{"id":13263,"date":"2019-01-07T17:12:35","date_gmt":"2019-01-08T01:12:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogschapman.wpenginepowered.com\/dodge\/2019\/01\/07\/program-spotlight-screenwriting\/"},"modified":"2026-07-20T16:34:46","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T16:34:46","slug":"program-spotlight-screenwriting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.chapman.edu\/dodge\/2019\/01\/07\/program-spotlight-screenwriting\/","title":{"rendered":"Program Spotlight: Screenwriting"},"content":{"rendered":"

The old joke says that every waiter in Hollywood is actually a screenwriter who is likely to hand you a script along with your burger and fries. While producers and directors in Hollywood may or may not be so accosted, there are plenty of aspiring screenwriters looking for ways to break into the business. But as even the most successful can attest, it\u2019s a demanding and highly competitive endeavor.<\/p>\n

That, of course, does not deter young writers who have a passion to tell stories and look for guidance to sharpen their skills \u2013 and their chances \u2013 for what can be a tremendously satisfying career. A degree in screenwriting offers a clear path for learning from those who have gone before about how to avoid some of the pitfalls in the business and how to sharpen your storytelling skills for the screen.<\/p>\n

Beyond talent, perseverance and the willingness to sit alone in a room for endless hours, what are the key lessons aspiring screenwriters need to learn? We asked Dodge College screenwriting faculty to share some of their insights drawn from their years in the business \u2013 and in the classroom \u2013 about what young screenwriters need to know and how a screenwriting degree from Dodge College can help them on their way.<\/p>\n

Deciding What Stories to Tell<\/h3>\n

\"\"Facing the blank page, students may be challenged to decide what story to tell. Faculty often encourage students to mine their own experience, taking into account that, as students, their experience may be limited.<\/p>\n

\u201cI encourage students to write from their authentic selves and interests,\u201d says Professor Bettina Gilois. \u201cThey don\u2019t have to have flown a plane to write about a pilot, but they should be able to identify with what makes a pilot tick.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other faculty insist that students work harder to observe in their own lives. Professor Anne Beatts declares \u201cno sci-fi, no robots, no flying dragons, no magical elves, no monsters,\u201d a policy she says some students may hate, \u201cbut, in the end, I think their work is the better for it. I try to encourage them to find the interest and excitement in the mundane and every day. I tell them that a lot of great writing is just two people talking. And I show them examples.\u201d<\/p>\n

The process of screenwriting also demands finding one\u2019s own voice, knowing that a familiar story can be told from a unique perspective. \u201cLife is repetitive,\u201d says Professor Ron Friedman, so it is the distinctive voice which makes the familiar news. \u201cHow many still life paintings have you seen?\u201d he asks. \u201cIt\u2019s always the checkered tablecloth, bottle of wine, guitar or vase of flowers and yet each one can be different and arresting and force you to reexamine the familiar \u2013 to see it again but this time for the first time \u2013 because the artist has processed it through his or her own eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Researching New Worlds, Finding the Specific<\/h3>\n

Research is the key to writing outside of one\u2019s own experience because, \u201cIf we just write about what we know, we are doomed to cultural naval gazing,\u201d says Professor Michael Schiffer. And, he adds, \u201cResearch is not only essential to sophisticated storytelling, it can be tremendously rewarding for the writer who gets to enter more interesting worlds.\u201d<\/p>\n

Letting Your Characters Tell Their Story<\/h3>\n

\"\"The process of learning to write a screenplay also means divorcing oneself from other forms of writing. As Professor Schiffer explains, \u201cMost people are taught to think and write analytically, making points that support their arguments, but that\u2019s not how it works in the dramatic arts.<\/p>\n

\u201cDramatic storytelling is not about what the writer thinks or wants, it\u2019s about what the characters want and need and what the tale itself demands, in a world where the writer disappears,\u201d he continues. \u201cTo bring scenes and stories to life, we can\u2019t dictate what our characters are supposed to do or say, we have to take a leap of faith and become each character, working improvisationally inside each moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Writing for the Screen, Not the Page<\/h3>\n

A big part of a screenwriting education is learning how to \u201cshow,\u201d rather than \u201ctell\u201d a story. Faculty work with students to avoid getting preachy, using a character as a mouthpiece for the writer\u2019s opinions. At the same time, learning the art of subtext is a key element in creating characters and situations that move the story forward without beating the audience over the head with the obvious.<\/p>\n

Professor Paul Gulino explains his understanding of subtext as \u201ccloser to how actors view it. Subtext is the underlying action of a line of dialogue. I.e., what is the character trying to do with the line of dialogue? Is the character attacking? Defending? Seducing? Accusing? Deflecting? As an exercise I encourage my students to look at each line of dialogue and find out if there is a verb underlying it. If not, try to remove it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Giving and Taking Notes<\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A huge part of a screenwriting education is giving and taking notes, because, as professor after professor will tell you, writing is rewriting. Students need to learn to \u201ckill their darlings,\u201d or sacrifice their favorite lines or scenes if they don\u2019t forward the story, and to create characters who aren\u2019t just black and white. (\u201cEven Hitler loved his dog,\u201d notes Professor Beatts.) But giving and taking criticism can be a delicate dance.<\/p>\n

At Chapman, a big part of how faculty approach critiques is \u201ctreating students as fellow collaborators,\u201d says Professor Gulino, and getting student screenwriters to see that the success of a script depends on how successfully it communicates what the writer intends to the audience. Classmates, table reads and group critiques stand in for the audience. \u201cIf 14 different writers think your pages aren\u2019t working either technically or emotionally, you might want to rethink those pages,\u201d says Professor Dutcher. \u201cIf you\u2019re not communicating effectively, you are not doing your job.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Pushing the Envelope<\/h3>\n

To further develop both the research skills needed by screenwriters and their knowledge of market trends and possibilities, the undergraduate screenwriting program is offering two new courses this year. Just last year, the screenwriting degree moved from a BA to a BFA with an increase in credits from 48 to 66 to provide more substance and depth, says Film Division Chair Pavel Jech, and \u201cto acknowledge and prepare students for the dynamic changes currently affecting this field,\u201d including preparing students to work in new formats and genres.<\/p>\n

What Distinguishes Screenwriting at Chapman<\/h3>\n

As the philosophy of Dodge College is driven by hiring faculty who didn\u2019t learn to make movies out of books, but rather learned by doing, so the screenwriting faculty brings top credits to the classroom\u2013 major, commercially successful films, feature films that you would have seen and heard of, as well as many independent projects and TV movies and series too numerous to mention.<\/p>\n