Storytelling 101 with Lesley Whitaker
Event Date:
February 1, 2025
Event Time:
10:30 CET
Event Location:
Lettretage
Unlock the secrets of crafting compelling stories in this immersive one-day workshop, where you’ll explore the Hero’s Journey and Three-Act Structure and engage in exercises to build tension and enrich your storytelling.
We all know a good story when we read one, but how do you write one? In this one-day workshop, we will do a deep dive into the classical Hero’s Journey and Three-Act Structure. There will be exercises to generate the tension required to pull your hero over the threshold into the unknown and back again. Using a holistic approach, we will dissect our favorite endings and beginnings, unpack those moments that pull at our heartstrings, and develop a list of tools to help you keep your story escalating to the conclusion it deserves. This workshop is best suited for novelists, screenwriters, game writers, and others who are interested in traditionally climatic adventure stories. However, the topics will be useful for any kind of narrative art. Writers at any point in crafting their story can participate.
The first half of the workshop will address the mechanics of a story, and why some stories remain with us long after we’ve finished them. We will uncover the push-and-pull dynamic between a story and its themes, which in turn provides the foundation for the plot. From there we will dissect how each plot point serves a single purpose: to set the stage for the resolution of that initial thematic conflict. We will approach the Hero’s Journey framework through this thematic lens, and since we will use examples during the session, participants must agree beforehand on content (a novel, film, or TV pilot) to use as common ground for discussion.
With our understanding of the Three Act Hero’s Journey as a tool to resolve themes, we’ll jump into the second half of the workshop with exercises to explore thematic arcs in terms of character and setting. Overall, participants will fine-tune their story ideas against the backdrop of their bigger-picture conflicts. This approach will be helpful generating ideas for writers at the very beginning of a project, as well as for seasoned writers adrift in the story making process. Throughout the session, there will be opportunities to share work from the exercises with fellow participants.
There are 20 spots available for this workshop and it will run February 1st, 10:30 to 16:30. The workshop fee is €75.
Email us at hello@thereaderberlin.com to sign up!
Lesley is a nocturnal writer who thrives during Berlin’s endless winter nights. When not immersed in writing games or learning new languages, they can be found riding trains, dreaming of ancient myths they’ve read and future drag shows they’ll attend. Lesley is afraid of nothing, of infinity, and things that never end.
Lesley’s writing can be found on Substack (link). As a game writer, they crafted the lore for the Afro-fantasy world of The Wagadu Chronicles, including its 5th edition tabletop setting, The 7th Era. They have led writing workshops with The Writer’s Rock in New York and CTRL+X in Berlin. A regular storyteller at Club Motte, Lesley is also a SmutSlam Berlin winner, an invited reader at The Reader Berlin events, and a featured artist on TransInterQueer e.V.’s Gender Sender podcast.
