Refusal of the Call - Frequently, the hero is reluctant to answer the call, not yet totally committed to the cause. In Star Wars, the Call is contained in Princess Leia's desperate holographic message pleading for help from Obi Wan Kenobi. In a romance, the Call to Adventure often takes place when the would-be lovers meet. Likewise, in The Hunger Games, Katniss is at home in the Seam when the first book opens, untouched by the wider world.Ĭall to Adventure - When the hero receives the call to face a challenge, solve a problem, or undertake an adventure, she finds that she can no longer stay indefinitely in the Ordinary World, and must face the Special World. In Star Wars, we find Luke Skywalker as a bored farm boy before he goes off to fight the Empire. The Ordinary World - Most stories start out by giving us a glimpse of the hero in his or her home element. I’d encourage you to think of examples from your own favorite book, or even your current work in progress! THE HERO'S JOURNEY In fact, wherever possible, I’ll make non-spoiler references to The Hunger Games as examples. Although not all stories contain every step, the detailed elements of the journey are described below. I also borrow examples of each element from Vogler's book, so you’ll see I make a lot of references to the original Star Wars trilogy. (After all, who hasn't noticed the undeniable mythic structure of Star Wars !) Also, for the purposes of this post, the term "hero" should be taken to be without gender, applying equally to the journey of Katniss in The Hunger Games as to Harry in the Harry Potter series. In essence, Vogler takes Campbell's theories and creates what he refers to as The Hero's Journey. (If you're still searching for the magic formula, please let me know when you find it!) If after reading this post, you find you would like to further explore Vogler's writing theory, the third edition of the book is available from Michael Weise Productions. AlthoughVogler's book is geared particularly to screenwriting, the ideas it contains can be translated easily to any type of fiction writing.Īs always, this is simply a theory of writing, and not a formula. Soon after Campbell's rise to prominence, Christopher Vogler, a Hollywood screenwriting guru, published a guide to Campbell's theories of mythic structure entitled The Writer's Journey. It was as if Joseph Campbell had unlocked a secret code to great storytelling! Not surprisingly, Campbell's ideas sparked a lot of interest among the screenwriters in Hollywood. Campbell's book laid out the components that he argued were the underlying code of all mythology. Joseph Campbell was perhaps the most prominent "mythologist" of our time. In his book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Campbell distilled the components of the myths of widely varied cultures from all over the world and from ancient times to the present. In fact, the best stories seem to incorporate the principles of myth in ways that are dramatic, entertaining, and true to the human experience. Today's bestselling authors share this with the creators of the ancient myths of human kind.
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