What Makes Great Drama Great? - A screenwriting masterclass with Eleanor Greene (In person)
Why do great stories make us gasp, or catch our breath in wonder? Why does a moment of raw, flawed humanity stop us in our tracks? And why, even in the darkest tales, does a flash of levity increase our enjoyment of the story?
In this masterclass, led by award-winning executive producer and script editor Eleanor Greene, we will explore the key elements of successful drama, starting not with structure or formula, but with something more fundamental: how we experience our favourite stories, and why some of them stay with us forever.
Eleanor has spent her career inside the room where stories get made: developing scripts, working with writers, and producing drama at the highest level. In this masterclass, she shares the framework she has developed through that experience: the essential elements that every great story needs to move an audience.
In the morning session we will explore these elements through the lens of existing successful shows and films, examining why they work, why they affect us the way they do, and what writers do to create those effects deliberately.
In the afternoon we move from theory to practice, with a series of hands-on exercises designed to improve specific aspects of your writing: how to write sharper dialogue, how to eradicate exposition, how to use subtext to build tension in a scene, and how to construct a series quickly and confidently using the tools we explored from the morning's session.
You will leave with a framework you can apply immediately, and a clearer sense of the writer you want to be.
Eleanor Greene is an award-winning creative with over 25 years experience in developing, pitching and producing scripted TV and film. A BAFTA nominated Drama Executive Producer, Script Editor and TV fanatic she has made shows across many genres and lengths, including sitcom, thriller, police procedural, political, historical and factual drama, multi episodic series and features.
This workshop takes place in person in the New Room at the Library. Doors will open at 10.15am for a 10.30am start. Please see our Event Access Guidelines before you arrive.
Tea and coffee will be provided throughout and we will have pens and paper available but feel free to bring your own writing material. We will break for an hour for lunch and you are welcome to bring your lunch with you - there is a fridge - or there are plenty of places to buy food nearby.
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