BE A SUCCESSFUL WRITER...MASTER THIS TRAINING

This blog (masquerading as a website) has been superseded by an update that can be accessed at https://storycraft.stanwilliams.com. 

The links and information on this blog may work and be accurate, but it is no longer being updated or monitored.

Thank you for your patronage. Write well, true, and beautiful. (S.W.) 

This training is available by 4 options.

1. Purchase and download all 12 lessons (25 videos).

2. Purchase and download individual lessons (prices at links below).

3. Rent and stream individual lessons (prices at links below).

ALL 10:  Download or Rent the whole package (12 Lessons, 25 Videos)

Lesson 1. Intro Story Theory and Irony

Lesson 2. Hooks, Log Lines & Values

Lesson 3. The Moral Premise Statement

Lesson 4. Character Traits (Secrets)

Lesson 5. Evolution of Story Structure

Lesson 6. Act 1 Beats

Lesson 7. Act 2 Beats

Lesson 8. Moment of Grace (The Midpoint)

Lesson 9. Act 3 Beats

Lesson 10. Transformation, Goals & Plots

Lesson 11. Visualizing Story Structure

Lesson 12. Writing Convincing Movie Dialogue

Compare any of these options to a live two-day workshop for $495 plus travel. This is better because you can pause, replay, and come back to it another day. 

MORE DETAIL descriptions of each lesson are in the posts below, or accessible by the Lessons and Topics links to the right.

ARE YOU WRITING A SCREENPLAY, STAGE PLAY, SHORT or NOVEL?

With this training
your story will be:

• Structurally Stronger
• Easier to Write 
• Emotionally Engaging

What Others Have Said:

• WILL SMITH: "The Moral Premise is the most powerful tool in my new tool box."

• CHRIS VOGLER (The Writer's Journey): "The Moral Premise dares to suggest that movies might actually mean something."

• MICHAEL JANN, Sr. Writer, Tonight Show with Jay Leno: "A total game changer. The Moral Premise gets your story (and all your characters) working for you instead of the other way around." 

• BLAKE SNYDER (Save the Cat): "Thanks for the great book. I will recommend it to all my classes."

• CORMAC & MARIANNE WIBBERLEY (WGA, NATIONAL TREASURE franchise): "An incredibly practical and helpful tool that should be taught in every film school."

  Benefits of the Training for the Writer

• You'll know exactly where you're going and how you're going to get there.
• You'll have the freedom to let your character's wander WITH PURPOSE and direction.
• You will totally avoid writer's block. 
• You will not waste your time writing a great scene that has nothing to do with the story.
• Your first draft will write itself in a faction of the time without using this information.
• Your rewrites will be focused—you'll know exactly what you need to fix.
• You'll give your audience an even-paced, emotional roller coaster ride.
• You'll be excited for your audience and be able to see through their eyes.
• Your story will have meaning and purpose and make life better for your audience.
• Your story will have no dull or slow middle. 
• Every scene you write will have a beginning, middle, and end thick with plot and tension.
• You will be in control, but your characters will surprise you.
• Serendipity will be wonderfully common place.

BUY OR RENT?

You can rent or buy any of the 12 Lessons or the entire package, available at the bottom of this page. Links to and titles of each are listed at right. The total play time is over 8.5 hours—the equivalent of content delivered in a 2+ days long live workshop. The material here is more condensed due to the elimination of live workshop Q&A, breaks, presenter's sidebar comments, stories and amnesia. I've cut out most of the amnesia parts.

The Package - All 12 Storycraft Lessons

To Access the Training Click  PLAY TRAILER button.

You'll be taken to VIMEO's VOD pages. 

There, use the Blue Buttons to choose Rent or Buy

Then enter the promotion code, if you have one. 

Enjoy. Learn. Write.

LESSONS NO. 1-12   VIDEOS: 25  LENGTH: 520-min.   SLIDES: 372   CLIPS: 44

WHAT THIS COURSE WILL TEACH YOU:

Scroll down to see the individual descriptions under each course listed on the *HOME page at right.

ALSO AVAILABLE: The 12 lessons are also available individually. Scroll below for information and trailers on each.

PREREQUISITES: Take the first ten lessons in order 1-10.

DESCRIPTION: The trailer for the entire package is a free episode that briefly summarizes the 18 Secrets of Successful Stories. (Click on image above.)

The Moral Premise Storycraft Training series provides practical understanding of the Natural Laws of Story Telling as they pertain to structure and how audiences emotionally connect with a story's characters. The training applies to any media type and genre, although for illustration purposes motion pictures are used for examples.

The series is based on Stan Williams' book THE MORAL PREMISE: HARNESSING VIRTUE AND VICE FOR BOX OFFICE SUCCESS, as well as Stan's workshops and story and script consulting work in Hollywood since 2006. The series is composed of 12 Lessons or 25 Video Episodes . Together they deliver the core content from Stan's two-day workshop, but condense the material into about 8.5-hours of content delivery.

Consistently structuring a story around a true moral premise is the crux of all successful stories. In these 12 episodes (and 25 videos) Dr. Williams explains how irony, hooks, log lines, a conflict of values, character traits, dramatic beats, over all structure, a moment of grace, and character transformation are designed into the arcs of characters, plots and subplots.

1. Intro to Story Theory & Irony

To Access the Training Click on the PLAY TRAILER button above. You'll be taken to VIMEO's VOD pages.  There, use the Blue Buttons to choose Rent or Buy....and then enter the promotion code. 

Enjoy. Learn. Write.

EPISODE NO. 1   VIDEO PARTS: 2  LENGTH: 33-min   SLIDES: 32   CLIPS: 2
PREREQUSITES: None
DESCRIPTION: This lesson explains three fundamental concepts behind all successful stories: (A) The place of Story in Culture and why the telling of stories is so important; (B) the importance of a story's Moral Premise that effects sales, character transformation, inner and outer spines, motivation & action, and cause & effect; and (C) Aristotle's Six Pillars of a Great Story and how they all relate to irony, conflict, suspense and tension. 

SPECIFICALLY, WHAT THIS LESSON WILL TEACH YOU:

• Why storytelling is the crux of culture
• What stories teach you that nothing else can
• How fictional stories tell the truth
• The interrelationship between the two spines of ever story
• The role of Natural Law in story creation
• How the inner and outer journeys can be summarized in one sentence
• The correlation between a story's moral validity and box office receipts
• The three transformations in every story
• How the inner and outer stories can be unified.
• How inter values motivate outer action
• How drama and intrigue originate from what is natural
• The role irony plays in every aspect of a successful story
• How Aristotle's 6 pillars of a great story contribute to drama and suspense
• Why impossibilities are necessary in every story
• What Ratatouille, The Kings Speech, Gravity, and Django have in common.

2. Hooks, Log Lines & the Conflict of Values

To Access the Training Click on the PLAY TRAILER button above.

You'll be taken to VIMEO's VOD pages. 

There, use the Blue Buttons to choose Rent or Buy

Then enter the promotion code, if you have one. 

Enjoy. Learn. Write.

LESSON NO. 2    VIDEO PARTS: 3   LENGTH: 53-min   SLIDES: 30   CLIPS: 0
PREREQUSITES: Lesson 1
DESCRIPTION: This lesson explains the first three secrets of all successful stories, and three of the Moral Premises' Story Fundamentals: Ironic Hooks, Log lines, and the motivational Conflict of Values. These are critical to the success of all stories if they are to connect with audiences. Getting these three secrets and fundamentals right will speed your writing and help ensure your audience connects emotionally with your characters.

SPECIFICALLY, this lesson covers:

• The first three secrets of successful stories
• The six Story Fundamentals you need to know before you begin to write.
• The four elements of a ironic hook
• The five critical ingredients of a Log Line
• The alternative four questions every log line needs to answer
• The four word outline of every successful tory's structure.
• The five elements of a motivating conflict of values
• How to incorporate linguistic ironic conflict in sentence structure
• The structural difference between redemptive and tragic stories.

3. The Moral Premise Statement

To Access the Training Click on the PLAY TRAILER button above.

You'll be taken to VIMEO's VOD pages. 

There, use the Blue Buttons to choose Rent or Buy

Then enter the promotion code, if you have one. 

Enjoy. Learn. Write.

