Earlier this year, our Artistic Director Rebecca Mordan received funding to support the development of her creative practice.
As part of this, Becca attending an ‘amazing’ training and development workshop called The Queens Path in Scotland.
The Queen’s Path is an alternative narrative structure to the Hero’s Journey for people writing female characters, and a pattern or model to consider for women who are developing their own sense of self. There is a book, and training runs online or in person.
We recently spoke to Stacey Simmons, psychotherapist, writer, and the power behind the Path, about where it came from, what is does, who it’s for and how to get involved.
Opening the conversation, Stacey says plainly, “I want people to write better women. The traditional hero’s journey doesn’t fit the experiences of women. The Queen’s Path offers an alternative — a way for women to claim their sovereignty, tell authentic stories, and achieve their goals without trying to fit a male-defined mould.”
Stacey discovered the Queen’s Path while researching women’s roles in popular media. Focusing on Disney films Frozen and Maleficent, Stacey saw recurring patterns that highlighted a journey unique to women — one focused on self-ownership, authenticity, and empowerment rather than heroics as defined by male narratives.
“I wasn’t looking for it but I discovered that there is an analog that does not take the same route, doesn’t look the same as the hero’s journey, and it’s the journey to sovereignty for women. We are always in search of ways to be our whole true self, despite what culture tells us we should be. And I called it the Queen’s Path.
I was in this job that was really cruel to women, and I found myself after years and years of having terrible nightmares, though analysis. I wound up returning to graduate school to go become a therapist at Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara, which is this fabulous place, and they had the program there. They call it psychoactive, which means you’re going to deal with your own shit while you’re doing this program. So and I did, and it was hard, but when it was over, we had to write a thesis. And I was like, I’ve written a 300 page dissertation. I can write a thesis in my sleep! I’m going to do something fun. And because I had worked in animation and loved animation, I thought, ‘I want to do the history of women across the Disney canon from from Snow White to the present moment. And my my thesis advisor was like, you have 50 pages, so I decided to just do the last two movies.
I was looking for themes about women’s lives in those movies, and trying to extrapolate how Disney’s view of women had changed. And I found the Queen’s Path. This was something like 2014 so it was Frozen, and Maleficent. And there it was. The pattern was right there in those two films.
I wrote it up, turned it in, got my degree, and became a therapist, and then all these patterns started to show up in my consulting room, I started seeing them in movies, and in television and I was like, uh, oh, something’s not ok here. Oh, I’ve got to do something. So I started writing down the patterns in in detail. And then I was like, Oh, shit!. This is really *a thing*. What am I going to do with this?
And I thought to myself, well, I can just leave this alone and let it sit here and nobody will ever know. Or I can try to push it out there for women and for writers and and so that’s what I chose to do.”
The Queen’s Path is offered through a range of formats, including in-person workshops, online courses, and multi-day intensives. Stacey has worked with organisations such as the Writers Guild Foundation in Los Angeles and led sessions at film festivals, guiding writers to craft realistic and compelling female characters.
Participants learn to:
- Recognise narrative patterns unique to women.
- Develop nuanced and authentic female characters.
- Apply principles of sovereignty and self-ownership in their own lives.
- Build supportive networks to sustain personal and creative growth.
Since its official launch in 2018, more than 500 participants have engaged with The Queen’s Path, gaining insights that benefit both their creative work and personal development.
Writers, creatives, and women seeking personal growth can join The Queen’s Path through online courses, workshops, and retreats. Upcoming sessions are listed on Stacey’s website and newsletter, available to participants in the UK and internationally.
