This is an 6 month online masterclass that takes you from an overwhelming life experience to a polished, submission-ready manuscript using the same professional techniques Hollywood screenwriters rely on to create successful true stories that resonate with global readers.
Transform Your True Story Into a Compelling Narrative That Agents, Publishers, Producers, and Readers Can't Ignore.
When I set out to write my own true story, Finding Penrose, I knew I needed more than good writing. I needed a narrative structure so compelling that it would work across multiple platforms: as a book, as a film, as a story that could reach audiences everywhere.
With my true story written in both formats, something still wasn't working. It's hard to pinpoint what isn't making the story click.
Sometimes, when a story is so dear to us and close to our hearts, we are temporarily blinded because:
- We want to protect the people in the story
- We want to be true to the story
- We are so passionate about believing in our story
And this often makes memoir, biography, and true story writers stumble. As I did.
I started my writing career with screenplay writing and then moved into writing novels, so I went back to the screenplay drawing board. Once again, I studied how professional screenwriters approach true story structure for maximum impact, and I rediscovered the blueprint method that prevents wasted months on structures that don't work.
More rewrites followed, and this time, I didn't just write a memoir or true story; I adapted my story to my learning.
The Result?
I wrote a true story that film producers wanted.
Finding Penrose didn't just become a book (Yay, it's finally on Amazon), it also attracted a small film team, who are now actively seeking investment to bring my true story to film.
But that didn't happen overnight. It was a process over several years, and I'm going to share what I've learnt with you. This True Story Masterclass harnesses the power of true stories to show you how to structure your true story to Hollywood standards.
Even if you don't want it to become a film, you still need to ensure the story can stand on its own two feet as a book. That it can stand tall to face the book world of thousands, if not millions, of memoirs and true stories.
I'm sharing everything I learned. All the techniques I used to transform my life experience into a story that works on the page AND on screen.
You Will Learn
- The Professional Blueprint Method: The exact planning technique screenwriters use before writing a single scene (this alone will save you months of rewrites. And yes, I have been cursing. Damn, why didn't I do this a long time ago!)
- Structure That Sells: How to identify your story's marketability and shape it for maximum publishing and film potential
- Cross-Platform Appeal: How to write your story so it works as both a book and a potential screenplay
- Industry Standards: The craft techniques, legal protections, and market knowledge that separate amateur memoirs from professional ones.
I've been where you are = staring at a blank page with a powerful story but no roadmap. And staring at a fully fleshed-out story that wasn't clicking.
So, in this True Story Masterclass, which includes biographies and memoirs, I'm showing you the exact path I took to transform my true story into a project with real commercial potential. Your story can be inspired by a true event or based on a true story.
If you're serious about turning your life experience into a compelling narrative that could attract publishers, agents, AND film producers, this masterclass will show you how.
In fact, the blueprint method can be used for all your stories, whether a true story or fiction, because it prevents wasted months on structures that don't work.
Check out my true story beat sheet collection.
Story Solutions for True Stories and Memoirs
What Makes This Masterclass Different?
Unlike generic memoir courses that leave you overwhelmed with theory, this masterclass reveals the professional secret Hollywood screenwriters use to create bestselling true stories: they write a blueprint that proves the structure works before investing months in a full manuscript.
This one technique changes everything. It was done for Erin Brockovich, The Social Network, Blue Miracle, and thousands of fantastic true story films.
You'll learn this exact method. By the end of that session, you'll start writing your own blueprint that becomes your complete story roadmap, which will prevent wasted months on the wrong structure.
Over several months, you'll learn everything else you need: craft techniques for bringing scenes alive, legal protection strategies, character development for real people, trauma-informed writing practices, market navigation, and submission tactics.
