For the heck of it, I decided to whip together a submission for the Killer Shorts one-page horror script competition. Since the actual text might not see the light of day unless it's a finalist or winning entry, I wanted to archive it here for anybody who might like to read it. (And also because...
“25 words or less.” “Absolutely!” The lovely and brilliant short fiction writer Emily Devane and I ran another Write Away workshop last month, all about pitching… both your writing project and yourself. In one section, we looked at examples of good and bad book submission emails to agents –...
Life’s a pitch… and then you get a request for a read. Yes, the lovely and brilliant short fiction writer Emily Devane and I are co-hosting another morning writing workshop in the beautiful Yorkshire Dales town of Ilkley – and this time the focus is pitching and submitting your writing...
After mentoring on an informal and adhoc basis, I’m super-excited to announce that I’m now offering bespoke, one-to-one mentoring programs for beginner and emerging screenwriters. With six feature film scripts currently in development with producers – including the one that launched my...
Write Away is back!* Brilliant short fiction writer Emily Devane and I are hosting another writing workshop in beautiful Ilkley – and our theme this time is finding your writing voice. We’ll be digging into what people mean by ‘voice’, how to find yours, how to use it on the page and how...
Why painting walls is like writing drafts – and why it’s progress, not perfection, that matters My husband Frank and I have bought a house together (for the very first time!) and been doing it up (also for the very first time!). It’s a Victorian terrace which has needed a bit of...
Did you know that Hold Me Now by The Thompson Twins has a middle bridge section that’s very like Wichita Lineman? Nor did I until this week, when I sat down at my piano keyboard on a whim to see how possible-slash-satisfying one of my absolute favourite songs from the 80s would be to sing and...
If you build it, they will come (on the first and third Wednesdays of each month) For just over a year now, twice a month, every month, I plonk myself down at a big table in a cafe in my hometown at 10am and stay there for two hours. The reason I always bagsy a big table – and why I always...
I put myself forward for a writing gig this month that I almost didn’t put myself forward for. I’d seen the call out – asking for CV submissons – and immediately dismissed it as not something I would be good or experienced enough for. It required a writing muscle that I’ve not exercised in...
My debut spec screenplay was optioned by a Golden Globe-winning producer, and later Oscar-nominated actors were attached. Was it ‘undeniable’? No. No art is perfect (although Moonstruck comes pretty close) Screenwriting bros (who are like screenwriting gurus, but spend more of their time on...