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Hero's Journey 101: How to Use the Hero's Journey to Plot Your Story

By Dan Schriever

How many times have you heard this story? A protagonist is suddenly whisked away from their ordinary life and embarks on a grand adventure. Along the way they make new friends, confront perils, and face tests of character. In the end, evil is defeated, and the hero returns home a changed person.

That’s the Hero’s Journey in a nutshell. It probably sounds very familiar—and rightly so: the Hero’s Journey aspires to be the universal story, or monomyth, a narrative pattern deeply ingrained in literature and culture. Whether in books, movies, television, or folklore, chances are you’ve encountered many examples of the Hero’s Journey in the wild.

In this post, we’ll walk through the elements of the Hero’s Journey step by step. We’ll also study an archetypal example from the movie The Matrix (1999). Once you have mastered the beats of this narrative template, you’ll be ready to put your very own spin on it.

Sound good? Then let’s cross the threshold and let the journey begin.

What Is the Hero’s Journey?

The 12 stages of the hero’s journey, writing your own hero’s journey.

The Hero’s Journey is a common story structure for modeling both plot points and character development. A protagonist embarks on an adventure into the unknown. They learn lessons, overcome adversity, defeat evil, and return home transformed.

Joseph Campbell , a scholar of literature, popularized the monomyth in his influential work The Hero With a Thousand Faces (1949). Looking for common patterns in mythological narratives, Campbell described a character arc with 17 total stages, overlaid on a more traditional three-act structure. Not all need be present in every myth or in the same order.

The three stages, or acts, of Campbell’s Hero’s Journey are as follows:

1. Departure. The hero leaves the ordinary world behind.

2. Initiation. The hero ventures into the unknown ("the Special World") and overcomes various obstacles and challenges.

3. Return. The hero returns in triumph to the familiar world.

Hollywood has embraced Campbell’s structure, most famously in George Lucas’s Star Wars movies. There are countless examples in books, music, and video games, from fantasy epics and Disney films to sports movies.

In The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers (1992), screenwriter Christopher Vogler adapted Campbell’s three phases into the "12 Stages of the Hero’s Journey." This is the version we’ll analyze in the next section.

For writers, the purpose of the Hero’s Journey is to act as a template and guide. It’s not a rigid formula that your plot must follow beat by beat. Indeed, there are good reasons to deviate—not least of which is that this structure has become so ubiquitous.

Still, it’s helpful to master the rules before deciding when and how to break them. The 12 steps of the Hero's Journey are as follows :

• The Ordinary World
• The Call of Adventure
• Refusal of the Call
• Meeting the Mentor
• Crossing the First Threshold
• Tests, Allies, and Enemies
• Approach to the Inmost Cave
• Reward (Seizing the Sword)
• The Road Back
• Resurrection
• Return with the Elixir

Let’s take a look at each stage in more detail. To show you how the Hero’s Journey works in practice, we’ll also consider an example from the movie The Matrix (1999). After all, what blog has not been improved by a little Keanu Reeves?

#1: The Ordinary World

This is where we meet our hero, although the journey has not yet begun: first, we need to establish the status quo by showing the hero living their ordinary, mundane life.

It’s important to lay the groundwork in this opening stage, before the journey begins. It lets readers identify with the hero as just a regular person, “normal” like the rest of us. Yes, there may be a big problem somewhere out there, but the hero at this stage has very limited awareness of it.

The Ordinary World in The Matrix :

We are introduced to Thomas A. Anderson, aka Neo, programmer by day, hacker by night. While Neo runs a side operation selling illicit software, Thomas Anderson lives the most mundane life imaginable: he works at his cubicle, pays his taxes, and helps the landlady carry out her garbage.

#2: The Call to Adventure

The journey proper begins with a call to adventure—something that disrupts the hero’s ordinary life and confronts them with a problem or challenge they can’t ignore. This can take many different forms.

While readers may already understand the stakes, the hero is realizing them for the first time. They must make a choice: will they shrink from the call, or rise to the challenge?

The Call to Adventure in The Matrix :

A mysterious message arrives in Neo’s computer, warning him that things are not as they seem. He is urged to “follow the white rabbit.” At a nightclub, he meets Trinity, who tells him to seek Morpheus.

#3: Refusal of the Call

Oops! The hero chooses option A and attempts to refuse the call to adventure. This could be for any number of reasons: fear, disbelief, a sense of inadequacy, or plain unwillingness to make the sacrifices that are required.

A little reluctance here is understandable. If you were asked to trade the comforts of home for a life-and-death journey fraught with peril, wouldn’t you give pause?

Refusal of the Call in The Matrix :

Agents arrive at Neo’s office to arrest him. Morpheus urges Neo to escape by climbing out a skyscraper window. “I can’t do this… This is crazy!” Neo protests as he backs off the ledge.

#4: Meeting the Mentor

Okay, so the hero got cold feet. Nothing a little pep talk can’t fix! The mentor figure appears at this point to give the hero some much needed counsel, coaching, and perhaps a kick out the door.

