With details of all the upcoming Seminars, here are the latest newsletters:
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Reminder: Part 1 of McKee's Horror Webinar Series begins in...
"In the safe environment of horror a deep pleasure alternates between repulsion from and attraction to power, between terror and rage, between dread and desire."
- ROBERT MCKEE
McKee's HORROR Webinar Series
For those writers brave enough to venture into the unknown, Robert McKee’s new Horror Webinar Series teaches the tools and principles you need to create your own masterpiece that will terrify audiences for years to come.
Oct 7: The Seen and the Other
Oct 12: Follow-Up Q&A Session
Oct 14: Monsters and Victims
Oct 19: Follow-Up Q&A Session
Oct 21: Plots and Patterns
Oct 26: Follow-Up Q&A Session
Can't Attend Live?
For the benefit of our global audience, we’re making recordings of the series available to view until December 31st. Sign up now and learn from McKee at your convenience.
Register Today »
"No other kind of film deploys images and sound to such powerful, primal effect as the Horror movie, and Horror is as strong today as it’s ever been."
- MARK KERMODE
BBC Film Critic
Why Horror Stories Are Now In Fashion
Like all genres, horror goes in and out of fashion. And like all genres, horror rewrites its conventions in reaction to the changing attitudes and values of society. During the rise of Nazism in the 1930’s, it offered us traditional monsters of the supernatural (DRACULA) and uncanny (KING KONG).
In the Nuclear Age and Cold War of the 1950’s, horror brought us radioactive mutations (THEM) and social paranoia (INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS).
Ours, however, is an age of compound nightmares, from economic and man-made disasters, to gender wars, terrorism and plagues.
For the past decade, audiences have been treated to horror stories across screen and page speaking to the tumultuous feelings of fear, helplessness and rage sweeping all corners of society (GET OUT, AMERICAN HORROR STORY, LOVECRAFT COUNTRY).
Now, more than ever, is the time for horror.
Delve into the darkness of horror with McKee’s upcoming webinar series.
"I haven't had the chance to do any of the live STORY seminars, and so I'm grateful for this opportunity to study with Robert. It's really great to have the chance to watch these at my own convenience and not having to take time off work to attend. I hope he continues to do them, I'll continue to take them. Can't wait for the next class!"
- Marcos Meconi
(2021 Summer & Fall Webinar Program Attendee)
View Series Details »
Ask McKee Anything:
CREATING CHARACTER ARCS IN HORROR STORIES
In this clip from the Follow-Up Q&A Session for McKee’s “Maximizing Your TV Series” webinar, Robert explains how horror affects character change, and how that might play out in long-form storytelling.
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A MESSAGE FROM OUR FRIENDS AT INKTIP
Whether you’re looking for scripts or have some of your own, InkTip can help you. Nearly 400 movies have been made from scripts and writers found on our site.
Independent Filmmakers:
Find scripts fast and easy.
Writers:
List and sell your scripts.
www.inktip.com
BOOKS IN THE MCKEE COLLECTION
CHARACTER: The Art of Role and Cast Design for the Page, Stage, and Screen
The long-awaited third volume of Robert McKee’s trilogy on the art of fiction is now available to purchase from all major bookstores!
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McKee Seminars | Two Arts, Inc.
PO Box 681
Sherman, Connecticut 06784
United States
(928) 204-2323
In this clip from the Q&A portion of the second webinar in McKee's "Dialogue" series, Robert teaches how to create and use backstory to turn scenes through revelation.
Watch Video »
McKee's DIALOGUE Webinar Series
Robert McKee’s new webinar series is up and running! Join us this week for an exclusive 2-hour Q&A session, and a masterclass on the most common flaws found in poorly written dialogue, what forces might be influencing your characters' speech, and how excessiveness might have an impact on your story.
New to the Series? Sign up now and catch up at your convenience. You'll get instant access to all the recorded sessions when you register today. The entire series will be available to watch On Demand until November 30, 2021.
Get Instant Access »
Package Deals Available
Save 10% when you sign up for two or more series in the 2021 Fall Webinar Program. If you've already enrolled in one series and want to add another, we're happy to assist you. Please reach out to luke@storylogue.com for details.
