Liz Thompson
Screenwriter
Development & Mystery Consultant
Puzzle & Game Creator
Welcome to Dev 101
Most writers learn to develop one project at a time, either by trial-and-error, working with consultants again and again, or by taking class after class after class...
But what if you could learn stand-alone development exercises that you could practice at any time to speed up your understanding of how to develop any project? And not just develop ideas, pitches, and scripts, but to even learn how to create brand new, unique, and personally driven concepts from scratch, all through a clear system that lets you tap into a development mindset?
That's exactly what this one-on-one masterclass is designed to do.
Welcome to Dev 101.
DEV 101 - 1:1
$2500 -- 5 weeks, 90min sessions, over Zoom, PST
DEV 101 is a one-on-one development masterclass that teaches you development skills, systems, and exercises that can be used on ANY project and apply to every part of a project.
Learn the development systems I use with producers, showrunners, and staffed writers to build unique concepts, pitches, and scripts. We'll practice development-based exercises, walk through breaking concepts together, and study a pitch that has sold in the room so you'll leave equipped with the tools you need to level up your development game.
**You will be learning evergreen exercises that can be applied to every section of a strong pitch / development doc. In order to best practice these exercises and build development skills, you will not be working on ONE project in class or need to bring a project to class. That way you can focus on the skills themselves objectively.**
WEEK 1: We'll analyze the source of your stories and you'll learn how to make sure you have a personal connection to the work you’re creating. You'll also learn a concept generating system that explores how to generate unique ideas that you will resonate with on multiple levels.
WEEK 2: You'll learn a filtering system that organizes your ideas and gives you a process to vet them to figure out which ones are the strongest candidates for investment.
WEEK 3 : You'll learn exercises that develop your protagonist, your characters, episodes, and the series. And we'll practice breaking a new concept together.
WEEK 4 : You'll learn exercises that develop your pilot/feature/story and your season or feature arc/narrative. We'll also continue breaking a concept together.
WEEK 5 : You'll create and share a pitch for an original idea based on the exercises we’ve covered, and you’ll hear a pitch for a project that I've sold.
DEV 201 - 1:1
$2000 -- 4 weeks, 90min sessions, over Zoom, PST
*Prereq: DEV 101*
WEEK 1 : Reviewing a 1-2 pager for your project, we'll do a deep-dive into your idea, kicking the tires on the concept, tone, genre, and themes. We'll also make sure it's sticky and high-concept enough to intrigue, and we'll stress test your personal connection to and interest in the project.
WEEK 2 : Reviewing your 3-5 page mini-treatment we'll start to dig into set pieces, and ACT 2 structure to make sure your protagonist's journey properly reflects the themes and world of your premise.
WEEK 3 : Reviewing your 10-15 page treatment, we'll discuss pacing, word choices, and whether or not you're satisfying the "genre monster."
WEEK 4 : Reviewing your revised 10-15 page treatment, this session is a TBD focus, taking care of any weak spots or not-as-shiny-as-they-could-be elements of your project before you go off to write the outline.
DEV 201 is a feature treatment-writing masterclass. In four sessions, you'll go from concept to a pressure-tested treatment. *You'll also be able to ask questions and talk through choices in between our sessions -- response times may vary, but tend to be within 12 hours.*
