Rewriting the Feature Length Screenplay
 
Two Quarter Sequential Curriculum

A ten week term requires students to work at a fast pace to complete a rewrite of their screenplays. In a perfect world, it would be better to devote two progressive terms to rewriting. Most curriculums are packed with required classes and devoting two classes to one topic can be difficult, if not impossible, but it should be strongly considered. Rewriting is a necessary skill for all screenwriters to master, and in the end, learning how to rewrite successfully will serve them well in their careers. 
 
TERM 1

10  WEEK COURSE SCHEDULE AND SYLLABUS
 
Week 1           

• Discuss overview of the class and approach to rewriting. Critique half of the students’ screenplays. 
• Assignment: Students whose work was critiqued create a Master Note List. As explained in Screenwriting is Rewriting, students should organize their notes into categories such as: theme, character development, story points, scene work, relationships. Have them bring their Master Note Lists to the next class. 
• In Screenwriting is Rewriting read: How To Use This Book, Let’s Talk about Rewriting, The Pass Method, and Notes. 

 
Week 2           

• Critique the remaining screenplays. 
• Assignment: Students critiqued this week will do last week’s assignment.  Students who work was critiqued in the first week will read and annotate their screenplays, and then add their notes to their Master Note Lists. 
• Alternating assignments for each group will continue until after the Index Card or Outline presentations. From that point, all the students will be working on the same weekly assignments.
• In Screenwriting is Rewriting read: Interpreting Notes, Annotated Draft. Examples of Student Notes can be found in Part 4 Examples, Student Notes and Game Plans.

 
Week 3           

• Review and discuss premise, story, and character fundamentals. Review the Master Note Lists in class. Discuss prioritizing notes.
• Index Card Presentation: Inform the students to begin to prepare index card presentations or outlines of their revised screenplays in two weeks for group A and three weeks for group B. Instructions on how to use the Index Card Method can be found in Screenwriting is Rewriting on pages 102-104. Along with their presentations, students must provide a beat sheet outline to help the class follow along. The beat sheet outline should track the main character’s emotional ups and downs as well as the main character’s arc. On the beat sheet, each scene should be no more than one to two sentences. (*Index card presentation vs. outline – see below.)
• Assignment: In Screenwriting is Rewriting read: “Part 4 Examples,” in The Essential Three Act Questions, have students answer only  the First Act Essential Questions.
• In Screenwriting is Rewriting read: The Set-Up

 
Week 4           

• Review Essential First Act Questions. Review each student’s set-up and discuss how the main character will arc and transform throughout the screenplay. 
• Assignment: Using their Master Note Lists, students create Game Plans for their rewrites. In addition, they should begin working on their card presentations. They do not need to know everything that will happen in their screenplays, but they should know what they want  to happen.
• In Screenwriting is Rewriting read: Game Plan, and Character.

 
Week 5           

• Review Game Plans and Master Note Lists. Focus on Premise, Character, Story and Theme. 
• Using each student’s Master Note List and Game Plan, review which pass from Screenwriting is Rewriting each student should use for their rewrite. Once the instructor and the student have determined which pass to use, assign the student to read the appropriate chapter in Screenwriting is Rewriting. Passes to consider using are: Foundation Pass, Character Pass, Story and Theme Pass, Structure Pass, and Plot Pass. 

 
Week 6           

• Begin Index Card presentations. Have the students verbally present their stories, highlighting character and story arcs, and their new revisions and changes. Do not let them read off their beat sheets. Have them tell their stories. 
• Assignment: Using notes they received in class, students should send their revised outlines electronically to the instructor with their changes bolded. Once approved, students can commence rewriting. 
• Those students have not presented, they should continue to work on their index card or outline presentations.
• In Screenwriting is Rewriting read: Structure, and Relationships

 
Week 7           

• Finish card presentations  
• Assignment: Rewrite the first 15 pages. Emphasize establishing the main character and the key relationships.
• In Screenwriting is Rewriting read: Plot

 
Week 8           

• Read and critique pages. Give notes going forward.
• Assignment: Rewrite to the end of the first act. Pay close attention to establishing and setting up the main character’s story as well as the main plot problem. The end of the first act should establish a strong point of no return.            
• In Screenwriting is Rewriting read: Opposition Characters

 
Week 9           

• Read and critique pages. Discuss each student’s set-up in their first acts.
• Assignment: Rewrite 15 pages. Explore supporting characters, relationships, and second act complications and obstacles. Establish stakes.
• In Screenwriting is Rewriting read: Relationships

 
Week 10         

• Read and critique pages. Discuss the Mid-Point Plot Turn.
• Assignment:  Rewrite 15 pages. Reach the mid-point. Explore character development throughout the second act.

