For my master's program at Full Sail

1. Mastery Journal
Timeline
By
Jen Hansen

2. On Writing
“It’s none of their business that you
have to learn to write. Let them think
you were born that way.”
- Ernest Hemingway
Artwork: “I’m Nobody,” ~ by Jen Hansen (me).
Inspired by the poem of the same name by Emily
Dickinson.

3. A Reflection
• Writing is one thing, but understanding how to network
and become the best I can be, is quite another.
• Week three showed me how to find resources that I can use
during my time at Full Sail University, which I expected, but
I didn’t expect to also find resources I can use the rest of
my career. In fact, I found sites where I can find
apprenticeship jobs, places to sell scripts, and places where
I can get more practice on my own time. These resources
are considered by me to be a very important source for
moving forward, and something I hadn’t thought I needed
until now.
• This weeks assignment put the wind underneath my wings.
I found myself getting excited about the work ahead.

4. End Goal
I have, in my mind, three options for moving forward in my journey to
become a master.
• First- Having gained more storytelling experience through my learning at
Full Sail, I plan on finishing my novel.
• Second- I would like the opportunity to teach Creative Writing either
online, or in a college environment.
• Third- I would like to write and sell successful screenplays. Whether
working with a team, or individually, I would like to put my unique stamp
on a piece of work that gets published.
The first goal mentioned is a personal goal. To me, this is the most important
and satisfying goal on the agenda. Having said that, the other two will likely
be something I can do to make a living while learning to hone in and sharpen
my mastery skills acquired at Full Sail.

5. Course Expectations
Stepping Stones
Along the path toward Mastery
My Stepping
Stones along
the path
toward
Mastery
Artwork: “Tribute to Modigliani” ~ by Jen
Hansen (me).

6. 1
Mastery: Personal Development and Leadership
Insights, Skills, and Outcomes:
• Excellent confidence builder.
• Good for introducing me to entertainment business.
• Improves focus.
Summary: This class has helped me to build my confidence. Not as a writer, I had
that, but as a participant in the creative arts. My writing stays in my journals and on
my computer. I don’t share. Though I had a professor make me promise to send a
story into a journal, I haven’t done so.
I now know that I not only have the skills it takes to put myself out there, but I have
found the path to navigate the waters as I sail through this program.
Here is a video tutorial that will supplement my learning: Leadership and Creative
Thinking at Lynda.com

7. The Art of Visual
Storytelling
Insights, Skills, and Outcomes
• This will help me know in what direction to hone my writerly skills and how to take advantage of
them.
• I will learn to think about stories as if I’m an audience member in a theater.
• Will help me focus on details of a story.
Summary: I expect this class will help me to create stories that hone in on the visual aspect of a movie
goer or gamer. I expect there will be a division between the visual portion of the script, and the dialogue,
as opposed to classical novel writing where the two run together. For my journey, this will teach me a
new skill that could also prove to be useful in finding a Creative Writing teaching job.
Here is a video that will supplement my learning. In truth, this one from Lynda.com already looks amazing
and I plan on using this in reality.
Visual Storytelling

8. Script Analysis and
Criticism
Insights, Skills, and Outcomes:
• I expect to learn the field of Screenwriting in leaps and bounds in this class as I’ve never
before attempted a script.
• I suspect this class will help me focus on dialogue.
• I hope this class will help me find a teaching job in Creative Writing, because I’m
bringing a skill to the table that not a lot of other people in my area may have.
Summary: I expect to read a lot of examples of script writing. This will be my first
introduction to how to write scripts. I will discover the differences between prose and
screenwriting. This will be a bonus for helping me to find a teaching position in the field of
Creative Writing for its uniqueness.
Here is a video that may help me along my journey:
Screenwriting Fundamentals

9. Character Creation and
Development
Insights, Skills, and Outcomes:
• Because character is so important in the type of stories I will write, I plan to work very hard to learn
more about how to improve upon the skills I already have.
• I enjoy creating character from little details I see. A put-together man who’s heel from his sock is
backward- I know he’s grieving- but this is the only detail that proves he is “undone.” I see this, and
go from there.
• Outcomes- I am sure this will help me get smarter about how to write character in a script, which I
haven’t done- but also, it will excite me to work harder and smarter.
Summary: This is a forte of mine. I am very good at building character. I first create an image, almost like a
cartoon drawing of a type of personality, and then build them from there. I expect this will help improve
my dialogue skills and I am looking forward to honing in and tightening good dialogue.
Here is a video that may help me along my journey:
It Starts with the Script: Plot and Character Development.

