Have you been dreaming of writing an audio fiction script for some time, and it just keeps not happening? Don't worry: you're not alone - and award-winning podcast writer and director Gabriel Urbina is here to help.

In his first ever masterclass, Gabriel is taking his Writing Stories For Sound course farther than ever before. He's going to be writing a brand new audio fiction pilot in just six weeks - and he wants you to come on the journey with him. Over the course of six weekly classes, Gabriel will break down all the pieces that go into a great audio fiction pilot script. Best of all? He'll provide you with simple, direct writing assignments that will turn the daunting mountain of writing an original script into a steady climb made up of manageable steps. And the whole time Gabriel will be sharing the results and progress on his own writing as you make the ascent together!

Join him on this adventure and Gabriel will teach you the skills, tips, tricks, and hacks that he's picked up over a decade of work in the industry, doing work for everyone from independent garage band outfits to industry behemoths like Audible and Spotify. Topics include:

• Character Presentation: How to Create Vivid Characters And Introduce Them Quickly

• Audio Stories: How to Determine Whether Your Story Wants to Live in Audio Or Not

• Creative Exposition: How to World-Build While Keeping Your Audience Engaged

• Script Formatting: How to Write Scripts That Are Both Professional AND Entertaining

• Structure, Structure, Structure: Going From Idea to Plot to Script

• Medium Possibilities: Bringing In Techniques from Film Into Your Audio World

• And, of course, How to Write a First Draft of a Script In Six Weeks

This will be a weekly class, with sessions on the following Wednesdays: February 5th, February 12th, February 19th, February 26th, March 5th, and March 12th. Sessions will begin at 8:00 PM Eastern and run for approximately two hours, with an intermission. There will be a short writing assignment each week - until the last week, when the writing assignment will be the not-so-short first draft of your script - for which students will receive short written feedback.

By the end of the course, you will have a full first draft of a pilot script for an audio fiction series, a written report giving feedback on the strengths of your script and suggested areas for improvements on subsequent drafts, an insider's look into the process of creating an audio fiction series, and the superhuman power of confidence that, having gone through this once, you will be able to do it again!

Due to the intensive nature of this masterclass, we can only take a small number of students. If you are interested, reserve a seat soon!

Gabriel Urbina is a Costa Rican-American writer, director, and podcast creator. He is best known as the creator of the Webby-Award nominated Wolf 359, and, along with long-time collaborators Sarah Shachat and Zach Valenti, the co-creator of indie classics Unseen, Zero Hours, and Time:Bombs. He has also worked as a guest writer on a number of other audio fiction shows, including Wooden Overcoats, The Bright Sessions, and The Phenomenon. Most recently, he handled the scripting for Gasolina and The Signal, Audible Originals from Skybound Entertainment and Fresh Produce Media respectively. He also created The Fabulists, part of the Tribeca Festival's Official Audio Selection for 2023, and Dracula: The Danse Macabre, a new audio reimagining of Bram Stoker's novel. He has spoken or given presentations at the Austin Film Festival, Podcast Movement, WGA East, Rhode Island Comic Con, Podfest Expo, and PodTales, and has taught workshop and given guest lectures at Wesleyan University and the NYU Production Lab. 

Q: I have already taken Audio Fiction 101, Gabriel's course with Zach Valenti and Sarah Shachat, or the standard version of Writing Stories For Sound. Will this workshop provide any new content for me?
A: Absolutely. This masterclass will touch upon material covered in both of these classes, but will go much more in depth into the process of writing and breaking down a script than either of those does. If those provide the foundation for work, this is the guided boot camp through the work itself. With that said, the masterclass is structured to be accessible to students who have never taken either of those classes before. No previous experience is assumed!

Q: I'm interested in taking the class, but am unavoidably detained on one or multiple of the Wednesdays. Can I still take the class?
A: Yes, with a few caveats. Each session will be accompanied by a written worksheet that summarizes the major points that session covers, along with the writing assignment for the week. If you have to miss one or two sessions, these can act as a stopgap to at least let you know what material was covered. However, you will miss out on the full explanation of the concepts and techniques, as well as any discussions that arise from other students' questions. Our recommendation would be to sign up for the class if you are confident that you can make at least five out of the six sessions, and it is especially important that you can be there for the first one.

Q: Tell me more about the weekly writing assignments. How much work are we talking about? When will they be due? What happens if I can't hand one in on time?
A: The weekly writing assignments will be given at the end of each session, and will be due by the start of the following week's session. Each one has been conceptualized as taking at most a few hours to complete - the assumption is that everyone who is taking the course will be balancing it out with other work and/or classes. If you cannot complete an assignment by the start of the following session, you will not receive written feedback on that work. Strictly speaking, the writing assignments are not mandatory, but we strongly recommend you to do all of them. They will all contribute to the writing of your pilot script and completing them will make the final week's work much faster and easier.

Q: How will the sessions be carried out? What format will they take?
A: The six sessions for this masterclass will be carried out via Zoom. The details for how to join will be sent to those who sign up once we are closer to the start of the course. Some amount of discussion and questions are expected from the students each session, though being on camera is entirely optional.

Q: Are there scholarships available for this webinar?
A: Yes, a number of full and partial needs-based scholarships are available. If you are unemployed or only employed part-time, a student, or otherwise going through circumstances that make it hard for you pay the full sticker price for this workshop, please let us know what your situation is by emailing contact@gabrielurbina.com with the subject line "Writing Audio Masterclass Scholarship." We'll do our best to respond quickly to let you know next steps from there.

Q: Can I buy access to this masterclass as a gift for someone else?
A: Yes! We can absolutely make that happen. If you are interested in doing this, send us an email to contact@gabrielurbina.com with the subject line "Writing Audio Masterclass Gift" and we'll get it set up!

Q: Do I need to be familiar with Gabriel's work (Wolf 359, Unseen, Dracula: The Danse Macabre, etc.) to enjoy this webinar?
A: Not in the least! Some examples of Gabriel's work will be used to illustrate some concepts, but no prior knowledge is assumed or necessary. 

If you have additional questions, please email contact@gabrielurbina.com with the subject line, "Writing Stories For Sound Masterclass"!