Skip to content

strong female roles

The #1 Lie About Female Characters You Should Not Believe

The #1 Lie About Female Characters There’s a #1 lie I hear all the time about female characters. You may have heard it yourself, or even thought it. If you have, it’s not your fault. On the surface, it seems like common sense. After all, blogs like B2W have been warning for years that bad female characterisation is everywhere. So-called self-styled ‘gurus’ online offer all kinds of female character fixes. These may range from sensible but overlooked ones like the ‘fridged woman’ through to the well-meaning but fundamentally flawed, like The Bechdel Test. So what exactly is the #1 lie… Read More »The #1 Lie About Female Characters You Should Not Believe

Share this:

How Intercut Can Help Tell Your Story In Just 8 pictures

All About Intercut Whether you’re writing a screenplay or a novel, intercut can help you tell your story. An intercut is a storytelling technique used to rapidly switch back and forth between two different locations. This might be during a phone call, text message conversation, or parallel action. An intercut frequently plays around with the sense of time in your story, too. They may reference something that has happened in the past. However, intercuts can also reference to the future, to different versions of ‘now’ (whatever that means), or even thoughts and feelings. When Intercuts Go Wrong While intercuts are… Read More »How Intercut Can Help Tell Your Story In Just 8 pictures

Share this:

5 Reasons Your Spec TV Pilot Should Contain A Show-Stopping Central Character

The Problem With Spec TV Pilots One of the biggest issues I see in speculative (not commissioned) TV pilots is a lack of a show-stopping central character. But why is this an issue? Well, if we want our spec TV pilot to be read and/or commissioned by industry pros, a show-stopping central character is non-negotiable. It’s common sense our own TV pilots need to be storytelling catnip for that commissioner. One of the ways we can do this is by creating a show-stopping character. A character so interesting and compelling, big-name and talented actors will want to attach. All About Show-Stopping Central… Read More »5 Reasons Your Spec TV Pilot Should Contain A Show-Stopping Central Character

Share this:

5 Top Tips For Writing Romantasy That Bites Back

How To Write Romantasy That Bites Back I was at London Screenwriters Festival this weekend just past, where I did a masterclass on writing romantasy. This subgenre has exploded in the past three or four years across all media, yet many people get it wrong on why it’s so popular. Romantasy is NOT just fantasy with some kissing. The romance angle powers the story, while giving us brutal worlds, high stakes and love that complicates everything. It is all about danger and desire, fused. Ultimately, good romantasy is all about that core promise: if it doesn’t hurt, it’s not romantasy.… Read More »5 Top Tips For Writing Romantasy That Bites Back

Share this:

Ink and Emotion: Tracing The Path Of A Romance Novel

From Idea to Page: Tracing The Journey Tracing the path of a romance novel is all-important in understanding what your target reader wants. The latter is not about ‘selling out’, but selling. It’s what professional writers DO. As I’ve written before on this blog, romance is the #1 genre of all time. Whether you love it or loathe it yourself, it’s fair to say readers LOVE it! Tracing what they enjoy and why does not have to mean writing solely for the marketplace. It’s possible to give readers what they want, while also writing what YOU love too. It may… Read More »Ink and Emotion: Tracing The Path Of A Romance Novel

Share this:

Top 10 Women in Male-Dominated Character Archetypes

All About Male-Dominated Archetypes This list includes Women in fictional media whose personalities and characters are usually reserved for male-dominated roles. In recent years, writers have become more and more interested in writing female characters. However, female leads are sometimes boxed into tropes that are stereotypically ‘girly’. Yet these male-dominated archetypes do not have to be just about male characters. Writers can use them as a starting point for female characters as well. 1) Buffy Summers (Buffy The Vampire Slayer) Buffy redefines the heroic warrior archetype, which is traditionally male-dominated. As well as that, she’s shown to be ‘the chosen… Read More »Top 10 Women in Male-Dominated Character Archetypes

Share this:

