Want help adapting a book for screen?
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 works for…
Unique chance: Verbal Aikido Sept 1
Subscribers with a good memory will remember I’ve twice featured the inimitable Luke Archer, creator of Verbal Aikido. Well, the good news is that I’ve managed to persuade him to provide a very rare class…
Why most people are crap at persuading
GETTING GOOD AT PERSUADING This message was intended solely for writers and film-makers, until I realised that pitching and persuading is something that everyone in the media has to get good at. And then I…
Interview with award-winning author Louise Doughty
Louise Doughty is one of the most interesting authors today. Refusing to be pigeon-holed, every book breaks new ground. Her novels have been shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award and longlisted for the Orange Prize…
How to deal with a verbal attacker – Verbal Aikido
Do you ever find yourself lost for words? Or outmanoeuvred by a verbal attacker? Perhaps someone gets the better of you and you’re not even sure how they did it. You need the marvellous Luke…
#IndieAuthorChat Nov 19 & book offer
Christmas is coming and the first presents are on their way. First, I’m hosting a free Twitter chat next Tuesday November 19 at 8pm GMT (find the time in your own time zone). Second, to…
Are writing courses worth it?
The world seems to be full of courses offering to teach you how to write. I should know, I’ve attended some and taught many. This week, Jeff, fellow writer and follower of my email list…
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…
Do criminals have free will – or is it all down to good and bad luck?
If you ever thought philosophy was for people with glasses and sticking-out ears who need to get out more, you may be in for a shock. Every crime thriller you’ve ever read is steeped in…
12 top tips for quickly learning a language you’d love to know
Interested in learning a language but think it might be too hard? Planning a holiday or meeting people from abroad? It annoys me that language teaching is so bad in this country that it puts…
Can you defend yourself from verbal attack? Review: Verbal Aikido Green & Orange Belt by Luke A Archer
It may surprise you that a verbal attack can be much trickier and more difficult to deal with than a physical attack. And you never know when one might come. A few years ago, a…
How to avoid the crime fiction trap
Crime is the post popular genre in fiction and on screen today, but many writers fall into the crime fiction trap. Understanding the crime fiction trap The big trap in crime movies and novels is that the…
What writers can learn from Andy Murray
I wouldn’t have thought there was anything that writers could learn from Andy Murray, but today I read Barney Ronay in the Guardian on what he calls Murray’s “on-court savvy” – a “supremely un-British skill”.…
Review: Writing for TV: Series, Serials and Soaps
This excellent book on Writing for TV by Yvonne Grace has already taken up a permanent place on my bookshelf. Let me declare first that I’ve met Yvonne twice in the real world, and many…
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.
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.
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 is not an argument for ignorance.