Join Writers Boot Camp Founder Jeffrey Gordon (JG) via zoom for either of the upcoming Basic Trainings.  The 12-Week process will take you from an idea through a first draft plus two rewrites of a feature film or TV pilot script, or the foundational work of your book or novel.  Since 1989 the company has supported more than 12,000 writers, filmmakers, actors, artists, producers and executives, including hundreds of alumni with major movie and TV credits.  Our alumni also have hundreds of books and novels published.

Each Basic Training includes six group meetings over the first eight weeks of the process.  You can see the June 4th Basic Training schedule here on Saturday mornings (10am, LA time), a convenient opportunity for writers on the East Coast and in Europe.  The July 5th Basic Training will be held on Tuesday evenings, 5pm, LA time.  For writers who prefer not to meet via zoom or are unavailable at the designated meeting times, we offer a One-on-One version of Basic Training (OBT) for the same price (see references below to “release of materials”).

You may contact the staff at support@writersbootcamp.com to schedule a conversation–or complete a Career Survey.

Past Professional Members returning to Project Group to develop two projects through spring 2023 will received the first seven weeks of either Basic Training with JG as a jumpstart.  There is at least one partial scholarship spot in each roster for past Basic Training writers, as well as one work-study spot for exchange.

Here’s the Week-By-Week Agenda

Week 1. Basic Training establishes a professional writing approach with an intensive agenda, clear screenwriting definitions, work strategies and strict deadlines. Starting with as little as a single sentence, you’ll start shaping your script idea, identify a 15-point checklist for building a complete story and articulating your Premise Line within the context of the professional industry, as well as begin defining the fresh entertainment (conceits) of your project.

Week 2. Obstacle session defines a main-character driven, four-segment (3-Act) screenplay structure, as well as strategies for character development. Unique tools empower expression of your ideas in accessible, professional terms to create a more dynamic, layered adventure. Structure is also broken down for half-hour and hour-long television and articulates how the tools apply to any variation.

Week 3. Conflict Escalation helps you to write with a new understanding of the script page and format. You’ll use a practical outlining approach to get past the opening of your script to develop the parts of the entire story, allowing you greater mobility between big-picture story points and smaller scene choices. You’ll learn distinctions of movies and TV, including TV Pilot bible exercises, and an accelerated writing technique to quickly build the pages of your script-or any prose project.

Week 4. Trench Warfare pushes you through the middle pages, literally and structurally, to discover new possibilities while you write. Common First Draft Problems are identified to make you aware of many of the typical issues that every writer faces and that are a natural part of the writing process. A comprehensive evaluation checklist helps you review the tools you’ve learned to refine your project goals and reflect deeper thematic stakes in your scene choices.

Week 5. Character Crossfire tests the motivations of your principal characters and connects the supporting roles to your main character’s journey. An advanced scene work checklist helps you evaluate your own style to get you writing more visually, leaving unnecessary material behind and making every part of your story entertaining as you anticipate writing additional pages through the deadline.

Week 6 & 7. After the last meeting (or release of Week 5 materials if you’re in the One-on-One version), you’ll have three weeks to complete your first draft, or set of prose chapters. Office Hours with your staff mentor will remain available for assistance through the overall deadline.

Week 8-12.  At the equivalent of seven full weeks (the start of Week 8) of your commitment of 10 hours per week, the LA group will meet to discuss the status of each writer’s draft. The Two Levels of Rewriting will be reviewed to help each writer reset their creative goals over the remaining five weeks, identifying one Component Level Rewrite and One Craft Level Rewrite. One-on-One writers will do this individually on a previously scheduled conference call with their mentor.

D-Day/Final Script Deadline.  You’ll send a .pdf of your material for evaluation by the Writers Boot Camp staff. You’ll prepare for an individual conference (45-60 minutes via phone) using the Evaluation Checklist learned throughout the process to create a set of notes for your ongoing rewrite objectives.

In Basic Training you will complete a first draft and two rewrites very quickly. Please inquire about our Professional Membership for the continuation of the rewriting process and the further development of multiple scripts and projects. When you become a Pro Member in advance, the 12 weeks of Basic Training are complimentary as part of your longer-term membership.