Story Works:
Master the Art of Storytelling
Stories matter! Learn to tell yours with power, craft, and confidence. Master the craft of storytelling for creative, professional, and personal success.
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Whether you’re a seasoned storyteller or just beginning your journey, Story Works will teach you how to unlock your potential to create compelling characters and captivating stories, no matter what medium you’re working in.
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You’ll also learn the psychological and practical skills to be resilient, confident, and productive, so you can achieve your full potential as a writer.
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Led by award-winning screenwriter, author, journalist, and digital creator Edward Kay, Story Works is more than an online course. Drawing on Edward’s 30+ years as a professional storyteller, it is a unique masterclass experience that combines professional insights into storytelling with industry knowledge, practical tips, career-development skills, the latest evidence-based research on what makes a story compelling to a reader or viewer, and––unlike many other online courses––personalized coaching.
Through interactive exercises, hands-on mentorship, and insider guidance, you’ll gain the know-how, confidence, and mindset to bring your stories to life, develop your writing career, and thrive in the creative world.
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What You’ll Learn: Five Classes to Unlock Your Storytelling Power
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The Science of Story – Discover why humans are wired for storytelling, what the essential “must-have” elements are to make a story stick, and how to harness the brain’s “neural story network” to craft narratives that captivate readers and viewers.
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2. Characters That Come Alive - Learn to develop compelling, memorable characters who will transport your readers and viewers into their worlds. Discover how to create three- dimensional characters with real emotional depth, relatable wants and needs and believable dialogue and motives, while avoiding the pitfalls of clichés and stereotypes.
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3. Plot, Structure & Momentum - Master the techniques behind creating compelling
stories, from developing ideas to organizing beat sheets and outlines, positive and
negative charges, pacing and structure from first page to last scene.
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4. Writing Process & Creative Flow - Discover how to write more efficiently, avoid burnout
and writer's block, keep your morale high, develop resiliency, manage your time, harness
the magic of creative flow and acquire the emotional and cognitive tool kit you need to
build a career as a successful writer.
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5. The Business of Storytelling - Acquire the skills to navigate the worlds of professional
publishing, TV, and film. You will learn how to create an original I.P. and sell it with proven
techniques including elevator pitches, one-sheets and pitch decks, to get your stories
published or onto the screen----or both!
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Plus: each student receives a private, half-hour follow-up session to get writing advice, refine
their ideas and technique, and plan next steps.
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Why take the Story Works masterclass?
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Professional insights and industry know-how
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Evidence-based strategies for stories and characters that captivate
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Hands-on exercises and interactive mentorship
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Proven strategies for thriving creatively and professionally
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Personalized coaching to grow your craft and confidence
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INSTRUCTOR CREDENTIALS:
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Edward Kay is an award-winning screenwriter, author, journalist, and digital creator with 30+ years of experience in an extraordinarily broad range of media that includes both live-action and animated television in comedy, drama, documentary and infotainment genres, as well as published fiction and nonfiction in both the adult and children’s spaces, and journalism. He has created or co-created four original television series including Jimmy Two-Shoes for Disney, and has been head of development for several others. His produced television has appeared worldwide on Disney, BBC, Bell Media, CBC, TVO, ABC Australia, France Télévisions, Cartoon Network, Discovery, Nat Geo Kids, Knowledge
Network and more. He has been a story consultant for LEGO, Sesame Workshop, and the iconic physicist, Dr. Stephen Hawking. His short feature, I Dare You, premiered at the Cannes International Film Festival.
Edward has written 10 books, both fiction and nonfiction, for both children and adults, published by major companies such as Penguin Random House, Hachette, Scholastic, and Kids Can Press, and translated into four languages. His work as a journalist has appeared in numerous publications, including The Globe and Mail, Toronto Life, Canadian Geographic, and the Toronto Star.
Edward has won three Gemini Awards, three Canadian Comedy awards and a Writers Guild of Canada award for his comedy writing. He has been a finalist for the NHK Japan Prize for excellence in educational writing, and a two-time finalist for the WGC Screenwriting Awards, the Leo Awards, and the National Magazine Awards, in addition to nominations for the Red Cedar and Hackmatack book awards.
Edward has been a writing coach and mentor in creative writing professional development programs at Metropolitan Toronto University, Yorkville University, and the Writers Guild of Canada. He has also led numerous writing workshops for children through the Canadian Children’s Book Centre, the Toronto International Festival of Authors and others. He was recently appointed as an industry and curriculum advisor in the Bachelor of Creative Arts program at Yorkville University.
Originally trained as a journalist, Edward holds an undergraduate degree in Communications Studies and was awarded a Masters Degree in Media Production from Toronto Metropolitan University, where his thesis research focussed on using transmedia and social media to successfully promote independent books, films, and television series in a crowded and diffuse media landscape.
Edward has been a panelist on writing and industry issues at events including the Kidscreen Summit in Miami, the Boucheron World Mystery writing convention in New Orleans, the Vancouver Film Festival, Just for Laughs Festival, Winnipeg Comedy Festival, and Banff World Media Festival. He has been a guest speaker on writing and the arts at Toronto Metropolitan University, Yorkville University, Centennial College and Humber Polytechnic.
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Testimonials:
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“Edward introduced me to foundational approaches that reshaped how I think about story. He met me exactly where I was, with patience, insight and an understanding of how to nurture a developing writer. He guided me to a turning point, helped me recognize my voice and encouraged the confidence to use it.”
-Sean, mentee
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“Edward’s mentorship was key in helping me structure and organize my ideas in a clear way. Through his guidance, I was able to clarify the goals of my characters, and raise the stakes of the story. His feedback allowed me to think more intentionally about my writing, and I left the mentorship with a stronger and more focused script.”
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-Andrea, mentee
Limited spaces available to ensure personalized mentorship.
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Dates & Format: 5 x 90 minutes weekly live online sessions, small cohort, with an additional private half-hour follow-up session for each participant.