Seminars & Workshops for Screenwriters, Filmmakers & Novelists

Presentation Quick Links

All Day Workshops

Keynotes & Lectures

If your organization is interested in having Michael appear, or in sponsoring one of his seminars, please contact us. If you would like to attend one of Michael’s keynotes or workshops, please check his current schedule on the Events page.

Story Mastery All Day Workshop

ALL DAY WORKSHOP: 6-8 Hours

Story Mastery Workshop

During this special, all-day seminar, Michael will present his unique approach to creating compelling stories for film and fiction.

Drawing on his decades as a Hollywood script consultant, author and lecturer, he will show the most powerful methods for eliciting emotion in your readers and audiences through story concept, plot structure, character development and theme.

Michael will then reveal his proven method for getting the people in power to read your manuscript or screenplay.

Michael Hauge's Story Mastery - All Day Workshops

You will learn:

  • The primary goal of all story
  • Turning plot structure from a complicated concept into a simple, powerful tool you can easily apply to every story
  • The power of desire, need, longing and destiny
  • The essential conflict all characters must face
  • Novel structure vs. movie structure
  • The single key to creating character arc and theme
  • The secret to creating unique, believable and fulfilling love stories
  • The most effective process for adapting novels into film
  • The single biggest mistake writers make while pitching their work
  • The key components of a powerful pitch

If you want to elevate your screenplays and novels to the highest possible level, this event is a must.

Entertain. Enlighten. Empower.

Contact Michael today to discuss how we can create the most beneficial and memorable experience for your organization.

Invite Michael to Speak at your next event!

ALL DAY WORKSHOP: 6-8 Hours

Advanced Story Mastery Intensive

During this unique, hands-on workshop, Michael provides individual guidance to each of the 12 participants, followed by group discussion of each project.

Enrollees will submit a one-page synopsis plus the opening pages of their novel or screenplay, to be read in advance by Michael and all the other participants.

Particular attention will be paid to applying
Michael Hauge’s principles of:

  • story concept
  • plot structure
  • character arc
  • love stories
  • underlying theme
  • commercial potential
Michael Hauge's Advanced Story Master Intensive All Day Workshop

KEYNOTE OR LECTURE: 1-3 Hours

The 10 Essential Elements of Every Great Story

Whether you want your screenplay produced, your novel published or your movie made, you must master the key elements that transform any story into an artistic and commercial success.

In this acclaimed presentation, Michael reveals the essential principles for creating compelling commercial stories that will touch and transform readers and audiences at the deepest possible level.

You will learn:

  • The #1 goal of every story
  • The 10 essential elements your story must contain
  • The 3 most powerful methods for creating empathy with your protagonist
  • A simple method for mastering story structure
  • The power of transformation

Michael Hauge - 10 Essential Elements of Every Great Story

Character. Desire. Conflict.

Contact Michael today to discuss how we can create the most beneficial and memorable experience for your organization.

Invite Michael to Speak at your next event!

KEYNOTE OR LECTURE: 1-3 Hours

Writing Love Stories & Romantic Comedies

Love stories heighten both the emotional appeal and the commercial potential of your screenplay or novel, and provide you with a powerful tool for revealing inner conflict, character growth, and theme.

Using  successful romantic comedies and love stories as examples, Michael reveals the essential principles and methods for writing believable, entertaining, and emotionally fulfilling romantic relationships.

You will learn:

  • The single biggest weakness of most love stories
  • Hero and love interest or hero and heroine?
  • The necessity of character arc in any love story
  • Whether, where and how to get your lovers into bed
  • How romance fiction differs from Hollywood romance
  • The unique rules of romantic comedy: fantasy, duality, deceit

LOVERS sculpture

“Michael’s work has saved my butt on more than one occasion – and I keep having occasions, so I’m glad he’s still at work.  If you want to be a better writer and a better storyteller, stop reading this quote and contact Michael Hauge.”

Jeff ArchPlaywright & Screenwriter: Sleepless In Seattle; Iron Will; Saving Milly; Writer/Director: Dave Barry's Complete Guide To Guys

KEYNOTE OR LECTURE: 1-3 Hours

Uniting Story Structure and Character Arc

In the best screenplays and novels, the heroes must achieve two compelling goals: an outer journey of accomplishment; and a deeper, inner journey of transformation and fulfillment. In one of his most popular lectures, Michael presents his unique approach to mastering these two essential components of your story.

You will learn:

  • The primary goal of all story
  • The Hero’s 2 Journeys
  • The 6 stages to a well structured story
  • The power of desire, need, longing and destiny
  • The essential conflict all characters must face
  • The single key to developing character arc and theme
  • Using love stories reveal character transformation

Michael Hauge's Six Stages of Plot Structure, Updated for 2014

Empathy. Entanglement. Emotion.

Contact Michael today to discuss how we can create the most beneficial and memorable experience for your organization.

Invite Michael to Speak at your next event!

