WHAT IS THIS CLASS?
Depending on your experience, this is either a refresher or a crash course in screenwriting, designed to get you through your first draft. This workshop covers the essentials without ever claiming that there is a formula to writing a movie, which I do not believe and find gross. If you enjoy thinking about story structure and how to apply it to a screenplay, I'd love to help you out. This class has an intensive weekly schedule, designed for TV & film writers with professional experience. It is not recommended for first-time writers.

Over our 10-week schedule, I'll get you from a logline to a rough but well-structured draft you can start rewriting on your own. First drafts are just the beginning, but completing these 100 pages feels really good, and for me, mark the end of the hardest part of writing a movie. I keep these classes small to give everyone time for tailored, specific notes and feedback.

WHAT KIND OF MOVIE CAN I WRITE?
Any. I got my start writing comedy, but I'll gladly help you with your space opera. We'll discuss classical story structure, how it can be helpful, and why it's worth understanding. If you reject this stuff and want something more structurally experimental or avant-garde, that's cool too, but this class may not be worth your money. A clear, well-paced story does not have to mean "mainstream." We can get weird.

WHAT DO I NEED ON DAY 1?
Just an idea you think could be a movie. In our first week, we will start there, from scratch. We’ll discuss your protagonist(s), what kind of story you're telling, and what films you see as touchstones.

IS THIS HARD?
Yes. You won’t be able to do your weekly assignment three hours before class. You must set aside writing time every day, knowing you’re gonna hit some walls, but this is all in service of making a screenplay LESS intimidating in the future.

WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?
It’s just me, Tim. Like many workshop teachers, I’m out here just like you, trying to get a movie made. As of this writing, I've got two in development, optioned or re-upped in 2022. My career started moving forward after I spent two years staffed at Disney, where I wrote original and assigned features, or did passes on films they had in the pipeline. I've done some work as a script doctor as well, and that work inspired me to teach this class. I am allergic to guru types and will not tell you what to do, or insist that anything "always works," but rather ask you lots of questions and push you to articulate what you are really writing about and why. Structure tends to reveal itself from there.

We will not talk much about the market, or what kinds of premises “they” are looking for. This class is about craft and point of view. Let's do this right. I've now had around 300 scripts come through this workshop, and I can confidently say I keep classes fun and motivating. Almost nobody bails on me.

If you have any questions not answered here, feel free to e-mail me.