Writing Is Our Own Hero’s Journey
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.