The Write Foundation is the first step in the write direction, laying a solid foundation for a Perfect Story and securing development funding.

During the last 24 years The Writing Studio has shaped the successful careers of many of South Africa’s leading filmmakers and storytellers and is now honing the skills of future writers in the art and craft of storytelling.

The Write Journey offers 3 courses for screenwriters and novelists:

• The Write Foundation is the first step in the write direction, laying a solid foundation for a story that will secure development funding.
• Once the foundation is set, The Write Craft takes writers through the process of building the first draft (or rewrite).
• Working closely with our script editor, The Write Draft explores the editing and refinement of the finished draft, getting the screenplay / novel ready for the marketplace.

The Write Foundation focuses on aspects that relate to the marketability of your story, ticking off all the boxes that producers and investors look for. It is not just about learning how to write but learning to write and market yourself in a way that is attractive to managers, producers, and studios.

With funding organisations such as the NFVF (National Film and Video Foundation) it is essential for writers to deliver an MTP/research document that summarises the foundation of the story you are writing.

If you have built a solid foundation for your story, it will also make it easier for you to write the First Draft of your story.  If you have already completed a draft and are working on a rewrite, The Write Foundation can also help you to solve problem areas in your draft. 

Without a solid foundation for the screenplay/ novel, writers will deliver an underdeveloped and flawed draft that is dull and lifeless.

The Write Foundation explores and develops the building blocks to build your story.

• Who are you as a storyteller and storymaker? If you want to be a writer, there are some basics you must know from the outset, before start thinking about writing your masterwork.
• What is the IDEA for your story? A great story begins with a great idea. Before you can put one word to paper, you must know what you want to write.
• What GENRE will you set your story in? What type of story do you want to write, and who you are writing for?
• What is the PREMISE of your Story? The hardest thing about writing is knowing what to write.
• What is the CONCEPT of your Story? It is time to take the seed of an idea and dramatise it, to define who and what the story is about and articulate it.
• What is the THEME of your Story? All great writing is about something. You need to know what the intention, objective or controlling idea – theme – of your story is.
• What is the TITLE of your Story? A dull, confusing, or pretentious title will put people off.
• Who are the CHARACTERS in your Story? Focus on the people who live your story and identify and create your characters: Protagonists, Heroes and Anti Heroes; Antagonists and Villains; and supporting and function characters.
• How to write CHARACTER BIOGRAPHIES. A biography of the character is the reader’s introduction to the character and is articulated by the physical, visual, and behavioral attributes the writer ascribes to any given character.
• How to write a TREATMENT and SYNOPSIS. Treatments help the writer acquire an overview of the story, the synopsis is a brief summary of the story.
• Take OWNERSHIP of your writing. The Top Sheet will write to protect your intellectual property and have enough information to warrant the funding of the development of your story, and give those interested to develop your project a crisp, clear overview of what your story is about.

For the full agenda and registration details, send us an email

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