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# TR Guest

 Writer

## Sitemaps

- [XML Sitemap](https://trguest.com/sitemap.xml): Contains all public & indexable URLs for this website.

## Posts

- [London Writers' Meetup: why are we slaves to perfectionism?](https://trguest.com/london-writers-meetup-why-are-we-slaves-to-perfectionism) - It turns out, perfectionism doesn't only afflict writers - readers suffer from it too...
- [Don't be shy now - why talking about your ideas saves time later on](https://trguest.com/dont-be-shy-now-why-talking-about-your-ideas-saves-time-later-on) - For a long time I was completely allergic to road-testing my concepts. Naturally, when you tell people you’re writing something, they want to know what you’re writing. Sounds reasonable enough. But that would be the point where white-hot fear would hit me and I would point into space and say “oh my god, look at that!” or
- [Writing through grief (or trying to, incredibly badly)](https://trguest.com/writing-through-grief-or-trying-to-incredibly-badly) - It turns out it’s hard to write comedy when your dad’s just died. My lovely dad was taken into hospital suddenly at the end of August 2021 and died of Covid at the start of December. From the moment he was admitted, everything moved so quickly that I didn’t have time to process what was
- [The emotional gut-punch of I am not Raymond Wallace](https://trguest.com/the-emotional-gut-punch-of-i-am-not-raymond-wallace) - A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to go to the launch of I am not Raymond Wallace, a fantastic, moving new historical novel by Sam Kenyon. Set in New York in the early 60s, it follows Raymond Wallace, a young ex-Cambridge student who arrives in Manhattan to work in the New York Times
- [London Writers' Meetup: Is ChatGPT a friend or foe?](https://trguest.com/london-writers-meetup-is-chatgpt-a-friend-or-foe) - The January London Writers’ Meetup was as lively as usual, with around 20 writers all discussing their latest projects, their hopes fears and plans for the coming month. It’s always great to hear what people are working on, and any tips they’ve come across recently. One of our regular attendees, Carol, raised the subject of
- [The irresistible pull of Widows](https://trguest.com/the-irresistible-pull-of-widows) - So I found myself watching it again. So many years after I begged my mum to let me stay up late so I could watch it (and I could barely understand it), I’m back again. Lynda La Plante’s seminal female-led thriller remains (for me) the most exciting TV series I’ve seen. Watching for the first
- [Why is it so hard to say goodbye?](https://trguest.com/why-is-it-so-hard-to-say-goodbye) - I've just finished a script I've been working on for ages. I think it's the best thing I've written so far. So why am I finding it so hard to cut the cord and send it out into the world? I’ve not had this feeling before. Is a weird mix of hope, trepidation, self-doubt and
- [How ZeroZeroZero turned the drug cartel thriller on its head](https://trguest.com/how-zerozerozero-turned-the-drug-cartel-thriller-on-its-head) - Like lots of people in lockdown, I spend most of my time apologising to friends and family that I have nothing to say for myself. What did I do today? Pretty much what I've done for the last 365 days, while wearing a Matalan jogging bottoms and sweatshirt combo. Sometimes I mix up the colours
- [Delaying Kilgrave: The trouble with Jessica Jones' antagonist](https://trguest.com/delaying-kilgrave-trouble-jessica-jones-antagonist) - I’ve just finished watching Jessica Jones on Netflix, and while I loved the set-up and the world of the story, my feelings on Kilgrave as the antagonist are mixed to say the least. I love the graphic novels, and was surprised that a relatively minor character in the Marvel universe had been adapted into a
- [Helen Duncan – the greatest true story never brought to screen?](https://trguest.com/helen-duncan-the-greatest-true-story-never-brought-to-screen) - How many writers can be working on the same story at the same time? About 7,643 it turns out. Imagine a story that brings together World War II, the supernatural, suspected fifth-columnists, Ian Fleming, Winston Churchill and a government cover-up. It sounds like a genre-mashing fantasy thought up after a dream and hastily scribbled on
- [Been ghosted? Here's how to deal with it](https://trguest.com/been-ghosted-heres-how-to-deal-with-it) - Sent something out and not received a response? You're not alone, my friend. Welcome to (IMO) the worst form of writing rejection - ghosting. Without even the merest hint of why your work hasn't made the grade, you're left alone in a darkened room, wearing your old wedding dress Miss Havisham-style and wondering what the
- [Can you change from a planner to a pantser?](https://trguest.com/can-you-swap-from-being-a-planner-to-a-pantser) - I've tried it both ways. I've followed the advice of screenwriting books and have diligently plotted a film or TV series with my 5"x7" cards with so many beats per act. I've added a sub-plot at the first act turning point, made sure conflict broke out into the open in the second half of Act
