Screenplay Writing Course

Lesson 1 • Writing Your First Scene

Applies all formatting rules to draft a single, complete scene. Peer review introduces early feedback habits.

Lesson 2 • Industry Software and Tools

Surveys professional screenwriting applications and their auto-formatting features. Reduces technical friction so students can focus on craft.

Lesson 3 • The Five Script Elements

Introduces scene headings, action, character cues, dialogue, and transitions. Students practise identifying and writing each element in isolation.

Lesson 4 • Core Formatting Rules

Covers industry-standard margins, font, and element placement. Correct formatting signals professionalism and ensures accurate page-to-screen timing.

Lesson 1 • Three-Act Structure Fundamentals

Maps setup, confrontation, and resolution onto page counts and turning points. Provides the structural skeleton students use throughout the course.

Lesson 2 • Generating Viable Story Concepts

Teaches methods for finding and testing story ideas before committing to development. Strong concepts reduce structural problems downstream.

Lesson 3 • Writing a Compelling Logline

Breaks down the logline formula: protagonist, goal, antagonistic force, and stakes. A strong logline guides every structural decision that follows.

Lesson 4 • Building a Beat Sheet

Translates the chosen structural model into a scene-by-scene beat sheet for the student's original concept. Serves as the blueprint for the full script.

Lesson 1 • Marketability and Commercial Awareness

Introduces the concept of a script's commercial viability without sacrificing artistic integrity. Covers budget awareness and audience positioning.

Lesson 2 • Understanding Genre Conventions

Maps the obligatory scenes, character types, and emotional payoffs specific to major genres. Genre literacy prevents costly structural missteps.

Lesson 3 • Theme as Structural Argument

Defines theme as the script's central argument, not a topic or moral. Shows how theme shapes character decisions and scene outcomes.

Lesson 4 • Tone, Mood, and Tonal Consistency

Establishes tone in the opening pages and maintains it across the script. Tonal inconsistency is a common reason scripts are passed on.

Lesson 1 • Protagonist Design Principles

Defines the protagonist's role as the engine of the story. Covers want vs. need, fatal flaw, and the relationship between character and plot.

Lesson 2 • Antagonists and Opposition Forces

Examines how antagonists create meaningful conflict by directly opposing the protagonist's goal. Covers human, systemic, and internal antagonists.

Lesson 3 • Character Arc and Transformation

Maps the internal change a character undergoes from Act One to Act Three. Aligns the emotional arc with the external plot arc.

Lesson 4 • Writing the Character Profile

Synthesises all character elements into a structured profile document. Profiles serve as a reference tool during drafting to maintain consistency.

Lesson 1 • Scene Sequencing and Momentum

Examines how scenes connect to build escalating momentum across an act. Covers cause-and-effect linking and tonal variation between scenes.

Lesson 2 • Subtext and Layered Meaning

Teaches writing dialogue and action where surface meaning differs from true intent. Subtext creates dramatic tension and rewards attentive audiences.

Lesson 3 • Writing for the Camera

Covers how to imply visual storytelling without directing on the page. Teaches economy of description and the use of specific, evocative detail.

Lesson 4 • Drafting and Revising Scenes

Applies all scene-construction principles in a drafting and revision cycle. Structured peer critique focuses on turning points and subtext.

Lesson 1 • Principles of Cinematic Dialogue

Distinguishes cinematic dialogue from realistic speech and stage dialogue. Establishes economy, purpose, and subtext as the three governing principles.

Lesson 2 • Differentiating Character Voices

Develops distinct speech patterns, vocabulary, and rhythm for each character. Readers should identify speakers without reading the character cue.

Lesson 3 • Silence, Pauses, and Non-Verbal Beats

Explores how silence and action beats within dialogue scenes create meaning. Teaches the parenthetical sparingly and the power of the unspoken.

Lesson 4 • Dialogue Revision Workshop

Students apply all dialogue principles to rewrite a provided weak scene. Focuses on cutting, differentiating voices, and embedding subtext.

Lesson 1 • Completing and Submitting the Draft

Addresses common stalling points and strategies for finishing under deadline. Students submit the complete draft for instructor review.

Lesson 2 • Drafting Act Three

Delivers the climax and resolution with earned emotional payoff. Covers callback techniques and the closing image.

Lesson 3 • Drafting Act One

Focuses on establishing world, character, and tone in the opening pages. Covers the inciting incident and the end-of-Act-One break.

Lesson 4 • Preparing to Draft

Converts the beat sheet into a scene list and establishes a daily writing schedule. Preparation reduces blank-page paralysis and maintains momentum.

Lesson 1 • The Rewriter's Mindset

Reframes rewriting as the core of professional screenwriting, not a corrective afterthought. Covers emotional detachment and objective self-assessment.

Lesson 2 • Incorporating Notes and Feedback

Teaches how to evaluate, prioritise, and apply notes from readers and instructors. Distinguishes useful notes from personal preference.

Lesson 3 • Character and Dialogue Revision Pass

Audits character consistency, arc completion, and dialogue quality across the full script. Ensures every character serves the story's central argument.

Lesson 4 • Structural Revision Pass

Evaluates the draft's macro-level structure: act breaks, midpoint, and scene sequencing. Identifies and fixes structural holes before line-level work.