewed coffee beans to concentrate on… Read More »The Habits Of Successful Writers

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25 Female-Centric TV Pilots Coming To A Screen Near You

Following my round up posts on female characters at the weekend, I’m delighted to say Hollywood Development Exec Steve La Rue decided to let me know how TV Pilot season is coming … and it’s going female centric, which is GREAT news! Check out these 25 loglines for size … Will be really interesting to see which ones make the cut through the infamous US “Pilot Season”! I’m gratified to see a fair amount of diversity to the list, with careers ranking as highly as parenthood … Plus of the “usual” roles (ie. Mom), we’re seeing characterisation left of the… Read More »25 Female-Centric TV Pilots Coming To A Screen Near You

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33 Experts Share What They Want Next From Female Characters

Personality first, gender second? The Bang2writers are writing more and more female characters now, but it’s not just as simple as that. We can ALL fall into “the usual” representations, or screw up and write trite, incorrect or two dimensional stereotypes. It’s also important to note any one of us can do this regardless of our experience with writing, or even if we *are* women ourselves! As I often say, I have seen NO correlation between gender of writer and how bad OR well they write female characters, yet I’ve literally read thousands  of screenplays over the last decade and… Read More »33 Experts Share What They Want Next From Female Characters

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33 Experts Share Their Notable Female Characters Of Recent Years

Delighted to unveil the very illuminating thoughts of various industry pros I’ve managed to pin down this week! DO make sure you click on the links of their names to find out more about them. Remember, you can also find out what these Industry Pros want NEXT from female characters – direct link at the bottom of this list. Enjoy! Over To The Experts … 1) Tony Jordan, screenwriter & showrunner. Carrie Mathison – Homeland. Complicated, fucked up, intuitive, loyal and proactive. Red – Orange is The New Black. Direct, uncompromising, funny. Alicia Florrick – The Good Wife. True modern… Read More »33 Experts Share Their Notable Female Characters Of Recent Years

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