Word Count

Word Count 59: WGA strike breakthrough, Discoveries 2024 open…

September 26, 2023

Plus David Koepp on his Jurassic Park first draft, WGGB calls for residuals, Bookshop.org to branch out into ebooks, killer Barbie stats and more. Hi there, It’s a gorgeous autumnal day as I write this, with the sound of power tools humming outside as the neighbours get a new fence and shed put up. Good […]

Read the full article →

Word Count 58: The problem with blurbs, Susan Cooper at the British Library

September 12, 2023

Plus BAFTA Rocliffe, Channel 4 Screenwriting Course 2024 & Cheshire Novel Prize Kids, Scriptnotes on character and voice, Amazon’s AI guidelines and Taylor Swift vs Hollywood. Well, hello there! After too many days of obnoxiously hot weather, I’m relieved to say that my office is no longer a sweltering 30C. My brain doesn’t really function […]

Read the full article →

Word Count 57: Arthur C Clarke Award results, what James Gunn’s music choices tell us about Guardians of the Galaxy

August 29, 2023

Plus podcasts about The Good Place and Asterix, some writer’s strike news, and extremely fluffy snow leopard cubs. Hi there, This issue of Word Count is brought to you from the past! I’m going to be spending the weekend in what is promising to be a very rainy Llandudno, where I will be saying an […]

Read the full article →

Word Count 56: Tag and the Six Act Structure, Sex Education, John le Carré Scholarship

August 15, 2023

Plus BBC Writers Room Open Call, Kindle Newsstand closes, fake books on Amazon & Goodreads, FTC lawsuit could break up Amazon, Filmmakers Podcast talks to Christopher McQuarrie, and Grabbity update. Hi there, I’m writing this on a grey and dismal day and it feels like we’ve not had a summer at all this year. Good […]

Read the full article →

Word Count 55: BAFTA screenwriting comp, GQ shenanigans, streaming’s candle sputters…

August 1, 2023

Plus massive Bloomsbury profits, a brief history of Marvel Studios, TikTok owner ByteDance becomes a publisher, two writing craft podcasts, and the escape room someone ought to lock me in. Hi there, This newsletter was actually written a few weeks ago, just before I went on holiday. But whilst I was away, the SAG-AFTRA strike […]

Read the full article →

Word Count 54: SAG-AFTRA has entered the game

July 18, 2023

The actors are striking and it matters for all of us. Note: I’d already written this week’s newsletter, because I’m technically on holiday, but this all felt rather time-sensitive, so you’ll get that newsletter next time. I’m also really jetlagged so any incoherency is because of that. Honest. Hi there, Well, it happened. Last week, […]

Read the full article →

Word Count 53: The state of AI and the Goodreads fiasco

July 4, 2023

Just two main topics this week but one is important and the other is mindboggling. Lots of articles about so-called AI have crossed my field of vision over the last two weeks, so I thought now might be a good time to do a round-up. It’s really, really hard to keep up with all that’s […]

Read the full article →

Word Count 52: Ada Lovelace Day is back! Fieldwork update, Clarke Award shortlist

June 20, 2023

Plus Alex North webinar available for catch-up, visualising plots, Blackadder lost pilot, why it’s hard to hear dialogue, group dynamics and more! Hi there, A couple of weeks ago, when I decided to move to a fortnightly schedule, I didn’t think it would be difficult to just write less. But did I really miss writing […]

Read the full article →

Fieldwork: Do you know where your keys are?

June 19, 2023

Are you sure? Absolutely sure? Because I know I don’t have them. I’m just over a month into the background research for Fieldwork and have already carried out half a dozen interviews with ecologists in a wide variety of disciplines. We’ve talked about everything, from the challenges of surveying plants in highland bogs, to working […]

Read the full article →

Word Count 51: Alex North webinar on Thursday, insights from sword fighting, planning your writing year

June 6, 2023

Plus Hollywood’s death spiral, the DGA deal, and Grabbity’s poorly again. Hi there, As I thought it might, my current period of underemployment is drawing to a close and I am soon about to be very, very busy indeed. So this newsletter is going to move to a fortnightly schedule and I’ll be alternating it […]

Read the full article →

Word Count 50: Kickstart your plot, Wosson Cornwall, anti-perfectionism

May 30, 2023

Plus a post on self-promotion, and Cassie & Polly make an appearance. Hi there, Last week was a short week, thanks to an extra-long weekend in north Wales! So this week’s newsletter will also be slightly shorter than usual. It’s also my 50th newsletter, which feels like a nice milestone to mark! Tip-top tip: Two […]

Read the full article →

Word Count 49: Alex North webinar, how to survive new book promo, the LLM-generated shit tsunami continues

May 23, 2023

Plus loads of TV scripts to download, author Madeleine Dore talks about her writing career, and Grabbity does something silly. Hi there, I am extremely excited to launch my new webinar series, in which I’ll chat with a variety of writers about the craft of writing, their processes, and how they deal with those moments […]

Read the full article →

Fieldwork: A look at what’s to come

May 17, 2023

It’s always good to have a plan so that you can point at it and laugh when reality has other ideas. I thought I’d go through the rough project plan for Fieldwork so that you can see what’s involved and the sort of things I’m going to write about. To some extent, this newsletter is […]

Read the full article →

Word Count 48: WFTV Screenwriters’ Lab, comedy mentoring, Virago Press Furies short story competition

May 16, 2023

Plus Sitcom Geeks look back on the Big Comedy Conference, how to sell a book on Substack, showrunner John Rodgers on the WGA strike, king cheetahs, and more! Hi there, There’s much to share in this week’s newsletter, so let’s just get on with it! Opportunity: WFTV Kay Mellor Screenwriters’ Lab 2023 Women in Film […]

Read the full article →

Word Count 47: Why we should all care about the WGA writer’s strike

May 9, 2023

Plus the importance of the WGA’s AI demands, Fieldwork, The Lacemaker, and opportunity costs. Hi there, Happy 1st Birthday to Word Count! It’s about a year since I started this newsletter, and I’m slightly surprised that I’ve stuck to my weekly schedule. I have to be honest, I thought that my initial enthusiasm would wear […]

Read the full article →