Character Map Workshop – April 29

• What tools are in storyteller’s Emotional Toolbox?
• What determines a character emotional power in a story?
• How does a storyteller create fictional characters that always “ring true”?
• What is the Character Map?
• What six questions define a character?
• What are the four dynamic conflicts that motivate any character’s actions?
• Character Map demonstration/exercise:
• How does emotion generate action?
• What key emotion does the hero/protagonist always share with the villain/antagonist?
• How does the antagonist attack or tempt the hero emotionally?
• How do heroes/protagonists fall to the ”Dark Side”?
• What must the protagonist surrender in order to prevail in the story?
• What important emotional step must a character take to complete his/her emotional journey successfully?

Thriller Workshop – April 30

• Emotion Power vs Genre
• What is a Thriller vs a Detective Story vs a Crime Story?
• How motivation and character determine Story Type
• What is the Power of Truth?
• How the Power of Truth propels a protagonist through the thriller plot line and creates an emotional bond with the audience.
• How great story twists develop Power of Truth themes of loyalty and betrayal.
• How deceit and deception keeps the audience off balance.
• How storytellers can increase mistrust and suspicion by turning allies into enemies and enemies into allies
• What drives a Power of Truth story?
• How storytellers create a compelling internal emotion dynamic for a thriller protagonist
• How the motivation and psychology of a male protagonist differs from that of a female protagonist.
• How non-traditional narrative structure is created through character development.
• How storytellers can re-imagine and refresh this popular film genre and make it uniquely their own.

RomCom Workshop – May 2

This program will help you get to the heart of one of the most beloved film genres. Great ”date movies” are often the biggest box office hits. Most other kinds of films have a love story or buddy subplot.  The program includes a complete discussion of:

• How the Power of Love drives the protagonist through the story
• How to couple and uncouple lovers or buddies in sequences that are both entertaining and emotionally moving
• How to develop the psychological pairings that create the most sparks and ignite the hottest romance
• How to use the three key elements that make the romantic journey interesting and worthwhile
• How to establish the qualities of attraction and repulsion that keep the characters and the audience off balance
• How the motivation and psychology of a male protagonist differs from that of a female protagonist
• How to re-imagine and re-invent this enduring film genre and make it uniquely your own

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.

First of all, let me say what an inspiring range of talent there is in the region.  The films were all very different and had a wonderful local sense of place combined with the potential universal emotional appeal that gives a film “legs.”

This isn’t to say there weren’t challenges to overcome in the stories and characters in the films discussed.

Here are three key take-aways about common issues that make a film project less effective and less emotionally compelling.

CONFLICT

No matter how poetic, beautiful, or inspired the visuals in a film are, without conflict you don’t have a story.

There are three levels of conflict–

External conflict (obstacles presented by the physical environment or terrain, the weather, the society or culture, or any other obstacle presented by the larger external world of the story)

Relationship conflict (conflict or opposition between the people or creatures in the story)

Internal conflict (conflict within a character– the personal or psychological obstacles the character struggles with inside him or her self).

The Internal conflict drives the other two kinds of conflict.  By this I mean how a character deals with any challenge, opportunity, or threat depends on who they are emotionally.  Emotion always drives action.

CONSISTENT OVERALL TONE

A film’s tone should be consistent and yet surprising.  The film can and should have ups and downs, shifts and reversals, and comic or dramatic turnarounds.  But the story should an overall tone that works as an underlying point of view about the story world.

If a film is a black comedy then the ending must be funny in an ironic way or end in a sharp or biting comic twist.  You don’t want to end a warm romantic comedy with a sad, ironic, or scathing twist at the end.  Nor do you want to end a sharp dark comedy with a moment of emotional violins.

Be careful that shifts in tone fit a consistent comic or dramatic sensibility.  Comedy must, of course, have moment of drama or pathos and drama must have moments of humor or absurdity.  But reversals in tone should not be confusing, jarring, or pull the audience emotionally out of the story.

FOCUS

Detail makes for a rich story world.  Avoid details that only complicate the story plot. Strip away all details that don’t support the main character’s emotional journey.

Audiences love SIMPLE stories about COMPLEX emotions.  Complex stories about simple emotions are confusing.  There is a great difference between what is complex (consisting of many different but connected parts) and what is confusing (extraneous information that is bewildering or difficult to follow).

I find that no matter how experienced or talented a filmmaker is he or she has to keep returning to the basics in every project. It’s so easy to forget the key tenets– we all need to be reminded of what is fundamental in each new story.

I am delighted to be returning to Norway to work with the talented film producers, directors, and writers in Scandinavia. The Master Class below is open to all filmmakers and is a great introduction to or refresher on using The Emotional Toolbox method to solve problems in your project. The ETB method is a specific, practical approach which immediately pinpoints story and character problems and offers clear character-based solutions.

I hope you can meet in Bergen me if you are in or around Scandinavia in April.

April 17th: Master Class in Bergen, Norway

An introduction to the Emotional Toolbox, the Character Map and the Nine Character Types for screenwriters, directors, and creative producers. Session open to the public.  For more information contact: Sigmund Elias Holm [email protected]

April 18th: Film Summit Workshop

Applying the Character Map to specific projects under-development. Closed session.  By invitation only.

