Not the Oscars 2026 – Part Deux
For the second time this year, we trip down the digital red carpet to deliver the final 7-12 of Not The Oscars 2026 – part deux. The rest of the films which should have been…
Not The Oscars 2026 – Part One
Yes, it’s that time of year again. The time when we trip down the digital red carpet to deliver the Not The Oscars for 2026. The top 12 films which should have been at the…
7 steps that make a satisfying ending
In 2000 the movie What Lies Beneath opened to mixed reviews. Despite a strong opening, cast (Harrison Ford, Michelle Pfeiffer) and director (Robert Zemeckis), reviewers talked of its “decomposing script” and said it “ran off…
Historical drama on screen – to write or not to write?
Historical drama is big in TV and film at the moment,but is it a good idea to write one? David Oman sent this question: Hello Charles I’m still enjoying your excellent books, and prefer studying…
How the gurus who teach “show don’t tell” could ruin your treatment
All screenwriting gurus teach “Show don’t tell” – it’s one of the few things they all agree on. How can it possibly be bad? And yet, what they don’t tell you is sticking to “show…
How to get what you want – negotiating tricks
In case you missed it, there’s an article you really should read on negotiating tricks and how to get what you want. After all, as writers (and directors, parents, children, friends, customers, comrades, etc) we’re always…
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.…
How to write visually for cinema and TV
The pressure to write visually can feel frightening, especially if you’re new to writing or have written for other media, such as novels and plays. What generally happens is that the writer overcompensates, filling the…
If you want to write for cinema, learn to multi-task
TO WRITE FOR CINEMA, MULTI-TASK Everything in a well-constructed cinema script carries out two, three or even more tasks. There’s no room for slackers on a movie screenplay page. A single line of dialogue may…
6 techniques for making your writing visual
Good visual writing puts pictures in the head of the reader without them realising you’re doing it. Here are 8 ways of doing exactly that.
Four simple steps for writing a gripping treatment
Do you find it difficult to structure a treatmentso 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 down…
Treatment writing tip: It’s not how much, it’s how little!
OK, let’s face it, it can be tough writing a good treatment, cramming all the important events in a 99-120 page screenplay into a fraction of that length. But the point of a treatment is…
Three things you need to improve your script sales
Back from hols and the first thing on my to-do list is to go out and start selling the script I finished last month. Of course as a true artist I should have no truck…
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…
Three Tips for Writing Treatments
Writing a good, compelling, readable treatment is tough. It’s difficult enough to write a script – but then to boil the whole thing down from 90+ pages to one or two…! However it’s a crucial…
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Screenwriter
I have a soft spot for Le Carré and I went to see Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy with certain trepidation. The reviews were good, but not universally so, and adaptations can be dire – especially…
How long should your treatment be?
I’ve been running my Exciting Treatments workshop for over ten years now, and one of the first questions I’m asked is alway, How long is a treatment supposed to be?
If you want to sell your script, don’t get stuck on the bridge
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…