Back from my writer’s holiday – now I know why I went
If things have been a bit quiet here, I’ve been off on a writer’s holiday for a week – on a river cruise down the Danube. We’d seen the ads on TV, half believed them…
Psychology
How to write a script report, and why it’s good for your writing
Check out this excellent article by the always excellent Lucy V. Hay. Right on the money. I’d add three things, if you’re writing the report for your own benefit, to improve your writing. http://www.londonscreenwritersfestival.com/how-to-write-a-script-report-and-why-its-good-for-your-writing/ 1…
Two simple ways to add power to your pitching
If you want to pitch with power, here are two powerful ingredients that are often forgotten by script gurus although they are used to powerful effect in almost every successful TV drama or cinema film.
How to ask experts to help research your script
Whatever your story, it’s well worth spending a little time and effort speaking to the best experts in the area – from divorce to the side-effects of digitalis. Their knowledge can solve plot problems, enrich…
What if your story is unconvincing?
Here’s a very nice blog post about what to do if you suddenly lose faith in what you’re writing
Simple song rises above the battlefield
Last night I learned a great deal that I wasn’t expecting to – both about war and about writing.
Fun writing exercise – use it
Planning the Mental Game for Writing Success workshop in London this weekend made me think how powerful some of the simplest writing exercises can be. Here’s one – do try this at home:
Fire Up Your Writing Career
Here’s a psychological tool to help with focusing your writer’s mind – dealing with issues such as procrastination and self-sabotage, and staying creative.
New Year’s Resolution: Break a Rule
I’m a great believer in resolutions – New Year and otherwise. Even if they only last a few days as a rule, then at least that’s a few days that I’ve worked differently, gone to…
Write with conviction in 2013
The writers and filmmakers who work with determined conviction are the ones who will succeed in this industry.
Post-Christmas Tip: Everything counts
Aiming to get a little writing done now that the holidays are over – or even a lot of writing – here’s a tip that will immediately improve your productivity: Count what you do. It’s…
Four steps to starting a compelling script
People often ask how to get ideas. Of course ideas are all around. What they mean is where do you find ideas you know will work. Ideas that will stay alive and grow. Nothing is…
What do you do next? Procrastinate?
Last Monday I talked about finishing. So after you’ve finished – what do you do next? Do you push on straight to your next project, or what? I once invited psychologist Andrea Perry to come…
Are we there yet?
There must be something in the air: I’m in the mood for finishing things. I just finished writing a novel after a mammoth three years – and just finished the latest Euroscript Screen-PLAY Summer School…
How you can use not knowing to write better scripts
The strange realisation hit me the other day: the more I write, the less sure I become about all my theories about writing. One day, with luck, I’ll be sure about nothing at all. This…
Losing faith in your work?
Losing faith in your work happens to the best writers – and it can be lethal. The story starts to feel flat. The emotions false. The scenes mechanical. Soon you wonder what you even saw…
Stuck? A simple way to get your work moving.
Here’s a deceptively simple method for literally getting your work to move forwards – but don’t be fooled. Like many simple ideas it can be profoundly useful. It works for all kinds of screenwriting, and…
Good movie? Where did it come from?
Cameron wants us to make blockbusters. David Cameron, that is, not James. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9006675/Ken-Loach-pouring-lottery-money-into-blockbusters-is-a-travesty.html Speaking as a film director, and director of Euroscript, I’m sad that nobody I’ve heard or read so far has mentioned script.…