In this episode, we dive deep into the systemic barriers these storytellers face. We talk about the industry’s bias toward younger, male voices, the resistance to internal, nuanced storytelling, and the persistent structures that determine who gets heard (and what gets funded and produced).

Nitza and Elizabeth share their journey to creating this model: a safe space for these voices to be seen and amplified. Through mentorship, workshops, and retreats, writers can refine their craft, find support, and step into the light with confidence — raising the volume on stories that have long waited to be told.

In this conversation, we explore:

1. How an enormous well of unrecognized stories reveals systemic exclusion, not individual struggle
2. Stark realities from 2025: out of 511 feature films made with 740 writers, 79% of writers were male, 20.68% were women, and only 12.1% were women over 40.
3. What happens when a community rallies around writers
4. The persistent dominance of conquest-driven, lone-hero narratives, and why stories rooted in relationships and nuance are essential
5. “Courage culture”: how risk, visibility, and voice differ depending on gender, race, and power
6. The impact of life interruptions — parenthood, care, and economic precarity — on creative careers, and how writers reclaim their ambition later in life
7. How to dismantle myths about age and relevance in storytelling
8. Gatekeepers, power, and the stories that get valued — and how to shift the culture of who decides

Through this discussion, Nitza and Elizabeth illuminate the importance of returning to your voice, writing with authority, and creating stories that carry across a lifetime. It turns out age means nothing. So many are not being nearly done.

Resources & Links:

1. Submit to The Writer’s Lab 2026: TWLStories.org

Chapters

00:02:09 Introduction: How Kim came to this journey

00:05:12 How engaged she was with Hero’s Journey

00:06:40 The use of the World Virgin

00:09:50 Overview of the Virgin's Promise

00:11:10 Outward Facing v Inward Facing

00:14:20 Linear Power

00:16:48 Virgin's Journey and Hero's Operating System

00:25:00 Productivity and Linear Outcomes

00:29:50 Leadership is Changing. Be Kind

00:30:45 The Secret World

00:36:25 Virgin's Promise in a Partnership. Accepting

00:38:50 The Personal Virgin's Journey-Growth

00:39:25 Hero's Conflict vs discomfort in a Virgin's Journey

00:45:25 Choosing Your Light is a Life Well Lived

00:49:15 The Village Must Change

00:50:23 Hero's Story Preserves what exists. Virgin's doesn't

00:49:49 Whatever is in Your Heart will Grow

In this episode, Kimberley sits down with Maureen Murdock, the groundbreaking author of The Heroine’s Journey, whose work challenged the dominant myth of the Hero’s Journey.

Together they explore the evolution of women’s voices in memoir and myth, the necessity of emotional truth in storytelling, and why Maureen spent a decade developing a feminine journey.

They discuss the courage it takes to tell your truth for the benefit of other women, the myth of female inferiority, and the deep need to integrate both the masculine and feminine within ourselves and our culture.

Maureen also clears up that infamous moment with Joseph Campbell, and the quote that’s been mythologised ever since.

✨ Key takeaways:

Maureen's early connection to the sacred feminine guided her life's work.

The absence of women's voices in memoirs prompted Maureen to explore this field.

Emotional truth is key to writing impactful memoirs.

The power of emotional truth in memoir and personal storytelling

Why The Hero’s Journey didn’t fit women’s lived experience—and how The Heroine’s Journey was born

The heroine's journey offers a framework for understanding women's experiences.

Deficit thinking affects women's self-perception and achievements.

Healing the mother-daughter split is crucial for personal growth.

Integration of the masculine and feminine is a hopeful goal for society.

Chapters

01:31 Introduction and Purpose of the Conversation

03:40: Maureen's Early Connection to Purpose

06:14: Exploring Myth and Memoir

11:37: The Evolution of Women's Memoir

13:25: Courage in Sharing Personal Truths

15:29: The Nature of Truth in Memoir

18:14: Joseph Campbell's Influence on the Heroine's Journey

23:35: The Emergence of the Heroine's Journey

26:38: The Impact of the Heroine's Journey in Modern Storytelling

32:04: Understanding the Myth of Inferiority

36:19: Addressing Internalised Patriarchal Voices

36:21: The Archetypes of Reasonable Behaviour

39:00: The Heroine's Journey and Collective Resistance

41:17: Mythical Themes in Writing and Creativity

44:37: Stages of the Heroine's Journey

53:20: Awakening and Spiritual Aridity

55:32: The Descent and Reconnection with the Feminine

59:03: Healing the Mother-Daughter Split

01:03:23: Healing the Wounded Masculine

01:06:44: Integration of Masculine and Feminine

Takeaways

• Connection, collaboration, and compassion in the heroine’s journey
• How heroines rebuild networks, find lost connections, and create supportive communities,
• The cultural impact of narratives in shaping perception.
• Themes of perseverance, staying true to one’s voice, and the transformative power of storytelling

