Mapping Your Story
12-Month Course
Course Outline | Details | Testimonials
Session 1 | Session 2 | Session 3 | Session 4 | Session 5 | Session 6
Session 7 | Session 8 | Session 9 | Session 10 | Session 11 | Session 12
What is a
Manuscript Assessment?
A Manuscript Assessment is an informed review of your story. It allows The Story Mentor to bring his storytelling experience and fresh eyes to your manuscript to determine whether the concept and story works as a whole.
During a Manuscript Assessment, The Story Mentor:
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Reviews your story with experienced eyes;
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Assesses the story as a whole;
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Offers suggestions on how to improve it;
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Identifies any sections that need clarification;
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Recommends what to add or remove;
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Pinpoints plot holes and errors in logic; and
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Advises your next best course of action.
When Should I Get a
Manuscript Assessment?
A Manuscript Assessment is recommended for writers with a completed early draft of their story.
Often writers become too close to their stories and struggle to recognise its quality components from its obvious flaws. If this has happened to you, then you need a Manuscript Assessment.
The Story Mentor approaches your manuscript with fresh eyes, allowing him to see clearly what works and what needs improvement.
Course Outline
Is your story, idea, novel, or script stuck in development limbo? Afraid you’ll never finish it? Rediscover your passion for your story as we explore its shape, uncover its intricacies, and redefine what makes it a unique story only you can tell. Over 12 sessions you will create believable conflict and characters, inject powerful symbols and themes, plot an organic narrative, and more, building your story idea a layer at a time with each subsequent workshop. By the end, you’ll rediscover the love that drove you to write your story in the first place and have developed a concrete outline and sample scenes that will get you to the last page. Are you ready to complete your story?
While it can be useful to bring along an existing story or idea to redevelop, it is not essential. The course is designed to take participants through the full development of a story, from germinating ideas through to writing the manuscript. Both new and existing stories will benefit immensely from applying the course material.
Please note, each workshop builds on the last, thus it is recommend participants undertake each workshop.
Course Outcome: Understand and implement 9 key concepts to help you shape, structure, and write your story.
Individual session workshop outlines are below.
Details
When
7 July 2019 - 5 July 2020 1.00 - 5.00pm
Where
Just Add Passion Emporium
5375 Richardson Road
Stoneville WA
Length
12x 4-hour workshops
Your Receive:
12x 4 hour workshops
12x Handouts containing notes, exercises & more
1x File binder & plastic sheets to store handouts
Cost
Was $900 per person NOW $700! Save $200!
Payment Methods
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Bank Transfer (email The Story Mentor for details)
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Cash on the day
Bookings
If you are interested in The Story Mentor running this workshop, please email him: andrew@thestorymentor.com.au
Limited places. Booking essential.
Bookings close: 23 June 2019.
Session 1
Developing a Potent Premise
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Brainstorm ideas
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Determine which has most potential
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Examine challenges inherent in idea
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Locate idea’s most interesting character
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Define idea’s central conflict
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Develop path for character’s growth
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Determine character’s final moral choice
Workshop Outcome
Create a strong story premise
Session 2
Creating Compelling Conflict
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Develop protagonist’s weaknesses and needs, create ultimate desire
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Craft opponent who blocks protagonist from achieving these things
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Generate protagonist’s plan to overcome opponent
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Flesh out conflict between protagonist & antagonist
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Create final struggle between protagonist and antagonist
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Determine protagonist’s final self-revelation
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Produce new equilibrium for story’s end
Workshop Outcome
Develop a compelling story outline
What is a
Manuscript Assessment?
When Should I Get a
Manuscript Assessment?
A Manuscript Assessment is recommended for writers with a completed early draft of their story.
Often writers become too close to their stories and struggle to recognise its quality components from its obvious flaws. If this has happened to you, then you need a Manuscript Assessment.
The Story Mentor approaches your manuscript with fresh eyes, allowing him to see clearly what works and what needs improvement.
