from our former students:

"The best way to understand how a machine works is to take it apart. That's why I got so much out of my classes with Good Material. The training starts with dissecting key elements of storytelling, breaking them down into their composite parts, identifying their anatomy, and showing how they fit together.

This thorough understanding of storytelling not only provides clarity to me when I'm writing but also gives me a diagnostic tool to use when stories aren't clicking. As a director, I'm better equipped to give clear, targeted notes to writers and to strengthen an already strong story — all thanks to Good Material."

Timothy Reckart

Oscar-nominated writer/director, Head Over Heels

"In 2019 I moved to LA to be a TV writer. One year and countless writing classes later, I realized I didn’t know how to write a pilot. I felt like all writing courses I took gave me the blueprints of a house, told me to go build that house but never taught me how to use a hammer. I began to think this writing thing wasn’t for me, because other people just seemed to "get it” in a way I never would. I was about to give up and move home when I stumbled upon Talton’s first intensive. That course changed the trajectory of my career. It was the first class I took that broke down the fundamentals of writing in a way that I could understand. It not only taught me how to build the framework of a story but also how to practice building until it became second nature. 

Two years after I started the intensives, I staffed on a Network TV show. I attribute much of my success writing on the show to what I learned and practiced in Talton’s classes. I have also been able to tap into the deeper truths of my own writing projects, and build samples I am finally proud of. 

Talton and the teachers at Good Material genuinely care about the success of their students. They know we all have stories we want to tell, and have carved a path that helps us tell those stories in the most compelling, honest and strongest way possible. I highly recommend these classes to anyone looking to elevate their writing and become the best writer they can be."

Jennifer King

Writer, All American, Found

"I was a struggling first year staff writer at Nickelodeon. All my scripts were getting rewritten, my self-esteem was low, and I was desperate for help. The Good Material classes changed my life. These classes helped me unlock the clarity, creativity, and productivity I always hoped to have as a screenwriter. I am still a staff writer and I recently optioned my first screenplay. None of this would have been possible without Talton’s classes."

Alec Schwimmer

Writer, Rugrats, Max and the Knights

"When I arrived at the intensives, I wasn't sure if I really needed another writing class. I was a graduate of the USC School of Cinematic Arts, had taken several UCLA extension classes with professional writers and had worked in professional television writers' rooms for years as a Writers' Assistant and Script Coordinator. I had reps and mentors and had heard pretty much every theory on writing out there from "Therefore, But" to "just rewrite a famous TV show, but make it different." 

The intensives are the first classes that I have ever taken that have had tangible results on my writing and skill level. When people in the industry ask about the classes, I refer to them as "Showrunner classes" because they are the only classes I have ever encountered that teach the upper-level story tools that are needed to run a show. Anyone can be taught the elements of a good story, but very few can execute a good story not once or twice, or even a few times, but every day under the ever-changing pressure of budgets, production and that one celebrity cast member. In a writers' room, that person is usually the Showrunner. These classes unlock those high-level structure skills because they don't just tell you how to write, they show you how to write through objective practice that is not tied up in the subjective of the writers' personal vision. 

Since starting the intensives a few years ago, I have written television episodes for Two Sentence Horror Stories, Gotham Knights and UnPrisoned and have achieved my lifelong dream of joining the Writers' Guild of America. These classes helped me get there and continue to serve me every day in my own practice. They are unmatched... even by fancy film school standards."

- Amy Do Thurlow

Writer, UnPrisoned

"Screenwriters looking for a paint-by-numbers guide to story structure have infinite books and resources to choose from.

Talton’s intensives, on the other hand, are the only setting in which a writer can dive into specific, replicable skillsets that ingrain the underlying mechanisms of storytelling into your creative process. Rather than receiving notes on a script, you’ll practice scene work that brings real understanding. Instead of formulas, you’ll learn tools that you can apply to any writing situation.

I have read tons of theory, taken many classes, and even got my BFA in Screenwriting from a Top 5 film school. I could have saved years of my life and tens of thousands of dollars if I had started with these intensives first."

Audrey Knox

Literary Manager, Cartel