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53 Comments
Roy
11/17/2014 11:23:08 am
Thank you so much for sharing this. It's easy to understand and inspiring. Great advice for writers in general. Did you ever write a post on twists?
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Alec
11/18/2014 09:26:02 pm
I did indeed. Here you go, Roy: http://alecworley.weebly.com/blog/the-five-types-of-twist-ending
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Nicolas
12/9/2014 11:38:35 pm
Thanks a lot for this invaluable advice! Sorry, but I have only one question, please: Do you think 2000AD will accept submissions from outside UK? (I'm from Argentina) Once again, thank you so much!
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Alec
12/10/2014 10:29:35 pm
You're welcome, Nicolas, and as far as I know 2000 AD welcome submissions from outside the UK. Just be sure to follow their submission guidelines: http://www.2000adonline.com/submissions/
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kyle
9/29/2015 07:03:48 am
Hello, I'm currently creating something to submit to 200AD but i have come across a problem with the wording and was wondering if someone could help me. By four pages do they mean four pages of script or a script compromised of 4 comic strip pages?
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Alec Worley
9/29/2015 10:47:17 am
Hi Kyle,
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kyle
9/29/2015 12:50:57 pm
Thank you for the clarification and advice.
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Alec Worley
9/29/2015 11:50:40 pm
You're welcome!
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kyle houston
10/10/2015 04:02:56 pm
I'm sorry for bothering you again, but would they prefer the script in printed format or hand written?
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Alec Worley
10/14/2015 11:55:28 pm
No worries, Kyle. Definitely type it up and send a printed copy. NEVER send a handwritten script. That's an instant rejection as far as I know. Hope this helps.
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Kyle Houston
10/16/2015 03:26:40 pm
Thank you, you've helped a lot.
Dominic
2/5/2016 08:17:23 am
Thank you so much for this, Alec. As an English language and creative writing student, not only has this further inspired me, but it has also served as motivation. I found this to be a very raw and transparent representation of the industry I hope to find myself working in someday.
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Alec
2/8/2016 02:22:05 am
Good luck, Dominic. Don't let it break your heart.
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Jim
8/6/2016 12:51:48 pm
Do you know if 2000 AD has a preferred script format (such as the graphic novel formats available on Final Draft software)? Thanks!
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Alec Worley
8/6/2016 11:25:39 pm
No need for fancy-pants Final Draft templates or anything like that, Jim. Just make sure it's typed, clear and legible. The story's the thing. Good luck!
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Joe W
9/23/2016 10:31:00 am
Prepping submissions at the minute and came across your blog -- really appreciate the advice/reassurance. And now for the question no-one wants to answer! How much, ballpark figure if you like, do 2000AD PAY for Future Shocks? I mean, we're just hacks in the end, right? Just kidding ;)
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Alec Worley
9/24/2016 09:06:55 am
Hi Joe.
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vinn
9/23/2016 07:25:39 pm
hello Alec,
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Alec Worley
9/24/2016 08:43:25 am
You’re welcome, Vinn! I’d address it simply to ‘submissions editor’.
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Joe
1/30/2017 04:14:54 pm
Hi, I submitted a future shock 1st Sept but still haven't heard back. Is this standard turn around time, and is there an avenue whereupon I can check progress or, at the very least, confirm that they received my submission?
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Alec
1/31/2017 09:42:10 am
Hi Joe. You'll almost certainly hear back, but you can expect to wait quite a while. Maybe up to 8-9 months if you're unlucky. I wouldn't call in as the editors got enough on his plate. For your own sanity, you've got to think of your submissions as disposable. Just forget you've sent it and get on with the next script you'll be posting into oblivion. :P Get your fingers in a bunch of pies. Don't just pin all your hopes on getting into the Prog. Have a bunch of projects on the go.
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Moralfiber
2/5/2017 11:31:24 pm
Hello! I want to submit my 4-page story but I'm moving out at the end of the month and the submission period ends March 1st. The only way they're gonna answer is by mail?
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Alec Worley
2/7/2017 01:25:27 am
I couldn't say for sure, but yeah I think the submissions are open every year. How about you address the SAE to a friend or relative's address so they can take it in while you're finding a new place...?
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Guy
2/9/2017 03:32:23 am
Hey great article, it really helped me as did the article on twist endings!