After all, the hero is very inexperienced at this point. They’re going to need help to avoid disaster or, worse, death. The mentor’s role is to overcome the hero’s reluctance and prepare them for what lies ahead.

Meeting the Mentor in The Matrix :

Neo meets with Morpheus, who reveals a terrifying truth: that the ordinary world as we know it is a computer simulation designed to enslave humanity to machines.

#5: Crossing the First Threshold

At this juncture, the hero is ready to leave their ordinary world for the first time. With the mentor’s help, they are committed to the journey and ready to step across the threshold into the special world . This marks the end of the departure act and the beginning of the adventure in earnest.

This may seem inevitable, but for the hero it represents an important choice. Once the threshold is crossed, there’s no going back. Bilbo Baggins put it nicely: “It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.”

Crossing the First Threshold in The Matrix :

Neo is offered a stark choice: take the blue pill and return to his ordinary life none the wiser, or take the red pill and “see how deep the rabbit hole goes.” Neo takes the red pill and is extracted from the Matrix, entering the real world .

#6: Tests, Allies, and Enemies

Now we are getting into the meat of the adventure. The hero steps into the special world and must learn the new rules of an unfamiliar setting while navigating trials, tribulations, and tests of will. New characters are often introduced here, and the hero must navigate their relationships with them. Will they be friend, foe, or something in between?

Broadly speaking, this is a time of experimentation and growth. It is also one of the longest stages of the journey, as the hero learns the lay of the land and defines their relationship to other characters.

Wondering how to create captivating characters? Read our guide , which explains how to shape characters that readers will love—or hate.

Tests, Allies, and Enemies in The Matrix :

Neo is introduced to the vagabond crew of the Nebuchadnezzar . Morpheus informs Neo that he is The One , a savior destined to liberate humanity. He learns jiu jitsu and other useful skills.

#7: Approach to the Inmost Cave

Time to get a little metaphorical. The inmost cave isn’t a physical cave, but rather a place of great danger—indeed, the most dangerous place in the special world . It could be a villain’s lair, an impending battle, or even a mental barrier. No spelunking required.

Broadly speaking, the approach is marked by a setback in the quest. It becomes a lesson in persistence, where the hero must reckon with failure, change their mindset, or try new ideas.

Note that the hero hasn’t entered the cave just yet. This stage is about the approach itself, which the hero must navigate to get closer to their ultimate goal. The stakes are rising, and failure is no longer an option.

Approach to the Inmost Cave in The Matrix :

Neo pays a visit to The Oracle. She challenges Neo to “know thyself”—does he believe, deep down, that he is The One ? Or does he fear that he is “just another guy”? She warns him that the fate of humanity hangs in the balance.

#8: The Ordeal

The ordeal marks the hero’s greatest test thus far. This is a dark time for them: indeed, Campbell refers to it as the “belly of the whale.” The hero experiences a major hurdle or obstacle, which causes them to hit rock bottom.

This is a pivotal moment in the story, the main event of the second act. It is time for the hero to come face to face with their greatest fear. It will take all their skills to survive this life-or-death crisis. Should they succeed, they will emerge from the ordeal transformed.

Keep in mind: the story isn’t over yet! Rather, the ordeal is the moment when the protagonist overcomes their weaknesses and truly steps into the title of hero .

The Ordeal in The Matrix :

When Cipher betrays the crew to the agents, Morpheus sacrifices himself to protect Neo. In turn, Neo makes his own choice: to risk his life in a daring rescue attempt.

#9: Reward (Seizing the Sword)

The ordeal was a major level-up moment for the hero. Now that it's been overcome, the hero can reap the reward of success. This reward could be an object, a skill, or knowledge—whatever it is that the hero has been struggling toward. At last, the sword is within their grasp.

From this moment on, the hero is a changed person. They are now equipped for the final conflict, even if they don’t fully realize it yet.

Reward (Seizing the Sword) in The Matrix :

Neo’s reward is helpfully narrated by Morpheus during the rescue effort: “He is beginning to believe.” Neo has gained confidence that he can fight the machines, and he won’t back down from his destiny.

#10: The Road Back

We’re now at the beginning of act three, the return . With the reward in hand, it’s time to exit the inmost cave and head home. But the story isn’t over yet.

In this stage, the hero reckons with the consequences of act two. The ordeal was a success, but things have changed now. Perhaps the dragon, robbed of his treasure, sets off for revenge. Perhaps there are more enemies to fight. Whatever the obstacle, the hero must face them before their journey is complete.

The Road Back in The Matrix :

The rescue of Morpheus has enraged Agent Smith, who intercepts Neo before he can return to the Nebuchadnezzar . The two foes battle in a subway station, where Neo’s skills are pushed to their limit.

#11: Resurrection

Now comes the true climax of the story. This is the hero’s final test, when everything is at stake: the battle for the soul of Gotham, the final chance for evil to triumph. The hero is also at the peak of their powers. A happy ending is within sight, should they succeed.

