*This is Part 1 of a two-part series. Students are not required to take both parts; however, students wishing to enroll in Part 2 are required to complete Part 1 prior to beginning Part 2.  Courses will be listed consecutively. Once Part 1 has been completed, student may take Part 2 at any available time.
**In order to maximize efficiency, creativity, and above all, collaboration, longer, college style courses have been scheduled rather than meeting multiple times per week. 

I always wanted a sequel to "The Princess Bride."  No, I don't care about Westley and Buttercups family and kids.  What I want to see is Inigo as The Dread Pirate Roberts.  Do you remember the end of the film as they are jumping out of the window? Inigo says, 
"Is very strange. I have been in the revenge business so long, now that it's over, I don't know what to do with the rest of my life." Westley looks at him and responds, "Have you ever considered piracy? You'd make a wonderful Dread Pirate Roberts."  That is the movie I want to see, but Hollywood never made it, so just for fun, we are going to write it. But before we can do that, we must as Inigo says, "Go back to the beginning."

"The Princess Bride" is one of the greatest movies of all time, and unlike film adaptations, it does stick pretty much to the book.  Sure, there were a few changes and a lot had to be cut to fit it to film, but overall, there really aren't a lot of differences.  The biggest difference isn't a change, but rather in what's missing.  The book was subtitled, "The Good Parts." Perhaps the film should have been subtitled, "The Best Parts." This class will focus on "The Other Parts" that were left out of the film.  That means that we get to learn more about Inigo, Fezzik, Vizzini, and "The Six Fingered Man."  But we're not just going to compare and contrast the book with the film.  Great stories are retold over and over again, and we will do the same, expanding the tale beyond Goldman's version.  This course will combine literary analysis with creative writing as work in a collaborative effort to tell the tale that Goldman did not.

This is Part 1 of a two-part series.  Part 1 will lay the foundation for the collaborative writing project that we will complete in Part 2. This is not just about writing and getting feedback from peers, but rather working together as a class, combining the efforts of each individual to create one common draft.  This is a writing team, just like you might find with a television series. In fact, our goal is not to simply tell stories that have yet to be heard, but also to write them as if they were a script for a major production.

Part 1 is all about the basics. This is the easier class of the two, designed as a course introduction to prepare students for what is to come and ensure that they are committed to this style of writing.  The first thing students need to do is watch the film before they ever show up for class.  We will discuss the film on the first day, The Hero's Journey, character archetypes, and various literary devices that make the film so great.   Students will have one week to finish reading the novel.  Students may begin reading the novel prior to the start of class if they wish.  During the second week, we will analyze the novel through a literary perspective as we compare and contrast the novel with the film. Students will then be presented with numerous character questions that do not have clear answers about multiple characters in the text and film.  These questions are not objective, but rather designed to get students thinking beyond the text as they brainstorm and imagine stories about these characters that have never been told.  In the third week, will discuss and brainstorm as we begin to outline these stories together.  Students will complete story outlines, then select one of the stories to write on their own.  In the final class, students will present their stories for feedback and revision. Students that wish to move on to part two (*separate enrollment required) will then be asked to make the suggested and necessary revisions prior to the first day of Part 2.

Part 1 Course Outline
Watch Movie before class begins
Week 1: Discuss film, The Hero's Journey, and Character Archetypes
Week 2: Discuss novel, expand on character archetypes, discuss other elements of characterization in writing, compare and contrast novel with the film.
Week 3: Discuss character questions as we begin to develop new story outlines for the characters
Week 4: Present and discuss students' original stories for Inigo, Fezzik, Vizzini, Count Rugen, Prince Humperdink, Miracle Max, and the Albino.

Part 2: "The Dread Pirate Roberts" (a brief description)
*Separate enrollment required.
After completing Part 1, students may choose to continue in Part 2.  Here we will dive into Th Dread Pirate Roberts.  While the first course touched on some of the basics, this course will be more intense as we focus on collaborative creative writing for the stage and screen We will expand on the origins of the Dread Pirate Roberts, spin the tales of Westley as Roberts, and above all else, finally create the much-needed sequel featuring Inigo Montoya as the Dread Pirate Roberts. A general story outline will be provided; however, all of the decisions are in the students' hands.  I am merely there to facilitate and guide students in the right direction, only making decisions when necessary as the imaginary "producer."  All students will write and contribute, but only one "final script" will be written. Students will need a thick skin, as not all students will necessarily be represented equally in the final draft.  Students will be critical of each other as well as competitive, but they will also work together as a team.