Taken from http://writewithhonour.blogspot.com/

A while ago I received a comment on this post about lovable characters. I talked about the TV characters I love and why. It was more a personal thing than anything focused on writing. I hadn't even begun to think about what the writers did to create such characters. Nevertheless, this was the comment:… Continue

Like everyone else on here I would really like to be a comissioned writer. Some times I am - when customers pay me to write them a murder mystery game, or a poem (oddly enough) but the bulk of my writing "salary" comes from writing up front and then getting paid for doing it afterwards.

What can be a little frustrating for new authors is that most of your work remains unpaid and uncomissioned. At least, that's been my experience.

However - what has suprised me is that, although publishers and… Continue

Hi everyone!

I've been working hard on improving my Writesofluid writing resources website recently.

The Opportunities section has been updated (notably the Competitions and Finding Work section)… Continue

Expositional dialogue.

We've all fallen victim to writing it at some point or another and it's a tricky one to get your head around. Sometimes it seems impossible to convey what you want to in a screenplay without spelling it out!

So what can you do to avoid it?

First of all, you need to decide whether the information you want to convey is actually necessary in order to inform the screenplay and move the plot forwards. If you can manage without it, scrap it and concentrate more on conveying t… Continue

This is a great post from Alex Epstein about episodic vs serial TV:


There is currently a pretty big disconnect, as far as I can tell, between the kind of tv shows that writers love to watch, and the kinds of tv shows that networks want to be pitched.

Ask anyone, the networks want episodic shows. They want shows you can tune in for episodes 5 and 8 and 11 and not feel you missed anything.

The kinds of shows I like are, oh, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA and DEXTER and MAD MEN. Sure, each episode tel… Continue

That's right - strip 'em! Right down to their undies! Metaphorically speaking, of course. I'm not suggesting you go out, find your character and take all their clothes off! I accept no responsibility for anyone cool crazy enough to do that!

I've heard of writers who create a character then follow a basic method to get to the heart of their new creation - interview them. Imagine you're the interrogator and they're sitting right in front of you all smug-like (depending on the character of… Continue

Usually colleges have their own guidelines when it comes to college essay for admission or personal statements. It depends on what the actual college requires. You should consider that the colleges look at more than just college essays for admission statements; they look at your grades, GPA, class standing, extracurricular activities, and school service before the… Continue

Check out this website!

I'm thinking Antonia and Katie would like to enter this... Anyone else interested? I already have my story idea planned in my head!

A novel-writing friend of mine recently alerted me to the NaNoWriMo scheme - National Novel Writing Month. In a nutshell, you sign up to the website, then during the month of November you bash out 50,000 words of a novel. Reach the target and you're a winner! "Na" I said. "I'm way too busy with my screenwriting projects at the moment". But I recently renewed my interest. Here's why:

It actually has its merits. For one thing, you have a specific target - everyone wants to win, right? 50,000 word… Continue

How do you like to collaborate?

Collaborating on a writing project with others is a fun, interesting and effective way to get ideas developed, improved, polished and ready to rock 'n' roll. It's often a way of getting projects off the ground faster than you could when working alone and the process of discussion, debate and compromise keeps interest levels high. But it's also something that can be done in many ways. I'm curious as to how other people go about collaborating on a writing project (… Continue