Webinar Series
October 7 - 26
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Webinar Series
November 4 - 23
More Info »
"I am more attracted to characters with a subtext, whatever that is, and they don't necessarily have to be virtuous."
- CLIVE OWEN
Golden Globe & BAFTA-winning Actor
CHILDREN OF MEN / CLOSER / THE KNICK
Dialogue Flaws and How to Fix Them
"If we ask the right questions, dialogue that hides its flaws will open up and reveal its secrets."
- ROBERT MCKEE
When a first draft falls flat or seems forced, our tendency is to rewrite dialogue over and over, hoping that by paraphrasing speech we can bring it to life…until we hit a dead end.
The problem won’t be in the scene's activity, but in its action: not in how characters are talking on the surface, but in what they're doing behind their masks.
The first step to fixing a broken scene lies in the subtext.
Badly written dialogue tends to be literal; it means what it says and no more. On-the-nose writing eliminates subtext by erasing unsaid thoughts and desires, unsayable longings and energies, leaving only spoken words.
The page, stage and screen are not opaque surfaces. Each storytelling medium creates a transparency that allows us to glimpse the unsaid or unsayable in other human beings.
With rare exceptions, a scene should never be outwardly and entirely about what it seems to be about. Dialogue should imply, not explain, its subtext.
Of course, this is just one possible flaw...
Diagnose your dialogue flaws, and learn how to fix them, in McKee’s upcoming webinar.
"I must say that I have attended several different writing courses over the years, but none as inspiring as Robert's."
- Sharon Grey
(2020 Webinar Program Attendee)
View Series Details »
A MESSAGE FROM OUR FRIENDS AT INKTIP
Whether you’re looking for scripts or have some of your own, InkTip can help you. Nearly 400 movies have been made from scripts and writers found on our site.
Independent Filmmakers:
Find scripts fast and easy.
Writers:
List and sell your scripts.
www.inktip.com
BOOKS IN THE MCKEE COLLECTION
DIALOGUE: The Art of Verbal Action for Page, Stage, and Screen
McKee's follow-up to STORY applies a framework of incisive thinking to instruct the prospective writer on how to craft artful, impactful speech.
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McKee Seminars | Two Arts, Inc.
PO Box 681
Sherman, Connecticut 06784
United States
(928) 204-2323
"Audiences react to every image, visual or auditory, symbolically."
- Robert McKee
McKee's 2021 Fall Webinar Program
Begins next week!
Robert McKee returns this season for his brand-new Fall Webinar Program. Join us as McKee delivers three series on mastering dialogue, the beauty of horror, and how to elevate your storytelling through command of imagery.
Webinar Series
September 9 - 28
Series Details »
Webinar Series
October 7 - 26
Series Details »
Webinar Series
November 4 - 23
Series Details »
Can't Attend Live?
For the benefit of McKee’s students from around the globe, we’re making recordings of the webinars and Q&As available for a limited time. If you can’t attend live, you can catch up on the material at your convenience.
Bundle Discounts Available!
View Full Program »
"I think almost always that what gets me going with a story is the atmosphere, the visual imagery, and then I people it with characters, not the other way around."
- ANN BEATTIE
Novelist and Short Story Writer
CHILLY SCENES OF WINTER
The Expressive Power of Imagery
A story is only as good as its writer’s use of imagery. Mastery of this principle is vital to creating a film, play or novel that will resonate with audiences for years to come.
Once in the ritual of story, audiences instinctively sense that each object, word and setting has been selected to mean more than itself, and so they connote every denotation. When a car pulls into shot, our reaction is not “vehicle,” but instead “Mercedes...rich.”
The first step in turning a well-told story into a work of art is to exclude 90 percent of reality.
The vast majority of objects in the world have the wrong connotations for any specific story, so the spectrum of possible imagery must be sharply narrowed.
If you add a vase to your scene, there are certain critical questions you must answer: What period vase? What shape and material? Are there flowers in it? Is it touched by a character? And on and on, because this isn’t just a vase, this is a highly charged, symbolic object resonating meaning to every other object and character in the story.
A well-written story, well directed and acted, will be a good story. All that, plus an enrichment and deepening of the work's expressivity through the writer's skilled command of imagery, will be a great story.
