Write Your Feature Screenplay or Short Film Script

Students will plot, write, and edit their own screenplay in any genre or length of their choice. No previous screenwriting experience required. We will go over all the basics of what it takes to write a screenplay. 

Students are welcome to bring a work-in-progress if they have already started something or they can start completely fresh. 

Each class will be broken up into two parts. Part 1: we will discuss a different writing topic to help the students understand storytelling methods and the craft of screenwriting. Part 2: the students will actively work on the item we discussed or will do writing sprints on their screenplay. 

Depending on the subject and number of students we will either round robin ideas with the entire class or students will be assigned into breakout rooms to work with a partner on the task.  

Week One - What is a screenplay? What is the difference between a screenplay and other types of fiction? How does screenplay format work? What programs can a writer use to write screenplays? Deciding the length of your script, feature (80-120 pages) or short (3-45 pages). How to plan out your writing time. Is your goal to write a complete script (short) or the first 20 pages of your script (feature)?

Week Two - Watch a movie and read the script outside of class. What is conflict? Is the conflict internal and/or external? How will the conflict drive your plot? Different genres have different conflict tropes that the students should know and understand. Do they meet audience expectations or do they subvert audience expectations with the conflict?  

Week Three - Watch a movie and read 10 pages of a screenplay outside of class. Protagonist, antagonist, and secondary characters. Creating well-developed characters and character arcs. Who is your lead? Will the audience cheer for her/him/them? Who is your villain? Will the audience want him/her/them to lose? What makes your characters seem like real people? What about all the other people in your script? How much do you tell about them? How to avoid having one dimensional characters. Banishing or using cliche characters for the good of the script. 

Week Four - Watch a movie and read 10 pages of a screenplay outside of class. The three act structure of narrative films (beginning, middle and end). We'll talk about different methods of plotting such as the Hero's Journey, Save the Cat, Rollercoaster, and Building Story through Character. The difference between the main plot (A plot) and the various sub-plots (B plot and C plot). 

Week Five - Watch a movie and read 10 pages of a screenplay outside of class. Write script. Dialogue. Dialogue is how you write your characters speaking. How to write your characters so they sound like real people. You don't want them to sound like they are reading a script. How to use dialogue to show who your characters are or aren't. How to use dialogue to further your plot and conflict.  

Week Six - Watch a movie and read 10 pages of a screenplay outside of class. Write script. Action and description. How much is too much? How much is too little? Your characters are more than talking heads and should occupy and move around your setting. What elements of the setting will you describe to place the reader in your movie?

Week Seven - Watch a movie and read 10 pages of a screenplay outside of class. Write script. Don't write what your character feels. Show what your character feels. You can't write what your character is thinking in a screenplay like you can in a novel. How to use the dialogue, parentheticals, and action lines to show what your character is thinking and/or feeling.  

Week Eight - Watch a movie and read 10 pages of a screenplay outside of class. Write script. Do you have a theme or point you want to explore or make? Is your theme obvious or subtle? What symbolism or repeating item can you utilize to talk about your theme? Should you include camera directions, acting directions, and FX/stunt directions in your screenplay? We'll discuss the difference between a spec screenplay and a shooting script. 

Week Nine - Watch a movie and read 10 pages of a screenplay outside of class. Write/edit script. How to edit your screenplay. How many drafts does it take? Utilizing white space, cleaning up dialogue, cutting scenes/characters, and filling out scenes/characters.

Week Ten - Watch a movie and read 10 pages of a screenplay outside of class. Write/edit script. If you haven't finished your script, make a plan for when you will finish your first draft. If you have finished your script, make an editing plan. What do I do with my script now that I've written one? Submit the screenplay to contests/festivals or shoot the movie myself and upload on YouTube and/or submit to festivals. 

Topics may be moved around based on student interest and requests.