LOS ANGELES MAR 26 – 28, 2020 (Postponed until October)
NEW YORK APR 16 – 18, 2020 (Postponed until October)
LONDON MAY 14 – 16, 2020 (Postponed until November)
LOS ANGELES OCT 15 – 17, 2020
NEW YORK OCT 29 – 31, 2020
LONDON NOV 19 – 21, 2020

THE LEGENDARY STORY SEMINAR

Story creation. Are you inspired by an idea for a story, but don’t know how to realize it? True story is a question of continuous creativity – not a set of formulaic page numbers. Take advantage of one of the best story brains in the business, and let Robert McKee prompt and guide you to your best insights yet. Here is an opportunity to apply classic story design – the kind that has resulted in masterpieces of all kinds – to your own cinematic, theatrical or literary premise.

Robert McKee’s STORY Seminar is ideal for Screenwriters, TV Writers, Novelists, Playwrights, Filmmakers, Directors, Producers, Documentary Makers, Actors and more…

LESS THAN 1% OF WRITERS SELL THEIR SCREENPLAYS. THIS IS YOUR CHANCE TO LEARN WHAT THEY ALREADY KNOW.

Of the total creative effort represented in a finished work, 75% or more of a writer’s labor goes into designing story – only 1% of writers understand this. Anxious, inexperienced writers obey rules. Rebellious, unschooled writers break rules. Artists master the form. The only way to truly master the form is to intimately understand every aspect of Story. Robert McKee’s STORY Seminar is designed to help you master these principles. This seminar goes well beyond the essential mechanics of screenwriting. It will elevate your writing from an intellectual exercise to an emotional one, transforming the craft of screenwriting into an art form. The STORY Seminar affords you the opportunity to separate yourself from the herd of writers who will never invest the time to properly master the form and thus will never have the success they truly desire.

REMEMBER: There’s no such thing as an unemployed writer who has fully mastered the art.

Invest the time. Do the work. Write the truth.

THE RESULTS WILL FOLLOW.

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Story is about principles, not rules.

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Story is about archetypes, not stereotypes.

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Story is about eternal, universal forms, not formulas.

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Story is about thoroughness, not shortcuts.

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Story is about the realities, not the mysteries of writing.

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Story is about mastering the art, not second-guessing the marketplace.

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Story is about respect, not disdain, for the audience.

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Story is about originality, not duplication.

What Can I Expect?

Here's an outline of the STORY Seminar.

Seminar Schedule

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Lecture

9:00 am – 10: 50 am

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Morning Break

Q&A with Robert McKee 10:50 am – 11:10 am

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Lecture

11:10 am – 1:00 pm

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Lunch

1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

}

Lecture

2:00 pm – 3:40 pm

}

Afternoon Break

Q&A with Robert McKee 3:40 pm – 4:00 pm

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Lecture

4:00 pm – 5:40 pm

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Evening Break

Q&A with Robert McKee 5:40 pm – 6:00 pm

}

Lecture

6:00 pm – 7:30 pm

Seminar Outline

SECTION ONE

The writer and the art of story
The decline of story in contemporary film
Story design: the meaning of story, the substance of story, the limitations and inspirations of story structure & genre, the debate between character vs story design
Premise Idea, Counter Idea, Controlling Idea
Story Structure: beat, scene, sequence, act, story
Mapping the Story universe: Archplot, Miniplot, Antiplot
Shaping the source of story energy and creation

SECTION TWO

Putting the elements of story together
The principles of character dimension and design
The composition of scenes
Titles
Irony; Melodrama
False endings
The text: description, dialogue, and poetics
The spectrum of story genres

SECTION THREE

Act design: the great sweep and body of story
The first major story event (the inciting incident)
Scene design in Story: turning points, emotional dynamics, setup/payoff, the nature of choice
Ordering and linking scenes
Exposition: dramatizing your characters, the story setting, creating back story
The principles of antagonism
Crisis, climax and resolution

SECTION FOUR

Story adaptations
Scene analysis: text and sub-text; design through dialogue versus design through action
The writer’s method: working from the inside out; the creative process from inspiration to final draft.
How it all works: the principles of the previous days applied in a 6-hour, scene-by-scene screening and analysis of CASABLANCA

Where Can I Attend?

Ready to register? We've got a number of upcoming seminars.

STORY CRAFT Webinar Series

Begins: September 10, 2020 Ends: September 29, 2020

Start Time: 1:00 pm End Time: 3:00 pm

"Stories are equipment for living."

