The Coen Brothers and the Craft of Storytelling

My one-week online class begins Monday, January 8th.

I have two favorite contemporary filmmakers. In terms of mainstream commercial films, there is Pixar. For independent movies, there are the Coen brothers. Both are hugely successful in what they do, commercially and critically.

That’s why I’m thrilled to follow up the popular Pixar class I teach with a companion course: Coen Brothers and the Craft of Storytelling.

In this 1-week online course, we will analyze all of the movies the Coen brothers have written and directed including such memorable films as Blood Simple, Raising Arizona, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, O Brother, Where Art Thou, No Country for Old Men, and True Grit.

Through extensive analysis and discussion, we will dig into six narrative dynamics that appear throughout Coen brothers movies, and enable you to use them to workshop your own original story.

Let’s face it: The Coen brothers have created some of the most distinctive, entertaining movies in the last two decades. They return to certain themes, tropes, memes and talismans like this one: The Howling Fat Man.

We will look at that minutia because… well, it’s just fun. However our focus will be on larger principles that are more applicable to our own writing.

Here is the lecture schedule [all written by me]:

Lecture 1: The Coen Brothers’ Narrative Legacy
Lecture 2: Ordinary Character / Extraordinary Circumstance
Lecture 3: The Long Shadow of Authority Figures
Lecture 4: The Shiny Hope of Grand Schemes
Lecture 5: The Dynamism of Violence
Lecture 6: Morally Complicated Universe
Lecture 7: Unresolved Endings

Plus I will share 6 practical storytelling tips gleaned from Coen brothers movies.

The class includes:

Seven lectures written by Scott Myers
Six Coen brothers inspired storytelling tips
Daily forum Q&As
Workshop writing exercises with feedback
A 75-minute live teleconference between instructor and class members

Movies written by Joel and Ethan Coen have been nominated for 14 Academy Awards, winning 4 times, and nominated for the Cannes Film Festival Palm D’Or 7 times, winning once.

Like Pixar, the Coen brothers have carved their own path and have proven themselves to be master storytellers.

I am excited to share storytelling insights I have learned from studying Coen brothers movies in this exciting 1-week online class providing insights you can use to elevate your own writing.

Consider joining me beginning Monday, January 8th for Coen Brothers and the Craft of Storytelling, a great way to learn principles, dynamics and techniques apparent in the movies of these fine filmmakers to upgrade your own story-crafting abilities.

As the Dude might say, “That’s fuckin’ ingenious, if I understand it correctly. It’s a Swiss fuckin’ watch.”

Sign up now here.

And there’s this: The Coen Brothers class is just one of 10 (ten) Craft classes I’ll be offering in 2018. Check out the roster:

January 8, 2018 — Craft: The Coen Brothers and the Craft of Storytelling
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January 22, 2018 — Craft: Story Summaries — From Loglines to Beat Sheets
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February 5, 2018 — Craft: Handling Exposition
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February 19, 2018 — Craft: Scene Description Spotlight
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March 5, 2018 — Craft: Character Development Keys
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March 19, 2018 — Craft: Create a Compelling Protagonist
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April 2, 2018 — Craft: Write a Worthy Nemesis
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April 16, 2018 — Craft: Scene-Writing Workshop
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April 30, 2018 — Craft: Dialogue-Writing Workshop
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May 14, 2018 — Craft: Pixar and the Craft of Storytelling
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May 28, 2018 — Prep: From Concept to Outline
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June 11, 2018 — Pages I: Writing First Draft
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July 9, 2018 — Prep: From Concept to Outline
Learn More

I only offer my Craft classes once per year. Moreover the two Prep and one Pages I workshops I have scheduled in summer 2018 are the only times I will be leading group versions of these courses.

Consider the Craft Package: All 10 Craft classes for $40 per course. Exclusive access to the Craft curriculum. Automatic enrollment in each Craft class.

For more information, go here.