Screenwriting 101: Idea to Outline

29th Sept

An 8 week course in screenwiritng for aspiring professionals. Master the fundamentals of storytelling for the screen.

Most first drafts have a beginning, a muddle, and an end. It's easy to get lost and give up before you really get started. With this course you will:

• Sketch out a map before you start writing pages

• Learn about the engine of story 

• Find the hidden theme that compels you 

• Receive tailored instruction and guidance from an experienced and qualified story editor.

• Make connections and share writing tips with your peers

Two hours of interactive classes per week, plus two  individual consults on your work-in-progress of about 1 hour each. Following each class is a 30 minute optional "hangout". Assignments are approx 1-2 hours work a week, in your own time. Maximum 10 participants per group.

Classes start on Tuesday, 29th September at 18:00 GMT and run until the Tuesday, 17th November. Classes will be recorded for absentees.

To book, email

Scenewriting, The Secret Weapon

4th Oct

Find Your Unique Voice by Mastering The Scene.

Execution is everything. The success of your screenplay is not only in your premise and plot but in how the story is told.

Over the course of eight two-hour classes, this programme will cover a recap of how dramatic tension works. Then we will look at how to write and rewrite a scene. It will then go into detail and give feedback on key scene-writing skills, including:

• Shaping a Scene For Maximum Impact

• Replacing Dialogue With Visuals

• The Magic of the Objective Correlative

• What Constitutes a Twist and Why It Is So Necessary

• Scenes of Preparation and Scenes of Aftermath

• The Lubitsch Touch

• How to Be Subtle and Clear

• Writing Thought Processes & Emotions Clearly

• Cinematic Storytelling and Your Originality

There will be feedback on your work-in-progress both on the group setting and individually (2 x 1 hour sessions with your tutor).

Tutor

Mary Kate O'Flanagan is a writer and story consultant, who works internationally, helping to shape stories by emerging and established screenwriters. She is also a published writer and journalist, has won awards for her writing. She is a Grand Slam Champion Storyteller at The Moth in Ireland. She is also a Grand Slam Champion Storyteller at The Moth in Los Angeles.

The course commences on Sunday October 4th and takes place on Zoom at 16:00 Irish Time. There will be a maximum of 8 participants in this group. Cost is €500 per participant. Early bird discount of 15% for booking received by September 21 st 2020.

Mary Kate’s work with writers is in the tradition of Frank Daniel, which uses a Socratic approach to enquire into the writers intentions and help to realise them as well as possible.

“I would rank Mary Kate on the highest international

level in terms of her knowledge of filmmaking, her

contributions to the creative process, and her

expertise in dealing with screenwriters”. 

Philip La Zebnik 

Screenwriter: Mulan, Pocahontas, The Prince of Egypt.

To book, email

Advanced Screenwriting Programme

Tutoring by Arrangement

Have you been meaning to get your screenplay written for a while now? Do you find it gets sidelined in favour of something more urgent (but less important)? 

If you have already studied screenwriting and are aware of the sequence approach, this programme will move you from outline towards completed screenplay 

(NB Some writers complete a draft of their project in eight weeks but everyone progresses at a different pace).

Now you know the underlying principles of storytelling for the screen. But knowing the theory and practicing the art are two different things. With this programme you will:

• Refine your outline and start writing pages.

• Receive weekly instruction, editing and guidance from an experienced and qualified story editor.

• Work alongside one other writer and see how them principles apply to their work in progress, thereby making it easier to see how it applies to yours.

• Shape and refine the supporting materials you need to attract finance and creative collaborators, i.e. an outline, logline and cast of characters.

You attend a 3 hour meeting per week. Assignments will be approx. 2-3 hours work per week, in your own time. 

€800 per project for 8 weeks input. Limited Spaces Available. Tutoring is on a 2 to 1 basis. Contact Mary Kate at the email address below to arrange a suitable time.

To book, email