Top 10 Badass Animated Female Leads You Should Know

Animated Female Leads Female leads have grown increasingly popular in animation over the past decade. While researching my book The Art of Writing Animation, I came across a few of these incredible ladies… and even met some of their creators! Out of the many animated films and TV series I watched, here are my top 10 badass female leads, in no particular order (may contain spoilers): 1) Merida, Brave (2012) Bang2writers may know Merida as a fearless female archer, but there’s more to her character. She’s the first female lead in a Pixar movie. Brave’s writer-director Brenda Chapman, wanted to… Read More »Top 10 Badass Animated Female Leads You Should Know

Share this:

10 Quick Tips To Writing Romance In The 2020s

All About Writing Romance So, you want to write romance in 2026, huh? Good. But before you roll your eyes at another “boy meets girl” idea, let me stop you. Romance isn’t dead, it’s thriving … and if you want to write it without looking like a clueless dinosaur, here’s what you need to know. Ready? Let’s go … 1) Romance goes with EVERYTHING! Yep … Everything. Thrillers? Romance. Dark fantasy? Romance. Even your grim post-apocalyptic world needs a smidge of “OMG, they might die but also maybe get together?” Humans crave relationships, so don’t ignore them. 2) Diversity isn’t… Read More »10 Quick Tips To Writing Romance In The 2020s

Share this:

Top 10 Dastardly & Deadly Female Villains In Movies & TV

All About Female Villains Remember when female villains were just jealous queens asking mirrors about their looks? Yeah, we’ve come a long way, baby. Over the past two decades, storytelling has given us female villains who are so deliciously complex, so brilliantly twisted, that we can’t help but be fascinated. These aren’t your grandmother’s wicked stepmothers; these are CEOs of chaos, architects of revenge, and women who make us think, “Okay, I shouldn’t root for her, but …” Let’s dive into 10 female villains who prove that being bad has never been so good … 1) Serena Joy (The Handmaid’s… Read More »Top 10 Dastardly & Deadly Female Villains In Movies & TV

Share this:

On Character Motivation: How Your Main Character’s ‘Why’ Powers Your Story

All About Character Motivation Motivation is key in any good story: I call it the ‘why’ of characterisation. Your characters should not simply exist to serve the plot. Instead, they should drive the plot through their own choices, behaviour, worldview, backstory and actions. A subtle difference, but crucial. In other words then, a great character wants or needs something for a reason … and they must struggle to get it. Their ‘why’ may be personal, ranging from the good or neutral, through to the outright evil and villainous. Whatever makes your character act, fight or sacrifice, that ‘why’ is everything.… Read More »On Character Motivation: How Your Main Character’s ‘Why’ Powers Your Story

Share this:

How ‘The One with The Embryos’ Nails Stakes, Tension & Pay Off

The One With The Embryos (s4, ep12) The One With The Embryos (aka ‘the quiz episode’) is one of my favourite Friends episodes of all time. In fact, I just lovelovelove s4 of the show; it’s probably my favourite season. The trivia contest is hilarious, but other iconic s4 moments include: Ross saying ‘Rachel’ at the altar Monica getting stung by a jellyfish Chandler and Rachel’s fight over the handcuffs in Joanna’s office Phoebe’s pregnancy with triplets Joey saying ‘How you doin’?’ for the first time and of course ‘The Friendly Finger’ (Ross’ way of giving The Finger with two… Read More »How ‘The One with The Embryos’ Nails Stakes, Tension & Pay Off

Share this:

Why Female Characters Should Kill More People In Your Story

The REAL Battle of the Sexes Male characters kill all the time in stories, for a myriad of motivations. While Thriller and Horror are obviously the top genres for body count in TV, movies or novels, we may see killings happen in Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Drama and Literary Fiction too. Look, not everyone likes killing in stories and that’s fine. If that’s you, then you may want to skip this article. But in many genres, life or death stakes mean our characters’ lives are on the line … which means characters may be forced to kill. Male killer characters may be… Read More »Why Female Characters Should Kill More People In Your Story

Share this: