Concept is King: Elevating Story Concepts

Marketable stories need elevated concepts.

We're all told the logline is important. But what makes the logline so crucial is the concept the logline contains. It’s the easily communicable concept that gets producers and executives excited. Why? Because they know they can more easily sell that concept to their bosses and eventually the audience.

But what makes a good concept? And how do you make sure you fulfill its promise on the page?

In this symposium, veteran screenwriter and teacher Tom Vaughan defines concept and shows how to exploit it your narrative projects.

This session will offer a whole new insight in what is meant by commercial viability.

The presentation will cover:

Indie Filmmaking Crash Course, Part 2: Navigating Post-Production

In Part Two, we delve into post-production essentials that can elevate your film to new heights. From the intricate art of editing and sound design to the transformative power of music and color grading, this symposium offers a comprehensive exploration of the creative elements that shape the final product.

Discover strategies for navigating film festivals, understanding distribution channels, and mastering marketing tactics to ensure your film reaches its intended audience.

Gain valuable insights into selling and self-releasing films, and learn how to seamlessly transition from one project to the next in the ever-evolving landscape of independent filmmaking.

Topics Covered:

Indie Filmmaking Crash Course, Part 1: From Script to Screen

In this symposium, we delve into critical aspects of independent filmmaking, guiding you through the transition from script to production, engaging with investors, crafting pitch decks, managing rewrites, networking, casting, budgeting, and scouting locations.

Discover the intricacies of SAG regulations, contracts, and administrative processes, as well as the importance of physical and mental health during the filmmaking journey. Uncover the secrets of routines, habits, and creative processes that contribute to successful filmmaking endeavors.

Gain insights into the Hollywood landscape, the art of communication, and the significance of setting the right energy on set.

And explore the dynamics of relationships, crew chemistry, and handling unforeseen challenges, empowering you to navigate the unpredictable journey of indie filmmaking with confidence and finesse.

Topics Covered:

The State of Hollywood: A 2025 Primer for Film & TV Writers

They told you after the strikes: “survive til ’25.”

Question is, what can you do to ensure 2025 is your most productive year as a film or TV writer?

Breaking in, staying in, and building a career has never been easy. To take meaningful strides toward becoming a professional screenwriter, you have to cut out the fluff, avoid the distractions, and pay attention to the ever-changing realities of Hollywood and the business.

Screenwriting career coach Lee Jessup brings a new Symposium, exclusively for film and TV writers—both new/emerging and semi-established—focusing on the current state of the industry, the hard truths rarely discussed (yet every writer has to confront), and exploring all that is required to move your writing—and your career—forward.

Christmas for Cable: Writing Cable Network Films

Writing for cable networks such as Hallmark, Lifetime, or UpTV is specialty writing. Same with any of the streaming services looking for a “Hallmark” type of Christmas film—and they all are.

They each have their specific brand. For their specific audiences. They have guidelines you have to write to. This class will lay those out and help you navigate the choppy waters that can be writing for one of these networks.

Topics include:

Writing Captivating Scenes

Scenes are a unique challenge to every writer, who must manage many elements to create scenes that grab and hold the audience’s attention. A great story cannot succeed without strong, well-crafted scenes.

In this session, we will break down the scene to its basic elements, explore what each element needs to be successful, and discuss how these elements must work together to make the scene shine.

You’ll learn

There will be hands-on exercises and tools to create and shape riveting scenes that will make your story more dramatic and satisfying and captivate your audience.

Writer Therapy: Creating Opportunities in Film, TV, and Beyond

Get comfortable ... it's therapy time!

With screenwriting career coach Lee Jessup and writer-turned-therapist Phil Stark (Dude, Where's My Car?), we'll not only discuss the state of the industry but also the mindset needed to stay in the game.

Perhaps, the biggest question for survival is, “Are you a screenwriter or a storyteller?” We'll discuss the pitfalls of writers painting themselves into a corner by not at least exploring other writing avenues. Let's dispel the myth of “all I need is a manager” or “all I need is to sell one script.”

Yes, it’s hard out there, but it’s always been hard. A writer won't get anywhere unless they put themselves out there and be as efficient as possible in jumpstarting their career.

Lee and Phil will share advice on getting your mindset straight, and words on the page.

Logline Workshop

This workshop is available quarterly.

Everything you need to know to sell your story and yourself … in just one sentence.

There are two questions every writer must be able answer clearly and quickly:

“What’s your story about?"

“What do you write?”

The answer to the first question will reveal the genre, tone, hook, premise, and stakes of a single project. The second question will reveal what you as a writer care about in your work, and why you're the best person to to tell the stories you do.

You need your story idea boiled down to a single, compelling pitchable sentence to get the attention of a manager.

Our logline workshop will teach you how to do just that ...

In this exclusive two-hour event, we'll:

You may have never written a logline before. Great! We’ll do a lot of that together.

You may have been banging your head against the wall trying to construct a great logline, but you’re frustrated that you can’t quite hit the mark.

We'll workshop the loglines you love and the loglines you hate. You’ll leave with the tools you need to whip them into shape and build future loglines with ease.

While we hope to get to as many of the attendees' loglines as possible, we will only be able to get to a handful for live feedback. First come, first serve.