Vogler calls the resurrection stage the hero’s “final exam.” They must draw on everything they have learned and prove again that they have really internalized the lessons of the ordeal . Near-death escapes are not uncommon here, or even literal deaths and resurrections.

Resurrection in The Matrix :

Despite fighting valiantly, Neo is defeated by Agent Smith and killed. But with Trinity’s help, he is resurrected, activating his full powers as The One . Isn’t it wonderful how literal The Matrix can be?

#12: Return with the Elixir

Hooray! Evil has been defeated and the hero is transformed. It’s time for the protagonist to return home in triumph, and share their hard-won prize with the ordinary world . This prize is the elixir —the object, skill, or insight that was the hero’s true reward for their journey and transformation.

Return with the Elixir in The Matrix :

Neo has defeated the agents and embraced his destiny. He returns to the simulated world of the Matrix, this time armed with god-like powers and a resolve to open humanity’s eyes to the truth.

If you’re writing your own adventure, you may be wondering: should I follow the Hero’s Journey structure?

The good news is, it’s totally up to you. Joseph Campbell conceived of the monomyth as a way to understand universal story structure, but there are many ways to outline a novel. Feel free to play around within its confines, adapt it across different media, and disrupt reader expectations. It’s like Morpheus says: “Some of these rules can be bent. Others can be broken.”

Think of the Hero’s Journey as a tool. If you’re not sure where your story should go next, it can help to refer back to the basics. From there, you’re free to choose your own adventure.

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Last updated on Aug 10, 2023

The Hero's Journey: 12 Steps to a Classic Story Structure

About the author.

Reedsy's editorial team is a diverse group of industry experts devoted to helping authors write and publish beautiful books.

About Dario Villirilli

Editor-in-Chief of the Reedsy blog, Dario is a graduate of Mälardalen University. As a freelance writer, he has written for many esteemed outlets aimed at writers. A traveler at heart, he can be found roaming the world and working from his laptop.

The Hero's Journey is a timeless story structure which follows a protagonist on an unforeseen quest, where they face challenges, gain insights, and return home transformed. From Theseus and the Minotaur to The Lion King , so many narratives follow this pattern that it’s become ingrained into our cultural DNA. 

In this post, we'll show you how to make this classic plot structure work for you — and if you’re pressed for time, download our cheat sheet below for everything you need to know.

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Hero's Journey Template

Plot your character's journey with our step-by-step template.

What is the Hero’s Journey?

The Hero's Journey, also known as the monomyth, is a story structure where a hero goes on a quest or adventure to achieve a goal, and has to overcome obstacles and fears, before ultimately returning home transformed.

This narrative arc has been present in various forms across cultures for centuries, if not longer, but gained popularity through Joseph Campbell's mythology book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces . While Campbell identified 17 story beats in his monomyth definition, this post will concentrate on a 12-step framework popularized in 2007 by screenwriter Christopher Vogler in his book The Writer’s Journey .

The 12 Steps of the Hero’s Journey

The Hero's Journey is a model for both plot points and character arc development: as the Hero traverses the world, they'll undergo inner and outer transformation at each stage of the journey. The 12 steps of the hero's journey are: 

• The Ordinary World: We meet our hero.
• Call to Adventure:  Will they meet the challenge?
• Refusal of the Call: They resist the adventure.
• Meeting the Mentor: A teacher arrives.
• Crossing the First Threshold: The hero leaves their comfort zone.
• Tests, Allies, Enemies: Making friends and facing roadblocks.
• Approach to the Inmost Cave: Getting closer to our goal.
• Ordeal: The hero’s biggest test yet!
• Reward (Seizing the Sword):  Light at the end of the tunnel
• The Road Back: We aren’t safe yet.
• Resurrection:  The final hurdle is reached.
• Return with the Elixir:  The hero heads home, triumphant.

Believe it or not, this story structure also applies across mediums and genres. Let's dive into it!

1. Ordinary World

In which we meet our Hero.

The journey has yet to start. Before our Hero discovers a strange new world, we must first understand the status quo: their ordinary, mundane reality.

It’s up to this opening leg to set the stage, introducing the Hero to readers. Importantly, it lets readers identify with the Hero as a “normal” person in a “normal” setting, before the journey begins.

2. Call to Adventure

In which an adventure starts.

The call to adventure is all about booting the Hero out of their comfort zone. In this stage, they are generally confronted with a problem or challenge they can't ignore. This catalyst can take many forms, as Campbell points out in Hero with a Thousand Faces . The Hero can, for instance:

• Decide to go forth of their own volition;
• Theseus upon arriving in Athens.
• Be sent abroad by a benign or malignant agent;
• Odysseus setting off on his ship in The Odyssey .
• Stumble upon the adventure as a result of a mere blunder;
• Dorothy when she’s swept up in a tornado in The Wizard of Oz .
• Be casually strolling when some passing phenomenon catches the wandering eye and lures one away from the frequented paths of man.
• Elliot in E.T. upon discovering a lost alien in the tool shed.