By the end of 6 months, you'll have:
• A complete story blueprint
• A deep understanding of a true story or memoir structure
• A story that will turn pages and won't lack pace
• Character development techniques to make your characters real people
• Learnt craft skills to write vivid, compelling scenes
• Legal knowledge to protect yourself and others
• Trauma-informed writing practices for difficult material
• A market strategy and submission know-how
• Professional templates, worksheets, and guides
• Confidence to approach agents, publishers, or producers.
Monthly Masterclass Learning
This True Story Masterclass is broken down into monthly learning. Plus, here are Bonus Downloads after every session.
Month 1: Is Your Story Ready?
Before you invest months of work, assess your story's marketability. Learn the 5-question test that determines publishing readiness, identify your universal theme, what makes strangers care about your specific story, discover your unique angle that no one else can write, and understand common red flags to address before you begin.
Month 2: The Screenwriter's Secret — Writing Your Blueprint
This is the core session that changes everything.
Discover why Hollywood true stories always work: professional screenwriters write their story blueprint FIRST, then expand. Learn exactly what this is and master the structure, then write your complete story blueprint. Bring it back for group discussions if you'd like feedback. Or order a story consultation.
This technique prevents months of wasted writing on wrong structures. Your blueprint becomes your roadmap AND your pitch document for agents and producers.
Month 3: Structure & Narrative Arc
Now that you have your blueprint, dive deeper. Find the true beginning of your story (not where you think it starts), master three-act structure for true stories, how sometimes your story structure needs to be flexible and adapt to your story, identify your story spine (the through-line that holds everything together), build narrative tension that keeps readers engaged, and create a compelling transformation arc.
Month 4: Character Development
Make real people come alive on the page. Develop yourself or someone close to you as a compelling protagonist (it's much harder than it sounds!), create dimensional supporting characters (avoiding one-dimensional portrayals), write antagonists fairly (even people who hurt you deserve complexity), maintain character consistency across time and growth, and use dialogue and action to reveal character naturally. It's really hard to develop characters that you know and care about because they are real flesh and blood!
Bonus Downloads: Character Development Worksheet, Protagonist Arc Template, Supporting Character Guide, Antagonist Portrayal Examples
Month 5: Craft Techniques
Transform your story's plan into vivid manuscript pages. Learn to reconstruct dialogue authentically (even when memory is imperfect), work with imperfect memory while maintaining truth, use sensory details that transport readers into your world, master show-don't-tell for memoir, balance scene versus summary for perfect pacing, and expand treatment paragraphs into full, immersive scenes.
Month 6: Writing What Hurts
Navigate difficult material safely and effectively. Learn trauma-informed writing practices that protect your emotional well-being, determine how much detail is enough (and when less is more), develop techniques for writing through triggers without retraumatizing yourself, understand when and how to work with a therapist during the writing process, and implement essential self-care practices for memoir writers.
We can cry together in this session, and lots of tissues will be on hand, but this session is essential to your story. Why? Because if you can't face what hurts, you can't write the true story, and thus you can't be true to the story. Emotional impact is what our audiences want. They need to be on the same emotional journey that our characters are facing. That's the only way they will engage with the character and fall in love with the true story you are telling from your heart.
Emotional impact is what will make your true story, memoir, biography, based on a true story, or inspired by a true story, a success!
Bonus Sessions
There are two extra sessions which will be provided in video format, as there isn't enough time over the 6-month course to cover these sessions.
Ethics & Legalities
Protect yourself and the people in your story. Understand defamation basics (and the truth defense), learn when and how to change names and identifying details, navigate the complex question of getting permission versus proceeding without, handle sensitive topics responsibly, understand special considerations when writing about minors, and know exactly when to consult a lawyer.
The Market & Submission
Navigate the business side of memoir publishing. Compare traditional publishing versus self-publishing paths for true stories, learn how to find agents who represent memoir, write query letters that actually get read, understand film and TV rights basics (and whether your story has adaptation potential), build your platform while writing (not after!), master the revision process (developmental versus line editing), and create your post-masterclass action plan.
