There’s a phrase that’s popular among writing courses at the moment – we’re all expected to “express ourselves”. Self-expression is the thing. And it certainly is, if you want to kill your career stone dead. This article tells you how to deal with big issues and get away with it.
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…
Many people ask me if they should learn about selling and pitching scripts before they start writing, or after they’ve finished a draft. My answer is: either and both – and while in the middle…
IS YOUR SCRIPT STUCK ON THE BRIDGE? Back from holiday, I’ve been thinking about a massive underpublicised reason why far too many writers don’t sell. If you’re a writer, then you want to sell your…
The ability to handle exposition really sorts the professionals from the wannabes, and I’m going to share one of my top exposition techniques with you here.
Newspapers tell us that women are better at it than men. Men tell us they are just as good really. Neurologists tell us that there’s no such thing – is multitasking the answer to our creative problems?
Michael Gladwell’s book Outliers has made famous the psychological research into what can make you or me an outstanding success and the figure everyone remembers is 10,000 hours. Einstein to Bill Gates, Steve Jobs to…
Having a problem writing a drama script? Do you find it’s full of wonderful character development but somehow it just doesn’t come together? Or you like it but your story isn’t getting across to the people who read it?
I want to talk about a small strategy that may seem simple and yet if you use it has the power to push the sales of your scripts/films/novels/etc through the roof. It’s one that’s so easy it almost feels like cheating and yet when it’s done well it’s highly artistic and connects very directly with your audience.