Monday Morning Editor's Picks: Screenwriting Classes

In my recent Balls of Steel articles on getting screenwriting mentors, I speak of the importance of honing your craft to prove you are worthy of a professional screenwriters time and support. Since most of us live outside of L.A., what better way to learn than online?

Here are some classes taught by screenwriting pros:

1. Screenwriters University has an ever-growing list of classes. Find out what the upcoming classes are and get registered for your opportunity to learn from professionals in the industry.

The following classes start August 8, 2013:

2. The Writers Store Live Webinars (every Wednesday at 1:00PM PST) and On Demand Webinars are an amazing way to learn right from your own home. I've taught several myself - Breaking in Outside of Hollywood, The Dreaded Rewrite, Creating Dynamic Characters, Writing Partnerships: The Essentials to Finding Your Match.

But some of my favorites are ones I have attended as a fellow student of the craft:

Screenwriting Rules You Can Break by Pilar Alessandra
Webinars by Erik Bork, writer/producer of HBO's Band of Brothers
Webinars by Tom Benedek, writer of Cocoon

3. DVDs are another way of learning. The 6-DVD box set of Jim Mercurio’s Complete Screenwriting: From A to Z to A-List is now ON SALE.

4. Script Magazine's FREE How to Write a Screenplay Webinar, by yours truly, is a basic walk-through of how I write my scripts.

5. Screenwriters World Conference (September 27-29, 2013) is an amazing way to learn, network and even pitch your scripts! I'll be there, moderating panels, including one where I'll pick the collective brains of Doug Richardson (Die Hard 2), Tom Schulman (Dead Poet's Society), and Robbie Fox (So I Married an Axe Murderer).

Use my editor's discount code JEANNE913 for $50 off registration for the
All Access OR Individual Full Conference packages!

Being open to learning more about your craft is essential to your success in this industry. No matter how seasoned you are, there's always something to learn, either in a class or from a screenwriting mentor. But you'll never get a mentor if you aren't willing to put the work in to make your scripts the best they can be.

Jeanne Veillette Bowerman is the Editor and Online Community Manager of Script Magazine and a webinar instructor for The Writers Store. She is Co-Founder and moderator of the weekly Twitter screenwriters’ chat, #Scriptchat, and wrote the narrative adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Slavery by Another Name, with its author, Douglas A. Blackmon, former senior national correspondent of The Wall Street Journal. Jeanne also is President of Implicit Productions and consults with writers on how to build and strengthen their online and offline networks as well as face their fears in order to succeed in writing and in personal peace - a screenwriter's therapist. More information can be found on her blog, ramblings of a recovered insecureaholic. Follow @jeannevb on Twitter.