Screenwriting Master Class: An Introduction

I’m not a journalist, so let me make sure I don’t bury the lede:

I, along with fellow screenwriter and teacher Tom Benedek, am proud to announce the launch of Screenwriting Master Class (screenwritingmasterclass.com), a new online resource for writers. The unique curriculum offers writers at all levels of experience an opportunity to learn a comprehensive, coherent approach to writing professional quality scripts. Through a combination of lecture-based content courses and writing workshops, participants receive a personalized, hands-on immersion in both the theory and practice of screenwriting.

Okay, now some background — and forgive me for the length of this post, but it’s not everyday I launch a business venture.

Two and a half years ago, I started this blog. During that time, I have written over 5,000 posts. The site has had over 1.5 million unique visits. It has been named the Best Blog for Aspiring Screenwriters. I have interfaced with literally thousands of writers through blog posts, comments, email, and Twitter. If there are two questions I hear above all others, it’s these:

* How do I get an agent?

* What’s the best way to learn how to write a script?

Tom and I started Screenwriting Master Class to answer those questions.

As I’ve stated often on this blog, the key to obtaining representation and beginning a career as a screenwriter or TV writer is to write a great script. In order to do that, a person must learn to write like a professional. But how to do that? Here are some of the various approaches currently available to you:

* Read scripts. Watch movies. Write pages. Even casual GITS readers will recognize this as one of my favorite writing mantras. In truth, you do not have to do anything else to learn the craft. This tack is essentially what Tom and I did, neither of us having a formal education in writing. However this approach is not for everybody as it requires an enormous amount of time, daily perseverance, and much trial and error with no assurance you will actually learn how to write like a professional.

* Film school / MFA. There are a handful of excellent programs in the United States. I’m guessing there are others abroad as well. They offer a formalized way to learn the craft of writing. However it’s extremely competitive to gain entrance into the top programs and the costs of such an education can run into the tens, even hundreds of thousands of dollars. Is this the smartest option given the odds against success as a writer in the entertainment industry? Besides what about people who have a family and day job: they can’t be expected to drop everything and go off for several years of school.

* Screenwriting gurus. There are a lot of bright people with plenty to say about screenwriting, hawking their books, DVDs, weekend seminars, and the like, each with their own take on the craft. Perhaps you will find one whose words of wisdom unlock the key to your creativity. On the other hand, you may find it difficult to synthesize a unified approach to writing based on the wide variety of theories, methodologies, and paradigms offered by the plethora of screenwriting gurus. And there’s this: Once you’ve read their books and watched their DVDS, who’s going to help you with the actual day-to-day practice of writing a script?

* Peer script review groups. Per that last concern, there are a number of online peer review groups, including one associated with this blog: The GITS Club. These can be helpful as you work your way through the often torturous process of writing a script. However the quality of comments is only as good as the group’s participants. And wouldn’t it be nice to get direct, personalized feedback from a professional writer?

* Online education. Over the last decade or so, some excellent online resources have evolved including UCLA Extension’s Writers’ Program. But with so many course offerings and so many different instructors, each with their own spin on writing, it can be a challenge to come away with a coherent approach to the craft.

Which brings us to the genesis of Screenwriting Master Class. Tom and I have studied what is currently available to writers who want to learn a professional approach to screenwriting. There is a gap. We have created Screenwriting Master Class to fill that gap. Here’s how:

* We are professional screenwriters: There are many things about the craft of screenwriting that can only be learned by doing it over many years as a professional. Tom and I are both longtime members of the Writers’ Guild of America, west, and have worked as writers in the entertainment business for a combined five decades, having written over fifty film and TV projects including the hit movies Cocoon and K-9.

* We are professional educators: A professional screenwriter may know a lot about the craft on an intuitive level, but if they haven’t spent time organizing their thoughts into lectures, providing feedback on writing exercises, and interacting with students on a regular basis, they may not have the chops to be a good educator. Tom and I have been teaching since 2002: Tom at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and in the MFA program at University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts; I have taught through the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program, winning their Outstanding Instructor Award in 2005, and at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 

* We have sold spec scripts: If your goal is to sell a spec script, wouldn’t you want to work with someone who had successfully done that? Tom wrote and sold the original script Zeus and Roxanne which MGM produced. I wrote and sold the original screenplay K-9 which Universal produced. Together we have written seven spec scripts which have been optioned or sold. Moreover I doubt there is anybody who teaches screenwriting who knows more about the spec script market than Tom and I because we have followed it daily for twenty-five years.

