Write your own story and complete a first-draft screenplay.
"The Art of Adaptation"
One-on-one sessions in-person, over the phone or on Skype for
a unique approach to crafting memorable stories for the screen.
"Let’s see… where shall I begin?” is the age-old question writers ask themselves when they’re about to tell a story. For the beginning of any story must be a seminal moment, a microcosm of the whole that grabs the readers’ attention and pulls them in.
Begin with a blank page, a place to write, a beginning, middle and end. Endings are easy; they’re foreordained; we write towards them; they’re the reason we’re writing. On the other hand, beginnings are difficult: they unfold backwards, out of time. Elusive, hard won, they are the key to the universe of the story.Where does your story begin? Where do you? Does your story begin when you were born, or does it go back to when your parents were born, or your grandparents? Or does it go back even further? The answer is yes, to all. As generations, events and centuries become oceans that wash over us, in order to find the unique story we want to tell, we must know where, when, and how to step in.
Windows into the Story will focus on writing for an indie film sensibility. And although we will use the three-act structure and other techniques of studio film, the program will encourage the use of layering and less conventional material for indie film, art house, festival and documentary markets. The focus will be on adaptation: personal stories, works of fiction and non-fiction, books and news stories rather than high-concept projects for the mainstream Hollywood market.
Personal accomplishment will be emphasized along with the knowledge of the craft of writing for the screen. Networking and knowledge of the markets, although offered, is in informational only and secondary to the creative process.
Windows into the Story
Julia Jones
Boston & Los Angeles
Tel. 310 .850.5854
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License.
