Scriptwriting: Write a Pilot Episode for a TV or Web Series is a project-centered course offered by Michigan State University through Coursera. Taught by David Wheeler, the Director of Media Sandbox in the College of Communication Arts and Science, Michigan State University. The class is designed for active learning, where students learn by doing. The course curriculum follows a “Write, Revise, Share Feedback” approach. It is not as easy as it sounds. Professor Wheeler’s experiential learning approach puts the student in the driver’s seat, and with guidance and support, they can complete a project and thus, learn by doing it.

I will guide you but I won’t ‘show’ you how to write… The only way to become a writer is to write, write, write. – David Wheeler

What to expect from this course

In the introductory video clip at the start of class, Professor Wheeler explains his project-based approach to the course, which aims to enable the student to learn and apply that learning to his or her own project. He invites us to learn script writing by actually writing a script. The course is designed to help a student complete a meaningful, real-world project with the instructor and a community of learners with similar goals providing guidance and suggestions. This is exactly what I needed to learn to write a script.

Why I took this course

When I found this class, offered for free from Michigan State University on Coursera, I was actually looking for something else entirely. The list of free classes at Class Central is incredible. There are thousands of classes to choose from and I had a list of 25 I planned to take. I also had ideas and had wanted to try scriptwriting for a long time. I saw this class, Scriptwriting, and its sister class, Write a Screenplay, changed my immediate plans, and signed up for both of them.

I started this course first and recently finished it. I am astonished that I have written a complete pilot script, a Series Bible, and a workable outline. How did I do it? By writing. But first, I had to overcome my own fear of trying to write a script. I have had ideas for a movie or series for a long time, over ten years, but whenever I would start to write, I struggled. I am a published novelist with ten titles available at most major retailers under my pen name Harley M Cranston, but years of novel writing experience did not prepare me to write a script. The two mediums are nothing alike, requiring a different mindset and focus to get it written. I read every scriptwriting book I could get my hands on: Stephen King’s “On Writing” and Nicholas Gibbs’ “Writing Television Drama”, but I still couldn’t get a feel for it, for the process of writing screenplays. They seemed to focus on aspects of the story such as characterization, plot, setting and dialogue, very important to any story, I agree, but not the focal point I needed. Coming up with a story and relatable characters is vital to any story, written or on film. I could think it all up, but I couldn’t get it on paper! In fact, the idea of trying to write a script began to actually scare me.

What I have learned

When I enrolled in this class, I swallowed that panic reaction and started the course… I had to try this one more time before deciding I couldn’t do it, so I listened to Professor Wheeler’s introduction video and liked his approach to teaching the course. Even though I could already write fiction, I needed to learn to write fiction for the screen, large or small. Professor Wheeler broke down the big picture into smaller complete pieces, easier to chew and swallow. We focused on concept first, then loglines, then Act 1 brief outline, and then characters. Using the Three Act model, we wrote the script one act at a time, focusing only on that one act until we had written all three acts, plus the Series Bible for one season and the logline. By following these steps in that order, I did write the script! This major accomplishment spurred me on to more scriptwriting. The biggest turning point for me was realizing that the script only needs what is going to be on screen: action sequences, dialogue, and characters, all combined to create the plot.

What’s next

Now I am taking the second course, Write a Feature Length Screenplay for Film or Television, and writing my second script! I am more than pleased, I am overjoyed at the outcome of this first class and anxious to repeat my success with the second class. I give the course 5 stars and David Wheeler 5 stars for providing the exact structure I needed to accomplish this previously intimidating goal. Thank you all.