The Ultimate Screenwriting

In just 30 Days, our screenwriting course will teach you all the tools needed to write your career-changing screenplay

Last updated 2022-01-10 | 4.4

- ALL THE SKILLS YOU NEED TO MASTER THE CRAFT AND WRITE YOUR OWN BEST SCREENPLAY IN 30 DAYS
- HOW TO PITCH TO EXECUTIVES
- HOW TO FIND AN AGENT

What you'll learn

ALL THE SKILLS YOU NEED TO MASTER THE CRAFT AND WRITE YOUR OWN BEST SCREENPLAY IN 30 DAYS

HOW TO PITCH TO EXECUTIVES

HOW TO FIND AN AGENT

HOW TO BECOME A PROFESSIONAL SCREENWRITER

* Requirements

* A willingness to learn

Description

Scripts that sell are those that tell a compelling story.

Shore Scripts is excited to offer a unique opportunity to study with America’s premier screenwriting educator, UCLA Head of Screenwriting, Prof. Richard Walter.

In just 30 Days, our Definitive Screenwriting Course will teach you all the tools you need in order to write your career-changing screenplay.

Using real screenplay examples, the course examines the first principles of screenwriting and enables you to learn from course leaders with hands-on writing experience.

You've taken seminars but you're still not writing, or you're writing but your scripts don't work.

HEAR WHAT THE PROS SAY ABOUT OUR COURSE INSTRUCTOR

'Richard Walter is the best screenwriting teacher in the business.'
David Koepp, screenwriter & director (over $2 billion in US Box Office)

'Richard Walter is a prominent film expert.'
The New York Times

'The prime broker for Hollywood’s hottest commodity: new writing talent.'
The Wall Street Journal

'Richard Walter is the Jewish Mother of Screenwriting.'
Variety

CUSTOMER TESTIMONIALS

'With a wealth of insights from top industry professionals, as well as an amazing teaching platform, this course will help you not only write your screenplay, but give you a guide to navigate through the film industry landscape.'

Stephanie Zari

'This is it. If you are serious about your writing, here are the high-value skills you need. Richard Walter is the very best.'

Nick Nichols

'Richard was inspirational. He affirmed my passion to be a writer and gave me the kick in the pants to finish a feature screenplay.'

Kylee Robinson

'Richard teaches by storytelling & thoughtful anecdotes. This helped me grasp the deeper levels of the craft.'

Kimy Martinez

RICHARD WALTER - LEAD COURSE INSTRUCTOR

Richard is a screenwriter, author, celebrated storytelling educator, associate dean, and longtime professor and chairman of the graduate screenwriting program at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television.

Richard Walter has written numerous feature assignments for the major studios including the earliest drafts of American Graffiti, and has sold material to all the major broadcast networks.

RICHARD'S STUDENTS

UCLA-trained screenwriters have won five best-screenplay Oscar nominations and three Oscars in the past seven years.

They have written ELEVEN projects for Steven Spielberg:

Jurassic Park I, II, II, Indiana Jones II, III, The Terminal, War of The Worlds, Munich, Lincoln, Eagle Eye, Amazing Stories...

Plus dozens of mainstream commercial Hollywood blockbusters (such as Spider-Man, Benjamin Button, Charlie’s Angels, Men In Black, Mission: Impossible) and prestigious indie productions, including Milk, Sideways & The Descendants.

They have also written hundreds of hours of Television.

Writers that Richard teaches dominate the film and TV industry.

UCLA SCREENWRITERS INCLUDE:

Dustin Lance Black – Milk, J. Edgar, When We Rise (TV)
Alexander Payne – Sideways, About Schmidt, The Descendants
Eric Roth – The Insider, Forrest Gump
Paul Schrader – Raging Bull, Taxi Driver
Shane Black – Lethal Weapon, Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang, The Last Action Hero
Billy Ray – Flight Plan, Suspect Zero, Shattered Glass
Pamela Gray – A Walk on the Moon, Music of the Heart
Jeffrey Boam – Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade, Lethal Weapon 3
David Koepp – Spider Man, Mission Impossible
Sacha Gervasi – The Terminal, The Hypnotist, Henry’s Crime
Jim Herzfeld – Meet The Parents, Meet The Fockers
Collin Higgins – Harold and Maude, Nine to Five
Michael Miner – Robocop Trilogy
Sheila Callaghan – United States of Tara
Don Payne – The Simpsons
Caroline Williams – Arrested Development

BOB SCHULTZ - ON PITCHING

Bob is the president of a non-profit educational and professional development organization for screenwriters. Bob is a full-time writer, focusing on spec screenplays and work-for-hire. Bob has produced four movies and written two.

