CW 50 W — From Synopsis to Success: Foolproof Story Development
Quarter: Winter
Course Format: Flex Online (About Formats)
Duration: 8 weeks
Date(s): Jan 22—Mar 15
Refund Deadline: Jan 25
Units: 2
Tuition: $825
Instructor(s): Jeff Lyons
Limit: 19
Class Recording Available: Yes
Status: Open
Winter
Flex Online(About Formats)
Date(s)
Jan 22—Mar 15
8 weeks
Refund Date
Jan 25
2 Units
Fees
$825
Instructor(s):
Jeff Lyons
Limit
19
Recording
Yes
Open
The two linchpins of story planning are premise development and synopsis writing. If a story is going to fail, it will first do so at the premise level. The skills of creating, designing, and validating a premise idea are essential to every writer’s toolbox. In the first five weeks of this course, students will learn the basics of story structure and premise development, and in the last three weeks, they will transform their solid premises into a plan of action—that is, a synopsis of their novel or memoir. Each student will have the option to meet one-on-one with the instructor in a videoconference to work through their premise idea and their synopsis writing. Throughout the course, students will give and receive feedback on each other’s premise lines and synopses. At the end of the course, students will have a thoroughly tested proof-of-concept premise line, a concrete and well-developed story synopsis (three to five pages), and an action plan for next steps in the story development or writing process.
JEFF LYONS
Writer; Producer
Jeff Lyons is the author of Anatomy of a Premise Line: How to Master Premise and Story Development for Writing Success and Rapid Story Development: How to Use the Enneagram-Story Connection to Become a Master Storyteller. His forthcoming book is The Story-Subplot Connection: How to Master Subplots for Novelists and Screenwriters. His writing has appeared in numerous magazines, including Writer’s Digest, Script, The Writer, and Writing Magazine (UK). His theatrical feature film, American Thunderbolt, will be released in 2024, and he has several TV series in active development in the US and UK. Textbooks for this course:
(Required) Jeff Lyons, Anatomy of a Premise Line (ISBN 978-1138838857 )