10. Episodic and Serial
Writing
Insights, Skills, and Outcomes:
• I expect to learn how to create suspense and tension, asking the audience to come
back for the next show in a series.
• I hope to learn skills for how to pace a story, and also how to tell several stories at the
same time, perhaps weaving them together on a timeline.
• The outcome I hope to gain from this class is to learn many methods of storytelling
along a timeline. I also think learning this will help me to better organize my novel.
Summary: This is something I have never done. I sometimes think my novel will be a series
because it has so much information. Not only will this be practical for working in the
industry, but will help me in my personal writing.
Here is a video may help me along my journey:
Script and Scene Analysis in Episodic Writing, Editing and TV

11. Film Screenwriting
Insights, Skills, and Outcomes:
• I expect this class will review the types of screenwriting options with examples of genres.
• My skills are in traditional storytelling and writing prose. I think I can pull from that and bring it into a
full story on the screen.
• I believe this class will help me to understand and eventually teach the subject of creative writing
from different angles.
Summary: I am very interested in small productions and art films. I am hoping to see where that fits in, in
Hollywood, and what other opportunities might arise from this. I love detail, so I expect working on an
entire film as opposed to an episode for television, will involve more creation because an episode fits into
something that’s already structured.
Here is a video that may help me along my journey:
Experimental Filmmaking- From Short Story to Feature Length

12. Writing For Games
Insights, Skills, and Outcomes:
• I think this type of writing could seem simple on the surface, but could actually be quite complicated because you have
to allow the player to make choices.
• My skills come from the game playing side rather than the writing side. I have never written for a game, and I build skills
that could be as entertaining for myself as for a player of the game.
• I expect to use this skill as part of a package of writing skills that I can put together as a database in my mind, to tweak,
create, and invent new types of stories. Much like we have learned master’s do. They take from all areas of what they
know, and use it to imagine something new.
Summary: I’m a gamer. I’m a geek for an older student. The games that I have played have storylines that seem to carry
across genres. I am hoping to learn what is involved in game writing and how I fit in. I think this could be the most fun of the
areas of writing. I also think it could be difficult and would involve keeping tight records of differing paths the story could
take, as opposed to the beginning, middle and end arcs for traditional storytelling.
Here is a video that may help me along my journey:
What is a Scene?

13. Storytelling and Storyboarding
for Animation
Insights, Skills, and Outcomes:
• I believe this is a way to explain the arc of a story efficiently to a team of writers- and with that,
they fill in the details with their writing.
• I don’t have this as a skill but I am very excited to learn. I believe it will help me as an outline to my
own writing.
• The outcome for this is that I can use this in my own writing, in working with a team to sell an idea
or explain a point I’m trying to make, as well as to use it in writing jobs in the future.
Summary: I think there are opportunities to travel over boundaries with animation that can stretch the
limits of imagination. Storyboarding I can see as helping to efficiently tell a story to a team of fellow
writers / directors without the words getting in the way. This is another area of focus I haven’t any
experience with so I am excited to learn and use this as a unique specialty I can bring to a teaching table
later in my career.
Here is a video that may help me along my journey:
• Storyboard Creation

14. Advanced Script Editing
Insights, Skills, and Outcomes:
• I think this is one of the most important details in telling a story. You can write but if it isn’t clean, it
pulls the reader out of the “dream.”
• My skill in editing my writing comes when I let a story sit and re-read it with fresh eyes later. Then I
am able to see what is needed.
• The outcome in this story is with editing, you can become more of a master. Story editing is the
polisher of the tale, but editing yourself is how you become a master.
Summary: I believe this is one of the most tedious but important elements in all of storytelling. This is
where we learn to sacrifice our “darlings” which we have created and love; though accept that they are
not needed. General cutting the clutter work, which teaches us as we grow into mastery to write more
efficiently from the beginning.
Here is a video that may help me along my journey:
Storytelling advice

15. Creative Writing Portfolio
I
Insights, Skills, and Outcomes:
• I believe all of our efforts will help us to hone in on what we do best. We make a choice to proceed
with our project from here.
• My skill is in writing, but I wonder if I will find something else I love that will surprise me. I currently
think film screenwriting is for me, but who knows? Perhaps my skills in thinking non-linearly will make
me think game writing is more fun?
• No matter the outcome, all of these skills will help me to do what I want to do, which is to tell a story;
to make somebody think; to introduce beauty in dark places, or to make somebody forget their
troubles for a short time. So the outcome for me is embedded in everything I learn here and when I
achieve giving people the happiness mentioned above, I will call myself a master.
Summary: I suspect this class is where we choose our area of focus, begin researching and honing in on
what project we will do which highlights our talents. Here is a video that may help me along my journey.
This might seem an odd choice, but making decisions and moving forward with them require confidence
and decision making. This will help me get through phase 1:
Organizing and Taking Steps to Get through a stressful project

