Skip to content

trouble shooting

Your Work Got Called Pretentious. Here’s Why That’s Not The Insult You Think It Is

Pretentious? Good. I Hope So! Right, let’s talk about the P-word: pretentious. It’s the favourite hand grenade of the internet comment section and the pub bore alike. Yawn. Someone makes a short film that isn’t wall-to-wall car chases? Pretentious. A novelist uses too many long sentences? Pretentious. A singer wears something other than jeans and a T-shirt? Call the Taste Police immediately. I was noodling around Facebook recently and came across this post. It grabbed my attention immediately, because it’s true. Check it out … There is no such thing as “good taste” NEWSFLASH: there’s only your taste … or… Read More »Your Work Got Called Pretentious. Here’s Why That’s Not The Insult You Think It Is

Share this:

5 Important But Basic Things You Need To Know About Your Characters

All About Your Characters Characters are all-important in your spec screenplay or unpublished novel. Good characterisation feels authentic, layered and relatable. But how do we get there? Working with writers, I see them OVERthinking their characters. They will frequently overlook those important, basic details of what characterisation really is and what they’re for. So I thought I’d break it down, here. Ready? Let’s go … 1) Your Main Characters Are Your Protagonist & Antagonist That’s it. Nothing more, nothing less. But do take note of this: if your protagonist wants something? Your antagonist should stop them from getting it. What… Read More »5 Important But Basic Things You Need To Know About Your Characters

Share this:

What 5 Classic Horror Movies Can Teach Us About Theme & Structure

Horror Is In Big Demand In The 2020s Classic horror movies are not just entertaining, they can teach spec screenwriters and filmmakers A LOT. As most of us know, good horror is in demand in the 2020s. Budgets are being cut to the bone right now, thanks to the political and technological furore that has dogged the industry in the post-Covid era. In addition, horror is one of the few genres that can stand up in contained spaces easily, plus a lack of star power … IF it’s done well. I wanted to look at five of my personal favourite… Read More »What 5 Classic Horror Movies Can Teach Us About Theme & Structure

Share this:

Top 5 Monster Moments Of All Time In Movies

Iconic Monster Moments The best monster moments don’t always involve blood, screaming or a full reveal. Sometimes it’s a face behind someone who hasn’t seen it yet. Sometimes it’s a still image that moves when it bloody shouldn’t. These five scenes got under my skin and stayed there. Here’s why they work, and what horror writers can steal from them … Ready? Let’s go! 1) Ripley comes face to face with the Xenomorph  (Alien 3) Whaaaaaaat you say?? How about ‘Get away from her, you BITCH!’  Look, Ripley in the robotic loader versus the Alien Queen in Aliens is a… Read More »Top 5 Monster Moments Of All Time In Movies

Share this:

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:

Want Better Story Feedback? 7 Ways to Improve Your Screenplay Or Novel – Fast

Stop Wasting Money on Coverage! My job is quite literally giving story feedback. I spend a lot of time working with writers. This means giving my thoughts on how their concepts, characters and plotting work in their novel or screenplay. That’s why it often surprises writers when I say, ‘Don’t waste money on coverage’. Some may believe – not unreasonably – I want writers to come to me to tell them *if* their story works. Obviously, giving writers story feedback means I can pay my bills. However, B2W has always (and will always) say that it’s much more productive to… Read More »Want Better Story Feedback? 7 Ways to Improve Your Screenplay Or Novel – Fast

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:

Top 5 Mistakes Writers Make With Short Films

Short Film Mistakes Writing short films is exceptionally difficult. In recent years, many film festivals have started to prioritise short films that are ten minutes or under. Telling a story in such a short timeframe is a big challenge. As a script editor, I’ve spent a lot of time in the world of short films. In the past 20+ years I have been … Involved with numerous produced films, including award winners & nominated ones A judge for Shore Scripts’ Short Film Fund A mentor on numerous screen agency short film schemes, including BFI New Voices Part of the steering… Read More »Top 5 Mistakes Writers Make With Short Films

Share this:

#1 Quick Tip For Leveling Up your Plotting In Less Than 60 Seconds

How To Get Better At Plotting What if you could get better at plotting in less than 60 seconds? Authors and screenwriters are forever looking for the secret to plotting. They buy books, sign up for courses, or watch endless YouTube videos. Meanwhile, one of the best plotting lessons around is hiding in plain sight before your favourite TV show even starts. But what is this secret sauce that can unlock our plots?? I’m talking about the “Previously On…” 60 second recaps Seriously! Whether you’re watching Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV, BBC, ITV or whatever else is currently eating up your evenings,… Read More »#1 Quick Tip For Leveling Up your Plotting In Less Than 60 Seconds

Share this:

How Mystery Works: 7 Steps For Writing One In Your Screenplay or Novel

Writing A Mystery Writing a mystery is HARD. I’ve published ten novels now, many of them crime fiction. However, any genre in any medium can benefit from a mystery component. Police procedurals and domestic noir are the key subgenres that use mystery components. There have been over two hundred years of detective novels, plus modern psychological thrillers are super-popular with readers. On TV and in movies, there are frequently mysteries at the heart of thrillers, political or otherwise. We may see them in workplace shows (such as police, but also medical shows in which finding a diagnosis is key). They… Read More »How Mystery Works: 7 Steps For Writing One In Your Screenplay or Novel

Share this:

Overwhelmed With Writing? Stop Screwing Around and Do These 3 Things

Feeling Overwhelmed With Writing? If you’re feeling overwhelmed with writing right now, you’re not alone. But let’s cut the crap. If you’re a writer saying things like: “I have so many ideas, but I can’t commit to just one.”  “I just don’t know which idea will help my career the most.”  “I start writing, then realise I hate my story.” Then you do NOT have a special, rare creative problem. All of the above is NORMAL. So here’s a response that might make you mad AF at me, but here goes … … You have AVOIDANCE Avoidance is probably the… Read More »Overwhelmed With Writing? Stop Screwing Around and Do These 3 Things

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: