House of Stories is now opening enrolment to THE BLUEPRINT. This four week development incubator (with option to extend to six weeks) focuses on helping writers avoid running into the most common screenwriting roadblocks observed by Nikki Saltz in her decade-long career as a script consultant.

THE BLUEPRINT will give writers the opportunity to work with Nikki in a semi-private group setting, and receive individual coaching and attention in every class. At the end of the course, they will walk away with an unshakeable foundation upon which to continue developing their screenplays; a blueprint that has addressed the most challenging areas of writing a good story, well-told, so that future writing can focus on moving beyond the fundamentals. Writers will complete the course with 25 -50 pages of finessed script pages or outlines (depending on each writer’s output), a market-ready pitch doc (if taking the pitch extension), and the skills necessary to present it professionally. 

Each week, writers will participate in a two hour class over Zoom.  The first 30 minutes of class will consist of a lecture delivered by Nikki Saltz, combining screenwriting principles with on-the-page analysis of various produced screenplays. The second hour of the class will function as a group workshop, wherein each writer gets 30 minutes to present their work and receive feedback from the class and instructor. Writers may choose to work with their stories as outlines or screenplays throughout the course. Assignments will be given out at the end of each class - however, note that each week, writers will be expected to produce approximately 5-10 pages of screenplay or outline, and to send them out to the class every Sunday in advance of our sessions.

Who’s It For?

THE BLUEPRINT is a development incubator designed for  intermediate- advanced level writers with previous screenplay or narrative experience. Work, awards or academic study in the fields of journalism, fiction, creative nonfiction, playwriting, or screenwriting are all adequate foundations for THE BLUEPRINT.

Students who take THE BLUEPRINT are expected to have a solid grasp of screenwriting format and the basic tenets of writing for the screen (dialogue, writing visually, etc). As this is not a course for absolute beginners, screenwriting 101 will not be covered in our sessions.

THE BLUEPRINT will benefit writers who:

• Are working on features, TV pilots, or digital pilots in any genre

• Have received notes on their screenplay and are unsure about how to proceed on the page

• Are outlining a new project and want to ensure their story is bulletproof before moving to draft

• Are working on an existing screenplay, but feeling stuck

• Are preparing to submit work to funding bodies, graduate programs, development incubators, or competitions. Writers who are working on strengthening their portfolios can also apply.

• Are moving towards production drafts, but coming up against seemingly insurmountable script challenges.

• Would like to work collaboratively with a script consultant and other writers.

Curriculum

* A more detailed curriculum, including .pdf screenplays and assignments, will be disseminated to students a week before the course start date.

Week 1

The Complete Heroics: A comprehensive overview of designing a compelling protagonist by working with your hero’s flaw and Jungian shadow. Writers will spend the week translating what they learn in class to script or outline pages.


Week 2

Transformation & Thematics: Building on what they’ve learned in week one, writers will leap from act one to act three, working with core concepts in Heroics to design effective and meaningful climaxes that work to reveal their story’s themes.

Week 3

Dramatics at the Scene Level: Having conquered the leading challenges of working with protagonists, writers will spend week three developing key story scenes as stand-alone pieces of compelling drama.

Week 4

Dramatics at the Sequence Level: Having honed their abilities to write strong, engaging individual scenes, writers will spend week four putting these scenes together into plausible engaging sequences that play off of one another. Writers will focus on the use of effective cause-and-effect writing in order to write screenplays that escalate on every page.

Class Schedule

* Please note that all class times are listed in EST.

Our Fall session of THE BLUEPRINT will take place every Wednesday, from 6-8PM, EST, starting on Sept. 15th, 2021.

A Saturday group from 3-5 may be added pending interest & the right group of writers.


Writers will be expected to turn in work every Sunday by 5PM.

Fees*

4 week session: $425 CAD (tax included)
6 week session (includes two weeks of story hacking): $625 CAD (tax included)

*For writers of exceptional talent, ome adjustments to fees may be made if cost is prohibitive. Please email: info@houseofstories.net about your circumstances and include a 1-2 page writing sample if you feel this may apply to you. The Amnon Buchbinder Story Prize will provide free tuition to one writer each year - please apply only if the cost of The Blueprint would prevent you from working with us.

I’m In. Now What?

Potential students are asked to fill out the form below and submit a 1-2 page writing sample to info@houseofstories.net. If eligible, Nikki will be in touch with details about payment to secure your spot.

If you are an absolute beginner, we would be happy to recommend some foundational courses or private coaches who may be of benefit to you. Be sure to subscribe to the House of Stories newsletter to be first in line for future course offerings tailored to the screenwriting neophyte.

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR

Nikki Saltz is a screenwriter and story editor based in Toronto, Canada. She is the founder of House of Stories and an alumnus of  the Writers’ Lab at the prestigious Canadian Film Centre. Nikki has taught screenwriting at Toronto Film School and York University, where she trained under leading story editor, Amnon Buchbinder. Nikki has served as a script consultant for the TIFF Writers’ Studio, a juror for the TIFF- CBC Screenwriter’s Award, and has lectured on Story and screenwriting across Canada. Most recently, Nikki was a story editor for the International Emmy award-wining CBC-Gem series, How to Buy a Baby. She is currently penning the screenplay for Coming Soon, a thriller produced by Clique Pictures (Riot Girls) and Scythia Films (The Witch). She has a television series in development, and is also pursuing a certificate in Jungian Myth and Story at the Zur Institute, and will be studying Greek Mythology at Oxford University in Sept. 2021.