If you hope to have any success as a Hollywood writer…

…you need to know how to crack a story. With speed and efficiency.

If you go up for an open writing assignment, you only have a few weeks to pull together your take.

And if you land that OWA, generally you will have no more than 8–10 weeks to write the script.

If you come up with a hot idea for a pitch, you will want to pull it together quickly to get it out to buyers.

But along with speed, you want to be smart so you come up with the best story possible.

If you go through the process of working up OWA takes or your own original pitches, eventually you will figure out a way to wrangle a story.

But why wait? Why not learn a proven approach to prep a story now?

Beginning next Monday, October 15, I will be leading the next session of our popular Prep: From Concept to Outline workshop. 6 lectures. 6 writing assignments. 6 weeks to break your story.

You will not only figure out a new story you can then write, you will also learn a prep-writing approach you can use on all your future writing projects.

The class is the same process members of The Quest are using right now to figure out their stories before they type FADE IN on their first drafts.

Since Prep is a workshop, you get the benefit of feedback from other writers in the class. You also get my detailed feedback on each of your assignments, a combination of written comments and teleconferences. That means you are not in this process alone, but have others to help steer you through the mass of critical choices about which way to take your story.

It’s the last time we will be offering Prep in 2012, so now is your chance to do what the pros do: Break their story in prep.

I limit enrollment to 6 writers. Go here to sign up.

For all you TV writers, Tom Benedek is offering his How to Write the One-Hour Spec Pilot beginning October 22nd. The first time he taught the class, it sold out in a matter of days. Learn insights into TV writing from some of the most important showrunners and writers in Hollywood including:

Henry Bromell — Homeland, Northern Exposure

Ed Bernero — Criminal Minds

Blake Masters — Brotherhood

Josh Brand — Northern Exposure, St. Elsewhere

For more information, go here.

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