Andy Coughlan

Cakes wordmaze.fun/puzzle/2026-04…

Want, wound, need andycoughlan.com/want-wound-need Every writing book talks about what your character wants. Fewer talk about why that want matters — or what's really driving it underneath. The want-wound-need framework changed how I think about character. It's simple, but it unlock…

Why screenplay format matters andycoughlan.com/why-screenplay… I have to hold my hand up, I'm a bit of a purist when it comes to screenplay formatting. Screenplay format seems arbitrary. Courier font? Specific margins? FADE IN and FADE OUT? Who cares? Everyone who reads screenplays …

The worlds we want to live in andycoughlan.com/the-worlds-we-… Part of why we read fantasy and science fiction is the worlds. Not just the stories that happen in them — the worlds themselves. Some of them feel so real we're half-convinced we could visit. What makes a fictional world…

Keep your world-building hidden andycoughlan.com/keep-your-worl… You've spent weeks on your world. The history, the politics, the trade routes, the calendar system, the seventeen noble houses and their complicated feuds. You know everything. Your reader should know about ten percent…

Screenwriting isn't writing (but it is) andycoughlan.com/screenwriting-… If you come to screenwriting from prose — novels, short stories — you'll need to unlearn almost everything. The skills that make you a good novelist can actively sabotage your screenwriting. I learned this the h…

Medical Equipment wordmaze.fun/puzzle/2026-03…

Why we reread (and which books deserve it) andycoughlan.com/why-we-reread-… There are too many books. More published every year than anyone could read in a lifetime. The to-be-read pile grows faster than we can shrink it. And yet we still return to books we've already finished, alre…

A gentle reminder that my game, @Infini3app, is bloomin' amazing and you're missing out if you're not playing it.

A gentle reminder that my game, @Infini3app, is ruddy brilliant and you're missing out if you're not playing it.

A gentle reminder that my game, @Infini3app, is bloomin' brilliant and you're missing out if you're not playing it.

Real goals feel less urgent than borrowed ones. More persistent. They don't need external validation.

Finish the thing andycoughlan.com/finish-the-thi… Most people who start writing don't finish. It's not a lack of talent. It's not a lack of ideas. It's the sheer difficulty of pushing through when the initial excitement has faded, when the middle stretches endlessly, when every sent…

How much of what you want is actually what you'd choose in isolation?

Considering writing a book? Test demand before you commit with @HelpMeFundIt.

Have a project that needs support? @HelpMeFundIt lets you gauge interest before you go all-in. Just pledges and progress bars.

Have you noticed that achieving your goals sometimes feel anticlimactic? Maybe the goal was never really yours.

Authentic desires feel quieter than borrowed ones. Less anxious. They pull rather than push.

What would you want if you'd never seen anyone else achieve it?

I made Political Circle (@politic_circle) because political labels like left and right are inadequate. If you haven't taken the test yet, what are you waiting for?