SCREENWRITING – THE CRAFT AND THE CAREER by PHILIP SHELLEY
Dear All, SCREENWRITING – THE CRAFT AND THE CAREER by PHILIP SHELLEY https://www.nickhernbooks.co.uk/screenwriting Following up on last Friday’s newsletter teaser, I’m delighted to be able to share with you that I have written a book about screenwriting which will be published by Nick Hern Books on January 23rd 2025 – and as of today Dec 5th is […]
A TEASER & SOME RECOMMENDATIONS
Hi There, This fortnight – a teaser and more recommendations. TEASER! I’ve been reading a LOT of these (teasers) in the scripts submitted for the 2025 Channel 4 screenwriting course and here is one of my own. I’ve been working on a particular, personal project for the last couple of years which is finally about […]
WRITING ABOUT WRITING – SOME RECOMMENDATIONS
Hi There, This fortnight – some recommendations of writing about writing. I’ve recently read these excellent books – LIKE BROTHERS by Mark and Jay Duplass Part memoir and part instructional book for budding filmmakers and writers. If you know anything about the Duplass brothers’ body of work, you will be interested to read this and […]
THE PROFESSIONAL SCREENWRITER
Hi There, It’s blindingly obvious that the most important thing for budding screenwriters is your writing – your ability to tell a story compellingly and entertainingly. But my experience working with so many writers over so many years has taught me that your all-important talent at writing is nothing without the other less writing-focused facets […]
BIOPICS
BIOPICS It seems to me that BIOPICS are one of the hardest genres to nail. There are just so many pitfalls to avoid with this – extremely well-worn – genre. Some of those pitfalls – Name-dropping / name-checking. By which I mean the trope where famous names are dropped into the conversation – and the […]
HOW TO GET AN AGENT by Jenny Takahashi Stark
How to get an agent By: Jenny Takahashi Stark How do you get an agent? Like, how the HELL do you get an agent?? That’s the question I kept asking myself a few years ago. I’d Google it and some vague stuff would come up about knowing the right people and winning competitions. I really […]
DRAMATIC STORY & SPORT
Hi There, Please bear with this – there is a story telling reason for it!… In August last year (2023) I went to watch my son running in a very low-key 5000m race on the track in Eltham South London. Leading up to his race was a series of 800m & 1500m races. These events, […]
CHANNEL 4 SCREENWRITING COURSE 2025
Hi There, CHANNEL 4 SCREENWRITING COURSE 2025 I hope you have had an enjoyable and productive summer. I’m delighted to be able to announce that we will again be running the CHANNEL 4 SCREENWRITING COURSE in 2025. Entries will open on Monday September 23rd and close on Friday October 4th. All the details are on […]
MONTAGE
MONTAGE IN SCREENPLAYS I’ve been thinking about MONTAGE recently – when does it work? What makes a good montage? What makes a bad montage? Montage is used very much more in film than in TV series drama. It’s so often used to rush us through a particular section of story – and there’s less […]
WRITERS & RECOMMENDATIONS
Hi There, SCRIPT READING & DEVELOPMENT Q&A July 18th 6pm – 2 ½ hour session on zoom for max 8 people. As of Thursday July 11th, there is one spot remaining for this session – Script Reading & Development Q&A – Philip Shelley, Script Consultant (script-consultant.co.uk) THE GENERAL ELECTION Is it just me or is […]
