From Novel to Screenplay -- An Author's Journey

Decade: 2000s
Program: Entertainment Studies and Performing Arts
Topic: Memorable Courses

As a published author with four books under my belt, I was seeking a new form of creative expression. Happily, I found it through coursework at UCLA extension. My journey at UCLA started simply enough, I enrolled in Ron Suppa’s Introduction to Screenwriting I. There, I was introduced to the fundamentals of a craft I knew very little about; short of watching movies or vaguely glancing over Alan Ball’s “American Beauty” screenplay. I was indeed a neophyte’s neophyte. With that said, Suppa took the time to fully explain the craft from the inside out. And, twelve short weeks later, I walked away with a newfound skill and the first thirty pages of an adapted screenplay. My work is still a diamond in the rough, but I look forward to putting the finishing touches on it this spring in Suppa’s works-in-progress. I’m confident with his constructive criticism and noted expertise that I’ll walk out ten weeks later with a polished professional script. Hollywood, here I come!