Frequently Asked Questions

GENERAL QUESTIONS

You’ll need a reliable, relatively high-speed internet connection. Full Participants will also need a webcam. We use Zoom for live classes; you can join through a browser, though I recommend downloading the free desktop app. We use Google Drive to share documents, handouts, and class recordings.

Auditors need only a computer or tablet capable of streaming the classes.

Yes! I often offer a Screenwriting Master Class that meets at 12 noon Central Time, typically 6 pm in the UK and 7 pm in much of continental Europe. I’ve had Full Participants join live from the UK, France, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands, India, Kuwait, Korea, and Australia.

If you are not a native English speaker, you will need to submit a two-page English writing sample to esl@thescreenplayworkshop.org for approval before registering. Your sample should be fiction, but it does not need to be screenwriting. AI use is prohibited both for the sample and in the class.

Auditors and students taking on-demand classes can participate from anywhere and watch on their own schedules.

No. There are no prerequisites for any of my classes. They are suitable for writers at all levels.

You’ll have access to all class recordings and handouts throughout the class and for an additional 12 months after it ends.

Yes. Every class session is recorded.

Full Participants are expected to attend live because some aspects of the workshop can only be accomplished through live participation. Occasional absences are fine, and you can watch the recording afterward. But missing too many live classes can cause you to fall behind and may make it difficult to meet the milestones for submitting work.

Auditors do not participate in the class discussions, so they may either watch live or watch the recordings later.

The Nutshell Technique shows you the direct relationship between the plot and the protagonist’s character arc. These are not two separate things. In a well-constructed story, specific plot events are inextricably linked to the protagonist’s arc and force the character to confront the story’s central dilemma.

The Nutshell Technique isolates and defines eight essential story elements, helping you uncover the deeper meaning of your story and avoid writing what I call a “situation”: a series of events that does not add up to a satisfying story. I have found that this is where the vast majority of screenwriters get stuck.

You can learn more by checking out my book, The Nutshell Technique: Crack the Secret of Successful Screenwriting; downloading the free Nutshell Technique worksheets on this website; or watching the many interviews and videos on YouTube in which I explain the method.

I am the author of The Nutshell Technique: Crack the Secret of Successful Screenwriting, and for more than two decades I have taught screenwriters around the world, including through the Writers Guild of America East and other major industry organizations. Writers I have taught and consulted have gone on to earn Oscar nominations and Emmy Awards and to write screenplays for films that have grossed more than $1 billion.

I have also sold screenplays, both produced and unproduced. But my primary qualification as a teacher is my ability to diagnose story problems, explain complex principles clearly, and give writers a practical method they can apply to their own work.

Also, I love teaching and consulting! There is nothing more satisfying to me than helping a writer finally crack a story they may have been struggling with for years.

I don’t offer any in-person classes that are open to the public.

I do, however, offer in-person workshops organized by outside entities, primarily overseas.

If your organization is interested in hosting me for a workshop or custom training, please email me at jill@jillchamberlain.com to discuss.

FULL PARTICIPANTS

Yes, welcome! All my classes are multi-level. About 80 percent of my students are complete beginners the first time they take one of my classes. I’ll guide you through all the steps involved in developing a solid screenplay.

Beginners often do very well because they come in without having to unlearn a lot of assumptions about how screenwriting is “supposed” to work.

Yes, welcome! You’ll be in good company. Emmy winners, successful showrunners, film producers, and working screenwriters take my class. Many come because someone they trust in the business has recommended that they check out the Nutshell Technique.

Experienced writers usually engage with the material at a different level. You may already have strong instincts, professional credits, and considerable knowledge about story, but the class will give you a more repeatable process for finding the deepest, most satisfying, and most surprising direction for your work.

Because the class is multi-level, you’ll also see story problems at many stages of development. Often, seeing a problem solved in someone else’s story makes the underlying principle clearer and easier to apply to your own more advanced work.

Full Participants are limited to 10 students per class section.

Full Participants work on their story’s Nutshell, beat sheet, and then screenplay at a largely self-directed pace. There is also a weekly viewing assignment in which students try to identify the Nutshell elements in a produced film.

Once your classmates begin submitting beat sheets and screenplays, you will also be expected to read and critique their work, just as they will read and critique yours.

