Tag Screenwriting

AN INFINITELY RECURSIVE CHILDHOOD

Spalding School of Creative and Professional Writing
by Larry Brenner
Spalding MFA faculty, Screenwriting & Playwriting

(originally published 2012)

IMG_6846I’ve heard that one of the great parts of being a dad is that you can recapture what it’s like to be a kid again. Relive your childhood.

But I don’t think my childhood ever ended. Not really. Not where it counts. I think it’s more like watching how my childhood got started. Because the processes I developed back then are still the processes I use right now.

Continue reading “AN INFINITELY RECURSIVE CHILDHOOD” →

LIVING IN LIMBO: How to Stay Focused & Motivated on Large Projects

Spalding School of Creative and Professional Writing
By Sam Zalutsky
Spalding MFA faculty, Screenwriting

Right now I’m finishing up Seaside, a microbudget feature which I wrote, directed, and produced. I’m so eager and excited for people to see it. But the filmmaking process is definitely a marathon and not a sprint. Maybe it’s a little like what happens when you are waiting for a book to be published. Postproduction can be particularly challenging. The immediacy and control of pre-production and shooting are replaced with a much slower and less intense schedule. And sometimes it feels like nothing is happening. Argh! Continue reading “LIVING IN LIMBO: How to Stay Focused & Motivated on Large Projects” →

TAPPING INTO THE “FOREVER EMPTY”: A Conversation between Mentor & Mentee

Spalding School of Creative and Professional Writing
by Gabriel Jason Dean
Spalding MFA faculty, Screenwriting
cassie headshot

Cassie Brower

Spalding Screenwriting student, Cassie Brower, is currently the Director of Original Programming at Disney Junior in Los Angeles. DISNEY JUNIOR LOGOCassie has overseen the hit shows Sofia the First, The Lion Guard, Jake and the Never Land Pirates, Mickey and the Roadster Racers, Sheriff Callie’s Wild West, as well as several short series. I had the pleasure of working with Cassie as her mentor during her first semester at Spalding.  We inevitably discussed time-management and daily practice during our time together. And since those are topics I’m asked about by almost all the Spalding students I mentor, I reckoned a blog post was in order. But rather than just espousing what works for me, I thought it might also be beneficial to hear from Cassie, arguably one of Spalding’s busiest students.  Continue reading “TAPPING INTO THE “FOREVER EMPTY”: A Conversation between Mentor & Mentee” →

THE WORLD IS OUR CLASSROOM: Spalding’s Residency in Edinburgh, July 2017

Spalding School of Creative and Professional Writing
By Katy Yocom
Spalding MFA Associate Administrative Director

“While in Edinburgh, we’ll stay at a hotel overlooking the Princes Street Gardens, with a view of the imposing Edinburgh Castle. Our classroom space is a few minutes’ walk away, through the gardens and past the Scottish National Gallery.”

At Spalding, we believe the best writing springs from a rich accumulation of life experiences.

That’s why we take our low-residency MFA in Writing program overseas to study creative writing while exploring the literature, art, and culture of a different locale each summer. In 2017, we travel to Edinburgh, the historical and cultural heart of Scotland. Continue reading “THE WORLD IS OUR CLASSROOM: Spalding’s Residency in Edinburgh, July 2017” →

ANNOUNCING THE SPALDING MFA BLOG RELAUNCH

Spalding School of Creative and Professional Writing 1 Comment
By Katy Yocom
Spalding MFA Associate Administrative Director

The Spalding MFA blog has a new home and a new look! The blog now resides at https://spaldingmfablog.wordpress.com. If you’re looking for it at spalding.edu/mfablog, that link will still work—it now takes you to the new site. Continue reading “ANNOUNCING THE SPALDING MFA BLOG RELAUNCH” →

SPECIAL EVENTS AT THE FALL 2016 RESIDENCY

Spalding School of Creative and Professional Writing
by Katy Yocom
Spalding MFA Associate Administrative Director

A priceless Shakespeare first folio, the new and improved Speed Art Museum, and a musical interlude with the Louisville Orchestra all figure into the Spalding low-residency MFA in Writing program’s Fall 2016 residency. The residency will include dozens of special events and sessions, acclaimed guest speakers, faculty craft lectures, and a special focus on “Will in the Ville.” Residency takes place November 11-20 in Louisville, Kentucky.

Continue reading “SPECIAL EVENTS AT THE FALL 2016 RESIDENCY” →

JUST HOW CROSS-GENRE IS THE SPALDING MFA PROGRAM?

Spalding School of Creative and Professional Writing
by Katy Yocom
Spalding MFA Associate Administrative Director

Occasionally I get calls from prospective students who worry about the cross-genre exploration built into the Spalding low-residency MFA in Writing curriculum. “I want to be able to focus on my own area,” they’ll say. Their concern raises two questions: Just how cross-genre are we? And why do we emphasize cross-genre at all? Continue reading “JUST HOW CROSS-GENRE IS THE SPALDING MFA PROGRAM?” →