COURSE OVERVIEW
From draft to pilot script - take your writing to the next level!
The John Yorke Television Drama Writers’ Academy is a blended 16 week comprehensive course in writing for television, leading to Writers’ Room experience and production of an original story bible and pilot script. With tutoring and feedback from the UK’s foremost expert on story - John Yorke, this is a career opportunity not to be missed!
Content Tabs
The 16 week course will guide you through all the principles, but with particular focus on how they apply to modern, highly competitive television.
During the first half of the course you will be expected to produce a draft 30 page script for a pilot. This will demonstrate your key strengths and weaknesses and allow us to focus on which skills we need to further develop in the second half.
The second half will be much more focused on what ideas work in television – shifting the focus of the course onto creating ideas with the greatest commercial appeal.
Throughout the 16 weeks of the course we will introduce the key elements of storytelling and screenwriting as well as some of the skills needed to pitch yourself and your work to Industry professionals
- Basic principles of storytelling
- Structure theory, history, and practice, how it applies in both film and television
- Concepts of Change: how manipulation of change is key to creating successful scripts
- Writing the Hollywood Movie – practical day, in which students will conceive and plot a classic 'hero’s journey' Hollywood film
- Character
- Dialogue
- Writing week – to produce first trial script
- Story Bibles – what are they and how to write them?
- Multiprotagonism
- Pitching Ideas – what works in today’s landscape – and how to sell it
- Writers Room - each writer gets to run a room on their idea for half a day
- Pitching to execs – feedback and course review
You’ll be expected to write in your own time and deliver work in advance of each class.
The course will run on a Monday (a full day: 10:00 – 16:00) and approximately once a month that session will be in Glasgow in person.
First session: Monday 1st April in person in Glasgow
Subsequent in person sessions: 13th May | 24th June | 15th July (final day of course)
Each Friday John will hold 1-1 sessions with each participant lasting around 45 minutes – 1 hour
This course is open to UK applicants and EU/EEA Nationals with UK pre-settled/settled status (subject to meeting residency requirements) and applicants who are currently in the UK on a valid visa for the full duration of the course.
We’re looking for people who are passionate about screen stories and eager to pursue or further develop a career in screenwriting for television. You should have at least one produced writing credit to your name – either for theatre, radio, film, tv or short film.
Successful completion could lead to an interview for those interested in applying to the two-year Screenwriting MA at the NFTS.
If you have any questions, please email info@nfts.co.uk
The following item(s) should accompany your online application:
- Submit 10 pages along with a one page outline of a short, feature or television screenplay. The screenplay should be formatted to industry standard (as per Final Draft, Celtx etc.) but delivered as a PDF file. The one page outline should be related to the script and both should be contained and uploaded in one document.
- 1 page of A4 with an original story whose aim is to make us laugh, or cry, or terrify us!
The application deadline for this course is midday on 15th January 2024
Bursaries Available
Screen Scotland supports the Television Drama Writers’ Academy through full or partial bursaries which are available to participants who reside in Scotland (and have lived there for at least
the last three years).
