Writing Scripts 101
GUIDE TO SCRIPTWRITING COURSES
Writing Scripts 101 is a 6-week class, which includes a mixture of lectures and exercises. It’s for beginners or anyone who wants a refresher. Farther down, you can view a syllabus for this course.
Do you dream of seeing your work performed, up there, somewhere? A spellbinding movie. An addictive TV show. A gripping play. The thrill of scriptwriting is that, if you’re lucky, you get to see your work soar to life once all the elements—the work of directors, designers, cast, crew—are added to the vision of your script.
Here you’ll gain an introduction to writing for movies, TV, and plays, and you’ll also learn techniques fundamental to all forms of scriptwriting. It’s a sampler platter, with no pressure to work on a specific project or settle on which type of scriptwriting you prefer.
If you’re eager to enter the excitement of writing scripts, the show begins right here.
Mind blowing and very effective.
Gerard Brooks
building maintenance
Notes
This course includes screenwriting, TV writing, and playwriting.
The 101 courses do not include workshopping of student projects, but students write and receive feedback on writing exercises and assignments.
Upcoming Classes
Syllabus
This course explores the major types of scriptwriting, and the techniques that go with them. Course components:
Brief lectures
Writing exercises
New York City/Zoom classes
The syllabus varies from teacher to teacher, term to term. Many topics will be similar to those covered in the Online classes.
Online classes
Week 1
The Big Picture: Desire and conflict. Dramatic structure. Character—personality, actions, change.
Week 2
Scenes: Objective/obstacle. Scene pointers—beginning/middle/end, compression, stage directions, Dialogue—illusion of reality, reflecting character and situation, subtext.
Week 3
Playwriting: What makes it a play?—live-ness, theatricality, scene approach. Shaping a play—plot, character, and other considerations. Play scenes analyzed.
Week 4
Screenwriting: What makes it a movie?—Hollywood vs. indie, visual storytelling, scene approach. Shaping a movie—plot, character, and other considerations. Movie scenes analyzed.
Week 5
TV Writing: What makes it a TV show?—stories expanded over time, serial vs. episodic, types and forms. Shaping a TV episode—plot, character, and other considerations. TV scenes analyzed.
Week 6
The Dramatic Life: Getting ideas. Studying and stealing. Doing it—writing and revising, finding production.
Note: Content may vary among individual classes.
