What is Finish Your Screenplay?
It’s part screenwriting seminar, part accountability system, and part group coaching — all the tools you need to go from
story idea to completed screenplay.
To put it simply, if you:
- Show up weekly for a 1-hour lesson on “what happens next” in the story…
- Take the story roadmap and prompts and write the next 10-15 pages of your screenplay…
…You will complete your draft by the end of our time together.
Join me for 7 weeks* and I’ll provide
step-by-step guidance and accountability
so you can finish with a completed screenplay…
…and a personalized plan for your next steps.
Weekly Roadmap Sessions: Quick sessions each Saturday will provide you with detailed roadmaps, examples, and writing prompts for the section of screenplay you’ll write in the upcoming week.
Accountability Deadline and 1-on-1 consult: When you submit your finished script to me by the built-in accountability deadline, you’ll get a 1-on-1 consult to celebrate your hard work and figure out where to focus in the next draft. More details below!
Thank you for considering the FYS workshop. The next session has not yet been scheduled. Check back or join the mailing list for first crack at future workshops.
The program schedule
4 Saturdays TBD
WEEKLY ROADMAP SESSIONS
Each of these four Saturdays we’ll meet via Zoom for a quick-but-focused session to go over the next story sequence, which you’ll be writing during the upcoming week. We’ll cover how to service the story’s conflicts and stakes, what the script should aim to accomplish for both plot and character development, and how to create effective plot turning points and achieve solid screenplay structure.
If you’re more of a pantser, you’ll have inspiration and ideas for what to write next, and if you’re more of a plotter you’ll have a set of guidelines to check what you have planned and make sure you’re on the right track as you write pages.
I’ll provide in-depth examples of each sequence from existing movies and screenplays. We’ll have additional time for Q&A during each session.
Time: all Weekly Roadmap Sessions will meet from 10am – 11am Pacific Time
We’ll meet on Zoom, and there will be a recording available if you can’t make it to the live session.
1 Saturday TBD
Midpoint Break! No meeting, just a little extra time to catch up if you need it.
By this week we’ll have reached the Midpoint turn in your screenplay! Over the next three sessions, we’ll cover the second half…
3 Saturdays TBD
WEEKLY ROADMAP SESSIONS – CONTINUED
These sessions continue on where we left off before the Midpoint Break. Each week we’ll talk about the pages you’ll be writing during the upcoming week. (During our final session we’ll discuss all of Act 3.)
With this schedule, you’ll be writing about 10-15 screenplay pages per week. Sound impossible? With a weekly roadmap session to guide you, you’ll only need to focus on one manageable step at a time. You’ll have a plan to follow, tools to lean on, and examples to reference to make sure you always know what to write next.
If you commit to each step, you’ll be able to type FADE OUT within about 8-12 weeks. And then comes my favorite part…
TBD
THE COMPLETION BONUS DEADLINE
After our final weekly session, you’ll have about 4 additional weeks to finish up your draft and send your completed screenplay to me. And when you do, you’ll unlock your 1-on-1 consult session where we’ll celebrate your progress, review your completed script, and discuss what’s working and what to focus on in the next draft.
You’ll have your draft finished by summer
and we’ll meet for your 1-on-1 consult session before July!
Ready for a little accountability? Sometimes deadlines are the only way to motivate ourselves to action, so to schedule your 1-on-1 consult your screenplay draft must be submitted to me by the completion bonus deadline.
That’s the simple plan to get it done: show up, learn what happens next, then write your pages!
To recap, that’s…
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- 7 weekly sessions of roadmaps and pep talks to guide you through writing your screenplay in manageable increments
- An accountability deadline to motivate you to keep writing
- And a 1-on-1 consult to celebrate your work and plan your next steps!
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Answers to your questions
Do I need to know anything about screenwriting to take this workshop?
Beginners welcome! You don’t need to have studied screenwriting or written a screenplay to join. But you’ll have a head start if you understand the basic elements of main character, story goal, stakes, and conflict. If you want to brush up, I have a free book on Amazon or Apple Books that covers it.
What kind of projects can I work on in this workshop?
Any genre, any budget level, but we will focus exclusively on feature-length screenplays.
Where do we meet?
We will meet online via Zoom (which you’re probably very familiar with by now but if not, it’s easy to download and use).
What if I have no screenplay ideas, or several screenplay ideas – can I take this workshop?
If you have a couple ideas to choose from, you’re welcome to bring them to our first session and ask for feedback or use the first lecture and exercises to figure out which one you should write next.
If you want to come up with a new screenplay idea to write in the FYS workshop, you could use these exercises to come up with one (or several) before our first session!
Or, if you have a desire to write a screenplay someday but right now you just want to learn everything you can about screenwriting, the Finish Your Screenplay lectures will give you a thorough understanding of exactly what goes into a screenplay — no writing required.
Still have questions? Email me and let’s chat!
Ready to finish your screenplay?
Who’s your host?
Hi, I’m Naomi. Screenwriting teacher, screenplay consultant, and former development exec with 10+ years in the entertainment industry.
Every day, I show screenwriters how to get unstuck so they can get to FADE OUT and get an edge over the competition, with straightforward feedback and practical advice at key steps of the writing process.
Whether you’re looking for the confidence to start writing your first screenplay, or you’re putting final polishes on your tenth draft, I can help.
With the projects they’ve brought to me for consultation, my clients have placed in prestigious screenwriting contests, pitched to every major studio, and have optioned feature screenplays and TV pilots to producers.
I’ve read thousands of scripts and worked with hundreds of writers, and I can’t wait to help you write your best screenplay yet.