CW 50 W — From Synopsis to Success: Foolproof Story Development
Quarter: Spring
Instructor(s): Jeff Lyons
Date(s): Mar 31—May 19
Class Recording Available: Yes
Class Meeting Day: Mondays
Class Meeting Time: 12:00—1:00 pm (PT)
Tuition: $825
Refund Deadline: Apr 2
Unit(s): 2
Enrollment Limit: 18
Status: Registration opens Feb 24, 8:30 am (PT)
Quarter: Spring
Day: Mondays
Duration: 8 weeks
Time: 12:00—1:00 pm (PT)
Date(s): Mar 31—May 19
Unit(s): 2
Tuition: $825
Refund Deadline: Apr 2
Instructor(s): Jeff Lyons
Enrollment Limit: 18
Recording Available: Yes
Status: Registration opens Feb 24, 8:30 am (PT)
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.
Since most of the learning in this course takes place asynchronously in threaded discussions on the Canvas classroom site, the live Zoom sessions are limited to 60 minutes per week.
JEFF LYONS
Author
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 feature film American Thunderbolt is being produced by Content Kings Films, UK, and he has several TV series in active development. Textbooks for this course:
(Required) Jeff Lyons, Anatomy of a Premise Line: How to Master Premise and Story Development for Writing Success to Master (ISBN 978-1138838857)