April 19th: Film Summit: Individual Meetings

One-on-one consulting discussing projects in development.  Closed session.  Juried project selection.

It’s no secret that every script that makes it to the screen gets rewritten multiple times.  In an informal poll I took at a WGA conference on rewriting, most screenwriters (among them Oscar, Emmy, and Golden Globe winners) said it took an average of 25-30 drafts before the script reached the stage floor.  So, you know you have some work ahead of you after you reach that glorious moment when you first type FADE OUT.

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But then what?  There are few courses in rewriting and fewer books (Yes, I do have one – “REWRITE, A Step-by-Step Guide to Strengthen Structure, Characters, and Drama in Your Screenplay,” but we’re not talking about that here.) on how to approach this sometimes daunting task.  You might have the guidance of your trusted advisors or your writing group when it comes to what’s wrong, but who do you turn to to figure out how to fix that?  Or even how to go about fixing that?

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That’s why I created the residential workshops I’ve been giving in Europe for the past few years.  Here’s how it works.  Eight writers who have completed at least a year in the UCLA Professional Program for Screenwriting or the MFA in Screenwriting program, or have reached an equivalent level in their writing, gather in a villa (yes, a real villa) with me in a remote part of a friendly host country.

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The Villa There we live and work for two weeks, most meals provided, and we dig into their screenplays and figure out what to do about them.  We meet for three hours a day in a seminar format, we talk at meals, we have informal seminars during long walks in the countryside, and I meet one on one with everyone in “office hours.”

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In my way of looking at things, writers usually lose their way from first draft to rewrite because they don’t know their character well enough or their structure needs strengthening.  The first thing we do, then, is focus on the character’s flaw.  From the flaw comes the necessity for change.  From the necessity for change come the goals – the inner and the outer – that drive the story.  So we must know the character inside and out so that we know how that character must change and what he or she must do to achieve his or her goals.

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Then we take a look at the overall story in its most basic form – what I call the seven points of the story.  For the seminar, we send these story points out to each other before we arrive in Europe (this year it’s Spain, last year it was Italy) so that we can discuss them during the first seminar meeting.

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The seven points all have something to do with the flaw – in the ordinary life (1) we see the flaw and how it affects the person’s life – the necessity for change; in the inciting incident (2) we see something happen that will eventually cause the protagonist to want to change now; at the end of act one (3), we learn of the goal and plan to bring about that change; at the midpoint (4), the character shows us a change in that goal as well as a realization of his flaw; at the low point (5), we see the character as far from that goal as possible; in the final challenge (6) we see the character overcome his flaw and reach his/her goal; and in (7) the return to the now changed forever normal life, we see the character enjoy the fruits of his/her labor in the new life.

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You can see how the whole story is flaw and goal oriented, but sometimes, in the original writing process, you lose track of that.  Following up on clarifying these essential ideas, we write a new beatsheet and discuss it at length in seminar, private meetings, walks, trips to town, whenever.  We’re always talking about food (we have a cook or a special deal with a local restaurant), movies, or our scripts.  We’re unhindered by interruption from work, friends and family calling (though there is cell reception), or annoying phone solicitors.  We do have wi-fi this year, but it will be on a limited basis.

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As the first week progresses, the story blooms in sometimes unpredictable ways, but always improves.  Then we begin rewriting scenes, adding new scenes, taking away old scenes that don’t move the story or have been superseded by new directions in the story.  This is a very exciting time as we read portions of new work in the seminars so we can hear if the dialogue works in the mouth and feel the pacing of the scene.  We also work on scene structure and scene dynamics so that writers can get the best out of their pages.

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Did I mention that we get two days off during the two weeks so that people can travel, rest, write, whatever they want to do?  This year we’ll be within an hour’s train ride from Barcelona, forty-five minutes by car to the beach, and ten minutes from Gerona, a lovely old city dating from the middle ages.  Rewrite Retreat in Spain.

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Then it’s back to work.  We usually schedule things so that both night and morning writers can get their work done in time for all to read it before the afternoon session.  I have found that when all eight (plus me) participants in a seminar are familiar with everyone’s work, great things can come of the ping-ponging of ideas.  I’ve found seminar participants to be very generous with their thoughts and very supportive both in and out of the workshops.  It’s one of the things I nurture as much as possible because, while I do contribute my own ideas, I’ve found that nine people working on the same story together can come up with things that nine people working separately cannot.  It’s one of the great things about the workshop.

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And did I mention the food?  Spain has some of the best seafood in the world, and we’ll also be in the middle of their cava region – cava is what they call their sparkling wine, very much on a par with Champagne in my book.

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By the end of the workshop you can have, with diligence, a completed draft or, at the very least, a very good roadmap to your next draft.  You will also have had a heady creative experience with your peers (which is why there are always several people repeating from the year before).  And, surprisingly, little change in your weight since anything you may have added from the food is usually subtracted by the long walks after lunch and dinner.

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For more information, visit the site http://rewritementor.com/retreats/spain.html or contact me directly at [email protected].