- [Hark by John R Gordon - a new twist on folk horror](https://trguest.com/hark-by-john-r-gordon) - I recently read John R Gordon's new novel Hark set in a racially divided Southern US town - a world I've never experienced. But something about the book chimed with me far beyond getting wrapped up with the story and characters. It took me till I'd finished the book (no spoilers) to work out that
- [The space between: Transitions in The Silence of The Lambs script](https://trguest.com/the-space-between-transitions-in-the-silence-of-the-lambs-script) - I’ve been working on a thriller recently, and the need for pace, suspense, surprise and, well, thrills made me consider the use of transitions in scripts more than ever. I’ve always known that the space between scenes can tell more than the scenes themselves – a cut to a contradictory scene in a comedy can
- [Bend and snap out of it - why I can't stop watching (and reading) Legally Blonde](https://trguest.com/bend-and-snap-out-of-it-why-i-cant-stop-watching-and-reading-legally-blonde) - I can't count the number of times I've seen Legally Blonde. Staggeringly, it's 20 years old this year (about time for its first spa visit). I love the story, the characters, the direction, the dialogue, the arc of Elle Woods - everything about it. I've read the script countless times - and as I'm currently
- [How I got punched in the gut by Doctor Who (not literally)](https://trguest.com/the-surprising-emotional-gut-punch-of-doctor-who) - I wasn't expecting to be emotionally affected by William Hartnell's Doctor till I saw Ian and Barbara's departure.
- [Kill your darlings live - changing dialogue in rehearsal](https://trguest.com/kill-your-darlings-live-changing-dialogue-in-rehearsal) - Pegasus Opera Company recently staged a part-performance of the opera I wrote - Let The Music In - in Brixton for an invited audience. The performances were compered by the BBC's Brenda Emmanus and starred Pegasus founder Lloyd Newton as Alfio, Anne Fridal as Floria and Ronald Samm as Leoporello. The Narrator was played by
- [Pegasus Opera Company: Unpacked and Reloaded](https://trguest.com/pegasus-opera-company-unpacked-reloaded) - I was very proud to be part of Pegasus Opera’s Unpacked and Reloaded event last year (where has the time gone?!) Pegasus is the UK’s leading professional multiracial touring opera company, based in Brixton, south London. They have a long track record of staging high quality productions and developing works that appeal to both traditional opera
- [Taking control of your writing with Submissions Secrets](https://trguest.com/want-to-take-control-of-your-writing-try-submissions-secrets-by-bang2write) - In the spirit of 'New Year, New Me!' (despite wearing the same three Matalan sweatshirts on rotation since March last year), I recently took Bang2Write's (aka Lucy V. Hay's) Submissions Secrets course. The course was a week-long guide to making the most of your work once you've completed the mini-Everest of getting the thing finished
- [The screenplay format – when pointless obsession takes hold](https://trguest.com/the-screenplay-format-when-pointless-obsession-takes-hold) - The agony of widows in a screenplay. Am I suffering alone?
- [The terror of the first 10 pages](https://trguest.com/terror-first-10-script-pages) - What makes the first 10 pages of a script so terrifying to write?
- [How I plumbed the depths of my brain for Twisted 50](https://trguest.com/how-i-plumbed-the-depths-of-my-brain-for-twisted-50) - I don't scare easily. I can watch most horror films without turning a hair - apart from the completely mad To The Devil a Daughter which was on one night when I came in after a few drinks. It freaked me out for days. I also remember being paralysed with fear reading The Little Stranger
- [On location: Or how I found myself lurking around London by night](https://trguest.com/on-location-or-how-i-found-myself-lurking-around-london-by-night) - The thriller I’ve been working on is the first London-set script I’ve written in a long time. I wanted to write something as pared-down, tight and, well, thrilling, as possible. I also wanted it to be something of a love letter to London – the city I’ve lived in for a long time now. I
- ['Draguation' at the Soho Theatre with Finger In The Pie cabaret](https://trguest.com/drag-finger-in-the-pie-cabaret-soho-theatre) - It's Tuesday, so it must be a drag-graduation (draguation if you prefer) at the Soho Theatre. This is the third piece of drag theatre I've seen at the Soho within the space of a few weeks, so you could say it's becoming a habit *adjusts wig*. The drag graduates were seven men and one woman who'd taken part
- [Off The Wall Players' Saturday Soup - drama exploring food and relationships](https://trguest.com/off-the-wall-players-play-saturday-soup) - Last night I saw Saturday Soup - a collection of short plays by Off The Wall Players - a small emerging theatre company based in Shoreditch, east London. The plays were performed at The Brady Arts Centre in Shoreditch - a setting right at the heart of the community depicted in the drama. The plays
- [Widows: can Steve McQueen transfer one of the UK's best-ever crime dramas successfully to film?](https://trguest.com/widows-uk-tv-drama-to-be-film) - I can't help myself. I've started watching it again. I'm currently on my twenty-somethingth viewing of Lynda La Plante's Widows - a six-part TV drama I've been obsessed with for as long as I can remember. I'm so familiar with it, I now have to ration myself so I don't spoil it - although I can't imagine