LUCY HAY - ON SUBMISSION STRATEGY

Lucy is an author and script editor. She is the associate producer of Brit Thrillers Deviation and Assassin. In addition to script reading and writing her own novels, Lucy also blogs about the screenwriting process through her blog Bang2Write.

SHORE SCRIPTS - MODERATORS

Shore Scripts is one of the biggest industry platforms for screenwriters in the world. Shore runs screenwriting lectures, contests, and funds films. They have 200 professional filmmakers, production companies and agents, including Oscar winners, onboard to read the best scripts entered.

-- THIS IS THE ONLY SCREENWRITING COURSE YOU'LL NEED --

Who this course is for:

A COMPREHENSIVE COURSE FOR NEW AND EXPERIENCED SCREENWRITERS & WRITERS INTERESTED IN THE CRAFT OF SCREENWRITING

Course content

9 sections • 56 lectures

Introduction to the Course 1 lectures

Navigating The Course Preview 01:13

Screenwriting with UCLA Head of Screenwriting, Richard Walter 15 lectures

Introducing Story & Character Preview 11:01

EXERCISES

No screenplay is completely original, but a good script needs to feel fresh and bring something new to the genre. Write down exactly why your story is different from anything we’ve ever seen or heard before.

Express your story in no less than 25 words. If you can’t, does your premise need to be simplified?

Six things you need to know about your protagonist –

1. What is his/her primary goal?

2. Is this goal the same or different to their emotional need (motivation)?

3. What is standing in the way of the protagonist achieving their goal?

4. What major character flaw is also getting in the way of them achieving this goal?

5. How does this character flaw turn into a strength to help them overcome the situation?

6. And what does your protagonist(s) learn by the end of the journey. How have they changed?

You may not necessarily know your main theme before you write your screenplay but understanding the main conflict in your story can help you identify this. Examine what your main character(s) is struggling against. How is that conflict resolved, and by whom (was it the good guy or the bad guy)? And what lesson did your protagonist(s) learn?

Once you know your theme, it must resonate through each of your scenes. Describe how your subplots are variations on your central theme too.

Planning out your Screenplay Preview 01:34

EXERCISES

There is no standard outline format for a screenplay. It can be written before or after you’ve written the screenplay. An outline can mean different things to different people; so if you’ve been asked to supply one, make sure to clarify exactly what they’re looking for.

If you’re outlining for yourself in order to write a guide you can do anything from writing a basic present tense paragraph for each act, to going into more detail and outlining every scene.

If you’re just in the early stages and trying to outline where your story is going, use this exercise: -

At the start of your story, this event happens________________________________

This event makes your protagonist feel_____________________________________

This emotion makes your protagonist take this action_________________________

But that action causes someone else to take this reaction______________________

That event makes your protagonist feel_____________________________________

Causing your protagonist to take this action_________________________________

(Then repeat this from ‘that action causes someone else to…’ for as far as you can)

An outline isn’t a blueprint set in stone. Don’t feel you must rigidly adhere to it once you’ve written one. Move scenes around, reverse character genders, flip the outcome of a scene, tell your story backwards etc.

Tell the Personal Story Preview 04:58

EXERCISES

Write what you know by transferring these emotions into your characters story, rather than writing a story about yourself.

Using the emotion wheel, start in the middle and list six significant moments or experiences from your own life where you felt sad, mad, scared, joyful, powerful, and peaceful. Look for something in each that you can apply into your writing.

Take the next ring and do the same. Make a list of keywords to describe specific actions, reactions from yourself and others, and words that were spoken. Use this list/notebook as a point of reference when writing scenes for your characters.

