Welcome!
www.austinscreenwriters.org is the
website of the Austin Screenwriters Group.

Though we're open to all levels of experience in the ASG, we hope our members take advantage of the many opportunities for self-education on screenwriting technique, formatting, and professionalism. We have some great bookstores right here in Austin, chief among them our meeting host: BookPeople. Following are a list of useful books and a list of links to screenwriting classes in the Austin area.

Classes in Screenwriting

A common request related to education in screenwriting is "Are there any classes offered in Austin?" Here are some offered both through groups and individuals you might check out. (If you know of more to add here, please let Wendy Wheeler know at scripts@wendy-wheeler.com.)

• www.firstlookscripts.com - A script reading service by Nancy Smith, member of ASG, with a long history in reading and critiquing screenplays. She offers discounts to ASG members!
• www.scriptguy2.com -- Classes offered regularly by David Peterson, story analyst for a number of Hollywood producers, attorneys, agents, and others. His clients have included MGM/UA, 20th-Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, etc.
• www.thescreenplayworkshop.org -- Free classes as well as multi-week classes on script structure offered by Jill Chamberlain, award-winning filmmaker and professional screenwriter whose work has been seen in theaters across the U.S. and at over 80 film festivals on three continents.
• http://thescriptblog.blogspot.com/ -- New to Austin in 2010, but with a few decades of work under her belt in Hollywood, Susan Marx has started offering classes.
• Upstart -- the arts group in Bastrop often has classes with award-winning screenwriter Sidney Brammer.
• University of Texas Informal Classes - offered through the Texas Union, there's usually a Hollywood Screenwriting course. Their website is sometimes hard to figure out: typically they'll put screenwriting among the "Arts" classes, or sometimes they'll create a section for "Writing" and put classes there.
• Austin Community College - often has a class or two on screenwriting. Click on "Instructional Areas" and then select "Creative Writing" to see what's on the current course schedule.
• Writers League of Texas - has occasionally offered special screenwriting weekend retreats.

Online Classes in Screenwriting

• Aprendi Learning - offers courses online from teachers who reprise what they've offered as college courses. Check out "Courses" to see who's teaching what. Aprendi offers a "screenwriting ceritification" which really isn't comparable to college credit, however.

For self-teaching, here are some of the top screenwriting and writerly craft books our group has discovered. You can find or order almost all of these at Bookpeople, the generous folks who host the ASG 1st-Sunday-of-the-month meetings.

1. Stealing Fire from the Gods by James Bonnet
2. The Art of Dramatic Writing by Lajos Egri
3. Screenplay, The Foundations of Screenwriting by Syd Field
4. Zen and the Art of Screenwriting by William Froug
5. Writing Screenplays That Sell by Michael Hauge
6. Selling Your Story in 60 Seconds by Michael Hauge
7. The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriter by Karl Iglesias
8. Writing for Emotional Impact by Karl Iglesias
9. How to Write a Movie in 21 Days by Viki King
10. Story by Robert McKee
11. Making a Good Script Great by Linda Seger
12. Save the Cat by Blake Snyder
13. The Screenwriter's Bible by Dave Trottier
14. The Writer's Journey by Christopher Vogler
15. The Comic Toolbox by John Vorhaus
16. The Whole Picture by Richard Walter
17. Screenwriting: The Art, Craft and Business of Film and Television Writing by Richard Walter
18. The Hollywood Creative Directory or Spec Screenplay Sales Directory