## Pages

- [About me](https://trguest.com/about-me) - Hello and thanks for visiting my site. I live in south London, where I write fiction, screenplays and plays. I'm represented by WGM Atlantic. I have a MA in Screenwriting from University of The Arts and I’m lucky enough to have had my work optioned, performed and published. I’m currently working on several projects with producers and
- [Friends and more](https://trguest.com/friends-and-others) - Writing can be a solitary, hard path to tread (OK, it's just typing, I get it). Here are some of my friends, contacts and online resources I consult often to help my writing and keep me sane. Bang2WriteA hugely comprehensive 'how to' guide for everything screenwriting and fiction writing, compiled by the incredibly prolific and
- [Current work](https://trguest.com/current-work) - COMPLETED PROJECTS THE MOTHER LOAD FEATURE - COMEDYFast-paced road comedy.Optioned. NOBODY FEATURE - THRILLERSemi-finalist Shore Scripts feature contest. Optioned. THE FEAR TRIGGER FEATURE - HORRORFemale-led contained horror.Logline, synopsis and full script available. THE SET-UP FEATURE - ROMANTIC COMEDYLogline, synopsis and full script available. FORTUNE FEATURE - COMEDYLogline, synopsis and full script available. MISS HECATE SHORT In
- [Credits](https://trguest.com/credits) - LET THE MUSIC IN OPERA LIBRETTOI was commissioned to write an original opera libretto by Pegasus Opera Company - the UK’s leading Black and multi-racial opera company. The opera was produced by Pegasus Opera Company and performed and part-performed at the Black Cultural Archives / Brixton Library / Actor’s Church Covent Garden – 2016/2017. MOTHER’S
- [My work](https://trguest.com/my-work) - CREDITS A selection of my film, play and fiction writing credits to date. CURRENT WORK Some of the projects in a finished (as much as anything's ever finished!) state, and what I'm currently working on. JOURNALISM AND COPYWRITING A selection of my journalism, copywriting and content design work.
- [Journalism and copywriting](https://trguest.com/journalism-and-copywriting) - I've worked as a journalist and copywriter for my whole career. The discipline of writing for a living has helped hugely with my screenwriting, prose and playwriting - and given me loads of inspiration. Here's a selection of my work to date. MAGAZINE WORK I've written short and long-form editorial on loads of subjects for