The milestones are designed to take you through the development process in stages. First, you will develop and refine your story’s Nutshell. Your Nutshell must be cleared in class before you move on, and it may take several weeks and more than one attempt to get it working.

Once your Nutshell is cleared, you will use it as the foundation for a beat sheet that lays out the story from beginning to end. Your classmates and I will evaluate the beat sheet and help you identify structural problems before you invest the much greater amount of time required to write the screenplay itself. Once the beat sheet has been critiqued and is ready, you may move on to writing and submitting a complete screenplay, provided enough time remains in the class.

Yes! Many students have done it, some having entered the class with little more than an idea. That said, it is an aggressive goal, especially the first time you take the class. You may decide that completing a strong beat sheet and having it evaluated is a more realistic goal the first time through. That’s a major accomplishment and puts you in a much stronger position to write the screenplay afterward. Some writers complete the screenplay independently after the class ends, while others return to continue working through the milestones with me by taking the class again.

It is entirely possible to complete a script during the 10 weeks, but the purpose of the milestones is not to rush you through the process. It is to make sure you build the story on a sound foundation before moving on to the next stage.

If you sign up as a Full Participant and meet the milestones, yes! I will read and give you feedback on your Nutshell and beat sheet and, provided enough time remains in the class, your complete screenplay. (Auditors don’t participate and don’t receive any feedback).

Possibly, but only if you are open to rethinking the script based on the class process and feedback. This is not a class in which you bring in a finished draft and simply receive notes on it. We’ll be taking a deep dive into story structure, and if the structure of your story needs work, you’ll be expected to revise it accordingly.

All Full Participants who want to submit a screenplay for review, whether it was written before the class or during the 10 weeks, must meet the milestones first. You’ll begin by applying the Nutshell Technique to your story, and your Nutshell will need to be fully working before you move on to the next stage. This is a process of testing whether the core choices of the story work together, not simply filling out a Nutshell Technique worksheet.

Once your Nutshell is working, you may submit a beat sheet for class critique. After your beat sheet has been critiqued, you may submit the complete script, provided enough time remains in the term.

You’ll definitely meet other writers as a Full Participant.  Every workshop, I strongly encourage everyone to continue as a writing group after the class ends. Having a solid group of writers whose feedback you trust is incredibly valuable.

Auditors don’t participate in the live class, but they can meet other writers and join writing groups through the private Facebook group for class alumni.

You don’t have to name your group (honestly, I don’t remember how that tradition started), but your group will join the likes of all the following groups that have come out of my program:  the Nutshell Ninjas, the Antagonists, the Nut-Belles, the Bad Ass Bananas, the Mini Slugs, and the Cool Kids. Writers from these groups have signed with top agents and managers, made the annual Black List more than once, and seen their scripts made into award-winning movies.

I teach the craft of screenwriting, not a guaranteed path to selling a script. No such path exists. I can help you develop your screenplay toward a professional standard and offer general guidance on getting your work noticed. But breaking into the industry is difficult, and many of the factors involved are outside any writer’s control.

There is no quick or easy route in, and no reputable teacher can promise you a sale, representation, or access to the right people. What I can give you is something you can control: a stronger understanding of story and the tools to write the strongest screenplay you are capable of writing.

AUDITING / ON-DEMAND CLASSES

Auditors can watch a live class on Zoom, watch the recordings afterward, or do both. They receive all class recordings and handouts, but they do not participate in the live class, ask questions, or submit their own work for feedback.

Auditors in live classes also have the option of submitting critiques of the Full Participants’ beat sheets and screenplays. I recommend doing so because you can learn a great deal from analyzing other writers’ work, but it is not required.

On-demand classes are recordings of previously held classes that writers take as Auditors. There is no live component, so you can watch them on your own schedule.

Both classes run for 10 weeks. Each weekly class session is 2½ hours, for a total of 25 hours of instruction.

Auditing is a good fit if you want to learn the complete class material but don’t want to submit your own work, participate in the live discussion, or take on all the responsibilities of a Full Participant. It is also a good way to become familiar with the Nutshell Technique before later taking the class as a Full Participant, as some writers choose to do.

No. You may watch the class live on Zoom, watch the recordings afterward, or do both. Since Auditors do not participate in the live discussion, you won’t miss any opportunities to ask questions or receive feedback by watching on your own schedule.

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