Make the Reader Feel Preview 02:04

EXERCISES

Your primary goal is to elicit an emotional response from the audience, so always keep in mind what primary emotion you want the audience to feel during each of your scenes. Take each scene, what one action and one line of dialogue could best help that emotion be expressed by your characters?

Also think about how you want the viewers to feel about each of your characters? What initial action can you give each character to visually evoke that feeling in the audience? What one action changes the way the audience feel about your character?

You’re introducing a major character to us, what action do we see that character first take that best visually allows us to sum that person up?

Come up with Great Ideas Preview 02:35

EXERCISES

Make a habit of jotting down ten ideas a day, no matter how outrageous or small. Not every idea is a great one, but this will help get your mind used to coming up with dynamic titles, inventive solutions, interesting characters, and compelling situations.

As an exercise, take one day out of your writing schedule to do research. Browse your local library, do an internet search, interview someone that can help broaden your expertise on whatever subject matter you’re writing about or interested in.

Begin to ‘concept horde’. Evernote and Scrivener are great apps to help organize ideas and projects. Find five images from any source that inspire you and write down five different possible movie ideas stemming from each one.

They say a picture can tell a thousand words, so look through a variety of sources, books, internet, newspapers, photographs, and combine images to create a visual mood board in order to help visualize your movie. This could be anything from location ideas, cast of characters, props etc. Pinterest is a great tool to use for this.

Struggling to know which of your ideas to focus your time on? Test them on friends, family, anyone you can. Getting feedback from others is an excellent way to inspire and ignite your passion on a project, at the same time as helping to highlight problems and issues you hadn’t considered yet.

Integration Preview 10:28

EXERCISES

Your story has to move forward, one scene at a time. Look at each of your scenes and make sure a change happens during it. If a scene starts off on a positive note, makes sure it ends on a negative and vice versa.

Do a pass looking for any ‘unfilmables’ in your script and remove them. These include character’s thoughts, backstory information that we cannot see on screen, or purple prose such as ‘he draws a heavy breath, enjoying the sweet scent of lavender’.

As an exercise in writing more visually, cut out all of your dialogue and try to tell your story only with visuals. At the end, only put in what lines of dialogue you need to.

Are you repeating any information necessarily? Do a pass to make sure you aren’t telling us the same thing twice such as: -

Make sure you aren’t doing the director’s job. Do a pass and cut out any camera direction as well as the term “we see.”

Commercialism Preview 06:27

EXERCISES

Ideally, you want your movie to reach as many people as possible. Some exercises to increase the appeal of your ideas are: -

Take an ordinary situation and then take it to the extreme i.e. the ultimate ape = King Kong.

Reverse the expected. Take any idea and turn your first thought around i.e. a paternity test result leaves a man unhappy that he’s really the father of the child he’s brought up.

Insert a ticking time bomb element. Adding an urgent deadline or time limit into a plot can increase and intensify the conflict.

Develop conflicting characters. Two opposite characters create immediate conflict when forced to work together in some manner.

Come up with at least 30 different titles for your movie. Pick one that tells us what the movie is about as well as piquing an audience’s interest.

Conflict in Screenwriting Preview 03:35

EXERCISES

Make sure you’ve clearly established the stakes for your protagonist. If the audience doesn’t know what he/she stands to lose, they won’t care whether they succeed or not.

Name the stake and then consistently raise them. The closer we are to the end, the bigger the stakes. Always think, now what’s the worst thing that can plausibly happen?

You don’t just need big stakes, you need worthy and difficult challenges along the way too. Check to see whether your protagonist has possibly overcome obstacles too easily.

Look at the end of each of your scenes, what’s happened within that scene that will have the audience asking ‘what’s going to happen now?'

The Truth of a Scene Preview 04:15

EXERCISES

If you’re writing a biopic or story based on real events, look to edit out the moments that although really happened, won’t exactly make entertaining viewing. Focus on the emotional truth and keep the dramatic momentum in mind.

While traveling scenes help explain how a character gets from A to B, they don’t always advance the story in a compelling manner. If you feel you must include a traveling scene, look to include a moment of conflict in there too.

There’s a difference between evoking tone and being novelistic when writing a screenplay. Don’t be overly specific in your description. If a piece of information isn’t pivotal to the plot, cut it.

