Our highly experienced team of scriptwriting coaches are ideally placed to guide you, whether you wish to write for the stage, for TV or for film. Whether you are a beginner scriptwriter or a highly established professional, you will find your ideal mentor at The Writing Coach.
Our full team appear below and they include: Stephen Brown, author of Dr Semmelweiss which starred Mark Rylance in the West End; Ben Stoll, experienced TV Executive with credits including Britannia, Fortitude and Boiling Point.; BAFTA winning BBC Producer Rowena Goldman, internationally-produced playwright Lucy Kaufman and, new to our team, multi-award-winning playwright Billy Cowan.
Ben Stoll writes:
“Writing for the screen brings with it a unique set of challenges and rewards. Telling a story in a visual medium is an exciting process but there are some conventions that are key to understanding how a film or TV script is put together. The aim of a screenwriting mentoring package is to help the writer better understand how to structure their story and achieve the best version of what they would ultimately like to see on screen.
The rhythms of screenwriting are very different to those in poetry or prose and our aim is to help you build a world, story arcs and characters that feel fresh, truthful and compelling to watch.”
Meet our Scriptwriting Team Members
Click through to read the profiles of each individual mentor
Manuscript Assessment and Coaching Programmes:
We offer one-off manuscript assessments – including feedback on treatments.
In addition, we offer a tailored version of our ‘Full Mentor’ programme for scriptwriters and have designed a version of the programme specifically to suit the needs of those writing for the stage and screen.
Instead of focusing on reading and annotation of a certain number of pages per month, we tailor a bespoke programme for each scriptwriter which is suitable to their individual needs. This may include, for example, assessment of a treatment or a full or partial script. The work builds incrementally over the course of the tailored programme.
Your scriptwriting coach will consider your work, and give you in-depth editorial feedback on the work during your calls. Their feedback will focus on aspects of the work that are specific to the stage or screen – for example, how ‘stageable’ the work is and how to write great dialogue that also moves on the action, or how to build your scriptwriting portfolio.
Coaching and mentoring is conducted by telephone or Zoom and includes ongoing email support between sessions. After each coaching session, you are invited to submit a Review Form to confirm your action plan.
Our mentoring can also address many areas of your life and your writing, including inspiration, motivation, writer’s block, productivity and working methods, as well as areas that are specific to screenwriters such as layout and software, making vital contacts, knowing where to submit your work and how to navigate this complex industry.
Introducing Ben Stoll
Ben has worked closely with The Writing Coach Founder Jacqui Lofthouse to expand our scriptwriting services and ensure that the service is specifically tailored to the needs of the genre.
Ben is a very experienced editor who has worked for a number of years with a wide variety of screenwriters, from those just starting out in TV Drama to some of the most well established names in the industry.
After starting out assessing scripts for a range of theatres and independent film companies, Ben joined the BBC Drama Department as an in-house reader before going on to work as a Script Editor on ITV’s long-running police drama The Bill and then BBC2 drama Attachments produced by the award-winning World Productions. He has worked as a Drama Development Producer for Maverick Television and TwoFour as well as spending some time at Channel Four Drama Commissioning as a Development Executive becoming Head of Development. At Channel Four he worked across a range of high-profile shows like Shameless and Skins as well as running new writing schemes Coming Up and 4Screenwriting. He was Director of Development at Studio Canal-owned Tandem TV and worked on the drama Spotless (created by Ed McCardie) the first English language drama commissioned by French cable network Canal Plus.
He worked as Series Script Executive on the first season of Sky Atlantic drama Britannia (created by Jez and Tom Butterworth) and as Script Producer on the third season of Fortitude (created by Simon Donald) also for Sky Atlantic. He was also a Development Executive at 11th Hour Films, producers of Alex Rider for Amazon Prime. He was subsequently the Script Producer on Boiling Point for BBC1. Ben is co-founder and MD of TV production company Colliderscope.
Ben has a broad understanding of the screenwriting process from inception to production, is dedicated to helping writers achieve their best work and is a supportive and insightful mentor and guide.
Manuscript Assessment for Scriptwriters
What is included:
- Email conversation with our team to help you choose the right reader
- Reading and annotation of your manuscript via track changes
- A detailed Reader’s Report on your work
- A 30-minute conversation with your consultant
- Alternative option: Bullet point notes and a 90-minute consultation
FEES: All prices fully inclusive of VAT. If you are already a Member, please contact us to organise your discount.
The Full Mentor Coaching Programmes for Scriptwriters
3 Months
The Full Mentor
£1165
- Coaching/mentoring with your chosen mentor
- Tailored feedback on your scriptwriting work
- 1 x one hour Zoom/phone coaching session per month
- Email support and accountability between sessions
- Industry specific advice from your mentor
- Permanent membership of our forum ‘The Literary Salon’
6 Months
The Full Mentor
£1995
- Coaching/mentoring with your chosen mentor
- Tailored feedback on your scriptwriting work
- 1 x one hour Zoom/phone coaching session per month
- Email support and accountability between sessions
- Industry specific advice from your mentor
- Permanent membership of our forum ‘The Literary Salon’
All Prices are fully inclusive of VAT
The Ultimate Scriptwriting Programme
- Twelve individual coaching sessions with your mentor over the year.
- Tailored reading of your work-in-progress over the year – our mentor will read the revisions of your script as you develop it.
- Email support between coaching sessions
- A copy of Get Black on White: 30 Days to Productivity and Confidence for Writers.
- Permanent access to our Forum ‘The Literary Salon’
- Industry Specific Advice from your Mentor
- Membership of ‘The Literary Community’ – weekly classes from Jacqui Lofthouse, Founder of The Writing Coach and her team
payment in full
The Ultimate Scriptwriting Programme
£3595
The fee for this service with one of our team – this reduced rate when paid in full in advance.
monthly instalments
The Ultimate Scriptwriting Programme
£3915
Via one advance instalment of £1440 followed by eleven monthly payments of £225.
If you are interested in Coaching for Scriptwriters or have any questions, please contact us to arrange a time to speak to our Head of Client Services Jacqueline Smith or directly to one of our screenwriting mentors. We are very happy to have a conversation with you to explain what the programme entails and to find out whether we are a good ‘match’ with you.