FAST Screenplay has lived up to the hype. To actually [complete the steps as designed] was and is mind boggling. ... Doggedly I completed each exercise as best I could (mostly in the dark), [until] the boondoggle I thought I was struggling with suddenly coalesced into a breathtaking, intricate design. FAST Screenplayis not just another screenwriting course… it is THE screenwriting course. And to think I almost passed up the opportunity makes me shudder.
One thing I’ve found already [at the end of the Tweak Phase] is that the FAST Screenplay system makes it easier to be fast(er) — it is a logical, step by step process which eliminates the road blocks that previously I so frequently encountered. During our journey I have taken five other concepts through the Setup and Focus Phases, ready for the Apply Phase, just while doodling along at work waiting for the next customer to come along. It is incredible, and the feeling I have now
that we’ve got the whole writing system can only be described as euphoric. The elation and empowerment I feel about my writing and how to rewrite is hard to describe.
——Lowell Dawson, Utah, USA
The beauty of the FAST approach is that it provides a deceptively simple template that keeps layering upon itself, providing in the end analysis, the kind of breadth and the depth required to create a film that will engage its audience for 100+ minutes. 18 years of studying this medium [and I’ve] encountered an approach -- finally -- that brings it all together. That's special. That's unique. This a truly amazing process.
——Nikolai Blaskow, ACT, Australia
I'm definitely one of those people who have been having profound breakthroughs with the system — and, as a great bonus, I'm also having the time of my life with it all! ... The whole experience is really world-class. It's incredible to me that just three weeks ago [at the start of the Tweak Phase] I didn't think I could take this script any further... lol... Wow! I'm blown away... I was genuinely astounded by what I had created by simply following the process. This whole process never ceases to astound me.
——Anthony Giunta, New York, USA
I am currently one quarter away from my Advanced Certificate in the UCLA Professional Screenwriting Program. That's been a great learning experience. What's been happening with the FAST program has surprised me. I find that your program is helping me understand what my teachers at UCLA have been teaching.
When I first signed up for this course, my thought was that this Jeff guy is either a huckster, a nut, or a genius. The odds weren't all that bad (2:1) so I laid my money down on the table and picked up the cards. Wow. The game isn't over and I'm already a winner. Huckster--not in a million years. Nut--who knows? Genius--no question about it. Syd Field, time to step aside. Robert McKee--you've been replaced as the Aristotle of modern screenwriting poetics. What do you say, folks? Am I right or just blowing smoke? Have any of you ever encountered anything like this before?
——Paul Mintzer, Ph.D., Massachusetts, USA
What an amazing and wonderful journey we're on. I find myself looking at the clock to see if the next step is posted. I'm totally addicted to this process -- in a good, positive way. ... It seems every time I think it can't get any better, it just does. I'm truly loving this ride.
I've seen, listened to, read books from, learned from, and asked questions of many the best mentors and teachers in the business and I've never, NEVER, come close to the clarity and overall insight that FAST entails. I would be shortchanging the system and Jeff to think it just happened by accident. There is a brilliant bulb burning that can see and distill all the components necessary to show us the way like this.
——Richard Senne, Ohio, USA
Thanks again. Your system is solid. You’ve put together a wonderful program for writers. From one control-freak perfectionist to another, you have built a masterpiece. The system works... and I know why you did this. The scripts out there that are submitted to me are usually just ridiculous and if [all the screenwriters] would do your system, which I will suggest from now on, my life would be a lot easier and there would be a lot better scripts to produce.
——Kelli Herd, Texas, USA
I want to say a big "THANK YOU" for the FAST System and I am glad and excited to be part of it. I can't describe to you how helpful FAST is for me.
——Borislav Zahariev, Bulgaria
I just wanted to say THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH for this!!!! I am learning so much and I feel like I'm exactly where I need to be, finally. This has been a very comprehensive program thus far and you are doing a superb job. FAST Screenplay is worth every penny and more valuable than the steal we are able to participate in it for. It's equivalent to a few college semesters in my opinion — at a super low price. I really can't believe what I'm getting and what you're so selflessly willing to give to strangers. The system is amazing and I can't believe how far I've come along.