The stakes of the adventure and the Hero's goals become clear. The only question: will he rise to the challenge?

3. Refusal of the Call

In which the Hero digs in their feet.

Great, so the Hero’s received their summons. Now they’re all set to be whisked off to defeat evil, right?

Not so fast. The Hero might first refuse the call to action. It’s risky and there are perils — like spiders, trolls, or perhaps a creepy uncle waiting back at Pride Rock . It’s enough to give anyone pause.

In Star Wars , for instance, Luke Skywalker initially refuses to join Obi-Wan on his mission to rescue the princess. It’s only when he discovers that his aunt and uncle have been killed by stormtroopers that he changes his mind.

4. Meeting the Mentor

In which the Hero acquires a personal trainer.

The Hero's decided to go on the adventure — but they’re not ready to spread their wings yet. They're much too inexperienced at this point and we don't want them to do a fabulous belly-flop off the cliff.

Enter the mentor: someone who helps the Hero, so that they don't make a total fool of themselves (or get themselves killed). The mentor provides practical training, profound wisdom, a kick up the posterior, or something abstract like grit and self-confidence.

Wise old wizards seem to like being mentors. But mentors take many forms, from witches to hermits and suburban karate instructors. They might literally give weapons to prepare for the trials ahead, like Q in the James Bond series. Or perhaps the mentor is an object, such as a map. In all cases, they prepare the Hero for the next step.

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5. Crossing the First Threshold

In which the Hero enters the other world in earnest.

Now the Hero is ready — and committed — to the journey. This marks the end of the Departure stage and is when the adventure really kicks into the next gear. As Vogler writes: “This is the moment that the balloon goes up, the ship sails, the romance begins, the wagon gets rolling.”

From this point on, there’s no turning back.

Like our Hero, you should think of this stage as a checkpoint for your story. Pause and re-assess your bearings before you continue into unfamiliar territory. Have you:

• Launched the central conflict? If not, here’s a post on types of conflict to help you out.
• Established the theme of your book? If not, check out this post that’s all about creating theme and motifs.
• Made headway into your character development? If not, this author-approved template may be useful:

Reedsy’s Character Profile Template

A story is only as strong as its characters. Fill this out to develop yours.

6. Tests, Allies, Enemies

In which the Hero faces new challenges and gets a squad.

When we step into the Special World, we notice a definite shift. The Hero might be discombobulated by this unfamiliar reality and its new rules. This is generally one of the longest stages in the story , as our protagonist gets to grips with this new world.

This makes a prime hunting ground for the series of tests to pass! Luckily, there are many ways for the Hero to get into trouble:

• In Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle , Spencer, Bethany, “Fridge,” and Martha get off to a bad start when they bump into a herd of bloodthirsty hippos.
• In his first few months at Hogwarts, Harry Potter manages to fight a troll, almost fall from a broomstick and die, and get horribly lost in the Forbidden Forest.
• Marlin and Dory encounter three “reformed” sharks, get shocked by jellyfish, and are swallowed by a blue whale en route to finding Nemo.

This stage often expands the cast of characters. Once the protagonist is in the Special World, he will meet allies and enemies — or foes that turn out to be friends and vice versa. He will learn a new set of rules from them. Saloons and seedy bars are popular places for these transactions, as Vogler points out (so long as the Hero survives them).

7. Approach to the Inmost Cave

In which the Hero gets closer to his goal.

This isn’t a physical cave. Instead, the “inmost cave” refers to the most dangerous spot in the other realm — whether that’s the villain’s chambers, the lair of the fearsome dragon, or the Death Star. Almost always, it is where the ultimate goal of the quest is located.

Note that the protagonist hasn’t entered the Inmost Cave just yet. This stage is all about the approach to it. It covers all the prep work that's needed in order to defeat the villain.

In which the Hero faces his biggest test of all thus far.

Of all the tests the Hero has faced, none have made them hit rock bottom — until now. Vogler describes this phase as a “black moment.” Campbell refers to it as the “belly of the whale.” Both indicate some grim news for the Hero.

The protagonist must now confront their greatest fear. If they survive it, they will emerge transformed. This is a critical moment in the story, as Vogler explains that it will “inform every decision that the Hero makes from this point forward.”

The Ordeal is sometimes not the climax of the story. There’s more to come. But you can think of it as the main event of the second act — the one in which the Hero actually earns the title of “Hero.”

9. Reward (Seizing the Sword)

In which the Hero sees light at the end of the tunnel.

Our Hero’s been through a lot. However, the fruits of their labor are now at hand — if they can just reach out and grab them! The “reward” is the object or knowledge the Hero has fought throughout the entire journey to hold.

Once the protagonist has it in their possession, it generally has greater ramifications for the story. Vogler offers a few examples of it in action:

• Luke rescues Princess Leia and captures the plans of the Death Star — keys to defeating Darth Vader.
• Dorothy escapes from the Wicked Witch’s castle with the broomstick and the ruby slippers — keys to getting back home.

