Cartoon College

I hear from a lot of folks who want to write cartoons. It's a much tougher job than some imagine but if you can find the right work situation — i.e., the right folks to work with on the right project — it can be very rewarding and not just in a monetary sense.

But you've got to know what you're doing and one who does — and he has the awards to prove it — is my pal Brooks Wachtel. Brooks has written over a hundred hours of cartoons and, lucky you, he teaches Animation Writing class at UCLA Extension. According to the UCLA catalogue, it's a ten week course, focused on writing animation and television and the web, taking students though the entire process from springboard to outline to first draft to polish.

The next class starts shortly — and by that I mean that if you wanna take it, you only have a few days to sign up. Here's where you find out more and enroll. And not only will you get the safe expertise of a guy who's written a lot of popular programs but Brooks also brings in others in the field to offer their expertise and experience. One of them this semester might even be me.