KEYNOTE OR LECTURE: 1-3 Hours

Seducing the Reader in the First 10 Pages

The opening of your screenplay or novel is your single most powerful weapon for acquiring an agent or securing a deal.

Using examples from recent successful films and novels, Michael reveals the secrets of transforming your opening scenes into emotionally gripping sequences that will force readers to turn the page.

You will learn:

  • The essential components of every opening
  • The 5 most powerful methods for establishing empathy with your protagonist
  • The biggest danger in trying to grab your reader
  • The 6 types of openings – and when to use each
  • The 4 most effective ways to draw us into the setting
  • Action, description and dialogue that will transport your reader
  • Why you want your main character to be passive, NOT heroic
Essential components are needed for a powerful opening to capture your audience and keep them reading or listening

“Michael Hauge knows story better than most any other man alive. His insight into visual storytelling is so deep and so wide that he is relied on by the film industry for his skill and knowledge. He is a natural performer and takes command of the room in a subtle way, with wit and sincerity.”

Eric EdsonDirector of Graduate Screenwriting at Cal State University Northridge;
Author of The Story Solution: 23 Steps All Great Heroes Must Take

KEYNOTE OR LECTURE: 1-3 Hours

Creating Powerful Scenes

Great scenes – in both scripts and novels:

  • Draw the reader into a unique reality
  • Create empathy and identification with the characters
  • Bring compelling desires and insurmountable conflicts to life
  • Contribute to character growth and theme
  • Weave magic with words
  • Elicit bigger-than-life emotions

With an abundance of examples, Michael will reveal the elements of action, description and dialogue that will insure the overall success of your story.

You will learn:

  • The 10 essential components of a well written scene
  • What every scene MUST accomplish
  • The path to mastering action, description and dialogue
  • The secrets of effective editing

Hollywood Story Coach, Michael Hauge Presents Story Presentations to Large Audiences All Over the World

“Michael’s strength is his ability to greatly enhance a story’s emotional impact. He’s clear, calm and patient, and has the amazing ability to make complex ideas clearer and simpler. He’s also a jolly, Obi-Wan type of mentor who really brings out the best in the people he works with. He has helped me tremendously!”

Chris WinkCo-Founder of Blue Man Group

KEYNOTE OR LECTURE: 1-3 Hours

Mastering the 60 Second Pitch

Whether at a writers’  conference, a pitch fest, or on the telephone, writers and filmmakers repeatedly face the challenge of having only a minute or two to convince the people in power to look at their work.

With principles drawn from his best selling book Selling Your Story in 60 Seconds: The Guaranteed Way to Get Your Screenplay or Novel Read, Michael reveals the key story components that will guarantee your pitch is a success.

Michael will then give selected participants direct feedback on their story concepts and pitches, empowering you to perfect your own pitch by learning from the strengths and weaknesses of others.

You will learn:

  • The single biggest pitching mistake – and how to avoid it
  • The 8 steps to a powerful pitch
  • Your primary objective – and how to achieve it
  • How to target the market for your project
  • The single most powerful way to begin your pitch
  • The 10 key elements of any story
  • The power of antecedents
  • A proven method for closing your pitch
  • What to do when they say YES
Selling Your Story In 60 Seconds by Michael Hauge

Wound. Fear. Identity.

Contact Michael today to discuss how we can create the most beneficial and memorable experience for your organization.

Invite Michael to Speak at your next event!

KEYNOTE OR LECTURE: 1-3 Hours

Anatomy of a Screenplay

In this unique workshop – designed for novelists as well as screenwriters – Michael offers a detailed examination of a successful Hollywood film, using it as an example of the essential principles of great screenwriting and fiction writing.

Film clips and written passages from the film’s screenplay illustrate how the best Hollywood movies serve as models for mastering:

  • story concept
  • commerciality
  • love stories
  • writing style
  • character development
  • plot structure
  • dialogue
  • theme

Anatomy of a Screenplay Keynote by Michael Hauge

“I took my first writing workshop — ever — from Michael Hauge in Portland. To say it was life altering is an understatement. I have since gone on to publish five successful novels, and my screenplay was a Top Ten finalist in the Nicholl Fellowship.”

Larry BrooksAuthor: Bait and Switch; Darkness Bound; Serpent’s Dance;
Story Engineering: Mastering the Six Core Competencies of Successful Writing

KEYNOTE OR LECTURE: 1-3 Hours

Be the Hero of Your Own Story

Stories that touch us deeply aren’t just entertainment – they reveal the ways we can face our own fears, accomplish our goals and find our destinies.

By revealing the ways movie heroes consistently find the courage to pursue whatever they long for, Michael will give you a new way to approach your personal and professional goals.

Not just for writers and filmmakers, this fun and enlightening seminar will use examples from Hollywood’s most popular films to help you, or your clients, achieve success and fulfillment in any area of life.

Michael Hauge - Top Hollywood Script Consultant, Story Coach and Best Selling Author

Courage. Essence. Transformation.

Contact Michael today to discuss how we can create the most beneficial and memorable experience for your organization.

Invite Michael to Speak at your next event!

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