10. The Road Back

In which the light at the end of the tunnel might be a little further than the Hero thought.

The story's not over just yet, as this phase marks the beginning of Act Three. Now that he's seized the reward, the Hero tries to return to the Ordinary World, but more dangers (inconveniently) arise on the road back from the Inmost Cave.

More precisely, the Hero must deal with the consequences and aftermath of the previous act: the dragon, enraged by the Hero who’s just stolen a treasure from under his nose, starts the hunt. Or perhaps the opposing army gathers to pursue the Hero across a crowded battlefield. All further obstacles for the Hero, who must face them down before they can return home.

11. Resurrection

In which the last test is met.

Here is the true climax of the story. Everything that happened prior to this stage culminates in a crowning test for the Hero, as the Dark Side gets one last chance to triumph over the Hero.

Vogler refers to this as a “final exam” for the Hero — they must be “tested once more to see if they have really learned the lessons of the Ordeal.” It’s in this Final Battle that the protagonist goes through one more “resurrection.” As a result, this is where you’ll get most of your miraculous near-death escapes, à la James Bond's dashing deliverances. If the Hero survives, they can start looking forward to a sweet ending.

12. Return with the Elixir

In which our Hero has a triumphant homecoming.

Finally, the Hero gets to return home. However, they go back a different person than when they started out: they’ve grown and matured as a result of the journey they’ve taken.

But we’ve got to see them bring home the bacon, right? That’s why the protagonist must return with the “Elixir,” or the prize won during the journey, whether that’s an object or knowledge and insight gained.

Of course, it’s possible for a story to end on an Elixir-less note — but then the Hero would be doomed to repeat the entire adventure.

Examples of The Hero’s Journey in Action

To better understand this story template beyond the typical sword-and-sorcery genre, let's analyze three examples, from both screenplay and literature, and examine how they implement each of the twelve steps. 

The 1976 film Rocky is acclaimed as one of the most iconic sports films because of Stallone’s performance and the heroic journey his character embarks on.

• Ordinary World. Rocky Balboa is a mediocre boxer and loan collector — just doing his best to live day-to-day in a poor part of Philadelphia.
• Call to Adventure. Heavyweight champ Apollo Creed decides to make a big fight interesting by giving a no-name loser a chance to challenge him. That loser: Rocky Balboa.
• Refusal of the Call. Rocky says, “Thanks, but no thanks,” given that he has no trainer and is incredibly out of shape.
• Meeting the Mentor. In steps former boxer Mickey “Mighty Mick” Goldmill, who sees potential in Rocky and starts training him physically and mentally for the fight.
• Crossing the First Threshold. Rocky crosses the threshold of no return when he accepts the fight on live TV, and 一 in parallel 一 when he crosses the threshold into his love interest Adrian’s house and asks her out on a date.
• Tests, Allies, Enemies. Rocky continues to try and win Adrian over and maintains a dubious friendship with her brother, Paulie, who provides him with raw meat to train with.
• Approach to the Inmost Cave. The Inmost Cave in Rocky is Rocky’s own mind. He fears that he’ll never amount to anything — something that he reveals when he butts heads with his trainer, Mickey, in his apartment.
• Ordeal. The start of the training montage marks the beginning of Rocky’s Ordeal. He pushes through it until he glimpses hope ahead while running up the museum steps.
• Reward (Seizing the Sword). Rocky's reward is the restoration of his self-belief, as he recognizes he can try to “go the distance” with Apollo Creed and prove he's more than "just another bum from the neighborhood."
• The Road Back. On New Year's Day, the fight takes place. Rocky capitalizes on Creed's overconfidence to start strong, yet Apollo makes a comeback, resulting in a balanced match.
• Resurrection. The fight inflicts multiple injuries and pushes both men to the brink of exhaustion, with Rocky being knocked down numerous times. But he consistently rises to his feet, enduring through 15 grueling rounds.
• Return with the Elixir. Rocky loses the fight — but it doesn’t matter. He’s won back his confidence and he’s got Adrian, who tells him that she loves him.

Moving outside of the ring, let’s see how this story structure holds on a completely different planet and with a character in complete isolation. 

The Martian 

In Andy Weir’s bestselling novel (better known for its big screen adaptation) we follow astronaut Mark Watney as he endures the challenges of surviving on Mars and working out a way to get back home.

