A clear structure makes for a much more compelling story, and it was with this in mind that we approached Saturday’s Young Writers workshop. There is no shortage of creativity within the sessions, but we wanted to explore how best to put that into practice.

Before introducing Joseph Campbell and the Hero’s Journey, we discussed Aristotle’s theory of the narrative triangle – beginning, middle and end – explored in his classic work Poetics.

We initially broke down the subtle differences between story, plot, and narrative for the avoidance of confusion. All of the writers had access to a document we had created with the definitions and a little more explanation.

Using an image prompt of a person on a train, we asked the participants to elaborate on the story – who is this person, why are they on the train, and how are they going to get what they want.

Then we introduced the Hero’s Journey, using Lord of the Rings and The Hunger Games as examples they would have come across.

We broke down the elements according to Joseph Campbell, and then offered time to examine and explore each of the points through the eyes of their characters.

Because it is a three-act structure, the Hero’s Journey can be broken down into sections that made for sets of questions that the participants could consider.

We hope that the theory explained within this workshop will help the writers to continue to develop their stories in an engaging way.

Understanding where your story will end up is key to being able to enjoy the process.

Our next Young Writers workshop (the last for the 2023/24 academic year) will take place on Zoom on Saturday 11th May between 10:00am and 12:00pm.

Booking information can be found here