Want help adapting a book for screen?
HELP ADAPTING This week I have two new resources for you if you want help adapting a book for film or TV, or are a reader/viewer who’s interested in seeing how writers set about transforming…
Wants and Needs in writing
Wants and Needs in Writing A few weeks ago I wrote about my GOATS method for writing fiction and screenplays. Anna Mönnich wrote in response from Germany. Her email brings up an issue that often…
The GOATS method for writing and editing
How to write powerful stories using the GOATS method. Great stories possess great power. Whether fiction, movies, TV or theatre, they have the power to move, to change people’s lives (and even to earn their…
Use the Bake Off rule to improve your scripts
Bake Off is back. But is there something we can learn from the series’ success? Aside from how to bake a better cup-cake. What is it that makes Bake Off so successful? It’s clearly not complexity of plot.…
Amber ending: How they could have broken the rules and succeeded
Were you made red with range over the ending of the often excellent mini-series Amber – or did you feel it was fresh and realistic? Is it possible to break the rules as much as they did?…
The Story of Structure: Creating Story Legs part 2
The concluding part from guest blogger Yvonne Grace on story structure for TV series and serials, Creating Story Legs. Yvonne is an experienced writer, script editor and producer of TV series and serials, and the…
The Structure of Story. Creating Story Legs Part 1
Today we have the first of a fascinating two-part post by guest blogger Yvonne Grace on story structure for TV series and serials, Creating Story Legs. Yvonne is an experienced writer, script editor and producer…
What the World Cup taught me about screenwriting
I have to confess: much of what I know about life, let alone screenwriting, has come from football, and in particular the World Cup. There, I’ve said it. Feel free to shun me and pass…
Five things they don’t tell you about screenplay structure
There’s a great deal of hot air talked about screenplay structure – much more than about any other area of screenwriting – and most of it entirely misses the point. It’s great fun for the…
Four simple steps for writing a gripping treatment
Do you find it difficult to structure a treatment so that it grips the reader as strongly as the full script? Join the club. I don’t think any writer enjoys distilling their exquisitely crafted scripts…
Give your flashbacks the kiss of life
There are a thousand myths about flashbacks in scripts. Some people say you shouldn’t ever write them. Some people say you must – that fractured narrative is the only way forward in screenwriting (or should…
The secret of telling a gripping true story
A true story can be a massive elephant trap. I know, I’ve fallen in more than once. Like pebbles straight out of the sea, true stories seem so gleaming and fresh and full of potential…