 
 
TERM 2
 
10  WEEK COURSE SCHEDULE AND SYLLABUS
 
 
Week 11         

• Review and critique each student’s first term writing. Students should be up to the mid-point. Pay special attention to the set-up of characters, relationships, stakes, and major obstacles.   
• Assignment: Rewrite the first act with special attention to character development and the set-up for major story elements. Rewrites should focus on character stories, stakes and motivations.
• In Screenwriting is Rewriting read: Complications, Obstacles, Reveals and Reversals.

 
Week 12         

• Read and critique pages. Talk about second act obstacles and complications.
• Assignment: Rewrite 15 pages. What are the obstacles the main character must overcome?
• In Screenwriting is Rewriting read the Robert Towne Interview.

 
Week 13         

• Read and critique pages. Discuss the importance of reaching a high-point at the end of the second act where the main character must be in the highest point of jeopardy both emotionally and physically. The stakes must be at the highest level. 
• Assignment: Rewrite 15 pages.
• In Screenwriting is Rewriting read the Frank Pierson Interview.

 
Week 14         

• Read and critique pages. Continue to discuss stakes. There must be something important to the main character that he or she will lose should the main character fail to resolve the conflict. 
• Assignment: Rewrite 15 pages.
• In Screenwriting is Rewriting read the Susannah Grant Interview.

 
Week 15         

• Read and critique pages. How does the resolution of the screenplay fulfill the main character’s arc, as well as his or her growth and transformation? 
• Assignment: Rewrite 15 pages.
• Assignment: For those students who are finished with their passes, they should use the notes they received throughout the class to create a game plan for a polish pass. If time permits, students should do a quick outline of their changes.
• In Screenwriting is Rewriting read: Feedback on Your Interim Draft, and Consistency Pass, and Polish Pass,

 
Week 16         

• Discuss revised game plans. 
• Assignment: Students begin a Consistency and/or Polish pass. Revise 30 pages to the end of the first act.
• In Screenwriting is Rewriting read: Scene Pass, and Dialogue Pass.

 
Week 17         

• Review and discuss pages. 
• Assignment: Revise 30 pages to the mid-point. 

                       
Week 18         

• Review and discuss pages. 
• Assignment: Revise 30 pages to the end of the second act

                       
Week 19         

• Review and discuss pages.
• Assignment: Revise 30 pages to the end of the end of the screenplay.

 
Week 20         

• Read and critique all screenplays. Discuss the progress the students have made since the first class and give notes for them to work on in their next pass. Discuss the major areas each student should concentrate on in their next pass. Encourage students to create a revised game plan. 
• In Screenwriting is Rewriting read chapters: Sending Out Your Screenplay, and Working with Directors, Producers, & Executives.

 
*Index card vs. outline presentations: Making a verbal presentation in front of the class is a great way for students to talk about their stories. They also learn a great deal about their stories by talking them through. As described on pages 102-104 in Screenwriting is Rewriting, index cards laid out across a table or taped to a wall gives students a great visual overview of their stories. It is easier to move scenes around with index cards than an outline. In addition, using color coded cards also helps students see how their relationships and subplots are dispersed across the entire screenplay. Often students are surprised to see all the green cards or blue cards bunched together in the middle of the second act. They quickly realize they need to do a better job balancing their characters, relationships, and subplots throughout their entire screenplay
 
Many writers find outlines to be too linear and they do not present a quick overview as well as index cards. But, use the method that works best for you and your students. In the end, index cards or outlines reach the same goal.