Thank you a gazillion times over, Jeff!
——Micaela Hicken, Texas, USA
I really am sooo thankful and grateful for this system. It really is the best way to learn to write a screenplay. I mean going back to a book is crazy and trying to remember what was said in a two day seminar and the pressure of it because you paid big bucks is just too stressful! ... I have been looking and adding up the cost of the books I have purchased for screenwriting, but nothing compares to this, and it is so exciting. ... I am enjoying this so much — this should be taught as part of a degree programme!
——Lynz Wilmshurst, New Zealand
This is a great system you have created. I am having lots of fun with it. It's taught me tons of great stuff and I ... love the way it's laid out.
——Dan Haynes, Tennessee, USA
Being part of FAST is one of the best decisions I have made. I have loved and been blown away by how effective this system has been for me. [At the end of the Apply Phase], I have completed a first draft, and it is the best screenplay I have written to date, and I'm excited with its potential. Big thank you, Jeff, you really are one in a million. I am amazed by and grateful for the time, energy and commitment you are putting into this system and into each of us.
——Kathie Breitfuss, NSW, Australia
The good news is that I am now implementing FOCUS on my work, no time to exercise, just immediate action, and it works. ... I am fascinated by FAST.
——Paolo Visconti, Rome, Italy
FAST Screenplay has already exceeded my expectations. ... Frankly I am amazed every day at the assignments and how you are able to bring out the best in me. ... FAST Screenplay is by far the best deal around. The further I get into the system, the more amazing my screenplay becomes.
——Grady May, Texas, USA
I love everything about this class. It is exactly what I was looking for.
——Joe Bazzinotti, Massachusetts, USA
Still going strong, enjoying every moment, looking forward to everything to come and THANK YOU for being such a great teacher. You really have made this system very easy to understand (especially for a newbie like me).
——Sussan Trim, Queensland, Australia
Signing up for this course was the best thing for me. Jeff's system and enthusiasm is so energizing ... To think that I almost didn't sign up due to budgetary reasons...
——Colin Chock, Hawaii, USA
This course has far exceeded my expectations. It is so obviously great, that it almost seems pointless to mention it. If you have been completing each lesson, it would be hard to imagine that you haven't been enjoying it and learning from it. In terms of learning and growth, inspiration, peripheral knowledge, the pleasure of immersion in a "writer's world community" and a revitalizing energy that has returned to my writing, it seems clear this course is everything Jeff said it would be. ... My deepest gratitude for Jeff's steadfast pursuit of excellence.
——Scot Corrie, California, USA
I'd also like to express my sincere thanks to Jeff for "leading the way" along what can sometimes be a fairly dark path with lots of strange avenues (which way do I go?). He's succeeded in helping us immensely and I think that's terrific. Since starting, I've begun writing profusely again and look forward eagerly each morning to receiving the next step. The exercises are really quite interesting and certainly do switch-on certain parts of the brain at times. Well done, Jeff!
——Michael Madden, WA, Australia
I'm shocked I can actually critique my own work!
——Lisa Holt, France
I am overwhelmingly happy with the class and my current status with the process. The process is fantastic. I have not seen anything with the depth and wisdom of your FAST Screenplay process.
——Tom Kappel, Arizona, USA
Although participants often describe it as a screenwriting course, FAST Screenplay is much more than that. FAST is a systematic approach to the writing process, making it suitable for screenwriters of all levels — from novice to professional. It will only feel like a "course" the first time through, as you learn the system. Once you fully understand the system, you will use your own unique adapted version of it to guide every screenplay you write throughout the rest of your career.
No prior knowledge is necessary, but even advanced writers will discover a whole new approach to screenwriting — and FAST can easily be integrated with any other screenwriting approach on Earth. The philosophy of FAST is that all writers are unique — there is no one-size-fits-all story structure or approach to writing. We welcome all ideas, all writers, all styles, from all around the globe. And we present a step by daily step process that keeps you from ever getting lost in the middle, and gives you the tools to easily and objectively critique your own work.
If you're interested in taking your screenwriting to a whole new level regardless of where you're at now (writing level and locality on Earth), please join our mailing list to be notified when enrolments open again.
