The Art and Craft of Screenwriting for TV and Film

Conflict, action, relationships, killer lines. They all begin at the writer’s desk. People have great ideas for screenplays but are seized by fear and insecurity when they actually sit down to write it because they don’t know how. Screenwriting is a specific craft – it’s easy to get lost in the abyss of the blank page. Where to do you begin? A person? A location? A title? A theme? An outline? Do you write the novel first then adapt it? All these questions really reflect the question: how do you take a vague notion or an uninformed idea and turn it into the roughly 120 pages of words which make up a screenplay?

Storytelling has a structure which dominates the way all stories are told and can be traced back to the very beginnings of the recorded world. Indeed, screenplays are structure and that’s all they are. To paraphrase the inimitable William Goldman, the quality of writing—which is crucial in almost every other form of literature—is not what makes a screenplay work. Structure isn't anything else but telling the story, starting each scene as late as possible. Storytelling is an essential human preoccupation. From fabled campfire tales to big-budget blockbusters, it dominates our lives. It befits us therefore to try to understand it.

Exploring key principles as they’re expressed in a range of TV and film scripts, including his award-winning broadcast work, Adam will endeavour to provide a unique account of the artistic potential of screenwriting by dismissing the idea that art is not a place for rules.

Adam will be presenting his popular, full courses entitled 'Scriptwriting for TV and Film with Adam Simpson'. For details, see www.liverpool.ac.uk/conted

Host or Publisher Continuing Education at University of Liverpool