In a rigorously-focussed and intensely hands-on weekend, you'll be striving to complete a beat outline of your story by Sunday evening.  During the weekend we'll be:

• building a central character (if an ensemble piece, working on multiple characters) who is compelling enough to carry a film story for two hours and attract a great actor.  We'll do this by ensuring your characters are 'generating' the plot, not simply 'reacting' to it.  We'll do exercises to help you develop characters which express strong attitudes expressed through clear personality.  We'll use invisible backstory to achieve depth and complexity.  We'll look at how we can express character arc visually rather than through clunky dialogue.  

• we'll be looking at the circles of universe, planet, country, community, family, friends and work to ensure all reflect and help drive your central character through your story.  We'll make sure your central character's 'tribe' and its rituals are clear and coherent.

• we'll be learning how to write dialogue like poetry.

• we'll be brainstorming plot so your story doesn't sag in the Middle Act.

• we'll be ensuring the genre is clear, consistent and clearly expressed.

• we'll be putting in place the 'clothes pegs' of your structure so you have the seven to ten memorable scenes you need, spaced through the film from beginning to end, to get you to the end of your story.  

• we'll be blocking out the major goal-focussed sequences from beginning to end, again to make sure you're not straying from your story.

• we'll be giving your story a 'cinematic health check' - to ensure you're writing a screenplay not a novel, that you're 'showing' not 'telling'.
  

During the weekend we'll be using photographs, paintings and flash cards as triggers.  We'll work in constantly-changing pairs and small groups to test-run our ideas over and over again.

The only way to learn how to write is by writing.  Come armed with laptops, pencils and paper because that's what you'll be doing all weekend.  You'll leave ready to start your script, or start the rewrite.