The Class: Ela Thier’s Screenwriting Intensive
Where: New York Women in Film & TV offices
When: The weekend of September 29th, 2012
Kema’s view:
This weekend I fell in love with Okema the writer. And oddly enough, I fell in love with a set of about 16 other writers as well. I say 16 because there were eighteen of us in the class and I was already in love with my partner Katie’s writing…so she doesn’t really count. LOL (J/K)
K and I took Ela Thier’s Screenwriting Intensive at the Women in Independent Film & Television offices. For those that may not know what an intensive workshop is, it’s usually at least five to eight hours – or more – of uninterrupted instruction on a subject; in this instance, writing. I was a bit nervous going in, as I know that I’m a good journalistic writer, and a good fiction writer, but even though I’ve been really trying my hand at various mediums of screenwriting and playwrighting, I was anything but confident in my ability. I thought “I’m okay,” but never, “Hey, I’m pretty damned good.” That is, until this weekend. And it’s not that I’m August Wilson on Geoffrey Fletcher, but hey, I learned that I’m great just because I write!
The workshop consisted of us addressing all of the touchy feely and emotional things about writing, as well as the deep structural information. Ela, in her soft spoken, but passionate and direct way, told us point blank, “it’s okay to write sucky.” Now that doesn’t mean that she is promoting poor effort or a lack of talent, but her point was that when you do what she calls a “free write,” that you can just write. There doesn’t have to be a rhyme or reason, and there are no rules aside from to just write. So if it’s not the next great American screen play, that’s okay. It’s a seed that you’ve planted, and what it grows in to, is full of boundless potential just because you put the pen to paper.
Now being that this is a class and she’s got a copyright on her methods, etc., I’m not here to tell you details. I’m just here to say that if you are new to screenwriting or just fairly interested in it, take the class! Ela is equal parts, cool, quirky, and superbly knowledgeable about what she is teaching. It’s not this new fad of “Imma teach some shit cuz I have a few credits.” She has a system and gives you a plethora of handouts that you can take with you for reminders and refreshers. You learn, you grow, and you commiserate with like minds, spirits and ambitions. And I say commiserate, because the level of emotions that ran through that class was on a thousand.
Long story short, we laughed, we cried…it was better than CATS! But most importantly, we grew. Under this petite woman with a hearty and hefty calling for this, we learned how long two minutes really are, when you have to talk about YOUR work. We also learned how short two minutes can be when you are intently and energetically listening to someone spill their innermost ideas and imagination to you. I feel honored and blessed to have been here, and I can say that many of the principles that Ela shared are applicable to everyday living and breathing, not solely to writing.
I don’t think that it’s a coincidence that her name is pronounced El-Lah…very close to the pronunciation of Al-lah. Not that I think that she is a deity or what have you, I just see the God in all that she had to instill in us. Especially given that most of what she gave us, was the permission to chase our dreams and feel confident doing it. THAT is a blessing for sure!
K.Mack’s view:
I completely immerse myself into my craft for my sheer passion of it and the wanting to know and soak up all I can on my journey. A screenwriting intensive isn’t out of the ordinary for me as I am ALWAYS in a class. A career student of sorts I suppose. I’ve been writing since I was a kid. Always a storyteller. I wanted to take this intensive to be able to master structure – or at least be given the tools to do so.
I had taken Ela’s free writing course a few weeks back and it wasn’t enough. Ela is quirky and brilliant. What I found most attractive about her was her spirit and her passion for the craft. I was sitting in that room with a true artist – who knew a lot about her craft. I was kind of worried that I would struggle being in a room for so long…for two days. What ended up happening was that I hated that the weekend came to an end. I learned some new techniques to get me to actually TALK about my writing which was interesting because I tend to NOT talk much about anything that I do. I just do it. It was a weird, yet liberating thing. Most of the writers I know don’t talk about their writing so it was awesome to hear how brilliant the human mind could be. I personally thrive amongst creatives. So come Monday, when it was time to go back to a fucking office and do a bunch of fucking work that I fucking hate – yea, it was really fucking hard.
Pardon my French.
Working with Ela was inspiring at best. I left there feeling very solid about the fact that there is no one on this planet who can offer what I can creatively. Whether in my writing, acting, or directing. No one has walked in my shoes, nor has experienced what I have. That alone is fucking awesome.
16 creative minds walked into a room to learn a few things about screenwriting to further themselves in their careers and walked out bonding with a room full of people, who had the opportunity to share their ideas, learned more than they bargained for, and got the tools they needed to apply to their careers and lives.
I’m not going to give you an outline of her class but I definitely recommend it for all writers.
Shout out to all the creatives in the class. I now present to you: The Writing Face.
Shhhh we are thinking about what to write dammit!
Find info for Ela here.
Stay Creative.