Classes

Fiction Track

Act I/II/III

4 Sessions

Whether they’re just getting started or they’ve been doing this for a while, each of the subjects in this continuing class will teach practical tools to help writers craft visual, powerful, and commercially viable stories that can compete in the marketplace of ideas and take their writing to the next level.

1. Finding Your Story
The choice of what story to tell is the most important decision you will make as a writer. Don't waste valuable time and energy on a story that won't get published or produced. Is your story character driven? Is it marketable? Is it expensive? Are you "milking your genre"? We will discuss personal and marketplace factors you should consider in choosing what story to tell, and how to apply the “Hollywood formula” to your story.

2. The Three-Act Structure - Hollywood Style
Have difficulty getting from Act One to Act Three? Do you find that your story lags in Act Two, or worse, you get lost and don't know how to finish? If you've tried other approaches to the three-act structure, but still seem to have difficulty finishing your project, this is the class for you. We'll use the Hollywood Beat Sheet to learn how to flesh out your story, make sure the main character drives the action, and develop an easy to use roadmap to help you get to the end. This class may change your life. It did mine. (If possible, please watch the film "Witness" starring Harrison Ford prior to attending this workshop.)

3. Creating Great Characters
The essential building block of any story is to create unforgettable characters, but how exactly is that done? Why do some characters seem real while others fall flat? For novelists and screenwriters, this course will break down the essential elements of a great character, how to reveal true character, and give you the practical tools you need to develop excellent characters of your own.

4. The Essentials of Great Dialogue
Dialogue can make or break a story. Do you find yourself wishing your dialogue was a little spicier and a little less contrived and drab? Whether you’re a screenwriter or a novelist, this course will teach the essential elements of great dialogue and give practical tools you can apply immediately to make your dialogue sharp.

5. Set-ups, Pay-offs, and other Neat Tricks
The worst thing in the world is when you watch a movie or read a novel and know you have just been “set up.” This session will explore ways to make your set-ups invisible and organic, so that when you finally pay them off, the audience will be truly surprised and satisfied.

6. Mastering Visual Images - The 7 Levels of Meaning in Story
Do you want to take your story to the next level and really make it great? Do you want to learn how to “show” and not “tell”? In this session we will consider what we mean by calling storytelling a “visual” art form, and discover how to construct more complex visual imagery in novels and screenplays so as to portray deeper levels of meaning through your work.

7. Industry Standard Formatting for Screenwriters
Want to know what can ruin your chance of ever being read? Ignoring industry standard formatting. This course will teach screenwriters how to properly format their script. It won’t guarantee a great story, but it will make you look like a professional.

8. Writing Funny
Creating humor, jokes, and comedy in your work can be a tricky business. Attempting to be funny and failing is horrible thing to experience. This class offers an ultimate crash course on learning what’s funny, what makes people laugh, and how to do it. It's joke writing broken down to basics so that almost anyone can learn to create humor.