I am on my way to Perugia, Italy to work with the talented team from RAI, the Italian State Broadcaster, much like the BBC in in the UK.

Although it is very basic it’s always good to start with the five most important questions in constructing a story.

What Does the Character Want?

What the main character wants is a clear and simple ego-driven goal. It is something that directly benefits the main character that he or she can physically have or obtain. It is concrete. It is specific. It is the finite object of the character’s personal desire. For example: Win the championship trophy, get the promotion, pay the rent, solve the crime, buy the fancy car, steal the jewel, get the girl (or guy), etc.

To obtain the want, the character must abandon the need.

What Does the Character Need?

What the character needs is an inner ache or yearning that the character is unaware of, denies, suppresses, or ignores. It is a deeper, more abstract or intangible human longing. It is not physical or concrete. It is an emotional or spiritual urge or inner call to live up to one’s higher nature. For example: To become a better parent, to forgive another, to act with integrity, to find one’s faith, to become more altruistic, to be a more reliable friend, to face the truth, to love unselfishly, etc.

To embrace the need, the character must abandon the specific self-centered goal (or object of desire) and address more fundamental and far-reaching human concerns.

What is the Conflict Between the Want and the Need?

One of the most common problems with stories that don’t work is the lack of a clear and specific want vs. a deep and powerful inner longing. The want pulls us through the story. The need draws us deeper into or inside the character. If this bedrock conflict isn’t clear the story won’t add up to very much.

Does the Story Clearly Distinguish the Want and the Need?

Does the main character have a specific physical or concrete object of personal desire? What does he or she want? What is the concrete physical goal or specific objective? Does the main character actively pursue this objective through the story? Does the main character have a clearly delineated deeper human longing? What is missing deep inside the character?

What is the Price?

What is the main character willing to sacrifice or surrender to obtain the want or to embrace the need? Is there a high cost for each choice?  If the character obtains the want and lets go of the need the character pays a high price in unhappiness and emotional loss.

Does that mean that no character ever gets what he or she wants? We know that’s not true. Characters get what they want all the time. But this happens in a one of two ways.

1) The character gets what he or she wants and finds that it is hollow:

For example, in Jerry Maguire, Jerry (Tom Cruise) gets what he wants, to get back in the agent game by representing a major NFL player. He finds his victory is hollow and emotionally empty when he realizes he has no one to call or with whom to celebrate after a big win. This is when he returns to his wife and family and embraces what he needs.

In Dangerous Liaisons, Vicomte Valmont (John Malkovich) gets what he wants: To seduce the un-seducible woman. He finds his victory is poisonous when he realizes he has destroyed the only woman he has ever loved and who truly loves him. The story ends tragically with his death and hers.

2) The character lets go of the want and embraces the need and then, in the classic comedic turnaround, he or she finds something even better or finds that the want comes around on the other side:

In life, this is the story of a young couple that wants to start a family. What they want is a biological child. They try and try to no avail. They realize what they need is to make a family with a child who needs them. They adopt and are deliriously happy. What happens one year later? The wife gets pregnant. This happy turnaround happens enough in life that we believe it in fiction.

Or for example, in Pretty Woman, Vivian Ward (Julia Roberts) wants to pay the rent. That’s why she picks up Edward Lewis (Richard Gere) in the first place. It’s why she stays with him over the course of the story. When he offers to meet that want by buying her a condo (and pay her rent in perpetuity) she turns him down. What she needs is to live a life of honesty and integrity. If she accepts his proposition she will always be a whore. She rejects his offer and it is that act of integrity that brings him back to her as a real suitor and a true partner (rather than as a man who is simply “buying” her).

The tougher the choice is, the better the story.

Does the main character pay dearly for whatever he or she pursues and chooses? The price is the end of the long road where the character comes face-to-face with the ultimate truth. Who is the character really? This supreme price is what the audience is waiting eagerly to see.

If the price is not high enough, the story suffers and the audience isn’t really invested in the outcome.

Are you thinking about how you can get to the next level with a script you’ve been meaning to write or rewrite? Probably you are. You can deal with both at the same time by signing up for a screenwriting retreat coming up June 16-June 29 in Cairo, Italy. Yes. Cairo Montenotte in the Liguria region of Northern Italy.

