Magazine to movie: Write stories Hollywood can't resist
A masterclass in optioning true stories for the screen
Enroll nowMeet your instructor
JEFF MAYSH is an award-winning writer whose work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, and The Financial Times. With 27 stories in development for film and television, he's been called "the most optioned writer working today" — after Stephen King.
His story about the McDonalds Monopoly fraud became the subject of a historic bidding war, won by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon for a record $1 million. He has dozens of features and television projects in development at top studios and streamers including Netflix, Fox Searchlight, and Universal.
Jeff specializes in narrative non-fiction with cinematic structure, focusing on untold true stories. He teaches non-fiction writers how to apply screenwriting techniques to longform storytelling and navigate the business of optioning their work to the entertainment industry.
The Hunt
- Where to find unbelievable untold stories
- How to spot stories that inspire bidding wars
- What makes a story irresistible to the entertainment industry
The Craft
- How to write, edit, and fact-check true stories that feel like movies
- How to write in a dramatic three-act structure
- How to develop characters with transformative stories
The Business
- How to retain 100% of your IP rights and negotiate with publishers
- How to navigate complex film and television deals
- How to option your work to studios, streamers, and producers
Who is this for?
- Magazine writers hoping to turn their work into film and television
- Journalists ready to write longer, more ambitious pieces
- Authors who want to know how the entertainment industry works
- Anyone who wants to write stories that belong on the screen
Chapter 1: Find Blockbuster Ideas
- Unearth forgotten stories using surprising research methods
- Turn a small historical newspaper story into an irresistible longform hit
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Learn how a single question can unlock incredible local legends hiding in plain sight
Chapter 2: Research Like A Pro
- Hunt through courthouse transcripts and newspaper archives
- Use OCR (Optical Character Recognition) to make PDF documents searchable.
- Set up a bulletproof evidence recording system
Chapter 3: Organize Your Sources
- Build a serial number system for every source and an archive that makes fact-checking straight-forward
- Create a phone log to track every call, wrong number, and voicemail
- Handle foreign language sources quickly and accurately.
Chapter 4: The Art Of Cinematic Writing
- Apply fascinating narrative structures to make non-fiction stories feel as fun as fiction
- Transform any true story into a cinematic experience with clear acts and narrative turning points
- Understand the power of the midpoint
Chapter 5: Simplify Your Schedule
- Use simple spreadsheets and Gantt charts to break 10,000-word stories into manageable daily targets
- Write with forward momentum and create drafts without backtracking
- Avoid writer's block and blank page paralysis
Chapter 6: Get Your Facts Straight
- Build your story structure with facts BEFORE writing a single word
- Annotate every quote and fact with footnotes as you go
- How to stop fact-checking becoming a nightmare
Chapter 7: Self-Edit Longform Stories
- How to avoid your words feeling familiar during long projects
- Use the highlighter method to track dates and characters
- Apply the "30-word cut" rule and the "week off" technique—plus how to use beta readers
Chapter 8: A New Way To Pitch
- How to write pitches that grab any editor's attention
- How to use screenwriting techniques to write a killer pitch
- How to overcome pitch frustration
Chapter 9: Fight For Your Rights
- Learn to negotiate with publishers for favorable IP rights
- Understand "work made for hire" red flags
- How to self-publish when necessary to retain 100% ownership
Chapter 10: How Film/TV Options Work
- Decode complicated Hollywood deal structures
- Navigate royalties, spin-offs, sequels, and merchandise rights—and other hidden compensation
- Get the insider's guide to option agreements
Full access
$200
Most Popular
- 10 comprehensive video lessons
- 2 recorded in-depth Q&As
- Downloadable templates
- Lifetime access
Join today
The entertainment industry is desperate for new ideas. Some of the biggest films and shows of the past decade came from magazine articles—even the "Fast and the Furious" is based on an obscure magazine article. Sign up today and learn how to write the kind of stories that might become the next blockbuster.
