How To Write A Feature Screenplay
Join Me for Six Inspired Sessions - Starting May 17!
As we all know, God created Earth and all its inhabitants in six days and rested on the seventh. I, on the other hand, created Six Days to a Vomit Draft after more than 20 years as a professional writer and educator. I’m not saying this workshop is better than Earth and all its inhabitants, but I am saying I can teach you a boatload about screenwriting and storytelling. I mean, I finished another feature screenplay a few weeks ago. What has God created lately?
For a good time, SIGN UP HERE! Only 11 days left and Space Limited.
What’s a Vomit Draft?
It’s just what it sounds like: fast and disgusting but productive. Plus you’ll feel better after you’re done. Any professional screenwriter will tell you the importance of getting the first draft finished so you can step back and see what’s working (a little of it) and what’s not working (a lot of it). This draft inevitably provides clarity to move forward and that’s the most important thing—moving forward. Otherwise you might get stuck in a death spiral of overthinking or infinitely rewriting the same scenes.
What’s in this Workshop?
The order of these topics is subject to change, but probably won’t. I always begin with some acknowledgement and appreciation that we are, in fact, human beings, and as such, we tend to think and feel —or at least we did once. If a workshop participant has stopped thinking and feeling for more than five years, I recommend my alternate workshop: How to Think & Feel (with me, Bill Gullo).
After admitting that it feels weird to be alive, we turn our attention to another deeply human trait: Wanting Things—both tangible and intangible. We'll explore some of our own personal wants before noting that movie characters are most compelling when they want Tangible Things. Why? Because tangible wants inspire characters to Do Things. And doing things is very important in movies—otherwise, your characters might just end up gazing out of windows or chatting in a war-weary way to bartenders in dimly lit bars.
Along the way, I’ll hold your feet to the fire to make sure your character wants something tangible. But we’ll also return to that complicated, squishy topic I so brilliantly wove into the start of the workshop: Emotional Needs. The key point? Different people can have different emotional reasons for the same want. For example, I assure you that I want (tangible) money for reasons very different from the infestation of creatures who currently occupy the White House.
Moving on from all that, we’ll visit tips and tools for developing characters, outlining and plotting, structure, theme, and tips for how to make your script read more like a movie. Each week will include writing prompts to explore all of the above. Some key words and phrases I bake into the workshop include:
Stay in the Moment
Get Weird
Hot Writing
Walk on the Beach
But/Therefore
This time/Next time,
Yes—And
Don’t let the Air out of the Balloon.
I’ll also assign two movies to watch at home—Adaptation and Finding Nemo—that will help you lock into the concepts we discuss. I continue to be in awe that there’s a movie - a big movie with stars - that dramatizes the act of writing a screenplay. I’m surprised I don’t hear more people using Adaptation as a teaching tool. Like the character of Charlie in the film, so many writers, myself included, struggle at the intersection of art and commerce, the line between originality and commerciality. Writer, Charlie Kaufman and director, Spike Jonze (as well as the amazing cast) take the audience on a very specific, chaotic, tortured journey as the hero attempts to… write a screenplay? If you haven’t seen it, you’ll be amazed at how funny and dramatic it gets. And it’s perfect fodder for the workshop.
I’m using Finding Nemo for one reason: Craig Mazin. In his 45 minute talk How to Write a Movie, Mazin uses Finding Nemo as one of his primary examples to describe character arc and growth and structure and theme and kinda everything. If you’re a screenwriter that has been near me in the last three years, I have recommended Mazin to you. I believe aspiring screenwriters can skip screenwriting classes (yes even this workshop) if they listen to Mazin’s talk 3 times with a notebook in their hand and a story idea in their head. This will be the first time I’m pairing Mazin’s talk with viewing of Nemo and it will be enlightening.
What’s it Worth?
This workshop is designed to distill 20 years of writing experience, the teaching I’ve done at NYU and Pratt, and the mentoring I’ve done at Almanack Screenwriters and Nantucket Film Festival into a six week (12 hour) experience that will help you write screenplays for the rest of your life. The cost is $275.00 and as of this publication there are no tariffs that will impact this price.
I live in Brooklyn NY, County of Kings. According to chatbots, plumbers in NYC charge an average of $150-200/hour. Unclogging a drain or toilet should run you about $150-300. The cost for a physical trainer can vary wildly in NYC, especially if you want one who doesn’t check his/her phone while you struggle through your squats, but the estimate is in the $100-200/hr range. You see where I’m going with this?
If you’re reading this, you must have some interest in writing or storytelling. If you are reading this and you do not have interest in writing or storytelling, I am immediately fascinated by you and want you to contact me via any and all available channels. And if you’re considering, developing or writing a screenplay, my upcoming workshop, Six Weeks to a Vomit Draft, will definitely unlock new ideas, empower your writing process and provide a few laughs.
In Person Meet Ups!
The April 30th event was spectacular.