* We offer both lecture and workshop-based classes: Lecture-based classes are essential as they provide a writer the fundamentals of the screenwriting craft. Workshops are also critical so you can get in the practice of pounding out pages, and having them critiqued by fellow writers and your instructor. Ideally you want a program that offers both, so you can learn the theory and practice of screenwriting. That’s precisely what Screenwriting Master Class provides. In addition, we limit enrollment in each course to ensure small class sizes, ensuring in-depth attention to each participant’s creative efforts.

* The instructors have a real life understanding of how the movie business works: The spec script market, pitching, working with managers and agents, producers, studio executives, directors, actors, writing and rewriting, generating and developing story concepts, tracking trends — there is a ton to know in order to survive and thrive in the actual movie business. Based on our decades of professional experience, Tom and I understand that business.

* We offer a comprehensive, coherent approach to screenwriting: Tom and I have structured the curriculum so that it is based on key fundamental principles that we both share. So writers can move from content courses to workshops knowing that there is a coherent approach at work in all we teach. Moreover the combination of our Core and Craft content courses, and our Prep and Pages workshops provides a comprehensive methodology, all you need to know to write a professional quality script.

* We take into account the emotional aspect of writing: Finally we all know how difficult writing can be. There are many educators out there whose instinct is to scare the crap out of students about how incredibly difficult it is to break into the business of screenwriting. There’s definitely a need for that voice because if you are serious about learning the craft, you must know the long odds against you. But in the long run, Tom and I believe in the importance of the emotional side of writing, and in particular that one aspect of our psyche that keeps us coming back to our stories day after day after day: Hope. Hope that we can nail this story. Hope that we can get better as writers. Hope that this script has a chance to be great. No matter how enormous the odds are against us, the fact is that there is always a possibility of success. So while we understand how hard it is to succeed as a writer, Tom and I embrace in our teaching the power and potential of creativity, persistence, and hope.

In order to let you know more fully what Screenwriting Master Class is about, I will be posting something here each day this week at 2PM EST / 11AM PST (U.S.):

November 9: Core
November 10: Craft
November 11: Prep
November 12: Pages
November 13: Consuting
November 14: What It All Means

To learn more now, you may go to the Screenwriting Master Class website here.

In addition, Tom has done a Q&A with me which I will excerpt each day this week at 4PM EST / 1PM PST so you can familiarize yourself with him and his extensive background as a writer, educator, and creative innovator.

A few words about GITS: Nothing much will change. I will continue to post here several times a day just as I have for the last twenty-eight months. The site will still be free. And I will continue a no advertisement policy with the exception of links to the Screenwriting Master Class site.

In fact, I plan to expand what we do here — more interviews with industry professionals, more time for reader questions. As always, if you have things you’d like to see this blog cover, you may always email me with your suggestions.

I’ll also be announcing a special monthly writing challenge through The GITS Club [details soon].

Okay, I’ve talked a lot about how Screenwriting Master Class can help you learn how to write a professional quality script. Let me address the other big question: How do I get an agent?

There are no guarantees in show business or the arts. However if a writer who takes any of our Screenwriting Master Class courses completes a great script, and if that writer wishes, we will pass along their script with our recommendation to a specific group of managers and agents with whom we have ongoing relationships.

So your concern about access to Hollywood is solved. Now you can focus your energy where it should be: Writing a great script.

Let me close by saying this: When I started this blog, I did so because something in my gut told me to do it. Apart from the core idea of creating a place to honor screenwriters and discuss the craft of screenwriting, and providing whatever insight and support I could for aspiring and working writers, I didn’t know where this journey would take me. 

Your overwhelming response to what I do here, including persistent emails asking me why I don’t offer to teach more classes, why I don’t consider mentoring writers, why I don’t agree to do script consults has helped me to this next step.

And so I thank you for inspiring me to follow my bliss and do what I do well and love [along with my writing]:

Teach. Mentor. Consult.

Tom and I are truly excited about Screenwriting Master Class. We look forward to the opportunity to work with you.

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