We’ll be staying in a sumptuous villa with ten bedrooms, a huge kitchen and 2 living rooms as well as a large swimming pool, a tennis court, a separate pizza house and nineteen acres of land with breathtaking views of the surrounding hills. It is a mere 3 minutes drive from the city center of Cairo Montenotte and 25 minutes drive from the beach. Cairo Montenotte lies in the region of Liguria in the North Western part of Italy and borders on the Piedmonte region to the North. Combined, the two regions boast a long shore-line on the Mediterranean, seaside resorts, ancient ports and towns, hills, plains and many places of historic interest. This part of Italy is known for its delicate food and famous wine.

But you don’t go to a screenwriting retreat for lodging or the food, although we will be having our own local chef prepare lunch and dinner. You go for the concentrated writing experience. This year there will again be two seminars at the same time! I will lead one that will focus on rewriting an existing script. If you prefer to write a new script from scratch, Nanou Matteson, UCLA MFA grad, who has been expertly teaching and coaching writers for 20 years, will lead our second annual first draft seminar.

Nanou has worked with hundreds of writers in addition to attending many of my retreats. She knows my method and has always been a leader in my classes. Her students last year were wowed by her passion, wit, and knowledge.

I’ll be focusing on the usual – story, character, dialogue, then more story, then more story (not a typo), then pages until we get your existing script up to the next level. Nanou will take those who face the blank page through the whole process as if you were in a UCLA 434 graduate seminar, only better since she’ll have only 5 in her section.

Talk to a former participant – it’s intense. There are three hours of seminar every afternoon, office hours in the morning, group meals, long walks after – all focused on script work. Mornings, early afternoons, and, if you’re a night writer, nights will be for writing.

If you were not able to get into one of my 434s or Professional Program advanced classes at UCLA, this may be your only opportunity to see why more than one MFA grad has said, “I learned more in ten weeks with Paul than I learned in two years at bleep University.” By the way, I will not be teaching at UCLA again as I am exclusive to Loyola Marymount University now.

The level is always high – last year we had several MFAs, MFA candidates, and alumni of UCLA’s Professional Program in screenwriting, not to mention professionals from Australia, England, and Germany. Oh, and me, the not-tooting-my-horn former UCLA Prof Program instructor and sometime Visiting Assistant Professor in the MFA program, currently Clinical Assistant Professor at Loyola Marymount University, and author of Rewrite, A Step by Step Guide to Strengthen Structure, Character, and Drama in Your Screenplay, now in its second printing. BTW, you’ll get a copy of the book on your arrival.

The villa is about an hour from Turin, about 45 minutes to Genoa, less than 25 minutes to Savona on the Med. Lots of small villages to explore if you rent a car (you can share – we’ll put you in touch with others in the program). And if you’re feeling frisky, Nice, France is 90 minutes up the coast.

You’re wondering about cost. For Paul’s program, if you have a single room, it will be $3745 by check ($3858 if by PayPal). A shared room will be $3245 ($3343 via PayPal). If you go for Nanou’s startup workshop, a single will be $3495 ($3599 via PayPal) and a double will be the incredibly affordable $2950 ($3039 via PayPal). If there is demand, there will be three triples available at $2745 ($2828 via Paypal). There’s a 10% discount for you if you’ve taken one of our private workshops before.

Think about it – 13 days and nights in an Italian villa, room and board plus instruction for a lot less than, say, tuition only for an equivalent course at a private university. My section will be limited to seven, and Nanou’s section will be limited to five, so you’ll get lots of personal attention.

Deadline has been extended to March 1 for Laurie’s readers for the initial deposit of $200 to hold your place. Contact Nanou immediately, though, if you want to make sure you have a spot. We have only one place left in each seminar. First come, first served. [email protected].

THIS IS NOT A UCLA or LMU COURSE. THERE IS NO COLLEGE CREDIT FOR THIS SEMINAR. THERE’S JUST THE KNOWLEDGE THAT YOUR SCREENPLAY WILL BE BETTER ONCE YOU’VE FINISHED THE COURSE OR THAT YOU WILL BE WELL ON THE ROAD TO WRITING A NEW SCREENPLAY.

When first generation Italian-American Carlo Cavagna got his screenwriting certificate from UCLA’s Professional Program he found balancing a day job and finding time to write a challenge.