Session 3
Weaving a Sturdy Character Web
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Develop a character web
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Expand your characters by drawing from archetypes
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Individualise characters within web
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Build conflict within the character web
Workshop Outcome
Develop a sturdy character web
Session 4
Creating Believable Characters
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Understand the process of character change
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Establish a empathetic protagonist
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Chart the protagonist's character change over the course of the story
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Create a believable antagonist
Workshop Outcome
Establish a believable protagonist and antagonist
Session 5
Extracting an Evocative Theme
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Locate a theme in your premise
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Express theme dramatically by splitting it into oppositions
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Develop your theme through story structure
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Create variants on your theme within the story
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Discover how to combine various themes seamlessly
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Find the unique vision for your theme
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Learn how to establish theme through dialogue
Workshop Outcome
Establish a thematic vision for your novel
Session 6
Sculpting an Authentic Setting
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Find your story world in your premise
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Establish the arena of your story
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Connect the story world to hero’s development
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Establish time within world
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Locate story world through story structure
Workshop Outcome
Generate the story world
Session 3
Weaving a Sturdy Character Web
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Develop a character web
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Expand your characters by drawing from archetypes
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Individualise characters within web
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Build conflict within the character web
Workshop Outcome
Develop a sturdy character web
Session 4
Creating Believable Characters
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Understand the process of character change
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Establish a empathetic protagonist
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Chart the protagonist's character change over the course of the story
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Create a believable antagonist
Workshop Outcome
Establish a believable protagonist and antagonist
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Session 7
Detailing the Story World
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Understand how symbols work
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Learn how to create symbols and a web of symbols
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Establish symbolic characters
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Create symbolic themes
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Develop symbols through story world and character actions
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Discover how to develop symbolic objects
Workshop Outcome
Develop a tapestry of symbols for your story
Session 8
Injecting Enriching Symbolism
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Determine the intricate details within the story world
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Establish the story's natural settings, including weather
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Create the story's man-made spaces
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Generate the world's societies, political systems, and religious beliefs
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Develop the world's tools and technologies
Workshop Outcome
Infuse the story world with intricate details
Session 9
Plotting an Organic Story
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Develop an organic plot
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Examine different plot types
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Assess your story’s revelations sequence
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Determine role of the storyteller
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Analyse plot types of popular genres
Workshop Outcome
Restructure existing plot into more organic one
Session 10
Shaping the Story Structure
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Expand the plot to encompass all 26 structural steps
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Build the story one structural step at a time
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Map the protagonist's journey and growth from beginning to end
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Weave each story component into the narrative journey
Workshop Outcome
Apply the 26 structural steps to your story
Session 3
Weaving a Sturdy Character Web
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Develop a character web
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Expand your characters by drawing from archetypes
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Individualise characters within web
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Build conflict within the character web
Workshop Outcome
Develop a sturdy character web
Session 4
Creating Believable Characters
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Understand the process of character change
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Establish a empathetic protagonist
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Chart the protagonist's character change over the course of the story
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Create a believable antagonist
Workshop Outcome
Establish a believable protagonist and antagonist
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Session 11
Constructing Powerful Scenes
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Attune your ear to melody & harmony of good dialogue
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Understand difference between narration & dialogue
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Recognise difference between real & fictional dialogue
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Translate how people speak into your work
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Learn how to make different characters speak uniquely
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Develop revealing character through dialogue
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Discover which dialogue tags to use and which not to
Workshop Outcome
Write effective & believable dialogue
Session 12
Writing Believable Dialogue
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Learn how to construct an effective scene
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Introduce complexity and subtext into a scene
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Weave scenes together as a organic story
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Combine a multi-strand plot into coherent scenes
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Examine complex plot structure in crime, love, and fantasy stories
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Establish how to crosscut between scenes effectively
Workshop Outcome
Construct a tapestry of effective scenes with subtext
Testimonials for Session 1: Developing a Potent Premise
"I had high expectations about this course and it is delivering in spades. The Story Mentor is well researched, organised and very inclusive. The discussions were extremely useful and I am looking forward to future sessions very much."
— Julia Burns
"The workshop has helped me turn my rough character and idea into a more fully formed plot. In particular developing a theme, conflict, and thinking about the climax."
— Alia Bath
"Great opportunity to flesh out and focus in on a story idea. 'Developing' was the key word here, and I feel it was my skills as well as my premise that were developed."
— Garry Winterton
"I felt motivated to continue writing my story after attending The Story Mentor’s workshop. I found the workshop very comprehensive."
— Ingrid Rickersey
"A valuable tool to assist in developing my story. My writing will be better because of it."
— Margaret Cameron
"Empowering stuff. I’m going to be able to write stories more easily now."