LESSON NO. 3    VIDEO PARTS: 2   LENGTH: 35-min   SLIDES: 25   CLIPS: 3
PREREQUSITES: Lessons 1-2
DESCRIPTION: This lesson explains the organic basis of of the Moral Premise Statement, how it is constructed, how it is used, and how it focuses all the creative elements in a movie, novel or play so all the plots and subplots are about one thing. We also show clips from two films as examples.

SPECIFICALLY, this lesson covers:

-- The three characteristics of conveying Verisimilitude
-- The realms of reality that must coincide
-- How values drive action
-- How consequences change values
-- The four elements of a valid Moral Premise statement
-- How the moral premise is often articulated in a movie
-- The box office difference between a true and false moral premise
-- The intimate relationship between psychological and physical spines
-- The difference between Redemptive and Tragic arcs
-- How the moral premise is illustrated in DIE HARD
-- The 13 ways a story can consistently be about one thing

4. Character Traits (Secrets)

To Access the Training Click on the PLAY TRAILER button above.

You'll be taken to VIMEO's VOD pages. 

There, use the Blue Buttons to choose Rent or Buy

Then enter the promotion code, if you have one. 

Enjoy. Learn. Write.

LESSON NO. 4    VIDEO PARTS: 1   LENGTH: 23-min   SLIDES: 7   CLIPS: 0
PREREQUSITES: Lessons 1-3
DESCRIPTION: This lesson explains the five critical traits that your protagonist (and all other main characters) must have in order to emotionally connect with audiences. These include Imperfection, Passion, Visible Goals, Psychological Needs, and the origin of organic insurmountable physical obstacles that prevent the protagonist and others from reaching their goals.

SPECIFICALLY, this lesson covers:
-- Successful story secrets six through 10
-- Why your protagonist needs to be imperfect
-- How your protagonist must strive to change
-- The importance of a protagonist's visible physical goal
-- The motivation of the protagonist's psychological need
-- How the protagonist's psychological need creates physical obstacles.

5. The Evolution of Story Structure

To Access the Training Click on the PLAY TRAILER button above.

You'll be taken to VIMEO's VOD pages. 

There, use the Blue Buttons to choose Rent or Buy

Then enter the promotion code, if you have one. 

Enjoy. Learn. Write.

LESSON NO.  5  VIDEO PARTS: 2   LENGTH: 42-min   SLIDES: 42   CLIPS: 1
PREREQUSITES: Lessons 1-4
DESCRIPTION: This lesson explains the development of story structure in order to create an emotional roller coaster ride for your audience or reader. The lesson focuses on the traditional 3-act, 13-beats of successful stories, but also describes alternative beats that are based on the human condition and result in act structures of 5, 7 and 12.

SPECIFICALLY, this program covers:
-- Secrets to Successful Stories 11 & 16
-- How story structure evolved
-- The critical dramatic beats of a 30-second story
-- How the placement and character of beats are determined
-- The three disasters of a novel
-- The three parts of all stories
-- The 13 traditional macro beats of a successful motion picture or novel
-- How to solve a "slow middle"
-- How the 13 macro beats and Pinch Points create a perfect roller coaster
-- The psychological and physical roller coaster of a story
-- How to create a roller coaster with a spread sheet
-- Five alternative story structures

6. Act 1 Beats

To Access the Training Click on the PLAY TRAILER button above.

You'll be taken to VIMEO's VOD pages. 

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Enjoy. Learn. Write.

LESSON NO. 6    VIDEO PARTS: 1   LENGTH: 21-min   SLIDES: 20   CLIPS: 4
PREREQUSITES: Lessons 1-5
DESCRIPTION: This lesson explains and provides examples for the critical story beats found in Act 1: First/Last Image, Life Before, The Inciting Incident, Rejecting the Journey, Act 1 Climax, and Crossing the Threshold.

SPECIFICALLY, this lesson covers:
-- How story structure is part of Natural Law of Life's Structure
-- The importance (with examples) of the First and Last Image
-- Why visual storytelling is important, even in novels.
-- Two examples of the Inciting Incident and why it's important
-- The Act 1 Climax beat from Ratatouille's co-protagonists.
-- Crossing the Threshold Beat in Harry Potter's Sorcerer's Stone

7. Act 2 Beats & Casablanca

To Access the Training Click on the PLAY TRAILER button above.

