Quest Writing Workshop: Santa Monica, March 12–15, 2015
Three times I have hosted the Quest Writing Workshop in Santa Monica, California and each time has been notable in its own right.
* The learning that went on as we immersed ourselves in character-based screenwriting was palpable, insights and revelations throughout each session, a cumulative theoretical take on the craft that resonated with all of the participants.
* Each writer put that theory into practice on their own stories, a series of writing exercises that not only provided them with a proven approach to prep-writing, it also enabled attendees to make significant progress on their stories.
* The actual workshop process whereby everyone embraced the idea of constructive critique, honest assessment plus brainstorming suggestions, resulted in one key creative breakthrough after another.
Here are a few observations from some of the writers involved in the Quest Workshop:
“Thank you again for gathering together such an interesting, diverse group of aspiring screenwriters and providing us all with such a wonderful shared learning and networking experience!” — Melanie McDonald
“I am so grateful for the opportunity to work with Scott and the other participants in the inaugural Quest Writers’ Workshop. There was a palpable, electricity in the air while we worked, the kind you wish you could bottle up to take a drag from whenever you need to be inspired.” — Lisa Meacham
“I’m not trying to blow sunshine up your skirt when I say I got more out of those four days than I did all of grad school.” — Michelle Burleson
I have scheduled another 4-day Quest workshop in Santa Monica from Thursday, March 12-Sunday March 15. The daily sessions run from 10AM-5PM.
Here is an overview of our four days together:
Thursday: We begin by digging into the first of three sections of the Core curriculum: Character. Then we workshop character treatments for the Protagonist from each writer’s story. Finally we go through a host of brainstorming exercises to compel participants to explore their respective stories. Focus: Brainstorming.
Friday: We interweave theory and practice, covering two other Core sections — Plot and Theme — as well as Prep exercises designed to help writers wrangle their stories, both in terms of the Plotline, events in the External World, and Themeline, movements in the Internal World, the realm of the story’s psychological and emotional journey. Focus: Subplots.
Saturday: We spend a majority of time workshopping stories, each writer exploring major Plotline points to construct the spine of their story’s narrative structure. Focus: Plotting.
Sunday: Again most of the focus goes to workshopping stories, the writers learning the benefits of index cards as they flesh out major plot and subplot elements, rounding them into shape toward a coherent, comprehensive outline. Focus: Outline.
After each day’s session, we carry on our conversations at local watering holes, a chance to dig more deeply into stories, socialize, and have a great deal of fun together.
In other words, we packed a whole hell of a lot into four days!
More observations by Quest participants:
“The Workshop time was unbelievable; your ability to foster such a positive, encouraging environment for the exchange of ideas is the reason it worked. Every single person grew their story from a loose idea into something that resonated deeply with the group.” — Jonathan Barger
“As an advertising writer I’ve been in a million brainstorms. But Scott’s classes are special. They’re more like braincyclones, where we generated a mass of powerful ideas that elevated our stories into places that surprised and delighted us all.” — Matt Sherring
“I’ve had the experience of getting feedback on a spec script by someone who pointed out everything I had done wrong, then left me to decide for myself how to fix the flaws. In contrast, Scott has ways of helping a writer discover and articulate the story they want to tell, and then pointing the way forward.” — Marsena Dufresne
We meet in a cool space called The Writers Junction and there are plenty of nearby places to stay via Airbnb many of them just blocks from this:
There is a special 10% discount for GITS readers who enroll early. To take advantage of that, when you do your transaction and are checking out, include the promo code Discount10 in the Apply Discount box.
You may learn more about the Quest Writing Workshop and sign up here.
I look forward to working with you in this unique weekend workshop which can transform the way you approach storytelling and the writing process.