However, during the workshopping of loglines, you'll see how Merridith's advice will apply to your own process, and now you'll have the tools to use to get to the next level. If you're interested in working with Merridith in a one-on-one session after the event, we'll send all attendees her information to reach out.

*CONFIDENTIALITY: In an effort to best facilitate event participation, the recording will only be shared with the registrants and not available on-demand. If you're uncomfortable sharing your logline, that's fine, too, as it's not required.

What Attendees Have Said ...

"The Symposium gave me a whole new way to think about the logline. Loved it!"

"Merridith was professional, knowledgeable, and encouraging. The logline info that Merridith shared is spot on and will help me tremendously, And that's the whole point!! Thanks very much."

"Great information that can be immediately put to use. Appreciated not only the content but also the facilitation of the workshop. Not too many workshops provide the course materials at the beginning of the class. Kudos!"

"It was awesome and incredibly helpful for someone like myself who is just learning about screenwriting and the various skills one needs to have. Really enjoyed it. The two hours just flew by, and it was of real benefit. Thank you."

"I had a fabulous time—very knowledgeable instructors. They kept things moving along and gave attendees great suggestions."

Networking Advice to Get and Stay in the TV/Film Industry

You have dreams as a screenwriter. You work and write and sacrifice and say no to fun stuff with friends because you're working on your craft. Getting better.

But the thing is, if you don't know people in the industry, you'll lose out on opportunities to people who do.

You might have the chips stacked against you.

But what if you could learn actionable hacks that could save you YEARS of mistakes and propel your career relationships, in the time that it takes to watch one film, for the cost of a few coffees at Starbucks?

During the first ten years of my time in the TV industry, I made EVERY SINGLE freaking mistake you can make when it comes to networking.

I cringe every time I think about it.

But all those mistakes bring a lot of award-winning, kick-ass insight. So, I reverse engineered how networking is in the industry, and how to do it, especially when you have no bloody clue what you're doing.

And it completely changed my career. Previous session attendees contact me all the time to say these tips have changed things for them, too.

Straight up—this is NOT a dry, boring session. Why should it be? We need to kick down those doors! This is our livelihood!

It will help you with some of the most common challenges writers face. Here are just some of the things you'll learn:

1) Secrets and attitudes we need that people don't tell us.

2) Hacks from the TV and film industry on who writers should network with and who is usually overlooked.

3) Adjacent industries we can build our skills and presence in until the TV/film industry recovers in the next year or two.

4) Networking in person, like at live events, including how to know who to talk to, the best areas to find them, and what to say. (P.S. And how everything can come down to a foot!)

5) How to send an email to someone you don't know and get a response. (P.S. And tips like why "I" makes people run for the hills!)

It's super high-energy, it's funny, it's irreverent, and it's filled with TRUTH. I will bear my soul and tell you cringeworthy stories!

The session has received 100% positive feedback, including from industry bodies like WFTV CA, LSF, MANFF, writing groups and international universities. It was voted "most useful session" at LSF, University of Derby, and Bolton U. Upcoming sessions include Ed TV Fest, WGGB, BAFTA, NFTS, etc. 

Join in! You'll feel so much better, and empowered with actionable steps to take. The sooner you start (even if you're a new writer), the sooner you'll get all the benefits! 

What attendees have said ...

Great, practical advice, even for writers who already research the crap out of this stuff. Great advice for introverts and neurodivergent types! One of my favorite parts was the even photo and analysis of body language and people dynamics—so helpful!!

I was really thrilled to find that this webinar was very concise and accurate in the objective of giving meaningful advice! Amanda was so great, and it was truly inspiring.

Amanda’s no-bull brand of advice was welcomed by this newbie “Imposter.” She exfoliated at least a decade’s worth of mistakes, offering practical insight into an intimidating and overwhelming industry. Networking is the one big bad monster I feared couldn’t be overcome, making me question whether or not this industry could be my home but Amanda normalized the fear so many of us face when trying to meet new people and make new connections while offering solutions to help us  get over the hump.

Loved Amanda's energy and positive mindset. It also gave me fresh inspiration and a more lighthearted approach to networking, generally. I'm going to have some fun with it. Some practical stuff like the social media purge was good to include. Be yourself was kind of an underlying message I got from Amanda and I'm going to embody that—my peeps are out there.

I loved hearing the first-hand experiences, and I adored the visual elements enhancing the speaker’s thoughts regarding cold-emails.

Writing to Budget

If you want to be a professional screenwriter you need to realize a couple of things.

  1. 95% of a screenwriter’s income come from works for hire. Rewrites, adaptations, writing for hire.
  2. Each one of those jobs comes with a budget to write to.

Every time you get a writing assignment of any kind it comes with what the budget for the film is, and you are expected to write to that budget. Every writer at some point gets these same limitations.

You either learn to write to them or they hire someone else who can.

There are a lot of ways to write to budget while still being as creative as you can be. You just need to learn them.

Bob Saenz will share the tips he personally uses to write to budget.

What Attendees Have Said ...

 "Great insight from a business professional! A well presented webinar that sticked to the topic plus Q&A at the end."

"Bob gave detailed examples of what is important to know about budgets when writing a script. His book, That's Not the Way It's Done, summarized some things I had not learned in my multitude of writing classes. This webinar on budgets taught even more things I would not have thought of, such as the cost of moving trucks from location to location. I always look for his Sunday posts on Facebook. He's definitely a working expert."