Learn about Structure Preview 02:18

EXERCISES

There are several ways to structure a screenplay. There isn’t a ‘one fits all’ formula. You must find what works best for your story.

A good guide is the 40 Beat Technique.

Does your story fit the hero’s journey paradigm?

Or try the 8 Sequence Approach. Divide your story into eight parts. Give each a goal, activity, and complication.

Keep tabs on your setups and payoffs by creating a list of actions that occur in your first act, which you can possibly payoff in later acts. Do the same with lines of dialogue and used props.

Have a great scene or ending but not sure how to get there? Work backwards: -

1. Where does your scene occur?

2. What physical clue led to your character going there?

3. What line of dialogue led your protagonist to search for that clue?

4. What event happened to provoke that line?

5. What problem occurred to cause that event?

6. How did the protagonists own actions create that problem?

7. What was the protagonist’s goal/motivation when creating that problem?

8. Describe why the protagonist came up with that goal and the stakes involved.

Beginning, Middle & End Preview 03:55

EXERCISES

Every act, sequence, scene, and line of dialogue should advance the story, show character growth, or increase the dramatic tension. Ideally it should be doing all three.

Enter late and leave early. Cut out character entrances and exits. Open with an action and end on the scenes strongest emotional beat possible.

For every scene, write down a quick keyword list detailing what the point of the scene is, who is present, what conflict is happening, and most important of all, how do you want the audience to react/feel?

As Stephen King says, “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write”. Make a point of reading at least one spec script a week. There are countless resources online. The ‘Stranger Things’ pilot is a great example of how a 63-page script was trimmed back to only giving the essentials, resulting in a tight 45 minutes of screen time.

If you’re having trouble with a specific area of your writing, pick five random (but produced) spec scripts. Read each script looking at how the writer dealt with the problem you’re having, i.e. effective scene description, scene transitions, keeping dramatic momentum.

How to Write Great Dialogue Preview 02:05

EXERCISES

Increase subtext as much as possible. Take a conversation between two characters where they both want to talk about a subject but write the scene having them talk about anything but. An example would be two people who want to ask each other out on a date but both are unsure of the other’s feelings and fear rejection.

Do a pass looking for lines where a character is stating exactly what they mean or feel and look for ways to change this so that the character is saying the same thing but without explicitly saying it. An exercise for this would be to take two characters, have one want to say something but don’t allow them to say it, such as a friend who dislikes his buddies new haircut. How can you express the friends distaste without actually having him come straight out and say it etc.?

Ways to increase subtext: -

1. Devise a line of dialogue that can have a double meaning.

2. Have a character actively evade a specific subject.

3. Have a character say one thing but do the complete opposite.

4. Answer a question with a question.

5. Give your character an emotional mask, hiding their true feelings.

Less is often more when it comes to dialogue. Do a pass looking at each line and try to figure out how to say it with fewer words.

Also look for lines that can be removed altogether without hurting the plot. Are there any lines that could be replaced with a look, an action, or even silence?

Screen dialogue isn’t everyday conversation so if possible trim out any greetings, polite nothings, and goodbyes.

Cover up character names on the page. Can you still identify each character solely by their dialogue or do some characters begin to sound the same? Make voices distinct by including jargons, mannerisms, accents, demeanors, brogues, sayings, and twangs etc.

Collaboration Preview 05:34

EXERCISES

Find someone to bounce ideas off, talk screenwriting, and collaborate with by seeking out like-minded individuals. If there isn’t a local writers group, consider starting one. Search for screenwriting forums online, follow Facebook groups dedicated to screenwriting and filmmaking, or sign up for a writing or filmmaking course.

Making one to one connections by networking is one of the best ways to gain experience, make friends, and find work.

What Are Parentheticals Preview 03:23

EXERCISES

Scan for any long pieces of action such as (takes a drink), (pulls out a gun), or (furrowing his brow) and place this in the scene description instead.

Cut out any instances where you’re over directing the actor via parentheticals such as (smiling cheekily), (brushing his hair back), or (biting her lip).

Do a pass and remove any parenthetical you’ve written. If there’s no significant loss of understanding, you didn’t need it.