You'll be taken to VIMEO's VOD pages. 

There, use the Blue Buttons to choose Rent or Buy

Then enter the promotion code, if you have one. 

Enjoy. Learn. Write.

LESSON NO. 7   VIDEO PARTS: 3   LENGTH: 59-min   SLIDES: 25   CLIPS: 10
PREREQUSITES: Lessons 1-6
DESCRIPTION: This lesson explains Act 2 beats: Threshold Crossing, B-Story, Pinch Point A, Pinch Point B, and Act 2 Climax/Near Death. (The Moment of Grace is reserved to another Episode.) It provides example from two motion pictures (Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, and Casablanca). A special feature of Parts 2 & 3 is the macro breakdown, with example clips of CASABLANCA's 8 major turning points from Act 1 through Act 3.

SPECIFICALLY, this lesson covers:
-- Secrets to Successful Stories 11, 13 and 16
-- Turning Point Beats vs. Sequence Beats
-- Act 1 Climax and Act 2 B-story start beats
-- Act 1-2 and Act 2-3 transitions in The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship....
-- The Eight major turning point beats in Casablanca
-- The  Mid-Act 2 Beats in Casablanca
-- Beat contribution to the story's emotional Roller Coaster
-- The difference between Protagonist and Antagonist beats
-- Act 2 Climax and Act 3 transition in The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship...

8. The Moment of Grace (The Midpoint)

To Access the Training Click on the PLAY TRAILER button above.

You'll be taken to VIMEO's VOD pages. 

There, use the Blue Buttons to choose Rent or Buy

Then enter the promotion code, if you have one. 

Enjoy. Learn. Write.

LESSON NO. 8   VIDEO PARTS: 2   LENGTH: 53-min   SLIDES: 17   CLIPS:7
PREREQUSITES: Lessons 1-7
DESCRIPTION:  This 53-minute, two-part,  presentation by Dr. Stan Williams, explains and shows examples of the The Moment of Grace (MOG) in successful and not so successful motion pictures. The MOG is the main plot's mid-point. It's the scene where the truth of the Moral Premise is realized by the Protagonist and he or she changes their motivations, and thus changes their arc. Examples are shown from Lord of the Rings, A Beautiful Mind, Liar! Liar!,What Women Want, Ratatouille,  and Aronofsky' Noah.

SPECIFICALLY, this lesson covers:

-- The 12 and 13th Secrets of Successful Stories
-- How the Moment of Grace defines all plot arcs
-- Why the protagonist's Moment of Grace is at the mid-point
-- How other Moments of Grace can be just about anywhere.
-- Examples of the Moment of Grace in A Beautiful Mind, Liar! Liar!, Ratatouille, What Women Want, Lord of the Rings: Fellowship and Noah.
-- Compares and contrasts the two Moments of Grace in Noah.

9. Act 3 Beats

To Access the Training Click on the PLAY TRAILER button above.

You'll be taken to VIMEO's VOD pages. 

There, use the Blue Buttons to choose Rent or Buy

Then enter the promotion code, if you have one. 

Enjoy. Learn. Write.

LESSON NO. 9   VIDEO PARTS: 1   LENGTH: 28-min   SLIDES: 13   CLIPS: 4
PREREQUSITES: Lessons 1-8
DESCRIPTION: This 28-min presentation by Dr. Stan Williams, explains and shows examples of the major beats in Act 3: The Dark Night of the Soul, The Resurrection Beat, The Final Incident, The Act 3 Climax and Final Hand-to-hand combat, and the Denouement. It features clips from Lord of the Rings:  Fellowship of the Ring, Die Hard, and Where the Heart Is.

SPECIFICALLY, this lesson covers:
-- The major protagonist beats in Act 3 listed above
-- The Dark Night of the Soul from Lord of the Rings: Fellowship...
-- The Resurrection Beat from Die Hard
-- When and when not to place a Moment of Grace in Act 3
-- How Act 3 can hold the secret to a character's Wish Fulfillment
-- The Final Incident from Where the Heart is
-- The Hand-to-hand combat and Act 3 Climax in Where the Heart Is
-- The Denouement from Where the Heart Is

10. Character Transformation: Goals, Plots, Irony

To Access the Training Click on the PLAY TRAILER button above.

