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Screenwriting Master Class Tip of the Week: I’ve nailed down my teaching schedule for the last six months of 2014 and as several people have contacted me about the Core classes, here is information for all 8 of those courses:

July 7 — Core I: Plot
July 21 — Core II: Concept
August 4 — Core III: Character
September 1 — Core IV: Style
September 15 — Core V: Dialogue
October 27 — Core VI: Scene
November 10 — Core VII: Theme
December 2 — Core VIII: Time

Each is a 1-week online class that focuses on a specific aspect of screenwriting theory along with tips and techniques related to practicing the craft. In aggregate, they present a comprehensive, coherent take, what I call Character Based Screenwriting.

Consider signing up for the Core Package. This enables you to have immediate access to all of the material covered in the eight courses including 48 lectures written by me and dozens of insider tips, content you can go through at your own pace. Also the Core Package includes automatic enrollment in each of the above indicated one-week classes: forum feedback, writing workshop exercises, group teleconferences, all of that available to you as well. All for a cost nearly 50% less than if you took all of the classes individually.

Here are testimonials about the Core curriculum:

As an aspiring screenwriter, I am grateful to Scott for providing me with such an in-depth view of a core aspect of developing a story (in this case, Plot). His lectures are not meant to tell someone what the “right way” to develop a story is, but to guide you through a process of breaking down what he believes are the fundamental elements to story’s structure. Needless to say, my mind was blown after Day 1 as I have never tried to analyze a story the way Scott encouraged us to do. Despite the fact that the class was only a week long, I’ve come away with more knowledge than I ever anticipated receiving. His passion for helping and encouraging writers to become all that they can be is palpable. I will absolutely take another class with Scott in the future. — Sarah Grimes

I’ve never taken any sort of online class before, and I have to say I was surprised and impressed with how easy and smooth it went. Spending a week focusing on and learning about character archetypes was invaluable. Your unique lectures helped me think about character in new ways, and will inevitably change the way I approach new ideas and outlines. And I’m blown away and impressed at the level of personal feedback/communication from you. I don’t know how you do it — androids couldn’t manage their time more efficiently than you. — Bob Corsi

I just finished Scott’s Core IV: Dialogue class and highly recommend the experience to others. First of all, Scott is a great teacher, passionate and infectiously enthusiastic about the craft and the business. You can tell, just by listening to him speak, that he’s been in the trenches. Secondly, while many teachers talk about character being the foundation of screenwriting, Scott is one of the few who teaches that way. Consequently what his courses offer is not a bunch of templates or bullet points with a dubious shelf life trying to latch on to the latest trends, but true, honest to God, principles about how things work. — John Casu

Your Core VII: Theme class is not just helpful, it is essential. From the personal attention to the numerous “A-Ha!” moments throughout the week, I was thrilled to simply KEEP LEARNING. How many teachers can boast about that with their students? Theme = Meaning, and this class = a better shot at longetivity for your students in Hollywood. — Heather Thompson

I greatly enjoyed your Core VIII: Time course and would recommend connecting with you to any screenwriter, whether new, intermediate or advanced. You help us to consider concepts and principles in film that we may have been observing for years but not effectively utilizing in our own writing. You expand on, and clarify these techniques by rolling up your sleeves and digging in deeply…and you get us to dive in and get dirty too. You provide solid thought provoking examples, with scripts and clips, that makes learning the concepts fun and lasting. You do all this with an easy, non-dogmatic, approach that comes from genuinely wanting to help other screenwriters. I have a library full of screenwriting books and scripts, and I’ve been to several screenwriting seminars with the ‘tops’ in the ‘how to write a screenplay’ marketplace. Your accessible and humble style (though you are a produced screenwriter unlike so many of the ‘gurus’) sets you apart from the others and keeps me coming back to your website on a nearly daily basis. You are truly appreciated and no matter what success level I achieve in writing, I plan on pointing other writers to you as someone who has helped me on this journey. — Mike Kearon

These eight Core classes represent decades of my work on the front lines of the entertainment business as a writer and producer, and engaging the craft as a teacher as well, over time pulling together screenwriting theory into a coherent and cohesive approach. This is not about secret systems or magic formulas, rather the Core content presents a way of approaching the story-crafting process, starting with characters, working with characters, and ending with characters. That process of engaging you with your story universe through your characters and getting you in touch with these living, breathing individuals informs every step of your creative process, leading you to story structure, themes, conflict, subplots, and all the rest. As I say, Character Based Screenwriting.

I only teach the Core classes once per year, so if you are interested, why don’t you join me during the next few months as we immerse ourselves in this unique approach to screenwriting theory.

To learn about any of the Core classes, click on the links above. If you want to have immediate access to all of the content, plus automatic enrollment in each of the eight 1-week classes, plus a savings of nearly 50%, check out the Core Package here.

I look forward to the opportunity to work with you!

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