Recommended In-Person Writing Classes

Tough Love Screenwriting with John Jarrell: I met John through Twitter. I know, I know, who haven’t I meet there? Well, there’s Paul Haggis, but give me some more time.

One day, John dangled the Tough Love Screenwriting book in front of me, and I had to bite. When I read it, it was one of those books I wish I had when I first started out, demystifying that crazy La La Land. The dude knows his stuff. Plus, he swears, and y’all know I swear like a trucker all while trying to keep this screenwriting shit real. John even raises the swear-jar bar with the best disclaimer I’ve ever read (scroll down this page).

Now that everyone is on the same potty-mouth page, let’s talk deets about his 12-week screenwriting class. First off, This is not an online class – it takes place in West L.A. each Sunday from 4 to 7pm. So, there’s that. But I won’t stop trying to get him to teach an online version one day. No promises, but I’m a persistent bitch, so stay tuned!

Who is this cursing John Jarrell?

Repped by WME and managed by Ensemble Entertainment, John sold his first script at the age of 24 and has been a professional screenwriter ever since.

“An Honors Graduate of NYU, John wrote “Romeo Must Die” for Warner Bros., “Hard-Boiled II” for John Woo, the animated family film “Outlaws” for Dreamworks, and was one of the many, many writers on “Live Free, Die Hard” at Fox.

During his career, John has written films and pilots for most of the major studios and has worked with some of the best producers and directors in Hollywood. These include – Jeffrey Katzenberg, Neal Moritz, Joel Silver, Terence Chang & John Woo, Mike Medavoy, Richard Donner, Luc Besson, James Foley, Carl Beverly and Warren Littlefield.”

Why this class?

John’s classes aren’t for the weak. I mean, come on, it’s called TOUGH LOVE SCREENWRITING for shit’s sake!

“Tough Love isn’t some new age mutual admiration society, or some coddling cottage-industry “I’m Okay, You’re Okay” encounter group session where everyone agrees how great we all are, how amazing our writing is, and how we “deserve” success, etc. Not everyone that plays Little League around here gets a trophy.

This is a no-nonsense program for serious aspiring professionals. You’ll be encouraged week-in and week-out by both me and your classmates to excel and push past the merely “good” to the undeniably “great”; to put a legitimate 100% of your creativity into your project as we work on cracking it together. My students tend to become extremely tight-knit during the process — and remain so long after the classes are over.”

No one can explain the class specifics better than John, so go to his site for all the dirty deets.

I’m no wuss; sign me up!

You still with me? Good. Because now you need to apply. He only takes 12 students for each class, so get your writing samples ready!

REGISTER HERE!

Email ALL the information requested below to: toughlovescreenwriting@gmail.com with Subject Line: “TOUGH LOVE SCREENWRITING REGISTRATION”

1. Your name (first and last)
2. Contact phone number
3. A brief paragraph describing why you want to take this class
4. A short writing sample (5 pages or less) that showcases who you are as a writer (pdf format preferred)

See how simple that is? Good thing, too, because there’s nothing simple about screenwriting, as John will be happy to tough-love tell you.

Oh, did I forget to mention it’s just $300? Yeah, that’s it. Just 300 buckeroos for an in-person 12-week class. Not too shabby, you lucky L.A. bastards.

And… don’t forget to tell him I sent your motherfucking ass! *no disclaimer needed*

Still on the fence? Just take a listen to some clips from John’s appearance on Selling Your Screenplay Podcast…