## Reviews

- [What I learned from... 'The Tutor' by Courtney Psak](https://trguest.com/review/what-i-learned-from-the-tutor-by-courtney-psak) - About the book Letting her into your home was your first mistake... Rose is a dedicated wife and mother to her husband Grant and her son James. Having recently moved to a grand mansion in Florida, Rose is keen for James to fit in with his new life and hires a tutor. Isabel is young,
- [What I learned from... 'The Neighbours' by Emma Babbington](https://trguest.com/review/what-i-learned-from-the-neighbours-by-emma-babbington) - You’re almost certain your daughter didn’t kill the neighbour. But what if she did?
- [What I learned from... 'The Absolutes' by Kate Potter](https://trguest.com/review/what-i-learned-from-the-absolutes-by-kate-potter) - About the book His wife is dead. His beloved daughter has been lost to a dangerous cult. And now time is running out to rebuild their relationship. Haunted by his failings as a son, a husband and, most of all, as a father, he is desperate to try and make things right before it's too
- [What I learned from... 'Mother of Serpents' by John R Gordon](https://trguest.com/review/what-i-learned-from-mother-of-serpents-by-john-r-gordon) - About the book Brooklyn-based poet DuVone Mapley-Stevenson is already struggling with fragile mental health when his white husband Jack gets a promotion that means them relocating to all-white Kwawidokawa County, upstate Maine. At first it seems this could be a fresh start for the financially-stretched family, even if the house Jack has found them is
- [What I learned from... 'Small Bomb at Dimperley' by Lissa Evans](https://trguest.com/review/what-i-learned-from-small-bomb-at-dimperley-by-lissa-evans) - About the book It's 1945, and Corporal Valentine Vere-Thissett, aged 23, is on his way home. But ‘home’ is Dimperley, built in the 1500s, vast and dilapidated, up to its eaves in debt and half-full of fly-blown taxidermy and dependent relatives, the latter clinging to a way of life that has gone forever. And worst
- [What I learned from... 'A Bouquet of Barbed Wire' by Andrea Newman](https://trguest.com/review/what-i-learned-from-a-bouquet-of-barbed-wire-by-andrea-newman) - About the book Peter Manson's apparently successful life is turned upside down when his beloved teenage daughter Prue reveals she's pregnant by her teacher, Gavin Sorenson. The very heart of the family is threatened as Peter has an intuitive sense that Gavin is on a personal quest for revenge. As Peter becomes consumed by anxiety
- [What I learned from... 'The Road to Reckoning' by Robert Lautner](https://trguest.com/review/what-i-learned-from-the-road-to-reckoning-by-robert-lautner) - An old man recounts a perilous journey he took as a young man. Shocking, violent, brilliant.
- [What I learned from... 'After The Storm' by GD Wright](https://trguest.com/review/what-i-learned-from-after-the-storm-by-gd-wright) - About the book When local couple Andrew and Sophie take their daughter and her friend to the beach on a stormy day, they are momentarily distracted leading both children to get washed out to sea. Andrew dives in, but comes back ashore with only one child – his own daughter, Maria. Joe, the son of
- [What I learned from... 'Notice' by Heather Lewis](https://trguest.com/review/what-i-learned-from-notice-by-heather-lewis) - About the book Her name is not Nina, but that's the name she uses sometimes. At her local bar, in the carpark with her tricks, when she needs to score. She doesn't really need the money. But it lays bare the truth of each loveless transaction. Still living at home, each chance encounter is a
- [What I learned from... 'The Judas Pair' by Jonathan Gash](https://trguest.com/review/what-i-learned-from-the-judas-pair-by-jonathan-gash) - Mystery! Death! Antiques! And a surprisingly emotional thriller plot.
- [What I learned from... 'The Good Girl' by Michelle Dunne](https://trguest.com/review/what-i-learned-from-the-good-girl-by-michelle-dunne) - A taught, shocking thriller with compelling characters. It's a grim win!
- [What I learned from... 'Birnam Wood' by Eleanor Catton](https://trguest.com/review/what-i-learned-from-birnam-wood-by-eleanor-catton) - A propulsive eco-thriller with great character development and a *very* shocking ending.
- [What I learned from... 'Sunburn' by Laura Lippman](https://trguest.com/review/what-i-learned-from-sunburn-by-laura-lippman) - Short, sharp and deadly. It's the perfect noir!
- [What I learned from... 'Shuggie Bain' by Douglas Stewart](https://trguest.com/review/what-i-learned-from-shuggie-bain-by-douglas-stewart) - A hard, grim portrait of addiction. But with a bit of love.
- [What I learned from... 'Nightbitch' by Rachel Yoder](https://trguest.com/review/nightbitch-by-rachel-yoder) - Woman becomes dog. Or does she?
- [What I learned from... 'How it all began' by Penelope Lively](https://trguest.com/review/what-i-learned-from-how-it-all-began-by-penelope-lively) - One shocking event causes multiple domino effects.
- [What I learned from 'My Year of Rest and Relaxation' by Ottessa Moshfegh](https://trguest.com/review/what-i-learned-from-my-year-of-rest-and-relaxation-by-odessa-moshfegh) - Acidic, bleak and incredibly, shockingly funny.
- [What I learned from...'The Birthday Party' by Laurent Mauvignier](https://trguest.com/review/what-i-learned-from-the-birthday-party-by-laurent-mauvignier) - A nerve-shredding thriller in super slow-motion. Unique and brilliant.
- [What I learned from... 'The Stand' by Stephen King](https://trguest.com/review/what-i-learned-from-the-stand-by-stephen-king) - The Stand is very very long. It's post-apocalyptic horror. Did I mention it's long?
- [What I learned from... 'Yellowface' by Rebecca F. Kuang](https://trguest.com/review/what-i-learned-from-yellowface-by-rebecca-f-kuang) - An instant bestseller with a killer (almost literally) first line, I couldn’t wait to read this.
- [What I learned from... 'Prophet Song' by Paul Lynch](https://trguest.com/review/what-i-learned-from-prophet-song-by-paul-lynch) - Immersive, compulsive and relentlessly grim. Ta-da!
- [What I learned from... 'Rumours' by Freya North](https://trguest.com/review/what-i-learned-from-rumours-by-freya-north) - Excellent world-building, compelling characters and great narration. What's not to like?

