Aaron Sorkin MasterClass Review:
The Best Way to Become a Screenwriter?

Content and Structure of the Aaron Sorkin MasterClass

Aaron’s MasterClass is eight hours long. The lessons are 13 to 14 minutes on average, with the workshopping and writers’ room sections taking the longest chunk of the course. All these classes make up 15 of the total 35.

Sorkin’s class is one of the lengthiest writing courses on MasterClass. Although it’s longer than many other MasterClass courses, you can finish it in one day, especially if you follow our fast-track lesson plan. But it’s best to take your time and complete the assignments from the class workbook before you watch it in one go.

You can use the following Aaron’s MasterClass list to guide you through the course. You can watch each section before moving to the next to make notes, complete assignments, and test your skills.

Rules of Screenwriting

1-3 Lessons Summary

Aaron Sorkin MasterClass starts with Aaron saying dramatic writing must have an intention and an obstacle. Aaron addresses that intention can’t be too strong, as an obstacle can’t be too formidable. It is the most critical aspect of writing non-fiction screenplays for the Academy Award-winning screenwriter.

He then goes on to share his process for testing ideas – giving examples of the steps aspiring screenwriters take and decide if their idea will work best in a film or TV series. I enjoyed this first part a lot. It was full of informative bits and pieces that taught the principles of writing a screenplay.

Writing Process

4-11 Lessons Summary

Aaron Sorkin explains his writing process for developing characters by saying they are born out of intention and obstacles. And what the character does to overcome the obstacle is what they become. He gives good examples of intention from the Social Network screenplay and obstacles that create the character development from The West Wing.

Aaron follows the character development process by conducting and incorporating research into writing scenes and dialogues. He adds that good research is the key to a great screenplay.

In lessons eight through ten, Aaron covers ways to keep the audience engaged and entertained while touching on the rules of drama and story arcs. These three lessons work together to test previously mentioned topics to evaluate a screenplay. The 11th lesson is all about Sorkin’s writing habits that help him overcome writer’s block and the tools he utilizes to organize writing.

This section is full of insightful advice on how to write drama. It is one of the most detailed parts that cover the moment you begin writing to keep the flow to finishing the first draft.

Group Workshops

12-16 Lessons Summary

Lessons 12 through 16 are group read-through sessions where Aaron Sorkin is surrounded by other scriptwriters and improves their screenplays. In each Group Workshop lesson, Aaron teaches something new, from writing action scenes to incorporating feedback to tricks for scene building.

These lessons are fun to watch and show screenplays from a different writer each time while Aaron gives them feedback. You can skip these Group Workshop lessons or review one or two to complete the course faster. Optionally, follow our fast-track lesson plan below to finish it in the shortest amount of time without missing out on critical teachings.

Writing Scenes and Dialogues

17-24 Lessons Summary

In the 17th and 18th lessons, Aaron shows how he writes great scenes. He details the opening scenes, transitioning from one to another, adding comedy to entertain the audience, and the importance of rewarding the audience’s patience. All the lessons about writing scenes are helpful and describe the approaches a good screenwriter should take.

Aaron Sorkin follows these lessons with examples from The West Wing and Steve Jobs. He thoroughly explains the scene involving the American president and the governor during a Broadway play and examples of intention and obstacles from the Steve Jobs movie.

These lessons prepare the Writing Captivating Dialogue lesson using the scenes played in the previous lessons. Sorkin further explains that it is the least teachable part of writing – having a romanticized view. He considers dialogue as music and again gives some of the lines from The West Wing as an example.

Aaron finishes dialogue writing classes by sharing his rewriting process. He adds that a rewrite is a sign of a good screenwriter and, ultimately, a strong screenplay. The structure of this section did an excellent job of showcasing how scenes and dialogues work together.

Writers’ Room

25-32 Lessons Summary

With the same group of writers from the Group Workshops, Aaron Sorkin recreates the writer’s room for The West Wing from the start of the fifth season – where he left the show. This chapter of the Aaron Sorkin MasterClass has eight parts. He makes important points as they generate story ideas and write scenes and dialogues in each lesson.

The key takeaways I got from The West Wing Writer’s Room chapter are:

• Writing teasers and acts
• Doing specific research
• Incorporating research to develop the plot
• Using leading characters
• Learning from bad ideas
• Writing screenplays for the audience’s pace

Like the Group Workshop lessons, you can skip this section of Aaron Sorkin’s MasterClass. A good way to utilize these chapters from Sorkin’s writing MasterClass is to finish the course and review these chapters as you complete the assignments from the class workbook.

Pitching and Closing

33-35 Lessons Summary

Aaron Sorkin doesn’t just teach screenwriting. He also goes over pitching ideas to executives. In the 33rd lesson, the writers from the Group Workshop pitch to Aaron. He asks the questions writers should expect from Hollywood. In the next lesson, Aaron and the team of writers switch sides, and Sorkin pitches for a new series called Mission to Mars.

He displays the best practices for pitching ideas, making his MasterClass stand out among other writing classes and even screenwriting books.

The MasterClass ends with Aaron giving his final thoughts to encourage writers. He recommends writers take chances and start writing the way they want.

Fast-Track Lesson Plan

Finish Aaron Sorkin MasterClass in 3 hours, 21 minutes, and 3 seconds.

Engagement and Retention of Aaron Sorkin MasterClass

Aaron Sorkin did well teaching everything while keeping me engaged throughout the course. The same can’t be said for Group Workshops and The West Wing writers’ room chapters. It felt a bit overwhelming – some are nearly 30 minutes long. Although it was good learning from them, I was disconnected sometimes – wondering if I should skip these parts.

Aaron Sorkin’s teachings were easy to understand but dull at times due to the course not having enough visual appeal. MasterClass team changed camera angles here and there and Sorkin’s surroundings, but it wasn’t entertaining enough. The course takes place in a film school-like setting where Aaron Sorkin is the lecturer.

Nonetheless, the course was very informative. A writer can finish the entire MasterClass in a single day and retain everything as long as you make notes. You can then analyze Sorkin’s work and write a script using everything taught.