Many writers debate whether or not to make and follow an outline for their books. That is, plot out the beginning, middle, and end in more or less detail. That’s usually as far as that debate goes. Only recently have I met one who insisted upon directly following a formula such as the “hero’s journey” storyline.
I just quickly Googled the “hero’s journey.” Here’s what I found:
· Ordinary World
· Call to Adventure
· Refusal of the Call
· Meeting with the Mentor
· Crossing the First Threshold
· Tests, Allies, Enemies
· Approach
· Ordeal
· Reward
· The Road Back
· Resurrection Hero
· Return with Elixir
That’s just a quick and simple overview and if you want to learn more, go ahead and research for yourself. I personally have heard enough of it after sophomore year English class where they tried to force us to write a story based on this. Everyone else got excited because “Yay! We don’t have to write a research paper!” Which I totally understand. I hate the strict laws of essay writing as much as anyone else. But, after attempting to force Ellie and Savannah into this mold (because they’re all I’ve ever had), I gave up on a huge school project for the first time in my life. I straight up didn’t do it, because I straight up couldn’t.
I mean, let me just try to right now (somehow, there are no spoilers ahead).
· Ordinary World: Ellie and Savannah in their unpleasant foster homes (Or in the ordinary magical world?)
· Call to Adventure: Ellie to Savannah, “hey, let’s run away!” (Or in the other world, being asked to reset the balance?)
· Refusal of the Call: Savannah: no, Ellie, I don’t think I want to run away.
Ellie: Come on. Let’s go.
Savannah: Okay!
Or maybe…
June: You’re the only ones who can reset the balance.
Twins: I don’t think so, can’t you?
June: No, I can’t, and you can.
Twins: Okay, cool.
· Meeting with the Mentor: June: Hey, let’s learn some magic.
· Crossing the First Threshold: Would this be the shadow cave, or the first locked door on their way to the center of magic?
· Tests, Allies, Enemies: Again, are we talking about inside the regular mansion, or the real trip to the center of magic?
· Approach: Approaching the center of magic?
· Ordeal: Hey, we might kill all the storm-made beings, including our friend Nathaniel, are we okay with that?
· Reward: But we’ll be saving literally everyone else, so, maybe it’s worth it.
· The Road Back: From where? Have we or haven’t we reset the balance yet?
· Resurrection Hero: Do we reset the balance here?
· Return with Elixir: Hey, look at all the cool stuff we just did.
Now, a lot of that might be completely off, or downright wrong. But there are two main things I want you to notice:
So, I’d advise against this method. The main reason I’m opposed to it is, if everyone used it, all stories would be very predictable. So, why do some people love it? Because for several hugely popular stories (Star Wars, Lord of the Rings) it works. Plus, it cuts down on reader confusion. We expect rising action leading to a climax, and then some falling action and wrap-up at the end. But you don’t need to follow an exact formula to get there.
Let your story grow the way you want. I’d advise plotting out your story enough so there is a clear beginning, middle and end. I like loose formatting because it gives you room for surprises. We don’t want everyone to be able to predict every part of your writing.
I just quickly Googled the “hero’s journey.” Here’s what I found:
· Ordinary World
· Call to Adventure
· Refusal of the Call
· Meeting with the Mentor
· Crossing the First Threshold
· Tests, Allies, Enemies
· Approach
· Ordeal
· Reward
· The Road Back
· Resurrection Hero
· Return with Elixir
That’s just a quick and simple overview and if you want to learn more, go ahead and research for yourself. I personally have heard enough of it after sophomore year English class where they tried to force us to write a story based on this. Everyone else got excited because “Yay! We don’t have to write a research paper!” Which I totally understand. I hate the strict laws of essay writing as much as anyone else. But, after attempting to force Ellie and Savannah into this mold (because they’re all I’ve ever had), I gave up on a huge school project for the first time in my life. I straight up didn’t do it, because I straight up couldn’t.
I mean, let me just try to right now (somehow, there are no spoilers ahead).
· Ordinary World: Ellie and Savannah in their unpleasant foster homes (Or in the ordinary magical world?)
· Call to Adventure: Ellie to Savannah, “hey, let’s run away!” (Or in the other world, being asked to reset the balance?)
· Refusal of the Call: Savannah: no, Ellie, I don’t think I want to run away.
Ellie: Come on. Let’s go.
Savannah: Okay!
Or maybe…
June: You’re the only ones who can reset the balance.
Twins: I don’t think so, can’t you?
June: No, I can’t, and you can.
Twins: Okay, cool.
· Meeting with the Mentor: June: Hey, let’s learn some magic.
· Crossing the First Threshold: Would this be the shadow cave, or the first locked door on their way to the center of magic?
· Tests, Allies, Enemies: Again, are we talking about inside the regular mansion, or the real trip to the center of magic?
· Approach: Approaching the center of magic?
· Ordeal: Hey, we might kill all the storm-made beings, including our friend Nathaniel, are we okay with that?
· Reward: But we’ll be saving literally everyone else, so, maybe it’s worth it.
· The Road Back: From where? Have we or haven’t we reset the balance yet?
· Resurrection Hero: Do we reset the balance here?
· Return with Elixir: Hey, look at all the cool stuff we just did.
Now, a lot of that might be completely off, or downright wrong. But there are two main things I want you to notice:
- Even though I said I don’t like this method, pretty much every story ends up loosely following it even when the author didn’t try to make it work.
- It doesn’t quite work for every story. The Mansion’s Twins sort of has two journeys in one story—the first trip to the magical world, and the second to the center of magic.
So, I’d advise against this method. The main reason I’m opposed to it is, if everyone used it, all stories would be very predictable. So, why do some people love it? Because for several hugely popular stories (Star Wars, Lord of the Rings) it works. Plus, it cuts down on reader confusion. We expect rising action leading to a climax, and then some falling action and wrap-up at the end. But you don’t need to follow an exact formula to get there.
Let your story grow the way you want. I’d advise plotting out your story enough so there is a clear beginning, middle and end. I like loose formatting because it gives you room for surprises. We don’t want everyone to be able to predict every part of your writing.
Don’t be alarmed if your story starts to fall into this formula. We’ve experienced it so many times in books, movies, etc, that it’s natural for something like it to fall out of our brains when it’s our turn to create. But don’t force it to fit either. We’ve experienced it so many times, I think it’s time for something a little different.
RSS Feed
