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Kicking arcs mastering story archetypes with compelling modern audiences love.

KICKING ARCS: Mastering Story Archetypes With Compelling Characters That Modern Audiences Love

When: DATE TBC
How Long: Available for one year
How much: £47.99
Where: On Zoom

Feeling constricted by traditional and basic structure?

Join Lucy V Hay as we journey into the world of archetypal story structures that are NOT the Hero’s Journey so you can unleash your BEST ideas.

You will have heard of the Hero’s Journey – it is EVERYWHERE. In fact, so many stories follow this plotting archetype that many writers believe it’s the only one!

But it’s not … there’s many, many more storytellers can utilise to ensure their writing feels fresh, authentic and relatable for audiences.

Look, the Hero’s Journey is a FANTASTIC story model…

But it’s been used practically non-stop for forty years. In the 2020s audiences REJECT stories that feel stale and DEMAND storytelling that feels new.

You have felt it in your bones too. Storytelling has evolved. We need to evolve too.  

For two decades, Lucy has studied storytelling as a writer, reader and producer. She now wants to share with you the archetypal story structures that WORK TODAY, structures that audiences and producers crave (as they are fresh and feel new), and structures that just might be the key to unblocking your unique story.

A woman with red hair smiling in front of a white wall.

‘Lucy is both wise and candid, and extremely generous both with her knowledge and her time. She was able to steer the course to take account of each individual’s interests and questions and her feedback to us was always positive and constructive. This world of writing can often feel isolated and lonely, but from the offset Lucy made us collaborators, not competitors, so I now feel that I have not only a wealth of information, but a whole new attitude. A great course and I feel industry ready!’
Suzy Enoch // Screenwriter, Novelist, Actor, Director
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On this course you will…

  • Discover WHY you have been struggling with a story. You may have been using the wrong structure all along.
  • Uncover how the greats have looked at story: from Greek myth through to classics like Shakespeare to modern icons like JJ Abrams!
  • Realise character and structure go hand-in-hand – and how to ensure this in YOUR story.
  • Understand why compelling characters DON’T have to change in the course of the story – and what they need to do instead.
  • Leverage tried and tested story archetypes to keep your stories familiar while also feeling fresh and new.
  • Reboot previously discarded ideas you know are brilliant but failed to fit into traditional structures.
  • Get back clarity and excitement for your stories by examining them through these new prisms.
  • Be better prepared for new ideas so that you can more quickly identify the story archetype best suited to it.

Learn and master the archetypal story structures so that you can free your story. Write screenplays that feel familiar as well as fresh and original. Audience, agents and producers will thank you for it.

More Feedback For Lucy

‘Lucy’s very knowledgeable. The course was action packed. If it were a film, it would be Die Hard.’
Mohammed Tahir // Writer, Director
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‘Lucy is an excellent teacher and speaker. Her enthusiasm is very inspiring. I got a lot of very useful information, tips and ideas to proceed with my stories and my carrier as a writer. Cool!’
Nathalie Wechsler-Seibel // Writer for TV, film, podcasts, books and multimedia
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‘I’ve read Lucy’s blog for years and always found her approachable and full of realistic, actionable advice. I’m happy to say that in person, she’s the same way.’
Valerie Kalfrin // Film critic, Screenwriter
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‘All the information was valuable, pertinent and honest. I appreciate Lucy’s candid, straightforward approach.’
Erica Ruhe // Writer
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‘TONS of very practical advice and actionable ideas. Lucy was very straight talking, well informed and had an experience of virtually any situation to recount. I can’t think of anyone better to learn from.’
Mary Took // Writer for play and film, short stories and novels
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‘Lucy is no-bullshit about the industry and what’s expected. You get TRUTH! She’s so thorough and extensive in what she covers without missing the details. I loved that Lucy sent us scripts and documents too. Extra goodness!
Guy Lambert // Screenwriter and producer and script guy!
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Lucy V. Hay is a script editor, author and blogger who helps writers. She’s been the script editor and advisor on numerous UK features and shorts & has also been a script reader for over 15 years, providing coverage for indie prodcos, investors, screen agencies, producers, directors and individual writers. She’s also an author, publishing as LV Hay and Lizzie Fry; Lizzie’s latest, THE COVEN, is out now with Sphere Books and LV’s debut crime novel THE OTHER TWIN is being adapted by the Emmy-nominated Free@Last TV. Lucy’s site at www.bang2write.com has appeared in Top 100 round ups for Writer’s Digest & The Write Life, as well as been a UK Blog Awards Finalist and Feedspot’s #1 Screenwriting blog in the UK (tenth in the world!).

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