Contour At The Movies

The inaugural, first-ever, full-day “My Story Can Beat Up Your Story!” Screenwriting Seminar this past Sunday was a BLAST!  Twenty some odd people (some odder than others; JP, you know who you are) spent over 7 hours with me and lived to tell the tale!

Thanks to my pals at the Writer’s Store who hosted the event: Dana, Anthony, Jesse, and the guy who showed up when Anthony had to leave to take care of his injured girlfriend (she’s fine, BTW).

The LA seminar will be the last one for a while, as I dive back into production on season 3 of “Overruled!”  But when we go on hiatus at the end of the year I’ve already set my sights on doing another seminar, this time in Texas.  Stay tuned!

Thanks again to everyone who came out on Sunday to learn the fine art of beating up stories.

–Jeffrey Alan Schechter

So I’m here in LA ahead of the “MY STORY CAN BEAT UP YOUR STORY!” seminar I’m doing at The Writer’s Store on the 30th.  Taking advantage of being in LA, I’ve had a bunch of meetings this week with producers, agents, managers, and executives.

Knowing that a big topic of interest at the seminar is going to be about the business of writing, I figured that I’d ask the executives I’m meeting with for their read of the pulse of the business: do aspiring writers need agents?  What should they be writing?  How should people go about marketing themselves and launch their careers?  What’s the market for pitching like?  How about spec screenplays?  How important is it to live in LA?

The answers I’ve been getting have been really, really interesting and more than a little surprising.  For those of you coming to the seminar, you’re going to get the most current, best information available on the business of the business.   For those who can’t make it…hang tight.  I’ll turn the information into something readable as soon as I can.

To learn more about the seminar or to sign up, please CLICK HERE or go to The Writers Store website (www.thewritersstore.com) and search for “My Story Can Beat Up Your Story.”

– Jeffrey Alan Schechter

–Jeffrey Alan Schechter

So, when I agreed to do the “My Story Can Beat Up Your Story!” Screenwriting Seminar at STARZ ANIMATION I was told to expect 20 or 30 people…tops.

I got a call today from the fellow setting up the seminar.  We’re currently at sixty.  And it’s still two weeks away.

This is gonna rock!   I can’t wait.  And am I excited about the full-day seminar coming up in LA on August 30th?  Like you can’t believe.

UPDATE — As of today (July 2) we’re at 84.  Double-Dang!

The inaugural “MY STORY CAN BEAT UP YOUR STORY!” Screenwriting Seminar was a blast!   Twenty-five stalwarts showed up to downtown Toronto and we kicked some serious story tushie.   Not only did we go into greater detail on the concepts that were TotallyWrite and are now Mariner Software’s Contour story development software, but I introduced several new ideas as well; the 2 “missing” archetypes, “The Big Lie and the Big Truth,” and an exploration of the “Unity of Opposites” and how to use it to create a cast of characters for both your Hero and your Villain to work with and play off of.

Coming on the heels of the seminar, I’ve been invited by STARZ ANIMATION (they had a spy in the group!) to do a special session just for them in July at their amazing studio here in Toronto.  Want to see the quality of their work?  Click here to check out the trailer to the movie “9.”   After that, it’s off to Los Angeles for a special full-day seminar to be held at The Writers Store on Sunday, August 30th.  And after that…likely nothing for several months as season 3 of my series OVERRULED! goes into production.

So, thanks to everyone who came out this past Monday.  And a special thanks to Dan Pilditch (and company) for helping make “MY STORY CAN BEAT UP YOUR STORY!” a success.

– Jeffrey Alan Schechter

COMING TO LOS ANGELES on Sunday, August 30th, 2009 is a special FULL DAY version of the “MY STORY CAN BEAT UP YOUR STORY!” Screenwriting Seminar.  Sponsored by the incredible folks at the Writer’s Store, this is going to be a full day of the most potent screenwriting information I know…the same stuff I’ve used every day in my 20 years as a working writer.  This isn’t just about how to make your screenplay better than everyone else’s (although I’ll show you that, too!) this is about how to create a career as a screenwriter…and maintain it.

For those of you who’ve been following this blog, you know that I’ve got my live-action series OVERRULED going back into production in the fall, so this is likely to be the last seminar I can squeeze in for a while.

As soon as the registration page is up, I’ll let you know.  I hope to see you there!  And for those of you in Toronto, on Monday night, June 15th I’m doing my half-day seminar at the Downtown Hyatt.    You can check it out or sign up at www.mscbuys.com.

Now, quit reading this and GO WRITE SOMETHING.

– Jeffrey Alan Schechter

Only 10 days left until the “MY STORY CAN BEAT UP YOUR STORY!” Screenwriting Seminar conquers Toronto.  Space is still available, so if you’re interested in coming (and why wouldn’t you be?!?!?!?) please CLICK HERE or go to www.mscbuys.com to register.

Mark it down, my fellow New Yawkers; Monday, July 13 from 6pm to 9pm, somewhere in mid-town Manhattan (location TBD).  The “MY STORY CAN BEAT UP YOUR STORY!” Screenwriting Seminar is coming to the Big Apple!

Please go to www.mscbuys.com to learn more or to sign up!   Here’s a hint…enter the word ‘nyc_earlybird’ in the discount code box and get 15% off until June 15th.

It’s BAAAAAAAACK, and coming to TORONTO, NEW YORK, AND LOS ANGELES.  The Seminar Formerly Known As TotallyWrite is now bigger and better than ever before and it’s been renamed…