Screenwriting Master Class: Core
This week, as announced here, Tom Benedek and I have launched Screenwriting Master Class, a unique online resource for writers. I’m posting something each day this week to explain the curriculum. Today: Core.
Core Basics
Core is one of four areas of study at Screenwriting Master Class: Core, Craft, Prep, Pages.
Core courses are 4-weeks long. There are of four of them:
Core I: Structure and Concept
Essential knowledge about story structure and proven ways to generate story concepts.
Core II: Character and Style
A character-based approach to writing and a professional guide to screenwriting style.
Core III: Dialogue and Writing
Guidelines for drafting great dialogue and authoritative principles to scene-writing.
Core IV: Theme and Rewriting
The significance and uses of story themes and time-tested keys to the rewriting process.
In combination, the four Core courses provide all the essential knowledge you need to have to write a professional quality script. Moreover the underlying philosophy of the material offered in the Core courses represents a comprehensive and coherent approach to screenwriting.
How Core Courses Work
During each 4-week course:
* There are three lectures posted each week (12 total)
* One weekly writing exercise (optional) for class and instructor feedback
* Forum Q&A’s moderated daily by the instructor
* A weekly 1-hour teleconference call with class members and the instructor
The first two weeks of each course concentrate on screenwriting theory, the last two weeks on the practice of screenwriting.
The focus in Core classes is the lecture-based content and follow-up discussions in forums, however each course provides participants an opportunity to put into practice the ideas presented in lectures by using writing exercises to explore their own original stories.
Maximum enrollment: 10 participants.
Who Should Take Core Courses
Certainly beginners would benefit from Core courses, but so, too, intermediate and even advanced writers because the content is both thorough and sophisticated, essential knowledge for any writer.
When we refer to it as “essential” knowledge,” we mean precisely that: With these four courses and eight subject areas, a writer will have everything they need to know about the theory and practice of screenwriting to enable them to write a professional quality script.
There are currently two Core courses available for enrollment:
Core I: January 3-January 30, 2011. Instructor: Scott Myers
Core II: January 31-February 27, 2011. Instructor: Scott Myers
In March and April, we will be offering Core III and Core IV, which I will be teaching, and Core I and Core II which Tom will teach.
If you are a beginning writer looking for a clear, systematic approach to screenwriting…
If you are an intermediate writer wanting to pull together your understanding of the craft…
If you are an advanced writer searching for a deeper immersion into screenwriting…
If you are looking for a professional approach to writing scripts…
These Core courses are for you.
For more information, go to the Screenwriting Master Class website here. If you have any questions, feel free to email me and I’ll be happy to respond.
Tomorrow: Craft courses.
For an introduction to Screenwriting Master Class, go here.
UPDATE: In comments, William asked this:
I noticed in the schedule that right now the classes go to the middle of March, everything after is TBD. After you finish the cycle from Core I to Craft: Script Style/Writer’s Voice will you be starting a new cycle in say, the summer? Thanks.
Our plan is to offer all courses on an ongoing basis throughout 2011 and beyond:
Core: Every 4 weeks.
Craft: Every week (beginning in March).
Prep: Every 6 weeks.
Pages: Every 10 weeks.
So yes, the courses will be offered again and regularly with new classes, especially Craft, introduced throughout 2011.
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