Online Screenwriting Courses

You want to study screenwriting course online instead of going to a night class or a college campus. Where can you find an online screenwriting course that teaches the things you need or want to study? There are, obviously, a lot of places online offering screenwriting and other types of writing courses. Here's a list of some of those many places.

Before you pick the course….
Before you begin checking out screenwriting courses online, you might want to consider, if you haven't already, what you want to learn. Are you still at the beginner level? Are you looking for someone to critique work you've already finished? Do you want to write TV scripts, short films, or feature scripts? These are all things to keep in mind when you set out to choose a course, because all of these types of courses are available somewhere.

Also, as the buyer of potential courses, beware. Check the policies, prodedures, and credentials of anyone you might take a course with. Most writing teachers aren't looking to rip anyone off, but some of them are out to give you A+ treatment.

Some places offering online screenwriting courses

UCLA. Home to one of the world's best film schools, UCLA offers online summer screenwriting classes/workshops at beginner and advanced levels. Non-UC students pay about $30 more than registered students, but the workshops still come in under $200 bucks. They include "streaming audio and video" formats. http://www.tft.ucla.edu/filmonline/index.cfm?action=c1

Gotham Writer's Workshop. (http://www.writingclasses.com /) This is a pretty large writing school based in NYC. Many of the writers who teach here have fairly good credentials (Well, you'll have to judge for yourself…) and the course offerings are vast. You can take screenwriting and television writing classes, beginner or experienced level classes. The prices range in the high $300's for new students but discounts are offered for returnees. There are also some classes on selling screenplays. I'm always wary of classes like that, but, maybe that's of interest to you.

writerscollege.com This is a comparatively inexpensive course-offering site where writers teach a variety of niche classes, including screenwriting. If you're looking for course under $200, this school might be an option. The screenwriting course offered here by an experienced professional writer is mainly for beginners and focuses on the important pre-writing segment of the screenwriting process. You will work on things like brainstorming and outline and grasping the basics of how scripts are structured. These are definitely things novice screenwriters would need to know. For those who have been writing a while, it could be a good brush-up, but it also might be too basic for your needs. Classes are six weeks long, self-paced, and can be extended to 12 weeks at an extra cost.

Screenwriter.comhttp://www.screenwriter.com/ This screenwriter's website has online master classes ( 2 or three nights, 2 hour interactive/chat room sessions) with a really impressive selection of A-list (Robert Towne, William Goldman) produced writers of major films. Topics seem to include writing and the "business" end of things, but it'd be cool to chat with some of these success professionals, and probably very educational!

Australian Film, Television And Radio School (AFTRS). Say g'day to some online screenwriting courses offered by this school based in Sydney, Australia. It offers an online screenwriting short course, "Storytelling for Film & Television" which is five weeks long, and a 13-week course called "Introduction to Screenwriting." The teachers have industry experience. Check the website for more details. http://www.aftrs.edu.au/go.cfm?path=/go/short-courses/online-courses/screenwriting-courses&

Writers University. (http://www.writersuniversity.com/course.php?courses_id=26 ) With courses just under fifty bucks, this is another site with relatively inexpensive classes. Lasting four weeks, its Screenwriting Basics course is self-paced and is designed for writers with no previous experience. The teacher here also offers courses on television writing and querying agents.