## Categories

- [Writing](https://trguest.com/category/writing) - All about my writing, writing tips and more
- [Stage](https://trguest.com/category/stage)
- [Film and TV](https://trguest.com/category/film-and-tv)
- [Books](https://trguest.com/category/books)
- [What I learned from...](https://trguest.com/category/what-i-learned)

## Tags

- [Plays](https://trguest.com/tag/plays)
- [Off The Wall Players](https://trguest.com/tag/off-the-wall-players)
- [Theatre](https://trguest.com/tag/theatre)
- [TV](https://trguest.com/tag/tv)
- [Screenwriting](https://trguest.com/tag/screenwriting)
- [Cabaret](https://trguest.com/tag/cabaret)
- [Marvel](https://trguest.com/tag/marvel)
- [NetFlix](https://trguest.com/tag/netflix)
- [Ideas](https://trguest.com/tag/ideas)
- [Writing](https://trguest.com/tag/writing)
- [editing](https://trguest.com/tag/editing)
- [Doctor Who](https://trguest.com/tag/doctor-who)
- [Literary](https://trguest.com/tag/literary)

## Authors

- [Rachel Yoder](https://trguest.com/reviews/authors/rachel-yoder)
- [Stephen King](https://trguest.com/reviews/authors/stephen-king)

## Genres

- [Horror](https://trguest.com/reviews/genres/horror)