Writing for the Small Screen (Spring 2020)

Writing for the Small Screen 

Apr. 4 - May 30
10:00am - 1:00pm

Instructor: Mary Ruth Clarke

The third Golden Age of Television is upon us and the opportunities have never been greater.  This class is for anyone who has an idea (any genre) that could make a great series and who wants to learn the crucial basics of how to write it.  We will study and analyze successful pilots to learn the form and craft of writing for television. We will tease out/explore the inherent possibilities in your idea, where it fits in the web, television and streaming landscape, how to position the idea, what makes for great TV characters, visual storytelling, budgetary considerations, proper story structure, and proper formatting.  And you’ll write and rewrite.  Leave this workshop with the makings of a pitch document, a deeper understanding of the the process of creation that optioned shows go through, a stronger grasp of the language that writers/producers/agents speak when talking business, and the beginnings of a rough draft of your very own TV pilot.