Top 7+ Best Online Screenwriting Courses 2024 [Free & Paid]

If you are wanting to start a career in screenwriting, or upgrade your existing skills, you’re in the right place!

In this guide, I have uncovered some of the best online screenwriting courses that will allow you to develop a story with believable characters, dialogue, suspense, and story/character arcs.

Below, you will find a wide range of free and paid online screenwriting classes that are taught by award-winning screenwriters that will take you through the process, step-by-step. Let’s get started!

Table of Contents

Top 7 Best Online Screenwriting Courses & Classes 2024 [Free + Paid]

1. Aaron Sorkin Teaches Screenwriting (MasterClass)

First on my list was an obvious pick, and that is the MasterClass taught by none nother than Aaron Sorkin. So for those looking to learn real-world screenwriting skills that you can implement into your creative process while learning from a true icon, you can’t go past this course!

As for your instructor, you will be taught by Academy Award-winning screenwriter, Aaron Sorkin, who has written some of the most memorable works including A Few Good Men, The West Wing (my favorite), and The Social Network. So for a truly experienced teacher, you’ll be in great hands!

Some of the many topics included in this 3.5-hour workshop structured class include story ideas, research, character creation and development, the story arc, how to make good writing habits, dialogue, and tons more. You will also be creating ideas and a script for a hypothetical new season of The West Wing.

MasterClass is the host of this online course, so production quality, course layout, and course content are second to none! And they offer a 30-day money-back refund to their full catalog. Overall, this is hands down one of the best online screenwriting courses in decades!

All levels
3 ½ hours
Taught by award-winning film and TV writer
PDF workbook of course
Newsletter
Network of former students

Try MasterClass 30 Days Risk Free

2. Write Your Screenplay: The Craft of Story, Structure, and Script (Skillshare)

For beginners looking for a crash course into screenwriting that covers the need-to-know elements of producing an incredible script, this class covers all the need-to-know elements of an iconic script.

As for your instructor, you will be led by Joshua Dickenson, who is a director, screenwriter, and actor with several successful films and shows in his resume. Joshua also teaches filmmaking and screenwriting at various schools around the world. So for real-world experience on screenwriting from an active writer/director, this is an invaluable resource!

Some of the many topics covered in this condensed 1-hour online class include building out stories, theme, structure, protagonist, action, visual storytelling, and dialogue.

There are also additional class projects students can undertake that cover how to pitch a story, how to create a story outline, and how to incorporate feedback to fine-tune your project.

As this online course is hosted on Skillshare, new users can take advantage of the 1-month free trial (cancel anytime), which includes all class projects, on-demand video lessons, and access to 27,000+ other classes!

All levels
1 hour on-demand video
Taught by successful writer and director
Downloadable resources
Class projects
Skillshare staff pick

Activate FREE Skillshare Trial

3. Screenwriting & Storytelling Blueprint: Hero’s Two Journeys (Udemy)

Whatever type of story you need to tell, for a book, a show, a film, or a video game, this class will help you find a way to have your hero complete their journey inside the story. You will also be joining 10,000 other students who have completed this class and rated it on average 4.6 stars!

Your teachers for this class are two award-winning screenwriters, Michael Hague and Chris Vogler, who between the two of them have years of practical, professional, and successful writing experience.

Some of the lessons included in this 6.5-hour online class include the 12 stages of a hero journey, plot journey, key components of a character, the four primary characters, the six stages of character, a recorded Q&A session, and breaking down an Oscar-winning film.

Included in this online Udemy course are extra downloadable resources, lifetime access, and a certificate of completion! To get a 90% discount on Udemy classes all year round, check out my guide here.

Beginner to intermediate level
6 ½ hours on-demand video
Taught by experienced, award-winning writers
Downloadable resources
Over 10,000 students enrolled
Certificate of completion

Visit Udemy.com

4. Writing Suspense: How to Write Stories That Thrill in Any Genre (Skillshare)

For those looking to create some suspense in their scriptwriting, while also keeping viewers engaged and wanting more, this online Skillshare class is a great place to start!

Author and scriptwriter, Benjamin Percy, is the instructor for this course who is an award-winning author and screenwriter whose works include X-Men, Green Arrow, Wolverine, and Teen Titans. His books on how to write fiction are also regularly used in creative writing courses in many schools around the world.

As for the lessons covered in this 1 ¼ hour course, students will learn how to chart a story, design suspense, develop characters, emotional resonance, temporary blindness, triangulation, the turnstiles of mystery, and triangulation to name a few.

Again, being hosted on Skillshare, users can access this online screenwriting class, plus dozens more when taking advantage of their 1-month free trial!

All levels
1 ¼ hour on-demand video
Taught by award-winning author
Downloadable resources
Good for all writing genres
Class projects

Activate FREE Skillshare Trial

5. Beginning Screenwriting made EASY-2020 Screenwriting Course (Udemy)

Step by step practical instruction for beginners that covers basic knowledge for ideas, screenplays, and scriptwriting. It’s about 2 ½ hours of beginner-level teaching.

The over 6,000 students are taught by a teacher going by the name Word Dancer. She won the Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and is a professional writer and writing instructor.

Course content includes an introduction to screenplays, screenplay structure, character archetypes, formats, and how to turn your existing stories into a screenplay.

Hosted on the Udemy online education platform, this course has 15 articles and other downloadable resources, lifetime access, and a certificate of completion.

Beginner level
2 ½ hours on-demand video
Taught by award-winning screenwriter
Downloadable resources
Lifetime access
Certificate of completion

Visit Udemy.com

6. New York Film Academy Online Screenwriting (New York Film Academy)

Next on my list of online screenwriting courses is an offer by the New York Film Academy (NWFA) is one of the most prestigious schools for TV and motion picture arts including acting, filmmaking, direction, production, and writing. This course is one of several offered by NYFA and is taught by some of the same people who teach the degree courses.

NYFA was created by producer Jerry Sherlock of Hunt for Red October in 1992 and has promoted the concept of learning by doing in addition to classroom learning. Instructors come from various fields of cinema and TV and are all established and successful professionals in their fields.

The courses available include 15-week courses on story structure, TV writing, TV rewriting, writing for comic books, writing for TV pilots, and many other topics. Instruction covers all levels of expertise from beginner to advanced.

Included in the instruction are actual shooting projects and courses that come with a wide variety of downloadable resources and a certificate of completion.

All levels
4 week or 15 week courses
Taught by professional filmmakers
Learn by doing
Lots of extra resources
Certificate of completion

Visit Nyfa.edu

7. Screenwriting Workshop (Udemy)

Whatever level of writer you already are, this workshop can help you finish your project and turn it into something worth filming and enjoyable to watch. A beginner who has barely more than an idea or an established professional who wants to punch up their projects to the next level and anyone in between can benefit from this course.

It’s taught by noted author and screenwriter Dani Alcorn who has written for a variety of genres including science fiction, romance, and drama.

The course is 7 hours of on-demand video and has class modules on modern screenwriting, planning, structuring, and polishing your screenplay, and workshops on film analyses of movies from The Lion King to The 5th Element to The Silence of the Lambs.

There are 62 downloadable resources, lifetime access, and a certificate of completion available. Over 5,000 students have benefitted from this course. To learn more, you can also see my list of the top online writing courses!