• The Ordinary World. Botanist Mark and other astronauts are on a mission on Mars to study the planet and gather samples. They live harmoniously in a structure known as "the Hab.”
• Call to Adventure. The mission is scrapped due to a violent dust storm. As they rush to launch, Mark is flung out of sight and the team believes him to be dead. He is, however, very much alive — stranded on Mars with no way of communicating with anyone back home.
• Refusal of the Call. With limited supplies and grim odds of survival, Mark concludes that he will likely perish on the desolate planet.
• Meeting the Mentor. Thanks to his resourcefulness and scientific knowledge he starts to figure out how to survive until the next Mars mission arrives.
• Crossing the First Threshold. Mark crosses the mental threshold of even trying to survive 一 he successfully creates a greenhouse to cultivate a potato crop, creating a food supply that will last long enough.
• Tests, Allies, Enemies. Loneliness and other difficulties test his spirit, pushing him to establish contact with Earth and the people at NASA, who devise a plan to help.  
• Approach to the Inmost Cave. Mark faces starvation once again after an explosion destroys his potato crop.
• Ordeal. A NASA rocket destined to deliver supplies to Mark disintegrates after liftoff and all hope seems lost.
• Reward (Seizing the Sword). Mark’s efforts to survive are rewarded with a new possibility to leave the planet. His team 一 now aware that he’s alive 一 defies orders from NASA and heads back to Mars to rescue their comrade.
• The Road Back. Executing the new plan is immensely difficult 一 Mark has to travel far to locate the spaceship for his escape, and almost dies along the way.
• Resurrection. Mark is unable to get close enough to his teammates' ship but finds a way to propel himself in empty space towards them, and gets aboard safely.
• Return with the Elixir. Now a survival instructor for aspiring astronauts, Mark teaches students that space is indifferent and that survival hinges on solving one problem after another, as well as the importance of other people’s help.

Coming back to Earth, let’s now examine a heroine’s journey through the wilderness of the Pacific Crest Trail and her… humanity. 

The memoir Wild narrates the three-month-long hiking adventure of Cheryl Strayed across the Pacific coast, as she grapples with her turbulent past and rediscovers her inner strength.

• The Ordinary World. Cheryl shares her strong bond with her mother who was her strength during a tough childhood with an abusive father.
• Call to Adventure. As her mother succumbs to lung cancer, Cheryl faces the heart-wrenching reality to confront life's challenges on her own.
• Refusal of the Call. Cheryl spirals down into a destructive path of substance abuse and infidelity, which leads to hit rock bottom with a divorce and unwanted pregnancy. 
• Meeting the Mentor. Her best friend Lisa supports her during her darkest time. One day she notices the Pacific Trail guidebook, which gives her hope to find her way back to her inner strength.
• Crossing the First Threshold. She quits her job, sells her belongings, and visits her mother’s grave before traveling to Mojave, where the trek begins.
• Tests, Allies, Enemies. Cheryl is tested by her heavy bag, blisters, rattlesnakes, and exhaustion, but many strangers help her along the trail with a warm meal or hiking tips. 
• Approach to the Inmost Cave. As Cheryl goes through particularly tough and snowy parts of the trail her emotional baggage starts to catch up with her.  
• Ordeal. She inadvertently drops one of her shoes off a cliff, and the incident unearths the helplessness she's been evading since her mother's passing.
• Reward (Seizing the Sword). Cheryl soldiers on, trekking an impressive 50 miles in duct-taped sandals before finally securing a new pair of shoes. This small victory amplifies her self-confidence.
• The Road Back. On the last stretch, she battles thirst, sketchy hunters, and a storm, but more importantly, she revisits her most poignant and painful memories.
• Resurrection. Cheryl forgives herself for damaging her marriage and her sense of worth, owning up to her mistakes. A pivotal moment happens at Crater Lake, where she lets go of her frustration at her mother for passing away.
• Return with the Elixir. Cheryl reaches the Bridge of the Gods and completes the trail. She has found her inner strength and determination for life's next steps.

There are countless other stories that could align with this template, but it's not always the perfect fit. So, let's look into when authors should consider it or not.

When should writers use The Hero’s Journey?

The Hero’s Journey is just one way to outline a novel and dissect a plot. For more longstanding theories on the topic, you can go here to read about the ever-popular Three-Act Structure, here to discover Dan Harmon's Story Circle, and here to learn about three more prevalent structures.

So when is it best to use the Hero’s Journey? There are a couple of circumstances which might make this a good choice.

When you need more specific story guidance than simple structures can offer

Simply put, the Hero’s Journey structure is far more detailed and closely defined than other story structure theories. If you want a fairly specific framework for your work than a thee-act structure, the Hero’s Journey can be a great place to start.

Of course, rules are made to be broken . There’s plenty of room to play within the confines of the Hero’s Journey, despite it appearing fairly prescriptive at first glance. Do you want to experiment with an abbreviated “Resurrection” stage, as J.K. Rowling did in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone? Are you more interested in exploring the journey of an anti-hero? It’s all possible.

Once you understand the basics of this universal story structure, you can use and bend it in ways that disrupt reader expectations.

Need more help developing your book? Try this template on for size:

Get our Book Development Template

Use this template to go from a vague idea to a solid plan for a first draft.