Why Writers Choose This Masterclass
- The screenwriting secret changes everything! Most memoir courses leave you staring at blank pages, wondering how to start, or you write a story that doesn't sell. This masterclass gives you the Hollywood blueprint method. This single technique prevents months of wasted drafting and soul-destroying edits.
- Comprehensive, Not Overwhelming: You get everything: story assessment, professional structure technique, craft skills, legal protection, character development, trauma-informed practices, market strategy, and submission tactics. But it's delivered systematically over several months, so you can implement what you learn and bring it back for group feedback.
- Specifically for True Stories: This isn't a generic writing course trying to cover everything. Every lesson, exercise, and example addresses the unique challenges of true stories (inspired by or based on), memoir, biography, and creative nonfiction. From reconstructing dialogue to handling legal issues to writing about trauma—we focus exclusively on what true story writers need.
- Professional Resources Included: Stacks of downloadable templates, worksheets, checklists, and guides per session. Treatment templates, legal checklists, query letter formats, agent lists, revision frameworks—these professional tools alone are worth the investment.
- Industry-Focused Approach: Learn not just craft, but business. From marketability assessment to agent queries to film rights to platform building—we prepare you for every aspect of the publishing journey. You'll understand what agents and film producers want, how to position your story, and how to navigate both traditional and indie paths and pitch to a film producer.
Who Should Do This Masterclass
• Writers, screenwriters, and authors with compelling life experiences who need structure and professional guidance
• Anyone who has started a memoir but feels stuck, overwhelmed, or uncertain about structure
• Writers who want to assess marketability before investing years in a manuscript
• People with stories worthy of publication who need craft training and industry knowledge
• True story writers seeking traditional publishing deals, film/TV options, or literary recognition
• Writers who've received feedback that their memoir "needs work" but aren't sure what to fix
• Anyone who wants to write their story safely, legally, and effectively
• Anyone who is writing any form of a true story, from a memoir or biography, to one based on a true story, or inspired by a true story.
The Issues True Story Writers Face
You Have a Story Worth Telling, But...
Every year, Page Turner Awards judges see talented writers bravely submit their true stories to writing contests and literary agents—memoirs, biographies, and personal narratives brimming with potential and heart. Yet so many struggle to transform their lived experiences into compelling true stories that stand out.
Does this sound familiar?
• You stare at the blank page, completely overwhelmed by your whole life story
• You've started writing but your manuscript feels flat, meandering, or stuck
• You're not sure where your story actually begins or how to structure it
• You worry about hurting people, getting sued, or crossing legal lines
• You don't know if your story is "good enough" for publication
• You've invested months (or years) but can't figure out what's wrong
You know your story matters. You just need the right roadmap.
After countless writers reached out asking for guidance on how to turn their true stories into publishable manuscripts, the True Story Masterclass was created, with a clear, focused program that gives you the structure, craft techniques, legal protection, and market knowledge to transform your life experience into a narrative that agents and publishers actively want.
Live & Recorded Sessions
You get the most benefit from doing the live sessions, but as we all live in all the nooks and crannies of the world, that may not work for all true story writers and memoir writers.
The True Story Masterclass will run on Wednesdays each mid-month from Jan to June, with the two bonus sessions as recorded.
- Dates: Wednesday 28 January, 25 February, 25 March, 29 April, 27 May, 1 July (this is June's session)
- Times: 17:00 CET, 16:00 GMT, 08:00 PST, 09:00 MST, 11:00 EST
- See world time buddy times image
Ready to Transform Your Story?
Your story matters.
Your experience has value. You just need the right roadmap to transform it into a narrative that agents, publishers, and readers can't ignore.
Stop spinning your wheels. Stop wondering what's wrong with your manuscript. Stop feeling overwhelmed by the blank page.
Enrol in this True Story Masterclass and learn the professional method used by Hollywood's most successful screenwriters that transforms overwhelming life stories into structured, compelling, publishable manuscripts or film scripts.