Master your creative use of imagery in McKee’s brand-new webinar series: Imagery in Fiction.
"It has been an absolutely exceptional Spring Webinar Program. Each lesson was extremely useful, packed with great insight and in-depth knowledge of the subject. I’m glad I was able to take these lessons from Mr. McKee at an early stage in my writing career."
- Ayush Nair
(2020 & 2021 Webinar Program Attendee)
Join Us Online »
Heavy-Handed Image Systems
Robert McKee teaches the relationship between image systems and empathy.
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A MESSAGE FROM OUR FRIENDS AT SCRIPTAPALOOZA
Scriptapalooza Television Writing Competition
Discovering & Promoting Writers Since 1999
Our intention is to help open doors for the aspiring television writer. There are four categories you can submit to, which include one-hour existing shows, ½-hour existing sitcom, original pilots, and reality shows.
DEADLINE: OCTOBER 11
For the Most Recent Headlines
For an Application
For a List of Producers that are On Board
www.scriptapaloozatv.com
NEW ADDITION TO THE MCKEE COLLECTION
CHARACTER: The Art of Role and Cast Design for Page, Stage, and Screen
The long-awaited third volume of Robert McKee’s trilogy on the art of fiction is now available to purchase from all major retailers.
Read More »
Read More »
Read More »
Read More »
McKee Seminars | Two Arts, Inc.
PO Box 681
Sherman, Connecticut 06784
United States
(928) 204-2323
McKee's 2021 Fall Webinar Program
Back by popular demand, Robert McKee returns this fall with a brand-new slate of online lectures. Join us as McKee delivers masterclasses on the art of verbal action, the intricate beauty of the horror genre, and how to lift your story from a good telling to a work of art through command of imagery.
DIALOGUE
Webinar Series
September 9 - 28
Series Details »
HORROR
Webinar Series
October 7 - 26
Series Details »
IMAGERY IN FICTION
Webinar Series
November 4 - 23
Series Details »
Can't Attend Live?
For the benefit of McKee’s students from around the globe, we’re making recordings of the webinars and Q&As available for a limited time. If you can’t attend live, you can catch up on the material at your convenience.
Bundle Discounts Available!
View Full Program »
"It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation."
- HERMAN MELVILLE
Author
MOBY DICK
Why You Must Strive For Originality
"Story is about originality, not duplication."
- Robert McKee
Story is not only what you have to say, but how you say it. If the content is cliché, the telling will be cliché. If the telling is predictable, it will demand stereotypical roles to act out conventional behaviors.
We shape the telling to fit the substance, rework the substance to support the design. If your vision is deep and original, your story design will be unique.
True originality is the meeting of content and form.
No matter who your heroes may be - Quentin Tarantino, Nora Ephron, Wes Anderson, Kathryn Bigelow, Stanley Kubrick - you admire them because they're unique. Each has stepped out from the crowd because they shape their material like no one else.
As writers, you must make distinctive choices of subject and find your unique shaping of the telling. A truly original story will silence the audience, and lift them to another place.
Discover Your Unique Voice
in McKee’s New Fall Webinar Program.
"I find these webinars helpful! I so appreciate Mr. Mckee’s help, and am thankful that he is offering this opportunity to study with him online. Honestly, I consider it a blessing."
- Gary Ajamie
(2020 & 2021 Webinar Program Attendee)
Join Us Online »
Combining Genres to Create an Original Story
Robert McKee explains the benefits of combining genres as a tool to aid your construction of an original story.
Watch Video »
A MESSAGE FROM OUR FRIENDS AT INKTIP
Whether you’re looking for scripts or have some of your own, InkTip can help you. Nearly 400 movies have been made from scripts and writers found on our site.
Independent Filmmakers:
Find Scripts Fast and Easy
Writers:
List and Sell Your Scripts
www.inktip.com »
NEW ADDITION TO THE MCKEE COLLECTION
CHARACTER: The Art of Role and Cast Design for Page, Stage, and Screen
The long-awaited third volume of Robert McKee’s trilogy on the art of fiction is now available to purchase from all major retailers.
Read More »
Read More »
Read More »
Read More »
McKee Seminars | Two Arts, Inc.
PO Box 681
Sherman, Connecticut 06784
United States
(928) 204-2323
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