Writing The Perfect Nemesis For Your Story
Something Wicked This Way Comes…
When: Saturday, August 29th (10am to 5:00pm)
Where: Online with one year playback
How Much: £47
BOOM! The Unstoppable Force (your Hero) meets the Immovable Object (The Nemesis). What happens?
Drama. Edge-of-your-seat, producible, bankable drama.
Any irresistible story requires an authentic, relatable, formidable, memorable opponent. Your hero needs it. The story needs it. We – your audience – crave it.
You’ve seen the courses that explore, explain, and sequence your hero – but your hero is only one crucial element. Without the opposition, your story is like a tug-of-war with only one team. It falls flat. Every time.
Spend the day turning those courses on their heads by getting into the heart of your opposing force, be it a villain or a situation, external or internal. Go on. Kick your stakes up a notch and make your script unputdownable.
Six hour masterclass with exercises, learn at your own pace and rewatch for up to one year.
Oh how audiences LOVE to HATE...
Imagine:
- ‘Game of Thrones’ without Cersei Lannister
- ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ without Nurse Ratched
- ‘Alien’ without the Xenomorph
- ‘Killing Eve’ without Villanelle
- ‘Batman’ without Heath Ledger as Joker
- ‘Inglorious Basterds’ without Hans Landa
No, this is NOT another “your villain thinks they are the hero in their own story” class. The Nature of the Nemesis moves beyond a traditional villain, too. Think:
- ‘Project Hail Mary’ with Astrophage.
- ‘Breaking Bad’ without Walt’s cancer.
- ‘Finding Nemo’ without Marlin’s fear.
- ‘Cast Away’ without the cruelty of nature.
- ‘Hidden Figures’ without society itself.
- ‘Adolescence’ and a boy in a world we both fear and recognise.
- ‘The Walking Dead’ features Negan, in the world of the zombie apocalypse.
- ‘House Of Cards’ features Francis Underwood in the cutthroat world of politics.
- ‘Chernobyl’ features Dyatlov and the KGB in the world of lies, deceit, and a nuclear meltdown.
- ‘The Trial of the Chicago Seven’ features Richard Schultz amidst the tumult of the 1960’s.
Understand the roles, functions and most effective ways to use foot-soldiers of your nemesis
- ‘The Omen’… ‘Have no fear little one, I am here to protect thee…’
- ‘Harry Potter’… Severus Snape… Or was he?
- ‘Die Hard’… Karl, who hunts down John McCLean.
- ‘Shawshank’ and the giard, Captain Hadley (Clancy Brown’s character).
- ‘Braveheart’ and Robert the Bruce, footsoldier of the English King, who ultimately turns.
- ‘Andor’… where Dedra Meero wields horrific totalitarian bureaucratic powers.
And of course, the most nuanced of opposing forces, where the Hero and Nemesis are one and the same:
- ‘Fleabag,’ where the titular character is a victim of self-sabotage.
- ‘Joker,’ where Fleck’s descent into madness is precipitated by his own actions.
- ‘Psycho,’ where Norman Bates’s split personalities are pitted against each other.
- ‘Mad Men,’ where Don Draper is both brilliant and mundane. An all-too-familiar monster on the run from past mistakes.
- ‘Ray’ in Mr Inbetween, a ruthless killer who we adore.
Mastering the Mechanics, Structure, Form and Expression of the Nemesis
Uncovering your story’s perfect nemesis isn’t a mystical art. It’s methodical, plannable, and above all – learnable! It’s more craft than art. It requires focus and daring to dive into your own dark heart and to willingly, maybe even gleefully, do some real damage to your own protagonist.
In this one-day workshop…
- Master the TEN ADVERSARIAL ARCHETYPES.
- Identify and fully interrogate the Adversarial Thematic Accelerant that drives every beat, scene, and act of your script.
- Create, develop, and hone the perfect Nemesis for your story.
- Develop the allied negative forces that make the nemesis more powerful and formidable such as negative allies, foot soldiers and generals.
- Use your story universe to elevate your main conflict.
- Inject every scene with greater dynamic tension, driving you through Act 2 to create an irresistible page-turner.
In case all this talk
about dark and
formidable forces
is too much…
Remember…
Cats are super villians…
Trust no-one, suspect everyone…
Evil hides in plain sight…
‘I demand some milk!’
So you struggle in Act 2? There's a reason for that...
Developing this masterclass, we honed in on a key truth: If you’re stumbling in act two, it’s often because you haven’t done the work to develop AND deploy into your story a powerful, dynamic, relatable antagonist. In our stories we need a force (not necessarily a character) that is deeply and thematically interwoven into the very DNA of your lead character. Master your nemesis and you will master Act 2, and conclude your story with a true emotional catharsis.
Whatever genre, medium, or level of development you are at, spend a couple of days perfecting your nemesis, and experience immediate transformation and elevation in your story.
Six hour masterclass with exercises, learn at your own pace and rewatch for up to one year.
Consider this...
If there’s one thing that feels absent more than ever in cinema and TV in 2026, is the thrilling, compelling and let’s admit it, a delicious nemesis.
If you want your script to rise to the top of the recommend pile, invest in your nemesis.
Book Of Revelations
You will leave with the stakes hugely ramped up, a more formidable opponent, a clearer universe for the story, defined sub characters (the foot-soldiers of the nemesis if you will), killer water cooler moments for your nemesis… and a satisfying conclusion that will have readers, producers and audiences telling everyone about it. You will have access to our own Book Of Revelations for the nemesis in your story. Yes, suitably dark and grand, as it should be. Our protagonist deserves a worthy, actually, an overwhelmingly more powerful, opponent.
