I love the Hero’s Journey.
Finding it was my ‘rays of sunshine coming through the
clouds’ moment.
After quite a while of just writing randomly, I felt that
there must be some rules of thumb that could be used to ensure a story flowed,
evolved and climaxed in a decent way – so I was overjoyed when I discovered it.
Quick aside - If you don’t know what the Hero’s Journey is – it’s a series
of steps that the vast majority of satisfying stories go through, from
introducing the protagonist’s world, through calling them to action, testing
them, meeting with a mentor, through to final confrontation with the big bad. Read about this 'Universal Storyline' in more detail here.
It wasn’t so much invented as discovered, by Joseph Campbell
as he researched the earliest stories ever passed down by word of mouth to
modern stories. Most of the elements of the Hero’s Journey can be seen in the
vast majority of bestselling novels and blockbuster movies.
However, I often come across an issue when gushing with
excitement about the Hero’s Journey, and that is that people’s perception still
seems to be heavily influenced by the word ‘Hero’ and to a lesser extent
‘Journey’.
These words make people feel that it only applies to fantasy
adventure stories where there’s going to be a swashbuckler slaying dragons with
a sword.
But of course this couldn’t be further from the truth. This
set of stages can be applied to all genres, including romance, historical
fiction, war, crime drama, etc etc .
I recently came across the utterly awesome blog of Allen
Palmer –
Cracking Yarns – where he has come up with an interesting way to try
to ‘dispel notions that this amazing paradigm doesn’t apply to female
protagonists, intimate dramas or romantic comedies.’
Allen has come up with a ‘Character Driven Hero’s
Journey’. This avoids a lot of the mythological vocabulary and also helps focus on the fact that while plot is of course
important, it is transformation of character that moves us.
Here are the steps, with very brief descriptions:
Incomplete
Maps to –
introduction to the hero’s world
The protagonist is unfulfilled in their normal life. There
will be two things missing – one thing that they think they want (like money,
fame, a Porsche – you get the idea) and another thing which they haven’t
thought of, but is the real thing that will give them fulfilment. (compassion,
self confidence, etc).
Unsettled
Maps to – Call to
Adventure
The protagonist’s world becomes unsettled by an outside
force. An invitation, threat or attack, perhaps.
Resistant
Maps to – Refusal of
the call
The protagonist refuses to do the right thing. They are
afraid, selfish or just have different priorities.
Encouraged
Maps to – Meeting the
Mentor
The protagonist gets advice from someone. This meeting
should push them on their way, but the advice isn’t necessarily good or the
giver helpful – it may be an ultimatum or a challenge.
Committed
Maps to – Crossing
the Threshold
Now the main character gets pro-active and does something
about that thing that unsettled them. Ideally they should take some action that
makes it impossible to go back to how they were in the first scene – some
burning of bridges.
Disorientated
Maps to – Tests
Now the whole world is different as they try to navigate
towards their goal and face unfamiliar challenges and new rules. They will
probably fail several times at this stage.
Inauthentic
Maps to – The
Approach
The protagonist is confronted with their flaw, but they
refuse to address it.
Confronted
Maps to – The Ordeal
This is a slap in the face for the protagonist where they
finally realise they have to face their flaw and do something about it or lose
everything that is worth having.
Reborn
Maps to – The Reward
The lead character demonstrates that they are a changed
person.
Desperate
Maps to – The Road
Back
Remember right back at the beginning when we said that the
character has two things missing from their life – the thing they want and the
thing they need? Right here is where you make them face a choice between the
two.
Decisive
Maps to –
Resurrection
This is the climax of the story, where the protagonist must
actively make their decision. They don’t have to choose right, but the
consequences of their choice must be poetic.
Complete
Maps to – Return Home
The protagonist gets what they deserve. In the vast
majority of cases, they will have correctly chosen what they need and will now
be fulfilled in themselves.
Or if you have any thoughts, comments or feedback - let me know below!
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