Links

https://gailcarriger.com/

Gail's resources for writers: https://gailcarriger.com/resources/#writers

https://gailcarriger.com/2020/10/07/heroines-journey-special-extras/

Episode Summary:

In this episode, Kimberley Lipschus is joined by Dr Sharon Blackie, mythologist, psychologist, and much loved author and advocate of female-led storytelling. The episode explores the untapped potential that midlife holds when viewed through the lens of myth, fairy tales and female empowerment.

Sharon shares how her lifelong engagement with folklore and mythology, particularly European traditions, has shaped her understanding of women’s journeys and creative expression. The discussion unpacks the “post-heroic” journey, the stages of fairy tales that illuminate midlife transitions, and the concept of the mythical misfit—those who question the dominant cultural myths and seek new stories to live by. Sharon also explores the divine feminine: wisdom embedded in older women archetypes, and shares how her knowledge of working with fairy tales and folklore to provide tools for both personal growth and creative practice.

Listeners will gain insights into:

• How midlife can be a period of internal exploration and transformation.
• The unique lessons that fairy tale heroines offer for navigating life and creative work.
• How to embrace the “wise woman” archetype in personal and narrative storytelling.
• The power of community, relationality, and connection to land in shaping story.
• Practical inspiration for writers, creatives, and anyone navigating transitions in life.

Timestamps:

• 00:02 – Episode Introduction
• 01:11 – Sharon’s journey into mythology and storytelling
• 02:40 – Fairy tales as early lessons in resilience and community
• 03:10 – Midlife crises and the search for inspiration
• 05:22 – Hero’s journey vs. post-heroic journey
• 07:16 – Origins of myths, folklore, and fairy tales
• 10:27 – Fairy tales as tools for personal growth and creativity
• 12:06 – Loss of family/home in fairy tales and personal journeys
• 14:05 – Midlife, menopause, and internal transformation
• 18:45 – The role of “hags” and wise women in myth and story
• 20:50 - The heroic lens is an inflated archetype
• 21:40 - The way Hero’s journey has been applied - search for glory
•  24:20 - The women are the grail bearers and not about killing
• 25:12 – Shifting from heroic to community-focused narratives
• 30:00 – Mythical misfits and embracing uniqueness
• 33:46 – Reimagining fairy tales for contemporary audiences. How authors use them
• 35:49 – How landscape, place & setting influence a story
• 38:40 – The divine feminine as a narrative and creative force
• 42:28 – Wells, water, and the life-giving force of women in myth
• 43:30 – Sharing the Siberian myth of the woman who becomes a fox
• 50:46 - reference to the Dalai Lama, who said the world could be saved by the Western woman.

Recommended For:

Writers, creatives, and anyone interested in the heroine's journey. Relevant to anyone in midlife seeking wisdom, inspiration, and guidance for both life and art.

Welcome to the first episode of The Storymaker’s Rebellion! I’m thrilled to open the series with Vicki Madden, the award-winning writer, producer, and showrunner behind The Kettering Incident and The Gloaming. Her work draws deeply from Tasmanian landscapes, myth, and folklore, and consistently champions complex female characters and fresh storytelling perspectives.

In this episode, we dive into:

• Vicki’s early call to storytelling and her creative journey.
• The experiences of women and gender-diverse creatives navigating roadblocks in film and television.
• How fairy tale motifs such as home, loss, and exile shape her narratives.
• The evolution of the showrunner role in Australia, and what it means to hold creative authority as a woman.
• Her approach to symbolism, intuition, and giving the natural world a powerful

Vicki’s work is a masterclass in breaking traditional storytelling moulds, following your truth and accessing new ways to lead, create, and imagine on screen.

Links & Resources:

• More insights from this conversation on my Substack: Between the Lines
• Watch the conversation on YouTube
• Workshops: Heroine’s Journey and Constellate Your Creative

If you're a writer, author, filmmaker or just passionate about story and its power to change the world, join me as I chat to makers of story who are dreaming into being a braver, kinder and more connected world. We explore the craft, courage, and rebellion behind stories that challenge the status quo.