6/27/2023 0 Comments One acrossThere will certainly be notable differences in how these archetypes are depicted, but the tropes will still appear. For example, a horror story from Japan will still contain many of the same archetypes as a horror story from Ireland. This research has given us lengthy and helpful lists of archetypes, or story elements that tend to recur in stories from any culture at any time.Īnd while some archetypes are unique to a genre, they are still consistent within those genres. Today, it has been researched and taught by great minds, some including Carl Jung and Christopher Vogler (author of The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers). It is a storytelling structure that anyone can study and utilize to tell a story that readers will love.įirst identified and defined by Joseph Campbell, the Hero's Journey was theorizied in The Hero With a Thousand Faces. The Hero's Journey is the timeless combination of characters, events, symbols, and relationships frequently structured as a sequence of twelve steps. Why the Hero's Journey will make you a better writerĪ Guide to Structuring Your Hero's Journeyīonus! Additional Hero's Journey Resources Table of Contents: The Hero's Journey Guide By the end of this post, you'll be able to easily apply the Hero's Journey to your story with confidence.Īnd don't skip out on the practice exercise at the end of the post! This will help you start to carve out the Hero's Journey for your story with a practical fifteen minute exercise-the best way to really retain how the Hero's Journey works is to apply it. I'll also share additional resources to teach you some other Hero's Journey essentials, like character archetypes, symbols, and themes. In this post, I'll walk you through the Hero's Journey twelve steps, and teach you how to apply them into your story. They were inscribed on the walls of caves, into tablets of stone, and on the first sheets of papyrus. These stories were told by mothers, soldiers, and performers. Tweet How to Use This Hero's Journey Post This may not make sense right now, but I promise it will as this post unfolds. Let me put it this way: To know the Hero's Journey is to know the human soul. To expect anything different would be practically inhuman. This archetype is hard-wired into our D.N.A. Within these archetypes are nearly infinite variations and unique perspectives that are impacted by culture and period, reflecting wonderful traits of the authors and audiences.Īlso, the Hero's Journey is a process that your reader expects your story to follow, whether they know it or not. However, the Hero's Journey is a deep set of steps, scenes, character types, symbols, and themes that tend to recur in stories regardless of culture or time period. The Hero's Journey also isn't “selling out” and giving up your artistic intregrity. The Hero's Journey isn't a formula to simply follow, plugging in hackneyed characters into cliched situations. We can't necessarily explain why a piece of music is so beautiful, but we can explain what it does and simply acknowledge that most people like it.Īs I've come to understand Joseph Campbell's groundbreaking monomyth theory, commonly known as the Hero's Journey, I've fallen deeper and deeper in love with it.īut it's important to make sure you know what it is, and what it isn't. It follows familiar beats and obeys age-old principles of human emotion. In a way, the Hero's Journey is like a wonderful soundtrack. But we love what we love, and I love the music of great movies. I even swung my arms high in the air, pretending I was conducting the violins and timpani myself. When my parents weren't home and I had the house all to myself, I'd slip one of the CDs into my stereo, crank the volume up, and blast the London Symphony Orchestra as it laid the epic foundation for Luke Skywalker's unforgettable trench run on the Death Star. Like many young boys, I grew up loving Star Wars. I especially loved the music and bought the soundtracks at some point in middle school. Need help applying The Hero's Journey to your story outline and manuscript? Download this free Hero's Journey worksheet now! Why I Love the Hero's Journey (And You Will, Too)
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