IP: 10 Good Pages: Intro to Screenwriting - SUN DAY

Whether you’re a beginner or more experienced writer looking to tackle a specific film project, this course will give you the time and space to apply and experiment with writing techniques for the big and small screen.

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Writers will:

• Learn and practice foundational screenwriting techniques
• Become practitioners of “proper” screenplay format
• Develop a “writer’s toolkit”
• Apply this toolkit to the writing of new material
• Practice using the toolkit for revisions and critique
• Receive peer and instructor feedback on their work
• Be part of a creative community where we help one another do our best work

Course Goals:
Through a combination of creative exercises and workshopping material, writers will ultimately complete 10 good pages by the end of the course. Whether these pages are for a short film or features will be at each student’s discretion. Students may also bring existing concepts to the class to work on, but an idea for a film is not required to begin. Through our creative exercises, we will develop and workshop new and original content as we build and refine our writer’s toolkit.

Course Outline:

Week One
Introduction & Welcome; Screenplay Format Basics; Show Don’t Tell: Visual Storytelling
Writing Exercise #1: Visual Storytelling

Week Two
Foundations of Dramatic Writing; Basics of Dialogue
Workshop Exercise #1
Writing Exercise #2: Dialogue Driven Scene

Week Three
Character As Action
Workshop Exercise #2
Writing Exercise #3: Character Driven Scene

Week Four
Plot, Structure, & Genre
Workshop Exercise #3
Writing Exercise #4: Short Sequence

Week Five
The Dark Arts, or How To Do Everything Screenplay Books Tell You Not To Do
Workshop Exercise #4
Writing Exercise #5: Personal Project

Week Six
Finding Your Voice; The Writer’s Life
Workshop Exercise #5

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