When your focus is on a single protagonist

No matter how sprawling or epic the world you’re writing is, if your story is, at its core, focused on a single character’s journey, then this is a good story structure for you. It’s kind of in the name! If you’re dealing with an entire ensemble, the Hero’s Journey may not give you the scope to explore all of your characters’ plots and subplot — a broader three-act structure may give you more freedom to weave a greater number story threads. ​​

Which story structure is right for you?

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Whether you're a reader or writer, we hope our guide has helped you understand this universal story arc. Want to know more about story structure? We explain 6 more in our guide — read on!

6 responses

PJ Reece says:

25/07/2018 – 19:41

Nice vid, good intro to story structure. Typically, though, the 'hero's journey' misses the all-important point of the Act II crisis. There, where the hero faces his/her/its existential crisis, they must DIE. The old character is largely destroyed -- which is the absolute pre-condition to 'waking up' to what must be done. It's not more clever thinking; it's not thinking at all. Its SEEING. So many writing texts miss this point. It's tantamount to a religions experience, and nobody grows up without it. STORY STRUCTURE TO DIE FOR examines this dramatic necessity.

↪️ C.T. Cheek replied:

13/11/2019 – 21:01

Okay, but wouldn't the Act II crisis find itself in the Ordeal? The Hero is tested and arguably looses his/her/its past-self for the new one. Typically, the Hero is not fully "reborn" until the Resurrection, in which they defeat the hypothetical dragon and overcome the conflict of the story. It's kind of this process of rebirth beginning in the earlier sections of the Hero's Journey and ending in the Resurrection and affirmed in the Return with the Elixir.

Lexi Mize says:

25/07/2018 – 22:33

Great article. Odd how one can take nearly every story and somewhat plug it into such a pattern.

Bailey Koch says:

11/06/2019 – 02:16

This was totally lit fam!!!!

↪️ Bailey Koch replied:

11/09/2019 – 03:46

where is my dad?

Frank says:

12/04/2020 – 12:40

Great article, thanks! :) But Vogler didn't expand Campbell's theory. Campbell had seventeen stages, not twelve.

Comments are currently closed.

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The Hero’s Journey Ultimate Writing Guide with Examples

by Alex Cabal

What do Star Wars , The Hobbit , and Harry Potter have in common? They’re all examples of a story archetype as old as time. You’ll see this universal narrative structure in books, films, and even video games.

This ultimate Hero’s Journey writing guide will define and explore all quintessential elements of the Hero’s Journey—character archetypes, themes, symbolism, the three act structure, as well as 12 stages of the Hero’s Journey. We’ll even provide a downloadable plot template, tips for writing the Hero’s Journey, and writing prompts to get the creative juices flowing.

What is the Hero’s Journey?

The Hero’s Journey is a universal story structure that follows the personal metamorphosis and psychological development of a protagonist on a heroic adventure. The protagonist goes through a series of stages to overcome adversity and complete a quest to attain an ultimate reward—whether that’s something tangible, like the holy grail, or something internal, like self confidence.

In the process of self-discovery, the archetypal Hero’s Journey is typically cyclical; it begins and ends in the same place (Think Frodo leaving and then returning to the Shire). After the epic quest or adventure has been completed by overcoming adversity and conflict—both physical and mental—the hero arrives where they once began, changed in some as they rose to meet the ultimate conflict or ordeal of the quest.

Joseph Campbell and Christopher Vogler

The Hero’s Journey has a long history of conversation around the form and its uses, with notable contributors including Joseph Campbell and the screenwriter Christopher Vogler , who later revised the steps of the Hero’s Journey.

Joseph Campbell’s “monomyth” framework is the traditional story structure of the Hero’s Journey archetype. Campbell developed it through analysis of ancient myths, folktales, and religious stories. It generally follows three acts in a cyclical, rather than a linear, way: a hero embarks on a journey, faces a crisis, and then returns home transformed and victorious.

Campbell’s ideation of the monomyth in his book The Hero With a Thousand Faces was influenced by Carl Jung’s perspective of psychology and models of self-transformation , where the Hero’s Journey is a path of transformation to a higher self, psychological healing, and spiritual growth.

While Campbell’s original take on the monomyth included 17 steps within the three acts, Christopher Vogler, in his book The Writer’s Journey , refined those 17 steps into 12 stages—the common formula for the modern structure many writers use today.

It’s also worth checking out Maureen Murdock’s work on the archetype, “The Heroine’s Journey.” This takes a look at the female Hero’s Journey, which examines the traditionally masculine journey through a feminist lens.

Hero’s Journey diagram: acts, steps, and stages

Below, you can see the way Volger’s Hero’s Journey is broken into twelve story beats across three acts.

Why is the Hero’s Journey so popular?

The structure of the Hero’s Journey appears in many of our most beloved classic stories, and it continues to resonate over time because it explores the concept of personal transformation and growth through both physical and mental trials and tribulations. In some sense, every individual in this mythic structure experiences rites of passage, the search for home and the true authentic self, which is mirrored in a protagonist’s journey of overcoming obstacles while seeking to fulfill a goal.