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Alec Worley
2/9/2017 07:56:06 am
Glad these helped, Guy.
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Guy
2/9/2017 08:09:23 am
Thanks very much for taking the time to reply, i really appreciate the advice.
Alec Worley
2/9/2017 09:41:00 am
You're very welcome, Guy. And thanks for the kind words.
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7/14/2017 03:39:59 am
Hi Alec,
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Alec Worley
7/24/2017 02:27:58 am
Glad the blog helped, Saul. You're very welcome and good luck!
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Ryan Smith
8/4/2017 06:25:01 am
I submitted a story just before the end of the deadline back in February and have received word today... Along with my rejected script haha
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Alec Worley
8/21/2017 03:00:52 am
Sorry to hear you got bounced, Ryan. But it’s to be expected, right? The best cure for rejection blues is pre-emptive: to have another script locked and loaded and ready for sending when that rejection arrives. But always, ALWAYS take what the editor said into account. ‘Not engaging enough’ can mean a lot of things, from the characters not being relatable enough, to the story’s central concept not having a strong enough hook. Perhaps think about your characters and ask yourself ‘can I see people relating to that situation?’ Take the oldest tale in the book: Aladdin gets three wishes. We can all relate to that story straight away. It gets us thinking ‘gee, what would I wish for if that was me...?’ Straightforward and simple is almost always to best way to go. In terms of hook, think where you’ve seen your idea before and make a sidestep. Try something as simple as ‘What if I changed the main character’s gender/species/age? What if I set this in a different time-zone, a different genre. What if I played this as horror? What angle would that bring to the table?’ Look for where you can distort a familiar idea in an interesting way. M. John Harrison once wrote, ‘Ask what [the genre is] afraid of, what it’s trying to hide – then write that.’
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Saul Tyler
8/30/2017 03:51:19 am
Hi Alec,
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Alec Worley
9/20/2017 08:04:57 am
So sorry for the late reply, Saul! Synopses are pretty straightforward. You simply tell the story as plainly and succinctly as possible. That said, it does help if you can ‘sell’ the story a little, that is, give some sense of how the excitement will play out.
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Geoff McGrath
9/19/2017 02:35:27 am
Epic read Alec! Thanks so much.... Submissions have just opened for this year and I've 3 stories ready to go... so fingers crossed! Just not sure if I should send them all at once... from what I read of your blog here.. did you just submit a single one at a time...
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Alec
9/20/2017 08:05:56 am
Cheers, Geoff! I’ve always sent one script at a time. I’m pretty sure I read/heard somewhere that The Mighty One prefers one script at a time to prevent overload. Otherwise, I guess people would be tempted to send in bloody great box files of stuff and the submissions droid would be buried in the crush! So yeah, pretty sure it’s one at a time. Patience required, sadly. Good luck, fella!
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Hello Alec, great essay, so much insightful info! Hey, does 2000 AD accept writing submissions from American authors? I emailed them with this question and never received a response. As you say, Future Shocks are hard as hell to write, and, as a U.S. citizen trying to break into comics, I just need to know before I cannot commit any further.
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Alec Worley
9/27/2017 11:45:48 am
Hey, Scott!
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george pickett
10/13/2017 08:45:12 am
Sorry Alec, I've just noticed that you've already answered the synopsis question above - please disregard my previous reply.
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siddh
11/5/2017 07:45:20 am
hi great read
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Alec Worley
1/8/2018 12:55:43 am
Siddh. Again, my sincere apologies in not getting back to you sooner! This here's the one question I always get asked and can never quite answer, i.e. 'How can writers from outside the UK send in their scripts.' I honestly don't know what the best thing to do here is. Sorry, man. My advice would be to get in touch with 2000 AD via Twitter or Facebook and ask there. They're really good at getting back to people. Sorry I can't be more help here, Siddh. Good luck!
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Shaun
12/7/2017 06:10:30 am
Hi Alec,
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Alec Worley
1/8/2018 12:50:28 am
Shaun, HUGE apologies for not replying sooner! 1.) Definitely only send them what they've asked for, i.e. Future Shocks SF tales. 2.) If it were me, I'd say it's reasonable to send one script at a time, and if you haven't heard anything back in, say, three months, then consider it dead and send another. I know the long game sucks, buddy. But hang in there - and make sure you're pitching to other outlets, not just 2000 AD! The more fishing rods in the water means more chance of getting a bite, right...? Good luck!
