California Rewriting Lab: Schedule
Dates: Saturday, October 12 – Sunday, October 20, 2024

With this specialized version of our Writing is Rewriting curriculum, you’ll examine your script from every angle to identify what’s working and what isn’t, with our insightful mentoring and the support of your cohort every step of the way.

Saturday: Arrival & Welcome Dinner
Sunday-Saturday: Morning workshops; afternoon writing time and 1-to-1 coaching
Sunday: morning workshop and departure

Detailed Schedule:

Each day in our cohort meeting we will examine each important element of your script in turn, leveling up your writing skills along the way. Every day, we will also workshop pages from each writer, hearing feedback from the whole group.

Day 1
You’ll arrive in time for our welcome dinner, where you will meet your PageCraft leaders and your fellow writers, and start talking about your story.

Day 2
We’ll dig into your structure, making sure the broad elements of your narrative are working, checking the separate threads of your A, B and C storylines, and looking at the central emotional relationship of your story.

Day 3
We’ll explore your protagonist, ensuring that their character architecture serves the story and examining their primary motivators and emotional obstacles.

Day 4
We’ll use your script outline as a diagnostic tool and review tools to create effective scenes. We’ll also go over your antagonist and supporting characters.

Day 5
By now you’ll have made adjustments to your A, B and C story arcs so we’ll review those, and then look more deeply at scene structure. We’ll identify your script’s central line and work to develop your dialogue, helping you hide obvious ‘on-the-nose’ content in the action and the subtext.

Day 6
We’ll work on polishing and streamlining your script, in both action and dialogue, as well as specific ways to punch up your script with transitions, motifs, and more.

Day 7
We’ll make sure the action of your story wraps up in a satisfying way with the arcs completed and premises proven, and we’ll talk about effective ways to pitch your project.

Day 8
We’ll review your script’s final message and theme. You’ll also pitch your project. We’ll help you polish your pitch so you can leave the lab, confident in both your new draft and your ability to sell it.

Day 9
On the last morning, we will conclude our lab with a table read for any pages you wish to bring.
 

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