Screenwriting Tools for Fiction Writers: Stakes, Suspense & Tension

Class Description

No matter what type of story you’re telling, building suspense and tension is crucial to grab and keep readers’ attention. While novels have the luxury of hundreds of pages to develop these elements, a film’s story is told in a taut 90 minutes. It must grab you quickly—or you’ll turn the channel. Film is such a compressed and precise medium, its bones provide a blueprint for story—and it’s often easier to identify story elements than in a novel. Whether you’re starting your first draft or revising your 17th, this seminar will show you how the basics of screenwriting structure can help you identify stakes and crank up the suspense and tension. Using screenwriting tricks and clips from such varied movies as Goodfellas, Inglorious Basterds, Get Out and Back to the Future for inspiration, this seminar will teach you how to beat out a narrative arc to ensure character development, explain why a protagonist with a clear desire and need is key to understanding stakes, and provide tools to ramp up the suspense and tension in your story.

Class Format

This class will take place using Zoom videoconferencing. About 15 minutes before your class is scheduled to begin, you'll receive an email from your instructor with a link to join the class meeting!

Scholarship Information

Thanks to the excellent literary citizenship of our donors, scholarships are available for all GrubStreet classes. To apply, click the gray "APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIP" button. In order to be considered for a scholarship, you must complete your application at least one week before the start date of a class. Please await our scholarship committee's decision before registering for the class. We cannot hold spots in classes, so the sooner you apply, the better. Scholarships cannot be applied retroactively.

For more more detailed information about GrubStreet scholarships, including how to contribute to scholarship funds for other students, click here.