1. In The Beginning
- All for one, one for all
- Online resources
- The Writer’s journal
- Don’t get it right, get it written
- Audiences
2. Where do Stories come from?
- Nothing new under the sun
- What works best?
- Building a world
- The iceberg principle
- Giving the audience what they want but not in the way they expect it
- Working through the complexity to the simplicity beyond
3. Structure 1: Building Blocks
- The rules
- Changing the rules
- Rules within rules
- The 3 R’s
- Story v plot v narrative
- Exposition
4. Structure 2: Focus
- Who is Hamlet?
- Dialectics
- Axis and currency
- Author, author!
- Moral centre
5. Structure 3: Variations on a Theme
- Genre
- Working with genre
- Genre in television and film
- Anti-genre and high concept
- Cops ‘n docs
- Adaptation
- Adaptation – Different takes
6. Characterisation
- Character – A short history
- Character – Base camp
- Character – Inner v outer
- Character = action
- Conflict and jeopardy
- Sympathy v empathy
7. Dialogue
- Function
- Status
- Sub-text and metaphor
- Soliloquy
- Theatre, radio, television or film?
- Finding a voice
- Show, don’t tell
8. Making a Scene
- Scenes – Programme
- Scenes – Context
- Scene – Action
- Scene – Situations
- The obligatory scene
9. Difference and Similarity
- Writing for the theatre
- Writing for the radio
- Writing for television
- Writing for film
- Format
10. From Page to Stage
- Collaboration
- Rewriting and editing
- Script editing
- Opportunities
- Expectations
We strongly recommend that you try to find a little time each week to engage in the online conversations (at times that are convenient to you) as the forums are an integral, and very rewarding, part of the course and the online learning experience.