You'll be taken to VIMEO's VOD pages. 

There, use the Blue Buttons to choose Rent or Buy

Then enter the promotion code, if you have one. 

Enjoy. Learn. Write.

LESSON NO. 10   VIDEO PARTS: 3   LENGTH: 54-min   SLIDES: 54   CLIPS: 0
PREREQUSITES: Lessons 1-9
DESCRIPTION: This lesson covers the foolproof, anti-writers-block method for screenwriters, novelists, and playwrights to design their character's plots, subplots and transformation. It describes the theory and demonstrates the method for proper construction of plots using the 11-13 fundamental beats as a basis for longer plots, and using only 3-5 beats for shorter sub-plots. It also shows how the various subplots are integrated, yet keeping the story about one thing.

SPECIFICALLY, this lesson coves:
-- Review of the traditional beats and the rollercoaster effect
-- How the major beats are laid out on a story diamond.
-- How Characters transform through the Values-Actions cycle
-- How Inner Values motivate Outer Action
-- How the protagonist has no control over the consequences of his/her action
-- Why each subplot must have an associated goal
-- Why characters have multiple subplots
-- How subplots are created from a character's life aspects
-- How the Moral Premise unites plots and subplots
-- How to card a plot or subplot
-- How to determine who the protagonist of a story is and how to keep him or her in that role
-- How Irony dramatizes Goals and Plots
-- How Irony naturally leads to Oscar winning scripts

11. Visualizing Story Structure

 

To Access the Training Click on the PLAY TRAILER button above.

You'll be taken to VIMEO's VOD pages. 

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Then enter the promotion code, if you have one. 

Enjoy. Learn. Write.

LESSON NO. 11   VIDEO PARTS: 3   LENGTH: 57-min   SLIDES: 63   CLIPS: 0
PREREQUSITES: None
DESCRIPTION: This lesson examines four useful diagramatic methods for visualizing and breaking down traditional story structure. The first video summarizes and reviews the 13 basic beats and 7 accent beats of the linear major beat structure discussed in greater detail in episodes 5-9. 

An important feature of this breakdown is the regular emotional roller-coaster effect these beats provide. Taking those 20 beats, the second video breaks down the Moral Premise Story Diamond and explains one by one nine (9) different story structure models, layering each side-by-side to reveal how each  model provides a fresh perspectives of the same Natural Law of Story Structure. 

The models explained come from Stan Williams-Michael Hauge, Chris Vogler-Joseph Campbell, Michael Arndt, Blake Snyder, Jeffery Schechter, Bernard Brock, Küber-Ross, Allison Fisher, and Joseph Gulino. The resulting Story Diamond Key (a free download from MoralPremise.com, provides writers a one-sheet story-breaking aid that minimizes writer's block.  

The third video takes the same fundamental 20 story beats and applies them to a third graphic metaphor for breaking a story—the Eight Mini Movie Beat Sheet. Based on Gulino's Sequence method and the Williams-Hauge model, this video shows how each mini movie should end in a disaster. Lastly, at the end of the third video there is a brief look at the progress Final Draft 12 is making with their Beat Board, Outliner, and Script Insertion function that dramatically smooths the process from beating out a story graphically and inserting the outline and cards directly and quickly into Final Draft script pages.

12. Writing Convincing Movie Dialogue

 

To Access the Training Click on the PLAY TRAILER button above.

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Then enter the promotion code, if you have one. 

Enjoy. Learn. Write.

LESSON NO. 12   VIDEO PARTS: 2   LENGTH: 63-min   SLIDES: 46   CLIPS: 13
PREREQUSITES: None
DESCRIPTION: This lesson This provides 20 Tips (or Techniques) for writing convincing movie dialogue. The first video provides 10 Tips of What to Do, and the second video provides 10 Tips of What NOT to Do. 

Thirteen clips from popular motion pictures and TV programs are provided including: Social Network, TV's Seinfeld, The Great Gatsby, Meyerowitz Stories, Chinatown, Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Graduate, Family Man, TV's Taxi, What Women Want, Casablanca, and As Good As It Gets