One thing about me is that I have some strong opinions about arts education, accessibility, and how TV classes are structured...

After 8 years of teaching screenwriting, 6 years of teaching TV writing specifically, I’ve watched the same thing happen to good writers over and over again.

It goes like this.

A writer decides they’re finally going to do it, they’re going to write their pilot. Yay! They sign up for a class. One with good reviews, a reputable company with a teacher experienced in the business. They kinda learn to write a beat sheet, they get some feedback at the end, but not a ton of face time with their teacher to go over it, and then the class ends. Fine! Except now they have an okay beat sheet and no idea what to do next. How do they address these notes? Which notes should they even take? What comes after a beat sheet?

So after sitting on a beat sheet for a month or so, they take another class, the next one in the series. This one focuses on outlining. They spend the first week catching the instructor up on their vision, which they're not confident in after the notes from the last instructor... then get notes that send them back to rethink the beat sheet they just finished. But the beat sheet class already ended, and the teachers don't talk to each other, so they're left to reconcile the two points of view on their own. How the hell do they do that? They only have a few weeks so they blow through re-breaking their beat sheet so they can get to the outline before class ends and move on. Now they have an outline built on a shaky foundation and... ok what next?

They take the draft class. A different instructor, a different methodology and teaching style, a fresh set of opinions on what their script should be. They explain their premise again — the patched-together version that’s survived three rounds of notes, and try to write a draft from it.

By the end, they have pages. But when they read them back, they barely recognize the story they started with. Three classes, five or six months, and somewhere around two thousand dollars later, they feel worse about their script than when they started.

And they think it’s their own fault it's not good enough, which isn't true.

Nobody made sure they were set up for success, no one helped them figure out which notes to actually take and which ones to leave. No one really got in the mud and fine-tuned their premise before they even started writing to save them the headache later. Nobody stayed with them long enough to protect their vision from becoming a Frankenstein of everybody else’s opinions.

That’s not education. That’s a business model.

We live in a capitalist society, so I don't begrudge people getting their coin, I just wish more people knew what they were walking into before they invested (or wasted) so much money and time.

As an instructor teaching the first or second class in this series, I was always craving more time with students. I wished I was there earlier to help them avoid mistakes that are making the draft harder. And I wish I could stay through with them to help them execute and revise what we talked about.

So I built the program I wish existed.

One program with one main instructor with guidance on how to move through the program and manage your time to stay on track Twelve weeks from premise to revision, with me in the room the whole time helping you get your story out of your head and onto the page. I also include guidance on how to lock in on your vision and discern what notes will serve it and which ones won't. The length of the program gives you room to breath, but keeps you accountable so you have the push to keep going. And everything is designed to help you build skills you’ll take with you long after the program ends.

You won’t have to explain your vision to a new instructor every six weeks. You won’t have to choose between three contradictory sets of notes with no one to help you decide. You won’t finish the program with a draft that doesn’t feel like yours.

That’s what TV Camp is designed to prevent!

Doors open to the waitlist for presale on May 25th, click here to join the waitlist and be the first to secure one of the limited spots and best price!

My goal as an instructor and a founder is to find ways to let emerging voices thrive. I want to give writers room to learn, experiment, fail and succeed without bankrupting themselves or feeling discouraged. I hope Story Brain Academy can be that home for you.

write with you later,

Alicia