Learn the Craft

“You don’t need books on screenwriting or prose to be a writer. You don’t need workshops or classes either. If you stumble around in the dark long enough, you’re bound to end up where you’re going. But there’s no shame in using a light. Don’t be too proud to seek out education.”

I follow dozens of writers on Twitter. Why? Two things. First, to keep track of their film, TV, and writing careers. The other big reason: To learn from them. It’s amazing how generous writers are in sharing their insights into the craft. All you have to do is read the 66 screenwriting tweetstorms archived here or the hundreds of Screenwriting 101 quotes to spotlight how much great knowledge floats around in social media.

One of the writers I follow is C. Robert Cargill who describes himself as “novelist, screenwriter, film critic, space pirate.” He has co-written several projects with writer-director Scott Derrickson including Sinister, Sinister 2, and Doctor Strange. The other day, Cargill tweeted this:

My philosophy exactly. As I’ve noted on this blog many times in the 10+ years I’ve hosted it, you can learn everything you need to know about screenwriting by doing three things: Watch Movies. Read Scripts. Write Pages.

However, you can speed the process and save yourself valuable time by seeking out credible educators.

Which brings me to ScreenwritingMasterClass.com, the online educational resources I launched in 2010 with fellow screenwriter Tom Benedek (Cocoon). I created 10 one-week courses specifically aimed at learning the craft of screenwriting. I will be teaching them on a bi-weekly basis now through May.

To kick off the New Year right, I have two special deals for you! Check out the entire schedule of Craft classes I will be offering in 2019:

January 7, 2019 — Pixar and the Craft of Storytelling
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January 21, 2019 — Story Summaries — From Loglines to Beat Sheets
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February 4, 2019 — Handling Exposition
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February 18, 2019 — Scene Description Spotlight
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March 4, 2019 — Character Development Keys
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March 18, 2019 — Create a Compelling Protagonist
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April 1, 2019 — Write a Worthy Nemesis
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April 15, 2019 — Scene-Writing Workshop
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April 29, 2019 — Dialogue-Writing Workshop
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May 13, 2019 — The Coen Brothers and the Craft of Storytelling
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First offer: Each Craft class is on sale. Regular price: $95. Sale price: $79.

But here’s the really big second deal: You can enroll in the Craft Package which includes all 10 Craft classes at a savings of nearly 50% off the already discounted sale price. Special price: $400. That’s each course for $40 apiece! You not only get all 10 one-week classes, you also obtain exclusive access to the Craft Package site enabling you to go through all of the Craft lectures — 70 in all, each written by me — at your own pace and on your own time.

Check out the Craft Package for a unique way to learn the craft.

Cargill recently started a podcast with David Chen called Write Along. It’s great. You can check it out here.

Follow Cargill on Twitter: @Massawyrm.