Screenwriting Tip:
Description Length = Payoff

You don’t want to get too detailed in your scene description. If I read a half-a-page description of a bedroom, it had better turn out to be one important bedroom!

In other words, don’t describe anything for any longer than it’s going to pay off for your reader. If we’re only going to be in this bedroom once, you just need a phrase: “A bare, grungy bedroom.” If, however, we’re going to come back to this room again and again, and in the resolution we’re going to witness the protagonist O.D. there, it merits a little more description (“…spent needles litter the filthy cement floor…” etc.)

Also, keep in mind that just as you don’t want to treat your characters like puppets when writing action, you don’t want to dictate the set design. Your job is to evoke the world of your story, like a dream unfolding in front of us, and not to impose your production design ideas.

New Spring Workshops!

Spring workshops start the week of March 18th, but be sure to register ASAP for the best selection and to ensure your choice is not filled or cancelled. Plus, if you register by February 19, you can save $15 to $25 off of regular tuition!

One exciting change to our schedule: in addition to our regular Tuesday night workshop, we are once again offering a Saturday afternoon class. In the past we’ve only offered a Saturday section during the winter term, but this past winter the Saturday class was so popular that we’re going to do it again.

Here’s our spring workshop info:

SCREENWRITING FUNDAMENTALS
Learn in 5 weeks everything you must know to write a screenplay. Choose:
– TUESDAY group (7-9:30 pm, March 19-April 16) -OR-
– SATURDAY group (1:30-4 pm, March 23-April 20)
See syllabus
Tuition: $225
Pay by Feb 19: $210

MASTER CLASS
Write a feature-length script or script outline in 10 weeks. Choose:
– TUESDAY group (7-9:30 pm, March 19-May 21) -OR-
– SATURDAY group (1:30-4 pm, March 23-May 25)
See syllabus
Tuition: $395
Pay by Feb 19: $370
(Master Class Alumni: take another $50 off)

TO REGISTER
Just hit “Reply” and e-mail back to us which workshop or consultation package you are interested in, and we’ll get you enrolled right away!

Competitions & Private Consultations

Most of the major script competitions have late spring deadlines which means NOW is an excellent time to sign up for a workshop or, better yet, a private consultation.

For only $75 you can meet with The Screenplay Workshop Founding Director Jill Chamberlain for 90 minutes to discuss your story’s strengths and weaknesses. If you’ve completed your script and feel it’s almost ready to send off to competitions, you may want to opt for a flat rate script consultation. For $300 Jill will read, mark-up, and analyze your feature-length script and then review it with you thoroughly in a 90-minute consultation. The goal is to make your script the best it can be and you’ll be amazed just how much your script will improve after this service.

Read more here about private consultation and what previous clients have said about our services. To see about scheduling a consultation, you can just hit “Reply” and email back to us. Let us know if you were thinking of a single consultation or a flat-rate script consultation and also what your timeframe is.

News & Etcetera

Program alumna Kat Candler took a short film to Sundance for the second year in a row. She blogged about the highlights of her experience for Rooftop Films and you can read it here.

Alumna Dana Cowden has awards news about two of her scripts. Her script Not As Advertised won 1st Place at the Fade In screenwriting competition and has made the quarterfinals of the Fresh Voices screenplay contest. And her script Guinevere has been named a finalist in the Atlanta Film Festival Screenplay Competition. Congrats, Dana!

The Screenplay Workshop’s Founding Director Jill Chamberlainwas recently a guest speaker at UT when she was invited to talk on a panel on screenwriting. It was hosted by Women in Cinema and also featured screenwriter Owen Egerton, writer/director Michelle Mower, and AFF Competition Director Matt Dy. More info about it is here.

Did you know you can watch any episode from Austin Film Festival’s excellent TV series On Story (which features highlights from their celebrated screenwriters conference) on their website? You’ll find a complete index of episodes here.

Austin Film Festival is having an Oscars predictions contest. It’s free to enter, and five winners will receive AFF Film Passes and one winner will receive a Producer’s Pass. Enter here: http://www.austinfilmfestival.com/news/affoscarpredictioncontest

The Screenplay Workshop is now on Twitter as ScreenplayDoc. Become a follower! Follow @ScreenplayDoc.

Have you “liked” The Screenplay Workshop’s Facebook pageyet? You can by clicking here.

Alumni: be sure to email us about your news – news@thescreenplayworkshop.org.