— Lynne Deperas
"The Developing a Potent Premise workshop helped clarify my ideas for my novel. It has given me an idea of how to structure my planning."
— Anne Forbes
"This was an excellent introduction to many concepts. Also useful to be able to work on ideas for my next novel. "
— Lynne Allen
Testimonials for Session 2: Generating Compelling Conflict
"This workshop made me think in more detail about the drivers of my story - the main character and his motivations, the conflicts he has and how they are key to the story, and even helped me fix in some plot points and give me better direction. ... It really helped me order my thinking about what a story needs and where my story is going."
— Anne Forbes
"The workshop was engaging, easy to understand, and The Story Mentor is a kind teacher. It was everything my English class wasn’t: genuinely fun!"
— Amy Parker
"The workshop has made me think about my character goals and potential themes to be included in the narrative. I feel I have a deeper insight into the writing process."
— Garry Winterton
"I found the exercises in the workshop very useful. The workshop was well structured and has motivated me to continue writing my story."
— Ingrid Rickersey
"A great learning experience. The best thing was learning about the climax and self-revelation, but I enjoyed the whole workshop."
— Eva Cronstedt
"I really enjoyed having my ideas evolve during the process of completing the exercises."
— Rita Tognini
"The workshop really helped me to structure my thoughts, storyline, and main character."
— Sue Clapton
"I really enjoyed the writing exercises and practical story development. "
— Alia Bath
Testimonials for Session 3: Weaving a Robust Character Web
"A good workshop for developing characters with more depth, complications, and complexities."
— Kathleen Dzubiel
"I thought we’d covered most aspects of character, but this workshop helped me so much I realised I needed to change my antagonist!"
— Louise Ainsworth
"Excellent third week, building on the previous conflict workshop. The workshop was very detailed. The theories were explained by the examples and the exercises gave me enough practice applying the basic ideas, linking them with previous week’s learnings."
— Odile Pouliquen-Young
"The workshop was really helpful in thinking about different character archetypes and combinations and shadow sides of these archetypes. It made me think more about conflict between characters and particularly about multiple conflict and how characters can be more complex combinations of archetypes."
— Anne Forbes
"As always, the session provided some interesting tools to help me think about my story. It helped me develop my plot as well as round out my characters."
— Alia Bath
"Another enjoyable workshop which has forced me to consider how to construct my character relationships. I most enjoyed the discussion about character revelations and I found it has forced me to think about planning."
— Garry Winterton
The workshop met my expectations and I most enjoyed The Story Mentor's teaching style. The exercises provided me with the context to further develop my characters."
— Amy Parker
"I really enjoyed applying concepts of character function and archetypes to characters I have in mind. I found this useful in stimulating new ideas and options. "
— Rita Tognini
Testimonials for Session 4: Creating Believable Characters
"The workshop pointed out the flaws in my story and gave me ideas about how to improve them. The atmosphere feels friendly and the discussions enlightening. There’s so much fascinating stuff to cover. The exercises helped me to create and clarify really great moments from my story. The Story Mentor creating such an enjoyable and comprehensive course is a testament to his talent as a writer and teacher."
— Amy Parker
"It really helped me to develop my story, plot points, develop new ideas, and refine my hero’s desire. This workshop helped to identify a hole in my plot and the driving of the hero’s actions, so it has really helped me define /redefine what pushes the hero."
— Anne Forbes
"I most enjoyed refining the exercises from Weaving a Strong Character Web because it deepened my understanding of character arc. The exercises gave me a better understanding of character and simplified the concept of needs. The concepts are beginning to coalesce into a whole and more easily put into practice. I can see the value of following the workshop exercises as my writing evolves."
— Odile Pouliquen-Young
"The workshop was very informative. I’m learning more than I expected. I really enjoyed the identification, character needs, and desires concepts, for both villains and heroes and the exercises are very helpful. I’m finding the course very informative and helpful."
— Garry Winterton
"The Story Mentor covers a great deal of material, taking us deeper into the methodology of writing a novel and making it very beneficial for me."
— Lynne Deperas
"The deep analysis was food for thought. Very thought provoking."
— Anonymous
"I really enjoyed talking about how to create interesting characters. The workshop cleared up a lot of concepts."
— Katika Harris
"Villains are cool – elaborating on their characters is fun and important."
— Alia Bath