So, You Submitted to the BBC Writers Open Call: Now What?
If you’re one of the lucky thousands that spent the last week hovering over the ‘submit’ button of the BBC Writers Open Call (or any competition, for that matter). Congratulations! You did it! But… Now what?
Solo Shows: The Medium of the Moment. But is it Worth it?
Some stories are meant to be experienced in the room. Perhaps… around the campfire?
A Solo Show is maybe the closest modern audiences will ever get to feeling like cavemen, gathering around of an evening to hear an urgent tale of paramount importance.
It’s just one storyteller and a (hopefully) packed venue. Except the storyteller isn’t telling a story, they’re living it. The audience are flies on the wall, watching this individual relive moments of their life the way we all do when tucked in bed at night. Alone.
Yes, the BBC is Broken. No, We Can’t Afford to Lose it
In all honesty, I have no right to throw my thoughts into the mix on this one, but I’ve seen some frankly stupid, impulsive, and dangerous rhetoric being spouted in the days since the BBC lost its Director General and CEO of news.
Don’t Submit Your Script to BBC Writers Until You’ve Done These Four Things
For entry-level and early career writers, the BBC Writers Open Call is the holy grail of opportunities. Whether it’s worth the hype or not, it provides unsolicited writers with two incredibly valuable things:
October 2025: WHAT A MONTH!!
I think I may have dropped acid at the start of this month… Why the hell would I put myself through a month like that?
OCTOBER WRITING CHALLENGE
Read the story of three brothers trapped in space with an overbearing mothership AI that may or may not be trying to kill them!
3 Pages or 10? How Many Pages Should it Take to Hook a Reader?
Is it true that producers and readers will only read the first ten pages of a script submission? Why do John August and Craig Maizin do the three page challenge on their podcast, Scriptnotes? What if it takes twenty pages for your story to get going?
The First Rule of a Good Story: Knowing it Will End
Marvel Studios, LucasFilm, DC, and almost every other storytelling behemoth is terrified of the one thing that made them so prolific in the first place:
Endings.
They’re what give stories meaning.
Short Films: About the Short Film Medium, How You Write it, and Reasons it May Fail Your Story
with Iris Prize LGBT+ Film Festival hitting Cardiff this week, I felt it was a good time to go over what a short film is, seeing as there’s going to be so many of them showing this week.
Go check them out!
Or, if you’re reading this in the future, you should be able to head to Channel 4 to see a selection of their best submissions.
Diaries: About the Medium, How You Write it, and Reasons it May Fail Your Story
Do you ever look at someone and wonder, “what is going on inside their head?” There are few narrative mediums more personal than the diary. As an audience, you’re literally inside the protagonists head. You feel what they feel, you do what they do.
Novellas: A Small but Mighty Medium for Your Story
It’s a story. A short story. Not a short, short story. But also, not a long short story. Understand?
Alien: Earth Finale – I Have Thoughts…
Alien: Earth messed up. I loved it. But it messed up.
You’d be forgiven after watching the latest episode on 24 September that the season finale next week is going to be amazing! Well, there is no episode next week… That was the finale.
High-End TV: What is it, How do You Write it, and Reasons it may Fail Your Story
High-End TV (HETV) is an expression which essentially translates to ‘big budget limited series’. And when I say big budget, I’m talking Hollywood blockbuster levels of funding.
Why Picking the Wrong Medium Could Ruin Your Storytelling Potential
HOW are you going to tell your story?
Every medium has its strengths and weaknesses. Blockbuster films were once a no-brainer for profit and reach, but depleting ticket sales and streaming releases are raising questions about the form’s longevity. High-End TV (HETV) is undergoing a similar peak and collapse, and TV soaps are fighting for survival every day.
Out of the Shadow: 7 Types of Shadow Character Archetype That Make Great Protagonists
The reason the Shadow is called the Shadow is because, well, that’s what it is. If we are the Hero, then our Shadow is the dark force that follows us around when we stand in the light. The stronger the light, the stronger the shadow.
Looking Shapeshifty - 4 Types of Shapeshifter Archetype in Storytelling & How they Make Compelling Protagonists
Shapeshifters are defined, irritatingly, by their indefinability. So, I will defer to the inspiration for this series, Christopher Vogler, for a definition:
Trickster of the Light: Four Types of Trickster Archetype, Their Traits, and How to Turn them Into a Protagonist
Tricksters aren’t villains. Except for when they are. In all honesty, there’s no such thing as a villain, but Tricksters are the first archetype in this series that closest resembles the direct antagonist to the protagonist of your source text.
“Holy Allyship, Batman!” 6 Types of Ally Archetype and How They Can Support Their Own Story
So far, we’ve explored the nature of two archetypes and how they make great protagonists (the Mentor and Threshold Guardian), now it’s time for the Ally to step out of the shadow and into the Hero’s seat.
More than ‘Just an Obstacle’: How to Turn your Threshold Guardian Characters into Engaging Protagonists
In essence, that’s what a Threshold Guardian is.
The hero is at point A.
They need to be at point C.
But point B is blocked by someone / something.
Spin Off I Guess: How to Write a Spin-Off for your Mentor
The Mentor is, in most cases, the character that reminds the audience what it is the whole story is about. If a story is Thesis / Antithesis / Synthesis, where the antagonist represents antithesis and the hero strives for synthesis, the Mentor represents the thesis.