I was reminded a few weeks ago when 2021 turned to 2022 that this is the 10th anniversary of the publication of the first MetaWars novel. How time flies! I first put pen to paper (yes, actual paper!) in the Spring of 2010. I’d left a senior job at a production company to embark on […]
I was delighted to return to the London Screenwriter’s Festival in its virtual edition to share my World Building course. If you attended, apologies for my allergies! It’s never fun to give a presentation whilst suffering Spring hay fever, but we got through it! All of the details are here.
I was fortunate to return to the annual London Screenwriters’ Festival to host a panel on one of my favourite topics, science fiction. It was an esteemed panel of Ed Neumeier (ROBOCOP, STARSHIP TROOPERS), Debbie Moon (WOLFBLOOD), and Dr. Una McCormack (professor at Anglia Ruskin University and author of DOCTOR WHO and Star Trek novels). If you’re a writer, the […]
Today I was fortunate enough to attend the TV Writers’ Festival hosted by the invaluable BBC Writers Room. During the panel with Piers Wenger (BBC head of drama), Victoria Fea (drama commissioner at itv), and Anna Hargreaves (drama executive at sky), someone in the audience (I believe writer/producer Chris Jury, but I was seated in […]
We don’t like to talk about failure. It’s icky, depressing, and we fear it’s contagious. But unless we acknowledge failure as a necessary condition for moving anything forward, we do ourselves a great disservice, and we risk believing in the myth of “overnight success.” Creative people – writers, musicians, actors, artists, poets – know this […]
I returned to the London Screenwriters’ Festival this year to expand on last year’s World Building lecture. This year, I led a workshop on writing a series bible. I took participants through defining and outlining their show. It was my goal to help writers not only get their show sold, but also produced. I was incredibly […]
I had the pleasure of speaking at the annual Children’s Media Conference in Sheffield, this year helping budding writers and producers craft the perfect show bible. The “bible” in TV parlance is the document that tells everyone what the show is. It’s an essential document, and is the tool that ensures everyone on the show, from […]
So, today is kind of a big day. If you’re like me, a child of Star Wars, this is the day you’ve been waiting for since the mid 80’s. I must admit, I was excited (and then ultimately disappointed) by the prequels, but nothing like the excitement in store for JJ’s take on Lucas’ world. […]
I’ve been invited to host two of my favourite writers, onstage, for an awesome topic: Being Human In A Fantastic World. On Friday, October 23rd, I’ll interview Nicole Perlman, who wrote Guardians of the Galaxy (and we have her to thank from plucking the comic book out of virtual obscurity and brining it to Marvel’s attention) and […]
I’m fascinated by the intersection of character & setting. It’s the nature vs. nurture phenomenon of shaping compelling characters, begging the question does the setting shape the character or does the character exist independently of the place? Think of some of your favourite characters from books or films, they are inextricably linked to their place… Luke Skywalker […]
