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Watch live panels featuring screenwriters as they break down their techniques for crafting compelling scripts and navigating the entertainment industry.

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Discover live streaming events where directors, producers, and cinematographers discuss the creative and technical processes behind their films.

The Plot Wheel: More than Just Structure

July 15, 2026
The Plot Wheel is more than a structure—it’s a storytelling engine designed to create connection, momentum, and reader satisfaction. In this engaging presentation, Court Stevens breaks down the eight essential movements of story into a clear, repeatable framework that helps writers move from idea to fully realized narrative. Writers will gain the power to intentionally shape both the emotional journey and the commercial appeal of their work.

Book Pipeline

Book Pipeline connects writers to publishers, agents, and the film industry through competitions and workshops, providing hands-on support to bridge the gap between emerging authors and the industry since 2014.

Script Pipeline

Script Pipeline connects writers with producers, agents, and managers, facilitating over $8 million in sales through competitions and ongoing industry support, helping launch major films and secure high-profile representation since 1999.

Film Pipeline

Film Pipeline connects filmmakers and writers with agencies and executives, focusing on diverse storytelling and playing an active role in developing and promoting projects, reviewing thousands of submissions annually since its launch in 2018.

Screenwriting Essentials: Improving the Read

Scheduled

Wednesday, July 29, 2026

Time

7 pm EDT / 4 pm PDT

Duration

2 Hours

Cost

$35

Subject

Screenwriting

Topic

Craft

It’s called “A good read.”

It’s when a reader’s eyes glide down the page of a screenplay in an easy, emotional flow.

It’s when a reader sits down to read a screenplay and doesn’t get up until they’re finished.

It’s when the screenplay focuses on the emotional experience rather than the technical one.

And it’s the difference between a good story being easier to identify and one that gets buried in an avalanche of text.

Every screenwriter makes two choices. First, what actually happens in the story. And next, how to transfer those sounds and images to the reader through text.

"Improving The Read" focuses on that second one.

Professional screenwriter Tom Vaughan (Winchester, starring Academy Award-winner Helen Mirren) shares critical advice to elevate your writing to a more pro level.

This presentation will cover:

  • The actual goal of today’s spec screenplay.
  • How to evoke shots without ever mentioning the camera.
  • What writing “vertically” means and how to do it.
  • What bad habits are strangling your reader’s experience.
  • A rewrite of a scene in real-time.
  • Q&A

Questions about registration? Check our handy FAQ page.

Events are recorded and emailed to all who register.

*NOTE: If you want the recording sent to you, do not check off the box in the Zoom Events registration process that restricts us from obtaining your email address and do not unsubscribe from Symposium emails.

Confirmation emails come from Zoom Events—search your inbox for noreply-zoomevents@zoom.us—not Pipeline Media Group.

Host

Tom Vaughan
With nearly three decades of professional screenwriting experience, Tom Vaughan has written for major buyers including Warner Brothers, Sony Pictures, Disney, ABC, NBC, TBS, CBS, Miramax, and Castle Rock Entertainment. His most recent film, Haunting of the Queen Mary (2023), followed Winchester (2018), starring Academy Award winner Helen Mirren and Sarah Snook. He has developed projects for Matthew McConaughey, […]

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Upcoming Events

The Plot Wheel: More than Just Structure

July 15, 2026
The Plot Wheel is more than a structure—it’s a storytelling engine designed to create connection, momentum, and reader satisfaction. In this engaging presentation, Court Stevens breaks down the eight essential movements of story into a clear, repeatable framework that helps writers move from idea to fully realized narrative. Writers will gain the power to intentionally shape both the emotional journey and the commercial appeal of their work.

Commercially Driven Decisions: Being Intentional with Story Choices

July 22, 2026
The Commercially Driven Choices session by Court Stevens reveals what separates stories that are simply well-written from those that truly connect and sell. This dynamic session unpacks the strategic decisions writers must make to increase reader engagement—focusing on transformation, satisfaction, opposition, scope, and consumability as the core drivers of commercial storytelling.

Screenwriting Essentials: Improving the Read

July 29, 2026
It's called "A good read," and it’s the difference between a good story being easier to identify and one that gets buried in an avalanche of text. Professional screenwriter Tom Vaughn (Winchester, starring Academy Award-winner Helen Mirren) shares critical advice to elevate your writing to a more pro level.

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Symposium, presented by Pipeline Artists, is a year-round virtual conference empowering creatives with honest, no-nonsense guidance across the arts. Through seminars, industry panels, and Town Hall discussions on screenwriting, filmmaking, publishing, and career-building, Symposium offers grounded advice from working professionals to help you forge your own unique path.

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