#screenwriting #writersroom #keepgoing #bbcwriters #drama Super excited to have made top 1% in this years open call. BBC Voices? Who knows. Will wait and see.

Watching quiet place day one. I guess if you snored you were dead. I'd be a gonner

I challenge anyone to not be moved by these stories. Soul Music - "Yellow" Powerful stuff and a great listen through the tears. bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002pp…

As if this were my life

In 1966, children shared their visions of life in the year 2000

Besides writing books and articles, I also write lyrics. This is my most recent work that I wrote as a country ballad and protest anthem to redress the corrupt fascist attack on our American democracy. Here’s the link on my newly launched YouTube page: youtu.be/cRo1PYAppgw

I struggled with Act 2 for years. It was the barren desert where my screenplays went to die. What changed for me was realizing the role of Act 2 in the story. Embracing this was a huge breakthrough in my screenwriting. Here is how I attack Act 2 now: 👇 From a pure story perspective: The job of Act 2 is for the protagonists to earn the spiritual, emotional, and physical tools to answer the dramatic question to the audience's satisfaction. This is why Act 2 matters. In Act 1, the character is not capable of answering the dramatic question to our satisfaction. In Act 3, they are. So Act 2 is about getting them there. This is where they transform. Act 3 is then about proving it. When you approach Act 2 with this in mind rather than, "What plot stuff can happen next?" you make your job 100x easier. Once again, story is character, and character is story. They are inseparable. So don't just think about how to get to Act 3 as a plot question. This is the mistake most new writers make. Start thinking about how to get to Act 3 as a character question. So how do you push, prod, kick, and punch your characters into that transformation? People don’t change willingly. They change because they break. They have failed. Events physically and mentally change the direction their spirit was going. When characters change, their choices change, too. If this isn't the whole point of your Act 2, then the transformation is just a tacked-on "arc" that means nothing to anyone. We will have no emotional response to it because it will not be ingrained in the story. It's just there. Act 2 needs to be necessary. Don't treat it like a drag. Approach it with the enthusiasm it deserves. Action, thrills, drama, horror. Doesn't matter. Make strong, bold narrative choices that alter the protagonist, or when a protagonist remains steadfast, alter those around them. When you do, you'll discover what I did: Act 2 is where the fun happens. It's where some of the best character work emerges, whether it's a character study or a genre film. Act 2 is literally and figuratively the heart of the story.

But for those who have strived, whose dreams have been sacrificed to the alter of belief, who have fought on to the end, believing the lie. I tell your story. All of our stories. The tale of The Last Unicorn. #5

Our wreathed victors stand on the backs of talented losers, the unlucky diamonds, and talentless dreamers. For we are the drones, the workers and grafters; keeping the world turning in the ballroom of dreams, for the lucky few. #4

But the truth in the lie, what none of us are told is that for every person who makes it, for every footballer turned professional, for every singer who gets a contract, every actor who finds fame, there are tens of thousands of dreams that must wither and die to make it. #3

If we just want it enough; if we just work hard enough; if we just refuse to give up. Whether it’s the job, the partner, or fame and fortune. Whatever it is you can have it, just so long as you dream big. Big enough to make it worthwhile. #2

I joined the WGA in 1996. My career's been dead at least twice since. I had no one to blame but myself for that. No work, no prospects, no more favors to cash in. In '06, I gave up even trying. I moved back to Texas and worked at The Apple Store while I finally earned a degree at my beloved University of Houston. I had no idea what my second career would be, but I missed writing, so, with no real expectations, I wrote. It's a fantastic thing about this business: No matter how far away you are, no matter how long it's been... you're never more than one great spec away from starting (or restarting) your career. Write your spec.

Get me. Changed a tap in my kitchen whilst smashing out a first rate screenplay. Two things I never thought possible. When you put our minds to things we can achieve anything.

📣 New on our blog 📣 The Spec Script: Script Consultant @PhilipShelley1 explains why spec scripts are fundamental to the industry and shares some great advice. "They are your currency as a writer. Everything good will come from a promising spec script." We'll be announcing the dates of our next Open Call soon. If you're thinking of entering a script then check out Philip's blog post >>>bbc.co.uk/writers/blog/the-s…

So interestingly as I've looked around I've found one or two who have blocked me. And that's fine. I'm not anti trans but I am definitely pro-women. Men can't be women but if you think that, that's fine. I respect your right to say it. If you still want to block me. Go ahead.

How rude

The fear is real! 🫖