Betsy the Gremlin

Writing about writing to avoid writing her writing.

  • The 6 Worst Screenwriting Mistakes You Can Make

    Are these common mistakes holding you back? [This post contains affiliate links; clicking and purchasing from these links helps support this blog so I can continue to bring you more great content!] I read and edit scripts professionally (as well as for my other writing friends, because that’s what friends do), and I’ve noticed some Read more

  • If you’re going through hell, keep going…

    It’s odd that just last week I was worried about submitting to screenplay competitions. That was the main thing and a real source of almost stress. I say ‘almost,’ because my father had a health scare last Saturday; he went to the hospital. He’s fine now, but I thought I knew what stress really before Read more

  • Do you still believe these outrageous film industry myths?

    There are plenty of myths and misconceptions about the world of screenwriting and film, just like any industry. The pervasive untruths that people believe about filmmaking are pretty wild, and before I got enmeshed in this world I believed plenty of them myself. (Heck, part of me still wants to believe that I can make Read more

  • Competition conniption.

    I’m trying to decide if I want to tweak and submit one of my pilots to competitions again. There’s a few that are due on the 31st, and the pilot did okay last year (AFF Second Rounder good! Yippie!), so it’s not a completely impossible option. Hell, it might be a good shot even. I’m Read more

  • The Best Financial Resources for Poor Writers!

    God’s honest truth? Writing is hard work. Harder still is writing to make money. Establishing yourself in your niche is no cakewalk. Promoting yourself, especially as an introvert, is nightmarish. Having every family member ask, “Remind me why you decided not to go to law school again?” is a root canal with no novocaine. I’m Read more

  • Women killing the film industry game!

    As much as I hate to admit it, the film industry is predominantly male. It’s 2020 and while things are better than the 1980’s, there’s still a long way to go. Women make up 51% of the population, but only comprise 12% of the directors of the top-grossing films of 2019. Also women are only Read more

  • Overused film tropes that will get your screenplay trashed!

    There are some things in storytelling that we repeat, rehash, and make anew. That’s part of the human condition; we love telling stories and boy howdy, do we love hearing, reading, and seeing them on the screens. Chalk it up to the hero’s journey, but humans are just super into that rising-action/climax/conclusion cycle. And within Read more

  • Gremlin’s Five Year Plan

    I was recently inspired by The Huntswoman (amazing blog! can’t recommend enough!) who posted on their instagram story about how to really dig deep and come up with a five year plan. There’s nitty-gritty detail work and going through everything step by step to try and reasonably come up with a plan to get from Read more

  • 5 Unexpected Books That’ll Make Your Screenwriting Better (and one popular one you can trash!)

    There’s a slew of books and lists of books about how to write screenplays, and they’re all fine, but let me tell you, it’s the weird and unexpected books that really added to my writing chops. Read on for a list of books you need on your shelves to up your writing game, and your Read more

  • ‘Matter’ is the minimum

    I’ve been painfully silent during the recent events and riots. Not intentionally, just circumstantially. I live with some hyper-conservatives so conversation about the riots and police brutality is out. Do I come up with more excuses? My anxiety and depression left me bed-bound? I had a cold and thought it might be Covid-19? I barely Read more