Topics in Media Writing (360-0-20)
Topic
Writing Complex Women
Instructors
Shannon Catherine Pritchard
Meeting Info
Annie May Swift Hall 219: Mon 3:00PM - 5:50PM
Overview of class
This course is an intensive writing workshop focused on developing complex female characters for a screenplay or television pilot. Through CANVAS workshops and classroom discussions students will become familiar with the essential elements of well-written female characters; understand how those elements affect an audience and create the dramatic experience; and use those elements in their own work in order to create characters that resonate with an audience and themselves. The class will be structured through lectures, reading assignments, and writing assignments.
Writing assignments are arranged to mirror a writer's creative process starting with ideas and culminating in the successful completion of an original screenplay or television pilot idea, a premise/synopsis, and the first thirty pages of your chosen script for undergraduate students and a full draft (60 page pilot or 90 page screenplay) of your script for MFA candidates.
Above all else, the environment will be a supportive one and students will be encouraged to participate in a community marked by an atmosphere of collaboration.
Class Materials (Required)
Internet access, Canvas registration and an NU email/account are required for accessing course materials. A Netflix account is highly recommended to access certain pilots that cannot be uploaded on CANVAS. All additional reading and screening material are provided in Canvas.
Journal
For this class, we have no assigned textbooks, but I do ask you to procure a notebook —not a computer - to use a s a writer's journal. Each student will be expected to keep an ongoing writer's journal -- ideas, doodles, dreams, notes about the script you're writing, class discussions, in-class writing exercises, etc. The journal will not be collected, but I may ask you to share your writing exercises in class or on the discussion boards.
Formatting software:
Scripts must be formatted in an easily readable way. Final Draft is the industry standard, however you may use other formatting software.
Highland: For those of you who don't know it, Highland is a pretty innovative and useful writing program for screenwriting/playwriting/TV writing as well as writing outlines, treatments, and novels. While Final Draft remains the industry standard, many writers prefer the Highland interface. Also worth noting that "industry standard" in this case really just means a long-standing habit—the only format people actually send during the development process is PDF, and Highland handles PDFs (not to mention the Final Draft format) super well.
You can use this link to sign up for a copy:
Highland 2.5 Sign-Up Link / https://forms.gle/ERRcK2hXNn5BbFZG7
Enrollment Requirements
Enrollment Requirements: Students must have completed RTVF 260-0 in order to register for this course (concurrent registration is not allowed) or students in Writing: MFA or Documentary Media: MFA programs