What do Screenwriters Say About Bob?
Andrew Campbell // Screenwriter
‘A really judicious balance of elements, and a masterly distillation of some very complicated but indispensable ideas.’
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Jenny Williams // Screenwriter
‘It really changed how I think about the idea of a nemesis and has brought up some serious issues with my current piece that I need to repair – thank you!! I also liked the interactive element as it got me thinking about other examples of the archetypes and the different ways one archetype could be applied.’
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Kathryn Riley // Storyteller
‘What did I like? Where do I start! The clarity of the purpose of the Nemesis. The 9 archetypes of a nemesis was relayed brilliantly with the short clips of the films and examples. The advise of a ‘Grandstanding speech’ by the nemesis I love the idea of the opportunity for a delicious poetic moment.’
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This class is run by screenwriter Bob Schultz. For more than 20 years, Bob has been training screenwriters , helping thousands of writers clarify their stories, reorganise their ideas and build confidence to bring the very best version of any writer, to the opportunities they create.
Read all the feedback
‘I love how packed it was, full of slides that were all relevant and there’s zero waffle! All discussion is jam packed with advice and illuminating principles, plus an excellent range of clips too that illustrated the points but were also very entertaining. My scripts always benefit after one of his classes – every single one feels like an intense learning curve but also as though you’re in someone’s living room with a gang of mates who all love TV and Film.’
Sian Harries // Writer/Performer
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‘A really judicious balance of elements, and a masterly distillation of some very complicated but indispensable ideas.’
Andrew Campbell // Screenwriter
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‘I loved the rigid chapter structure of that the day allowed Bob to riff off in fluid Jazz chat and then come back to the structure, not losing a beat. I loved understanding what was under the engine of a good protagonist/nemesis story.’
Christopher Lang // Writer/Director/Producer
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‘It’s really clear, well-structured and easy to follow. The examples were great. It really helped me to identify what I need to focus on to make my story more effective. What Bob made really clear was the connection between the protagonist and their nemesis – that it’s an equation. I realised I’d been focusing far too much on the protagonist and their journey – now I’m much more aware how much quicker the pieces fall into place once you’ve got the nemesis right.’
Abbie Heath // Screenwriter
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‘The workshop was inspiring and I was coming up with new character and nemesis ideas for my scripts during the course. It enabled me to narrow down in my script what the actual nemesis versus protagonist is.’
Georgina Fagelson // Screenwriter
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‘I liked thinking about the forces of antagonism in a bigger way – not just a character. And I loved going through the nemesis archetypes. Really stimulating!’
Michelle Houghton // Novelist
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‘It really changed how I think about the idea of a nemesis and has brought up some serious issues with my current piece that I need to repair – thank you!! I also liked the interactive element as it got me thinking about other examples of the archetypes and the different ways one archetype could be applied.’
Jenny Williams // Screenwriter
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‘I liked the depth of the approach to the function of the nemesis. It made me re-think how to formulate that aspect of a screenplay and the importance of pushing the protagonist’s opposing force to it’s limits. It also highlighted how the protagonist and opposing force are intrinsically intertwined. Additionally I found the 9 archetypes to be very useful as a guide to honing in on the functions of my characters.’
Dawn Rhodes-Shaw // Screenwriter
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‘I honestly think this course has fundamentally changed me as a writer. I can’t recommend it highly enough – it makes you see stories in a completely different way.’
Varsha Shah // Screenwriter
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‘I liked the 9 archetypes of the nemesis. It finally made me realise that it has many disguises and it doesn’t always need to be a person. I realised my nemesis wasn’t really doing much other than lurking around in dark corners and doing dastardly things to the protagonist. In the rewrite, his wicked actions will now stop the main character from achieving his goal in some way. Thanks Bob for that ‘aha’ moment. Your story can have all the right inciting incidents, mid points, reversals, etc but it will lack tension unless your character has a nemesis – and it isn’t necessarily a person or a monster. Take Bob’s class, your story will thank you for it.’
Jennifer Hawkins // Writer
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‘It was a tough day that hammered home vast amounts of vital knowledge. Cannot wait for the next two sessions I have booked.’
Anita Tucker // Screenwriter
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‘The course was extremely informative and helpful in understanding the types of Nemesis in stories as well as their functionality in driving the narrative; Nemesis as Story Engine.’
Sara Pascoe // Screenwriter
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‘What did I like? Where do I start! The clarity of the purpose of the Nemesis. The 9 archetypes of a nemesis was relayed brilliantly with the short clips of the films and examples. The advise of a ‘Grandstanding speech’ by the nemesis I love the idea of the opportunity for a delicious poetic moment.’
Kathryn Riley // Storyteller
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‘This course really brings home how the nemeses (or indeed nemeses) can evoke a more emotionally deeper and authentic story.’
Gordon Slack, Screenwriter
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‘‘Absolute gold. Scratch that… platinum. Straightforward, no bs approach with examples. Showing the success of the principles has a greater effect than just telling them.’
Todd Robinson, Writer
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‘Really another great set of tools in my writer toolbox! Thanks, Bob’
Susan Vermeer, Screenwriter
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‘Bob’s courses always stimulate all sorts of ideas for specific projects’
Sara Pascoe, Writer
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‘It hammered home vast amounts of vital knowledge. Cannot wait for the next two sessions I have booked.’
Anita Tucker, Screenwriter
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‘It was just wonderful! Full of insight and just a fundamentally different way of looking at stories. I think it will change not just how I write and consume stories but also how I will look at stories from real life too. I can’t tell you how much I’ve learnt from this course! Inspiring and thought provoking and just so incredibly informative. Oh – and fun too!’
Varsha Shah, Screenwriter
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