16. Creative Writing Portfolio
II
Insights, Skills, and Outcomes:
• By now, we should have the tools it takes to finish a project, as well as be looking for
apprenticeships.
• I will have learned new skills to get me through this phase, but overall, I must manage
my stress as well as use my creative mind to get to the finish line.
• The outcome here is to graduate with my Master’s degree with enough skills that I can
find work. I look forward to using everything I have learned to continue to write, and to
teach.
Summary: I suspect this is where we have a large project on the table, and we use our
editing skills to tailor fit our project into a professional product.
Here is a video that may help me along my journey:
Managing Projects and Tieing Up Loose Ends

17. The Business of Creative
Writing
Insights, Skills, and Outcomes:
• This is where I’m most naïve. I hope I find more inspiration and knowledge to navigate these
waters.
• I have a good instinct for knowing what people want. I want to built upon that to become a
well- rounded success.
• I believe I will learn enough to begin selling my work.
Summary: I think this is where we learn to put ourselves, and our work out into a very competitive
field. I have hopes that I will learn a lot of tips and tricks for a personality like my own to be able to
sell my work. Many writers are probably like me. I am quiet, thoughtful, shy, but very intelligent. I
hope I can learn skills to sell my work, as well as hone my work well enough that it might be able to
be able to sell itself.
Here is a video that may help me along my journey: Selling Your Ideas

18. Moving Forward
“You can't connect the dots looking
forward; you can only connect them
looking backwards. So you have to trust
that the dots will somehow connect in
your future. You have to trust in
something - your gut, destiny, life, karma,
whatever. This approach has never let me
down, and it has made all the difference in
my life.”
~ Steve Jobs
Artwork: “The Ghost’s Moonshine,” by Jen Hansen (me)

19. Interview
Six Potential Interviews:
• Heather Rae: I contacted her, she is willing to mentor. Facebook Contact
• Andy Lawless: (208) 336-5482. Idaho Filmmaker. He agreed to mentor.
• Mark Perison: (208) 440-4170. Idaho Filmmaker. He agreed to mentor.
• Jennifer Isenhart: Owner, producer, “Wide-Eye Productions” in Idaho.
(208) 861-6824.
• Tom Hazdor: Co-Owner, “Wide-Eye Productions” in Idaho. (208) 336-
0391.
• Travis Swartz: Friend and Idaho Filmmaker. Facebook Contact / Friend

20. Clubs and Organizations
The day I had access to Full Sail’s Connect, I joined its Creative
Writing club.
I plan to keep involved by attending online events at Full Sail,
sending in scripts, writing and finding journals for my stories, and
participating in “The Log Cabin” events in Boise, Idaho.
• Full Sail University Creative Writing Club
• The Cabin https://www.thecabinidaho.org
• Idaho Film Commission:http://commerce.idaho.gov/idaho-
business/film
• Full Sail University Creative Student Networking Group

21. My PLN
Finding these sites last week was one of the most surprising and refreshing
parts of the exercise for me. I couldn’t believe such resources were out
there, I just didn’t know where to look. I plan on following through on the
sites I bookmarked throughout my time with Full Sail, and after. I also expect
I will be expanding and honing in on what exactly works best for me, as I
learn my new skills.
• My Tumblr
• My diigo
• My feedly
• My linkedin
• My facebook

22. Full Sail Community
For a shy person, building a community online works to my
advantage. People don’t have to see me stammer or “kick the dirt”
or awkwardly twisting my fingers into a pretzel as I try to introduce
my work to them.
I plan on taking full advantage of everything the clubs have to offer,
including submitting writing to contests and events, and voting on
other people’s submissions and offering feedback on their work.
I am just beginning, but I know as I look even deeper, I will find the
proper groups and forums that suit my personality and my skills as I
hone them in. My life at full sail and my experience is organic and it
will change. I hope to understand those changes and not get “in the
way” of my own future. I shall do that by participating in, and
offering my work to these groups. I also hope to build friendships
with those in my classes that I work well with.

23. My Mentor
A mentor should be well enough versed in the field you’re
interested in to be able to help you navigate the waters
around you.
They should be patient- knowing you aren’t yet a master but
you need the tools to become so.
They should be empathetic enough to remember what you
“don’t know,” so they can help you along your journey.
Also- they should be generous enough to answer questions to
the best of your ability.
I am happy Heather Rae has agreed to help me as a mentor.

24. Finding Yourself
Artwork: “Lost,” by Jen Hansen (me).
“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself
any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And
YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go.” ~ Dr. Seuss

25. Summary
The journey I have decided to take by signing up for a master’s
degree at Full Sail University is now laid out before me.
Though it is still an adventure, I feel I have a clearer road map. I am
excited to find groups and people who have similar ideas to work
with as well as finding outlets on my own, and in my area, to propel
me forward.
As I study I will retain information and it will build on top of the base
I’ve already established in writing. The more I learn, the more tools I
have to use in creating what it is I will create as a master.
I am looking forward to the journey.
~ Jen Hansen