The Six Transformational Character Arcs of the Human LifeReady to take your story’s character arcs and themes to the next level? This latest book from veteran writing teacher and story theorist K.M. Weiland ventures far beyond the popular and pervasive Hero’s Journey to explore six important archetypal character arcs, representing key moments of initiation in the human experience:
- The Maiden
- The Hero
- The Queen
- The King
- The Crone
- The Mage
Found in every genre from fantasy to drama to romance to adventure, these transformational stories are the secret of powerhouse fiction—as shown through a wide variety of real-story examples throughout the book.
Writing Archetypal Character Arcs will teach you:
- The archetypal beats for each of the six journeys
- Which archetypes are right for your particular story
- The best way to use archetypes in a series
- How to choose the right archetypes for supporting characters
- How to use archetypes to identify your story’s theme
You will also learn how to deepen your stories by implementing shadow archetypes (the negative sides of each positive archetype), resting or “flat” archetypes (the fixed stage between each of the main arcs), and archetypal antagonists (the epic antagonistic forces that oppose each of the positive archetypes in their journeys). The Hero’s Journey is just the beginning.
Learning about archetypal character arcs will change the way you view stories—and life—forever.
Archetypes can help you write stories that tap the depths of the human experience. This 45-minute guided meditation will help you dive deep into your subconscious creativity and write a resonant Maiden Arc story.
As the first archetypal journey in the cycle of life arcs, the Maiden represents a crucial initiatory experience. This coming-of-age arc will take you and your characters on a journey through all the challenges of growing up, individuating from authority figures, and finding an identity and role in a wider world that often seems overwhelming and even dangerous.
This meditation will help you visualize and imagine important characters and settings. It gives you the opportunity to explore every vital beat while offering all the space you need to find your own unique story. It will show you how your character may interact with corresponding archetypal antagonists (Authority and Predator) and grapple with a thematic Lie and Truth (Submission vs. Sovereignty) in order to evolve from Innocent to Individual.
(Note: Although a feminine arc, this journey may be taken by any character of any gender. Gender-neutral terms are used throughout the meditation to help you apply its imagery to the specifics of your own story.)
K.M. Weiland’s book Writing Archetypal Character Arcs taught writers how to identify and structure the six most important initiatory journeys of the human experience (Maiden, Hero, Queen, King, Crone, and Mage). These “life arcs” include the youthful Hero’s Journey as one of six, but go so much deeper to explore little-known feminine and elder arcs as well.
Now you can explore these archetypal journeys yourself by accessing the potent tool of “dreamzoning.” Just sit back and let your imagination take over as these audio adventures guide you through every important beat in the archetypal arcs.
Sargent Family Productions presents a full-cast, dramatized, original music production of award-winning author K.M. Weiland's gaslamp fantasy novel, Wayfarer!
In this heroic gaslamp fantasy, superhuman abilities bring an adventurous new dimension to 1820 London, where an outlaw speedster and a master of illusion do battle to decide who will own the city.
Think being a superhero is hard? Try being the first one.
Will’s life is a proper muddle—and all because he was “accidentally” inflicted with the ability to run faster and leap higher than any human ever. One minute he’s a blacksmith’s apprentice trying to save his master from debtor’s prison. The next he’s accused of murder and hunted as a black-hearted highwayman.
A vengeful politician with dark secrets and powers even more magical than Will’s has duped all of London into blaming Will for the chilling imprisonments of the city’s poor. The harder Will tries to use his abilities to fight crime, the deeper he is entangled in a dark underworld belonging to some of Georgian England’s most colorful characters.
Only Will stands a chance of stopping this powerful madman bent on “reforming” London by any means necessary. Unfortunately, Will is beginning to realize becoming a legend might mean sacrificing everything that matters.
Experience this adrenaline-fueled historical superhero adventure today!
For other great family-friendly audio content, check out Sargent Family Productions at https://sargentfamilyproductions.com. For more from K.M. Weiland, check out https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com.
