Former television executive Shannan E. Johnson is introducing a new screenwriting program designed to help aspiring writers better understand how stories are developed in Hollywood.
Johnson has launched The Academy Live, a six-week screenwriting course from The Professional Pen, the Black-owned script consultancy she founded to help bridge the gap between writers and the industry’s professional development standards.
The program is structured as a live, instructor-led experience aimed at helping writers take a film idea or television pilot from concept to a completed outline. Rather than focusing strictly on theory, the course walks participants through the storytelling fundamentals used in professional development rooms while applying each lesson directly to their own project.
Over the six-week experience, participants will learn how to:
- Understand how the Hollywood development process shapes storytelling
- Build three-dimensional characters rooted in backstory and motivation
- Structure a story from the opening act through the midpoint and resolution
- Create beat sheets that map key turning points in a script
- Turn those beats into a professional outline used in the studio system
The Academy Live is designed to deliver the core concepts of a film school education in a more focused format, helping writers move their stories forward without the time or financial commitment of a traditional program.
The course is taught by Carlton L. Allen, a working writer and story expert with The Professional Pen. Allen has written numerous original pilots, features, and spec scripts, with work placing in competitions including the Austin Film Festival and Final Draft’s Big Break. His professional and teaching experience has also included collaborations with companies such as Warner Bros., Nickelodeon, FOX, and CBS.
The program is aimed at writers who may have strong ideas but struggle with building structure, as well as those who have started scripts in the past but found it difficult to complete them. Unlike many writing programs, The Academy Live does not require an application or writing sample to participate.
Enrollment for The Academy Live is currently open, with the first session scheduled to begin March 22, 2026.
More information about the program can be found at www.theprofessionalpen.com/filmschool.