I don't often endorse screenwriting products, programs or services on this site, and I usually try to have direct experience with a particular service before I offer any sort of endorsement. In the instances when I don't have that direct service, I make certain to admit that fact plainly and point out that my referral is based on the experience of others and not my own.
But there's one guy in the screenwriting blogsphere whose name is pretty much synonymous with "credibility" in my book - Scott Myers of Go Into The Story. Scott has been a long-time friend of the blog and his endorsement was key to putting this site on the map back in July 2009. Anyone who's read Scott's blog knows that he not only has a lot of screenwriting insight and advice to offer, he's also a damn good guy.
So that's why I have zero hesitation about endorsing his new Screenwriting Master Class before it even officially launches. I even wish I had the disposable cash to take it myself, but that'll have to wait for some future date.
So rather than offering my semi-uninformed take on what Scott and his partner screenwriter Tom Benedek have cooked up, I'll let their promotional email speak for itself.
January 3, 2011 is the official launch date of Screenwriting Master Class and all but two of the inaugural course offerings are sold out. Thanks for your interest and support!
A few questions for you:
Have you ever started a script and not finished it?
Has it ever taken you 4, 5, 6 months or more to finish a script?
Have you ever gotten so lost when writing a story, you became incredibly frustrated?
Chances are you did not do enough story preparation. Don’t you think it’s time to approach writing like professionals do and break your story in prep?
We offer a 6-week online Prep: From Concept to Outline writing workshop, a step-by-step way to develop your story, enabling you to crack it before you type FADE IN. The beauty of this approach is three-fold:
* You can go into the page-writing part of the process with confidence because you’ve already broken the story.
* Since you won’t be overwhelmed with finding the story when writing pages, you can focus your creativity on characters, dialogue, mood, pace, etc.
* By devoting six weeks to prep, you will almost assuredly cut the amount of time you spend writing your script and increase the odds you will finish your draft.
At Screenwriting Master Class, we offer two concurrent sections of the Prep: From Concept to Outline class:
* Prep [Beginning to Intermediate writers]: Scott Myers is teaching this course from January 3-February 13.
* Prep [Intermediate to Advanced writers]: Tom Benedek is teaching this course from January 3-February 13.
There are a few spots available for both courses. We are also signing up writers for the next round of Prep courses beginning February 14. To enroll, go here.
Here are a few testimonials from writers who took the Beta version of the Prep: From Concept to Outline course:
“You gave us all just the right amount of ideas, encouragement, and support to discover, develop, and design a real workable blueprint to take into the page writing.”
-- David Broyles
“The Prep class has given me a set of practical tools to use to take the bare glimmer of a concept to outline in six weeks.”
-- James Tichenor
"I honestly can't wait to get started on this script now, and to use what I've learned in Prep to go back and rewrite other scripts."
-- Paul Labich
Approach your writing like the pros do: Break your story in prep!
Don’t forget, if you go to the Screenwriting Master Class website, you can sign up for our monthly newsletter and the free 28-page Spec Script Market Analysis.
Also follow @ScreenwritingMC on Twitter for all Hollywood lit sales – from spec scripts to pitches, novels to comic books – plus screenwriting business news.
If you have any questions, you may contact Scott and Tom here:
info@screenwritingmasterclass.com
Best of luck with the new program, gentlemen!
