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Five ways to banish drama from your scenes
In case you ever find yourself writing a scene that's breathtakingly dramatic, here are five ways to ensure you bring it back down to earth and wash it clean of anything remotely compelling.Drama is...
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Four lies the internet tells you about writing
Yes it's true – the internet lies to you. It poses as an oracle but spouts vacuities. It promises knowledge and delivers platitudes. It offers an audience but gives nothing but loneliness. It hints at...
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Why story beats character everytime
Something has to happen – whether you write for page, stage or screen – because if nothing's happening, no-one is caring, no-one is sticking around, everybody is taking their hard-earned time and...
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What you have to (un)learn to be a writer
Writing isn't just about finding the time and motivation to sit down and write. Your writing has to be good; other people have to want to read it and like it – that's the difference between 'writing'...
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How to keep on writing when it all seems pointless
No-body is reading it, no-body is buying it, no-body cares – so why bother? What's the point in pressing on wasting your rapidly diminishing time on earth pursuing a hopeless cause? Why would you do...
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How to create great content for your blog
Producing regular content for your blog can be a daunting task. It can also be a difficult psychological shift for new bloggers to assume the position of authority required to blog with confidence, or...
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Four ways to kill narrative drive
If you took all the books that were ever written and laid them end-to-end you'd have a very long line of books – the point being that with so much to read if you're lucky enough to have a reader take...
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4 ways your protagonist can learn the truth
It's not just detective stories that require the protagonist to discover hidden truths. An MC actively pursuing some hidden knowledge will provide strong narrative propulsion to any story – providing...
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How to make good writing great
You're probably sick of hearing that good writing requires well-drawn characters, exhilarating plots, conflict on every page and lots at stake - but that's really like saying what makes a great pizza...
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How professionals generate story ideas
If you're going to make a living writing then one great story idea is not enough. You have to keep churning them out. If you manage to get the attention of an agent or editor with a great piece of...
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How to create suspense
Every writer wants to keep their reader gripped right through to the end of their story - that elusive thing called 'narrative-drive' – but how do we achieve it? Theoretically it's simple enough –...
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Revelations and Reveals - how to surprise your reader
I've talked a lot on my blog about creating narrative-interest – what gives a story it's propulsive quality, what makes the reader, audience-member or viewer keep with you until the bitter end....
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The Subtextual Gap - the what, why and how of subtext
Subtext is a slippery thing, a frequently misunderstood thing. Good writing will have it – but what is it, what does it mean, and when should we use it? According to the OED subtext is an underlying...
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Five reasons to keep writing
We've all been there – staring at a blank page wondering what the hell we're going to write on it, or worse, why the hell we're even trying in the first place. A novel or a play can take years of...
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Five things more important than knowledge
Have you ever met anyone who knows everything? No? Me neither. And I'm not sure I'd want to. They'd either be the most fascinating person on earth - or the most boring. But the accumulation of...
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How to be both original and universal
What exactly do we mean when we talk about 'originality'? The ability to think independently? Being new or inventive? Most certainly – but for the creative, this definition has its challenges - to be...
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How to free the genius inside you
Writers are made up of five elements. The good news is, you already have them – all you need to do is identify your weak spots and fix them. Here they are in ascending order of importance – so start...
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Why you should write a treatment before anything else
We all have different ways of working, of getting what we need to get done, of going from something to nothing. Some of us pants, some of us plot, all of us make excuses. Sometimes, as in any...
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How to be a bloody awful writer
Writing advice can be sickening. Stick around on the internet long enough and you'll keep reading the same old tripe, constantly regurgitated by would-be writing experts, vomiting up platitudes as if...
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A letter to the playwrights of England
Let’s talk about drama. Remember that? A term that comes from a Greek word meaning ‘action’ which is derived from ‘to act’. And that’s it. The key to all great plays - if you want drama you must have...
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