Do you hate watching movies and TV dramas based on novels? Or love them? Why do some adaptations work, while others crumble into dust? I’ve been talking about adaptations and why some writers fail while others…
There’s a new argument dividing our household? Forget Brexit, Trump or whether social distancing is a hoax, this is the big question of the day: Philharmonia, love it or hate it? OK, let’s be honest…
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…
We live in angry times, it seems. So I shouldn’t have been surprised when I had a load of angry movies to watch for this year’s Bafta awards. Now, I don’t mean the controversy over…
The panto season has started early this year. Everyone loves live entertainment. (I’m even doing a live appearance myself on December 6th – more on this to the right and below). Here in the UK…
Bored with the World Cup? Take another look. Football has probably taught me more about people and psychology than anything else ever has. I mentioned the World Cup to a friend of mine last week.…
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…
I’m delighted to be talking about Writing a Gripping Thriller for Hayley McKenzie’s blog ScriptAngel. You can read the full article below. Hayley is a great person and script consultant, who’s based in the Midlands. So…
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.…
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…
Could you do more when it comes to naming characters in your scripts? Top of my list of faults are names that are bland, cliché, too similar, or just plain wrong. But how do the top writers do it?
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…
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 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.
Last night I got a call from a company who I’d bought from before. The previous time, I spent good money with them – this time I put the phone down after a minute. What…
Have you made a New Year’s Resolution? To start that script? Or finish it? To start selling the novel you finished? To get proper feedback? To write more? Or less? Do you really think you’re…
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’ve written before that good screenwriters often get tangled up writing treatments. One major reason is that they are simply using the wrong style.