Learn the Craft in 2018!

Start off your writing New Year strong by taking some of my Craft classes.

It would be one thing if all we were trying to do as screenwriters was write a great script. The fact is this: It’s not just about the script.

It’s about learning the craft.

A script may get you access to Hollywood, but you can only grow and sustain a career if you have a working knowledge of the craft.

Here’s a way to power up your grasp of the screenwriting craft AND save hundreds of dollars in the process: My Craft Curriculum!

Ten 1-week online classes which cover essential aspects of the craft including:

• How to handle the tricky task of writing exposition
• Writing loglines, treatments, beat sheets, and other story summaries
• Transforming scene description into an expression of your writer’s voice
• Making your characters come to life with proven development techniques
• Crafting your story’s two most important characters: Protagonist, Nemesis
• Key questions you must ask when tackling any scene
• Taking your dialogue-writing skills to the next level
• Plus story-crafting insights from Pixar filmmakers and the Coen brothers

If you enroll in The Craft Package, you save 60% off the regular price.

Here is the lineup of Craft classes I will be teaching in 2018:

January 8, 2018 — Craft: The Coen Brothers and the Craft of Storytelling

January 22, 2018 — Craft: Story Summaries — From Loglines to Beat Sheets

February 5, 2018 — Craft: Handling Exposition

February 19, 2018 — Craft: Scene Description Spotlight

March 5, 2018 — Craft: Character Development Keys

March 19, 2018 — Craft: Create a Compelling Protagonist

April 2, 2018 — Craft: Write a Worthy Nemesis

April 16, 2018 — Craft: Scene-Writing Workshop

April 30, 2018 — Craft: Dialogue-Writing Workshop

May 14, 2018 — Craft: Pixar and the Craft of Storytelling

These are popular courses and for good reason. Each class features:

• Seven lectures written by me so you know the content is both understandable, yet substantive
• Insider tips gleaned from my three decades working in the movie and television business
• Online forums where writers can delve deeply into the subject matter with their fellow class participants and me as your moderator
• Writing exercises to put theory into practice and receive class feedback
• A 75 minute Skype call with me to ask any questions you have about the class content and anything related to the screenwriting craft

If you sign up for The Craft Package, you are not only automatically enrolled in each one-week course, you gain exclusive access to the Craft Curriculum — all 70 lectures — to go through on your own time and at your own pace.

I only offer the 10 courses in the Craft Curriculum once per year, so this is your chance to learn with me as your teacher.

Of course, you can take just one Craft class or whichever combination you’d like. But I’ve found people really benefit from the entire Craft Curriculum as it represents a deep immersion into the craft of screenwriting.

So consider giving yourself a holiday gift. Or give one to a writer you know and love. Check out The Craft Package, a truly unique learning opportunity!

In January 2010, Tom Benedek and I launched Screenwriting Master Class. We have taught and mentored writers who have set up projects at major studios including Paramount, Warner Bros., Screen Gems, and Legendary Pictures, TV networks including ABC, AMC, HBO, and USA, signed with top agencies including CAA, The Gersh Agency, Paradigm, UTA, Verve, and WME, and managers including Circle of Confusion, Grandview, Lee Stobby, Madhouse Entertainment, Mosaic, and MXN Entertainment, as well as winning the Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting contest and writing scripts which have made the annual Black List.