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Geoff McGrath
1/8/2018 01:14:12 am
Hey Alec, as you suggested, I submitted a single script the week submissions opened. Also spoke to Mike Carroll who said the same thing... one at a time...
Adrian
9/10/2018 07:03:33 pm
Hi Alec,
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Alec
9/11/2018 01:16:16 am
Hmmm! Interesting question: ‘cos the SF title ‘Future Shock’ rather spoils the twist at the end, right? The reader will be going through your barbarian story waiting for the 'surprise' SF element to kick in... My advice would be write it and send it. If the story’s good enough, the editor won’t care whether it fits the definition of the title. And while you’re waiting for a reply on that script, forget you ever wrote it! Get busy on the next one, and the next one, and the next one... Read, write, study. Each script is a stepping stone to getting better and getting better is how you get in. Hope this helps and good luck, Adrian!
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Adrian Bagley
9/11/2018 08:53:13 am
That helped so much! Thanks Alec, and especially for the speedy reply - the story's actually all ready to go, but I was playing 'if I was an editor, why would I reject this script...?' and gave myself a fright. It's comedy, which takes some of the pressure off the twist, I think. I.e., it's there to bring the comedy to crescendo, rather than to be the most original SF ending ever, IYSWIM. Time to get it posted, and get working on the next one...
Alec
9/11/2018 09:06:07 am
You’re welcome, Adrian. Glad it helped. Everyone gets the pre-submission jitters. Spending a minute or two to think why an editor might reject a script is always a good thing, even though it risks you falling in a spiral of second-guessing yourself. What will keep you straight and help navigate you through all that uncertainty is knowing the outlet (i.e. the comic, magazine, website, whatever, to which you’re submitting), the editor (their tastes and sensibilities), the readership (middle grade, YA, indie, horror fans, SF fans, ad infinitum) and – most important of all – your story. First and foremost you’re asking, ‘Does the story need this?’ Even if you’ve fallen in love with a gag, a character, a line of dialogue or whatever, if it doesn’t take the story forward then it probably needs to go. From there it’s just a case of being sensible. So much of this stuff is common sense – which you appear to have plenty of, Adrian. ;)
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Adrian Bagley
9/11/2018 01:07:55 pm
That's great advice, thanks! I'm a big 2000 AD fan (loved Dandridge and Age of the Wolf, btw) so I'm reasonably sure the style of comedy fits with the magazine. Fingers crossed eh? Thanks again!
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Geoff McGrath
1/3/2019 06:05:36 am
Just realised I’ve been seeing these comments for some time since I last commented and a lot has happened since I did.
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Jacko
9/29/2019 11:08:13 pm
Outstanding advise
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Barrie
10/31/2019 08:16:44 am
Hi Alec!
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Alec
11/6/2019 12:40:14 pm
Writing a synopsis is an art unto itself. It mustn’t be too long, but you mustn’t leave out any important details that might cause the editor to reject it straight away. You’ve got to relay the plain facts, but you’ve also got to sell the story. You’ve got to put the editor in the reader’s shoes and show them how cool this is going to be. This subject warrants an entire post, to be honest, but in a pinch I’d say to bear these balances in mind. Make sure you’ve got all the main selling points covered: intriguing main character, interesting dramatic concept, along with all the overall twists and turns of the plot and the ending. (BTW, the key difference between a pitch and a synopsis is that the pitch is much more about selling the story, withholding certain information in the hope of intriguing the editor, whereas a synopsis is essentially describing the final product and convincing them the damn thing will work.) Also be aware of what I call ‘scaling’, that is, ensuring the the story you’re pitching is the right size for the thing you’re going to write. There’s no point writing a synopsis for graphic novel if you’re hoping to write a four-pager. Scenes and characters are what give a story complexity and thus mass/word count. So be aware that a four-page Future Shock will have room for only a couple of characters and scenes (any more and you’re starting to push it).
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Mick Paulusma
2/3/2021 04:45:29 am
I just wanted to say thanks for writing this. I know it has been here for a while but 2021 is when I found it - so thank you!
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