Single-Session: Chevahn Brown teaches Story Roots: Adaptation & the Heart of the Story

What survives when a story moves from one version to the next? What falls away, what gets distorted, and what keeps us recognizing its heart, whether we're looking at a fairy tale, a myth, a film remake, or a story reimagined for a new audience?
In this single-session workshop, we'll dig into the craft of adaptation: how writers identify the emotional core of a story and decide what to keep, what to change, and what to build new. We'll look at real examples of adaptation across mediums and eras, then turn the lens on your own work.

Come with a story you're drawn to adapting: a myth, a fairy tale, a film, a piece of folklore, even a story of your own you want to revisit. You'll apply adaptation methods directly to that story in class, and start shaping your own version based on the parts that speak to you most. Whether you're prepping for November's writing challenge or just want to strengthen your sense of a story’s emotional core, you'll leave with a clearer understanding of what your story is really about, and a start on retelling it your way.

Chevahn Brown is a Narrative Consultant and Writing Coach with extensive experience as a Writer, Professor and Instructor. Writing her first story at the age of three and continuing on to scribbling stories in the margins of her notebooks, she has always looked for the stories unfolding in the world around her. She has a passion for helping others’ to find their creative voice and bring their projects to life.

She has taught Visual Storytelling, Screenwriting, Television Writing and Script to Film at Emerson College, Lesley University and Boston University. She has also been a Screenwriting Instructor for adult, middle school and high school creative workshops through The Muse Writers’ Center. Chevahn founded The Write Story Creative Writing Community where she hosts local and virtual Creative Writing Workshops to groups of writers where they can openly share their work and receive feedback. The Write Story Editorial was founded with her love for stories and people - alike - in mine.

As a writer, Chevahn often explores Science-Fiction themes of alternate reality, the multiverse and ancestral ties. Her work aims to explore deep emotional and philosophical questions, like fate versus free will, the consequences of changing the past or future, and the beautiful complexities of the human experience. She also writes from Character and motivation-driven stories - striving to uncover the grey-area-narrator and the power of perspective. She is currently working on a  collection of dystopian short stories committed to investigating the handshake between artificial intelligence and humanity, and where this continued integration might take us.

This class is offered live on Zoom on Thursday, September 10th at 7pm Eastern . After purchasing access to the class, you will receive a Zoom registration link via the email address you used to make your purchase. This class will be recorded and the link will be available for students for 3 months after the completion of class.