Mastering Structure
How to recognize the underlying structure in movies to give you the confidence to develop and write your own.
Screenwriting doesn't have to be intimidating
Do you have a story idea that you know would be a great movie but don't know where to start? Maybe you've written your first few screenplays, but you just know they don't fully reflect what you're capable of.
MASTERING STORY STRUCTURE is designed to deal with exactly those frustrations.
When you finish the course, you will better understand the underlying structure in your favorite films in a way that -- far beyond just an academic exercise -- will actually help you structure your own stories.
You will see story structure for what it is: a liberating framework that releases your creativity and your individual voice. By making crucial decisions early on, each subsequent story decision gets easier and easier, allowing you to have fun writing again.
You will finally have a framework to lean on when you get lost, and indecisive, so you never have to carry those feelings for long.
The blank page will become an exciting rather than nerve-racking time, and you will see rewriting as simply another opportunity to make your screenplay even more awesome.
Your Instructor: Tom Vaughan
I started writing professionally twenty-eight years ago. I've had eight movies made and two more in production this year. I am proud of all the ups and downs of my career, but if you really want to understand a subject, I recommend teaching it.
I have been teaching for 22 years now. It forced me to communicate the why behind so many of the decisions I made as a screenwriter. In doing so, these decisions became tools, accessible whenever I needed them.
As I became a better teacher, I became a better writer. As I became a better writer, I became a better teacher.
When I struggle with any of my own projects, these are the principles I fall back on.
Because of my teaching, I finally have what I lacked early in my career: a tangible and repeatable process to maximize the full potential of a story idea and tell the story I am trying to tell to the best of my abilities.
That's what these classes are about. And Go Coogs!
If you want to read more about my bona fides, you can click HERE.
WHY STORY AND PLOT?
Unlike other screenwriting classes, the Story and Plot workshops are taught by a working professional of over 25 years who has taught the subject for nearly as long.
This is not an academic theory. It is not a glamorized interview broken up into segments. These are tangible processes that have been refined and tested literally over decades. The courses are designed to communicate layered ideas simply and clearly, and to give specific, concrete steps to empower the student's writing and storytelling.
Who This Class Is For? The Usual Suspects...
- You've never written a screenplay before, and you're not sure where to start.
- You have a few feature-length screenplays under your belt, but you know your writing is not reaching its full potential.
- You are a professional television writer, but you're not as comfortable structuring out a full-length feature film.
- You're new to developing material on the production side, and you're looking for a competitive advantage through a more consistent process.
- You're a novelist or anyone else who is interested in story structure.
The Same Experience
This is the same class I have taught for years in Hollywood and elsewhere. Only now, you get to keep the lectures and refer back to them whenever you want. The Mastering Structure class has been revised and refined over two decades, and many students have signed up for the class multiple times to discover new additions and concepts they may have missed. But now updates will always be free and waiting for you.
Putting It All Together
The Mastering Structure course is not designed for film criticism. None of what you learn would mean much if it didn't help you structure out your own project. That's the name of the game here. Want to know where to start? We got you. Why isn't your script working as you hoped? Yep, right here. You will become decisive with your choices because you will know what story you want to tell, and how you want to tell it.
MORE TO KNOW
The Mastering Structure Curriculum.
The entire course is broken down into small lessons to make it easier to watch when and where you want. The short lessons are also perfect for rewatching specific sections later on.
The class covers the same processes I use for literally every project I have worked on and sold over the years, both as a writer and a producer.
01
Opening Concepts
- The Art and Craft of remaining teachable. (FREE PREVIEW)
- Three Interwoven Steps (FREE PREVIEW)
- Why we learn these principles.
- What the course is (and what it isn't.)
02
What is Story anyway?
- The definition of story.
- The importance of story. (FREE PREVIEW)
- Theme and why not to worry about it.
03
Great! Then What's Structure?
- The purpose and definition of structure.
- The Dramatic Question.
- Three primary elements of drama.
- 4 acts and 8 sequences.
- Scenes, not information.
Pricing Plans
I know different people are more comfortable with different approaches, so I wanted to ensure you had options. Want to take the course on your own time and see how you feel about the next steps? Great! Just enroll in the course.
Want to take the course and have some individual help to structure out your idea? Maybe dive even deeper into a certain section? No problem. Grab the course, plus the coaching option.
Whatever your preference, we got you covered.
Mastering Structure: The Course
- LIFETIME access to the Mastering Structure course. This includes any and all updates.
- 100% 30-day guarantee. Love the course, or get your money back, no questions asked.
You'll get FREE enrollment in thePerfecting the Logline mini-course, normally $97.Two (2) One-Hour Private Consultations to help guide your own material through the course principals (or any other subject matter you want)
$197
Mastering Structure + 2 Hours 1:1 Coaching
- LIFETIME access to the Mastering Structure course. This includes any and all updates.
- You'll get FREE enrollment in the Perfecting the Logline mini-course, normally $97.
- 100% 30-day guarantee. Love the course, or get your money back, no questions asked.
- Two (2) One-Hour Private Consultations to help guide your own material through the course principals (or any other subject matter you want).
$595
FAQs
#1. What if I prefer one-on-one teaching?
I get it. There is nothing better than one-on-one teaching. It's actually why I created these courses. So I could have more time to teach and develop students' projects.
The format of these courses allows me to focus my teaching time on one-on-one instruction with students who know my system, philosophy, and approach.
After you learn from the course, can also choose to work with me directly anytime as a consultant.
These courses ensure our shared time togerher is much more valuable and we can focus our energy on accomplishing clear, tangible goals.
This is a crucial point: I want these online classes to be the beginning of our relationship, not the end.
#3. What if I don't have time to take a course?
Yep. We're busy.
I had the same concern when I took an online course on... how to create an online course!
One thing I loved about the online course I took, and I wanted to replicate in mine, was how it was broken down into small pieces.
You can watch these lessons a little bit at a time, over a week, a month, or maybe in just one afternoon like one of my old live workshops.
My advice is to schedule it. In whatever configuration works best. The beauty of the asynchronous format is that you choose your own pace.
For my online courses on creating courses, email marketing, and community building, I watched one module a night. I set the time out ahead of time, and it worked great.
And remember, you own the class. Forever. So those small lessons can work like an index later on, too.
Are you struggling with Sequence 3? You look up that lesson and watch it again with new eyes.
Reviewing lessons with more hard-earned knowledge can do wonders.
And you'll get all the updates absolutely free as well.
#3. Is one more screenwriting book or class going to make a difference?
I can't speak to what books or classes you have taken before, but I believe this is the most straightforward breakdown of story structure out there and one of the few step-by-step processes for taking an idea and breaking the story available, let alone taught by an old pro.
These courses empower you to tell the story you're trying to tell, no matter your experience level.
What makes me unique is that I have been writing professionally and teaching for over two decades. I don't just know the material, I know how to teach it.
If you don't LOVE the Story and Plot Bundle, click the button within 30 days, and you'll get a refund instantly.
But I don't think you will. Want to know why?
Because no one ever has.
More love for Mastering Structure:
©2022 Story and Plot | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service