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To enable writers to develop a strong individual style, and within a small group environment, formulate a coherent system for taking an original idea and turning it into a strong first draft.

Tutor:	Clive Bradley	Venue:	St George's Church, Bloomsbury Way London WC1A 2HR
Date:	17/18/23/24/25 Nov 1/2 Dec	Duration:	7 Evenings
Time:	6:30pm - 9:30pm	Price:	£234 inc VAT

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This course looks at the essentials of story structure in television drama.

Students bring a project to the class, which will be workshopped in the group each session, from its intitial ‘idea stage’ to the writing of individual scenes.

By the end of the course each student will have a proposal or treatment for their television drama idea. (This can be an idea for a series, serial, single drama, two-parter, etc. The course will concentrate on series structure, but will be flexible depending on the class).

We will use examples from a wide range of British and American television dramas (including Desperate Housewives, The Shield, Six Feet Under, The Sopranos, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, City of Vice, Waking the Dead, The Tudors, etc.)

Session one: Film and television

• What’s similar, and what’s different, about writing film and television drama?
• A review of ‘three act structure’ and how it applies to television.
• What makes a good ‘television idea’?
• Series, serial, or single drama?

Initial discussion about ideas for projects

Session two: How British television drama has changed

• British television drama in the 1970s and 1980s
• The contemporary influence of American drama

Continued workshopping of ideas

Session three: The first episode

• How characters, situations, and storylines are introduced.
• How the first episode works as a whole

Continued workshopping

Session four: Episodes in a larger structure

• ‘Story of the session’ vs. ‘serial arc’

Continued workshopping

Session five: A, B, C etc storylining

• Breaking down the structure of an episode of Desperate Housewives

Continued workshopping

Session six: Writing treatments

• What should go into a treatment?

Continued workshopping

Session seven:

The final class will be entirely devoted to workshopping students’ projects

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Screenwriters, novelists, playwrights and storytellers looking for strong guidance and advice for their scripts. It is not necessary to have a completed script for this class, but it is suggested to bring a strong idea.

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Clive Bradley has written extensively for television. Most recently he was the lead writer for City of Vice (Channel Four). His drama about the July London bombings, That Summer Day (Children's BBC) won the BAFTA for best children's drama. Other work includes A Harlot's Progress (Channel Four), Last Rights (Channel Four), and The Vice (Carlton/ITV). His film, W∆Z, was released this year, and another, Amini, is in production this autumn. He is currently developing a number of projects.