The Tennessee Screenwriting Association ("TSA") is proud to announce the schedule for TSA’s Script-Com Screenwriters Conference in Nashville on the weekend of November 16 & 17, 2024!
This schedule is subject to change and the most current information will be at www.ScriptCom.org. or on Facebook.
Saturday, November 16 Nashville Film Institute
Registration & Morning Social 9:00 - 9:30 am | Enjoy some coffee, bagels, or fruit while meeting your fellow writers. |
Plenary 9:30 - 10:00 am | President’s opening remarks; video presentation; announcements; review conference agenda. |
‘The Psychology of Screenwriting: How to Hypnotize Your Reader’ 10:00 - 11:30 am | Marti King Young breaks down the psychology of the reader. How to have your reader visualize shots faster by using active voice over passive. Discussion of dominant traits vs emotional wounds and why they matter. Also a search for hidden landmines that could be tanking a script without the writer even knowing it. |
‘Screenwriting Confidential: Hollywood Story Structure’ 10:00 - 11:30 am | Rick Reichman leads an intensive workshop focusing on the three-act structure, how to develop plot and characters, how to skillfully include exposition, and the all-important ingredient for any successful screenplay: reversals. |
‘The Write Stuff: Writing the Perfect Logline’ 10:00 - 11:30 am | Bob Saenz, Cat Stewart, and Jeff Chase discuss the importance and requirements of a clear, crisp, and intriguing logline as the best way to get your script read. Attendees are encouraged to bring a copy of their script's logline to present for review and critique by the panel. |
‘Understanding Conflict in Screenwriting’ 12:00 - 1:15 pm | Without conflict, there is no drama and no story. Marti King Young explains what conflict is, the four levels of conflict, where they fall within the six categories of conflict, and then where those fall within the six forms of Central Conflict. |
‘Mastering the Outline’ 12:00 - 1:15 pm | So you have a killer idea for a movie. Now what? William Akers will help you turn your logline into a story that works. Whether you use index cards, a dry erase board, a beat outline, or the TSA’s Premise Sheet, you'll learn a creative method to generate and develop effective story points, subplots, and character arcs. Then, use your outline to spot and solve problems before you write script pages you'd have to throw away later. |
‘Pitches Be Crazy: the Art of the Pitch’ 12:00 - 1:15 pm | Alvaro Rodriguez and Cat Stewart break down the core elements and strategies on pitching to get producers, agents, actors, and studios to read your script and say yes to your project. Select attendees will get three-minutes to make their pitch, followed by a critique from our panel. |
‘There Will Be Blood: Writing for Action & Horror’ 1:30 - 2:45 pm | Horror remains one of the most durable genres in cinema and continues to be an avenue for new screenwriters to break into the industry. Meanwhile, action movies are evolving dramatically and being done at low-budget levels that make them more attractive to independent producers. Explore the tropes and trends of the horror and action genres and subgenres with writer/producer Alvaro Rodriguez. |
Whether they're called "crime thrillers." "mysteries," or "neo-noirs" the detective story still endures on the big and small screen, often crossing over into completely new genres. Steve Anderson and Steven Womack investigate the cops, crooks, and killers of crime stories and how to write them for the screen. | |
What are the secret ingredients your script needs to hit the audience's sweet spot? And is the tried-and-true formula from these films still what producers want? Audrey Shulman, Ricky Burchell, and Bob Saenz dish out tips on crafting a great premise, writing great characters, developing conflict, and how to wrap things up with an ending that brings us to tears. | |
‘DIY: Writing for Low-Budget & Making the Movie’ 3:00 - 4:15 pm | Don't know anyone in the Hollywood studio system? Do what countless filmmakers have done for over a century - go around the suits and make the movie yourself! If you're gonna DIY, do yourself a favor and write to your budget. Writer/directors Howard Klausner, Steve Anderson, Hank Bedford and Cesare Gagliordoni share their tips and tricks on how to write and shoot a big studio picture on a low-budget. |
‘Gone In 60 Seconds: Writing Short & Streaming Content’ 3:00 - 4:15 pm | Short films and 'micro-shorts' are a mainstay of the film festival circuit and on digital platforms. And while the length of these stories may be different from feature-length screeenplays, the goal is the same... to engage an audience's emotions. Local creators JR Robles, Steve Parnell, Ben Jones and Cameron McCasland explore the next frontier of narrative storytelling and how to write for it. |
‘Drawing the Line: Writing for Animation’ 3:00 - 4:15 pm | With animation exploding on both the small screen and in theaters, it is being taken seriously both financially and creatively. Screenwriters now have a unique opportunity to tell stories that couldn’t be filmed in live action for both children and adults. Mike Nawrocki, Chris Wall, and Alvaro Rodriguez will draw us a picture of how to write animated scripts. |
‘From 405 to 40: Is Tennessee the New Hollywood?’ 4:30 - 5:30 pm | A roundtable discussion by our all-star panelists to discuss the connections between LA and Nashville, between music and film, and the changing landscape of the movie business, narrative storytelling, and Tennessee's film industry. |
‘Home On the Range’ (mixer/social) 5:30 - 6:30 pm | Attendees are invited to let their hair down to mix and mingle with panelists and VIP's or visit the Page 2 Screen Lounge to tell our camera crew why you want to be a writer. |
‘TSA Reception’ (dinner) 6:30 - 8:00 pm | Join the officers of the Tennessee Screenwriting Association to find out what the group has planned in 2025 to help you write your best screenplay yet. Alvaro Rodriguez presents the award for best script in TSA’s Short ‘N Scary script contest. |
Sunday, November 17 @ NECAT Studio (NSCC campus)
‘Page 2 Screen: One on One’ 11:00 am - 12:00 pm | Be part of the studio audience for a taping of Page 2 Screen featuring our special guest Alvaro Rodriguez. Photo op after the show for badge holders, time permitting. |
‘Hot Damn! Chili Cookoff’ 12:00 - 1:00 pm | Attendees are invited to bring a pot of chili and enter TSA's "Hot Damn!" cookoff. Self-described chili expert and native Texan Alvaro Rodriguez will be the judge. The ‘Damn Prize’ is a copy of Final Draft 13. There is limited kitchen and refrigeration space onsite, so please notify conference organizers by Nov. 15 if you plan to enter. |
‘The Renegade Independent Film Festival’ 1:00 - 2:30 pm | After 20 years, the Renegade Independent Film Festival ("RIFF") returns with a lineup of short films and other coming attractions created by members of the Tennessee Screenwriting Association. |
Panel or schedule changes and news updates will be posted on TSA’s Facebook page.
Tickets to Script-Com are available online until midnight on November 15 and at the door. Discounts are available for students, members of the Tennessee Screenwriting Association, and members of SAG-AFTRA Nashville.
The Script-Com Screenwriters Conference is sponsored by the Tennessee Screenwriting Association and co-sponsored by Tennessee Entertainment Commission, Nashville Film Institute, SAG-AFTRA, Film-Com, Final Draft and Coverfly.
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