— Kenneth Burke

The world now consumes films, novels, theatre and television in such quantities and with such ravenous hunger that the story arts have become humanity's prime source of inspiration, as it seeks to order chaos and gain insight into life.

Our appetite for story is a reflection of the profound human need to grasp the patterns of living, not merely as an intellectual exercise, but within a very personal, emotional experience.

As a writer, you alone have the tools to craft the vehicle that carries us on our search for reality, our best effort to make sense out of the anarchy of existence. And now, more than ever, the world needs your stories.

Following the success of his Spring Webinar Program, Robert McKee returns online this fall with three brand new webinars on the story craft.

In this series of three 90-minute lessons (+30 minutes of Q&A), and three exclusive 2-hour follow-up Q&A sessions, Robert McKee delivers the crucial insight you need to understand your work in the context of the story universe, to hook and hold the interest of your audience and to lift your story from a good telling, to a work of art.

McKee's 2020 Story Craft Webinar Series:

All webinars take place on Thursdays from 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm (Eastern).
All Q&A sessions take place the following Tuesdays from 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm (Eastern).
Recordings will be sent 24 hours after each live event concludes, and will be available to stream until November 30.

Thursday, September 10: The Story Universe
Tuesday, September 15: Follow-up Q&A Session
Recordings will be available until November 30th.

In Part 1 of the series, McKee teaches the principles that define the overall universe of story, so that you can better understand your place within it. Topics convered in this webinar include:

The Triangle of Event Design
Open vs. Closed Endings
Levels of Conflict
The Range of Protagonists
The Limits of Fictional Reality
30-minute Q&A Session

Thursday, September 17: Story and the Reader / Audience
Tuesday, September 22: Follow-up Q&A Session
Recordings will be available until November 30.

In Part 2 of the series, McKee delivers a masterclass on the principles and techniques needed to hook and hold both sides of human nature — intellect and emotion. Topics convered in this webinar include:

The Problem of Interest
Empathy vs. Curiosity
The Center of Good
Mystery, Suspense, Dramatic Irony
30-minute Q&A Session

Thursday, September 24: Story as Art
Tuesday, September 29: Follow-up Q&A Session
Recordings will be available until November 30.

In Part 3 of the series, McKee teaches the difference between decorative images and enhanced expressivity, providing writers with the power to create true works of art.

The Writer as Poet
Image Systems
External Imagery
Internal Imagery
30-minute Q&A Session

Available Spaces: Unlimited

Fall Webinar Program

Begins: September 10, 2020 Ends: November 24, 2020

Start Time: 1:00 pm End Time: 3:00 pm

Robert McKee Broadcasts to the World!

The world now consumes films, novels, theatre and television in such quantities and with such ravenous hunger that the story arts have become humanity’s prime source of inspiration, as it seeks to order chaos and gain insight into life.

Our appetite for story is a reflection of the profound human need to grasp the patterns of living, not merely as an intellectual exercise, but within a very personal, emotional experience.

As a writer, you alone have the tools to craft the vehicle that carries us on our search for reality, our best effort to make sense out of the anarchy of existence.

And now, more than ever, the world needs your stories.

Following the success of his Spring Webinar Program, Robert McKee returns online this fall with nine brand new writing webinars.

McKee's 2020 Fall Webinar Program:

Webinars take place on Thursdays from 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm Eastern Time (US & Canada)
Q&A sessions take place on Tuesdays from 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm Eastern Time (US & Canada)
Recording links will be sent 24 hours after the conclusion of the live events..

Story Craft Webinar Series $197
Click here for more info

Recordings available until November 30th.

September 10: The Story Universe
Septemer 15: Follow-Up Q&A Session

September 17: Story and the Reader / Audience
September 22: Follow-Up Q&A Session

September 24: Story as Art
September 29: Follow-Up Q&A Session

Love Story Webinar Series $197
Click here for more info

Recordings available until December 31st.

October 8: The Nature of Love
October 13: Follow-Up Q&A Session

October 15: The Six Subgenres of Love
October 20: Follow-Up Q&A Session

October 22: The Ten Conventions of Love
October 27: Follow-Up Q&A Session

TV Webinar Series $197
Click here for more info

Recordings available until January 31st, 2021.

November 5: The Art of Long-Form Television
November 10: Follow-Up Q&A Session

November 12: Designing Story for Television
November 17: Follow-Up Q&A Session

November 19: Maximizing Your TV Series
November 24: Follow-Up Q&A Session

Available Spaces: Unlimited