He and his fellow writers lamented the chaos of LA with many a “wouldn’t it be great if we could get away and focus on nothing but writing for a few weeks?”

One day over espresso Carlo and a former professor sat reminiscing about favorite times in Italy. They hit on all the usual points: the amazing food, the delicious yet affordable wine, the idyllic towns, the culture rich with history and art, the peace it’s possible to find away from the American rat race. Suddenly it seemed startlingly obvious: they needed to put together a writing retreat in Italy.

From that seed, Michelangelo Screenwriting was born. Carlo would bring a vetted instructor to teach a group of enthusiastic writers from all over the world. Over two weeks, they’d get intensive one-on-one time with the instructor as well as daily group feedback and lecture sessions.

There would be a smattering of days off for sightseeing and fun but mostly the concept was to take time away from regular life to focus on bringing a new piece of writing into the world and polished for sale. The demand was instant.

The regular venue for the program is a remote, eight-hundred-year old stone farmhouse named Villa Michelangelo (hence the program name) that belongs to Carlo’s father’s best friend. It sits in a quiet valley east of Cortona on the Tuscan/Umbrian border.

This year the program is expanding its offerings to include sessions in the Orvieto convent that was a favorite travel stop of Carlo’s late uncle. “Hollywood is all about who you know. That’s even more true in Italy where family ties are paramount.

These places have been so welcoming to me and my groups because of my family. The villa only sleeps ten. This year we’ve got a writing team teaching so we’re offering sixteen student spots. The convent will be an amazing spot to let go and create,” explains Carlo.

Though it started off as a retreat for UCLA-trained writers, over the years Michelangelo Screenwriting has expanded to welcome Irish university students, German adventurers and Aussie television executives.

Carlo begins lining up the next year’s instructors in late summer/early fall. “We always go for people with a following. Writers that other writers will be really excited to work with,” Carlo says.

This year’s program brings the comedy writing team of Acker & Blacker (The Thrilling Adventure Hour, Supernatural) in to teach. For the first time, the business of launching a project and creating a brand will be a major feature of the program.

“It’s not enough anymore just to write a great spec script,” Carlo says. “You have to know how to market yourself.” After an incredibly successful Kickstarter campaign to expand their monthly stage show to a graphic novel, web series and concert film, Acker & Blacker are the guys in the know.

“Their ability to foster and reach a devoted following is clear. Writers need to understand how to do this now. We can’t just sit around hoping that an increasingly conservative major studio will risk millions on our idea.”

Of course it helps that Acker & Blacker’s regular players in the Thrilling Adventure Hour include comedian Paul F. Tompkins, and Paget Brewster (Criminal Minds), Autumn Reeser (Entourage, The Last Resort), and Busy Phillips (Cougar Town).

The show is also known for its guest stars, including frequent visits from such stars as Nathan Fillion (Castle, Firefly), Colin Hanks (The Guilt Trip, Dexter), John Hamm (Mad Men) and most recently John Krasinski (The Office), Emily Blunt (Looper) and Joseph Gordon Levitt (Looper). Available worldwide via podcast from Nerdist Industries, the show has been covered by NPR, the Los Angeles Times, and countless blogs.

Not only are Acker & Blacker gifted teachers but they are constantly working writers, having sold numerous pilots and sketches, and spent a stint on the writing staff of Supernatural. They’re on the front lines daily and they know how to make it through the machine. Most valuably, they know how to take their work straight to audiences when Hollywood isn’t taking notice.

That is invaluable knowledge for any writer to develop. In Hollywood it certainly is all about connections and if you can create a supportive and fun family along the way, you’re on the right track. Michelangelo Screenwriting aims to help writers do just that while adding a little dolce vita in along the way.

MICHELANGELO SCREENWRITING • SUMMER 2013 • ORVIETO, ITALY

Led by Ben Acker & Ben Blacker of the Thrilling Adventure Hour

Session 1: Sunday June 16 – Saturday June 29 Practical Screen and TV Writing

Session 2: Sunday June 30 – Saturday July 6 Intensive Screen and Television Writing

Twitter: @Michel_write

Visit www.MichelangeloScreenwriting.com for more info or to apply for one of the 16 spots.