WritersSolutions.com

Archive for July, 2009

As writers, we are called on to actively take steps along our own Hero’s Journey with each word we write.  We begin each day’s writing session with the courage to take one more step along the unknown journey of writing our novel.  We set our egos aside and let the creative ideas unfold on the page.  And no matter which direction we take, no matter whether it takes us down an unknown garden path or through the dark forest, it will ultimately take us one step closer to fulfillment of our own Hero’s Journey.  We step past our fears and into the stream of inspiration and creative flow and we feed our souls as we do.

As we help our characters find their way through the labyrinth of the Hero’s Journey, we find the courage to move forward in our own lives.  Out of the confusion and limitation we may feel at times, we find the path that resonates for us and us alone.  We walk that path and face the challenges along the way.  We allow the support of wise mentors and friends in the form of our own inner wisdom as well as the people we meet who can help us.  In the process, we find the courage within us to go forward toward what we truly want, living from a new level of authenticity and meaning in our own lives as we do.

 We remember that each difficulty our character faces is a necessary rite of passage for him to grow and develop as a human, to become the person he has the potential to be.  As we do this for our characters, we do it for an aspect of ourselves as well.  And our writing helps our readers to believe that perhaps they too can succeed if they take the leap of faith and reach for what they have always wanted.

As we go through the process of helping our characters succeed on the Hero’s Journey, we see the value of courage and a willingness to face the challenges in our own lives with authenticity in the best way we know how.  We see that staying stuck and stagnating where we are despite our inner urging toward change is just postponing the inevitable Hero’s Journey that we all are on.  And so, we take the leap of faith and choose the path of growth.  Our character’s unique version of the Hero’s Journey gives us the inspiration that taking a step toward our dreams might just be the best thing to do.

We can see what’s possible for ourselves as we join our novel’s characters on the journey of discovering a new level of truth and satisfaction in their lives.  These are our Heroes and they hold out the promise that we can each do the same for ourselves.

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Every great story that has ever been told follows the basic mythological structure of what Joseph Campbell has called the Hero’s Journey.  If you look closely at some of the most popular and satisfying novels and movies, you can see for yourself that this is true.  This structure deeply resonates for all of us as humans because it reflects the inner process we all go through in our lives as we strive to be true to ourselves and create a life that is satisfying and fulfilling.

In this article, I’ll go over the basics steps of the Hero’s Journey that you can use to structure your novel so that the final result will be a story that feels satisfying and meaningful to you as well as to your readers.

The Steps of the Hero’s Journey

1.  Reveal The Ordinary World of Your Character.  Introduce your main character, the hero of your novel, and show us what his life is like at the beginning of your story.

2.  Your Character Faces a Challenge.  Something happens that forces the hero to make a decision that will change his life.

3. Your Character Initially Refuses.  Initially your main character resists this change and the difficulties it will entail and wants things to stay the same.

4.  You Character Decides To Change.  Often triggered by an outside event, he makes a commitment to changing his life.

5.  Your Character Gains Mentors and Allies.  As your story progresses, your character meets people along the way who offer help and support.

6.  Your Character Learns What He Needs To Succeed.  He takes action toward achieving his goals and acquiring the skills he will need along the way.  The stakes get higher as he proceeds.

7.  Your Character First Confronts His Deepest Fear and Fails.  He faces his greatest challenge but has not yet acquired the inner strength that is needed to succeed at his goal.

8.  The Dark Night of the Soul. Your character experiences self-doubt and fears that he will never succeed.  He is on the verge of giving up.

9.  The Leap of Faith.  Your character experiences a renewed inner commitment to his goal based on an inner faith that he can be, do, or have whatever he really wants.

10.  Final Climactic Confrontation and Ultimate Success.  Your character faces his biggest challenge and puts everything into achieving what he wants.  With this final powerful effort, he finally succeeds and gets what he has wanted for so long.

When you apply the structure of the Hero’s Journey to your novel, the process of writing becomes much easier and more inspiring.  It helps you to see where your main character needs to go and what he needs to face in order to make the story truly powerful and meaningful for you as the writer and for your readers as well.  When you feel stuck and don’t know where to go next with your writing, the structure of the Hero’s Journey will always show you the next step.

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