Event Details
Monday
February 13, 2023 5:00 pm
via Zoom
RSVP
The Top 12 Screenwriting Sins (& How to Fix Them)
From shallow characters to weak goals to formatting gaffes, here are the 12 most common issues that showrunners, directors, executives, and readers DON’T want to see in your screenplay—plus the tips, tricks, and exercises to not just address these complaints, but exponentially enhance your script in the process.
Some of the topics and techniques we’ll cover include:
- Anticipate the issues that pro readers dread finding right on page 1
- Delight the reader with “that scene”—the visual showpiece they’ll never forget
- Five techniques to put your protagonist through the wringer in totally unexpected ways
- Avoid “either/or” thinking—embrace gray zones to build unforgettable conflicts
- Create emotionally charged characters who never feel predictable or stereotypical
- Deliver sharp social commentary without hand-holding or preaching
…and a whole lot more. Hope to see you there!
Timothy Michael Cooper is an award-winning filmmaker, comedy writer, and script consultant. He wrote and directed the Writers Guild Award-nominated Concierge: The Series, starring Kate McKinnon. His short comedy Lemon premiered at Tribeca, played at dozens of international festivals and on United Airlines, and is currently in development as a sitcom. Plus, he’s been part of the writers’ room for the Writers Guild Awards for the past six years, writing monologue jokes and sketches for numerous hosts/presenters.
Through his company, Blueprint Screenwriting Group, he’s taught hundreds of writers. His clients and students have sold their scripts to major studios; staffed on multiple network and cable TV shows; screened/won at SXSW, Sundance, Tribeca, Cannes, etc.; and got their movies and shows made across the globe.
Timothy is a proud member of the WGAE, the Brooklyn Filmmakers Collective Writers’ Workshop, the Hollywood Radio & Television Society, and the WGAE Softball Team.
About The Fundamentals of Screenwriting Series
The Fundamentals of Screenwriting with Timothy Michael Cooper is a WGA East seminar series that aims to live up to its name – to teach the fundamentals for screenwriters that need a refresher or journalists and other screenwriting novices looking to learn for the first time.
Watch the previous installments of the Fundamentals of Screenwriting series here.