Additionally, the Hero’s Journey typically includes commonly shared symbols and aspects of the human psyche—the trickster, the mother, the child, etc. These archetypes play a role in creating a story that the reader can recognize from similar dynamics in their own relationships, experiences, and familiar world. Archetypes allow the writer to use these “metaphorical truths”—a playful deceiver, a maternal bond, a person of innocence and purity—to deeply and empathetically connect with the reader through symbolism. That’s why they continue to appear in countless stories all around the world.

Hero’s Journey character archetypes

Character archetypes are literary devices based on a set of qualities that are easy for a reader to identify, empathize with, and understand, as these qualities and traits are common to the human experience.

It should be noted that character archetypes are not stereotypes . While stereotypes are oversimplifications of demographics or personality traits, an archetype is a symbol of a universal type of character that can be recognized either in one’s self or in others in real life.

The following archetypes are commonly used in a Hero’s Journey:

The hero is typically the protagonist or principal point-of-view character within a story. The hero transforms—internally, externally, often both—while on their journey as they experience tests and trials and are aided or hindered by the other archetypes they encounter. In general, the hero must rise to the challenge and at some point make an act of sacrifice for the ultimate greater good. In this way, the Hero’s Journey represents the reader’s own everyday battles and their power to overcome them.

Heroes may be willing or unwilling. Some can be downright unheroic to begin with. Antiheroes are notably flawed characters that must grow significantly before they achieve the status of true hero.

The mentor often possesses divine wisdom or direct experience with the special world, and has faith in the hero. They often give the hero a gift or supernatural aid, which is usually something important for the quest: either a weapon to destroy a monster, or a talisman to enlighten the hero. The mentor may also directly aid the hero or present challenges to them that force internal or external growth. After their meeting, the hero leaves stronger and better prepared for the road ahead.

The herald is the “call to adventure.” They announce the coming of significant change and become the reason the hero ventures out onto a mysterious adventure. The herald is a catalyst that enters the story and makes it impossible for the hero to remain in status quo. Existing in the form of a person or an event, or sometimes just as information, they shift the hero’s balance and change their world.

The Threshold Guardian

This archetype guards the first threshold—the major turning point of the story where the hero must make the true commitment of the journey and embark on their quest to achieve their destiny. Threshold guardians spice up the story by providing obstacles the hero must overcome, but they’re usually not the main antagonist.

The role of the threshold guardian is to help round out the hero along their journey. The threshold guardian will test the hero’s determination and commitment and will drive them forward as the hero enters the next stage of their journey, assisting the development of the hero’s character arc within the plot. The threshold guardian can be a friend who doesn’t believe in the hero’s quest, or a foe that makes the hero question themselves, their desires, or motives in an attempt to deter the hero from their journey. Ultimately, the role of the threshold guardian is to test the hero’s resolve on their quest.

The Shape Shifter

The shape shifter adds dramatic tension to the story and provides the hero with a puzzle to solve. They can seem to be one thing, but in fact be something else. They bring doubt and suspense to the story and test the hero’s ability to discern their path. The shape shifter may be a lover, friend, ally, or enemy that somehow reveals their true self from the hero’s preconceived notion. This often causes the hero internal turmoil, or creates additional challenges and tests to overcome.

The shadow is the “monster under the bed,” and could be repressed feelings, deep trauma, or festering guilt. These all possess the dark energy of the shadow. It is the dark force of the unexpressed, unrealized, rejected, feared aspects of the hero and is often, but not necessarily, represented by the main antagonist or villain.

However, other characters may take the form of the shadow at different stages of the story as “foil characters” that contrast against the hero. They might also represent what could happen if the hero fails to learn, transform, and grow to complete their quest. At times, a hero may even succumb to the shadow, from which they will need to make sacrifices to be redeemed to continue on their overall quest.

The Trickster

The trickster is the jester or fool of the story that not only provides comic relief, but may also act as a commentator as the events of the plot unfold. Tricksters are typically witty, clever, spontaneous, and sometimes even ridiculous. The trickster within a story can bring a light-hearted element to a challenge, or find a clever way to overcome an obstacle.

Hero’s Journey themes and symbols

Alongside character archetypes, there are also archetypes for settings, situations, and symbolic items that can offer meaning to the world within the story or support your story’s theme.

Archetypes of themes, symbols, and situations represent shared patterns of human existence. This familiarity can provide the reader insight into the deeper meaning of a story without the writer needing to explicitly tell them. There are a great number of archetypes and symbols that can be used to reinforce a theme. Some that are common to the Hero’s Journey include:

Situational archetypes

Light vs. dark and the battle of good vs. evil

Death, rebirth, and transformation in the cycle of life

Nature vs. technology, and the evolution of humanity

Rags to riches or vice versa, as commentary on the material world and social status

Wisdom vs. knowledge and innocence vs. experience, in the understanding of intuition and learned experience

Setting archetypes

Gardens may represent the taming of nature, or living in harmony with nature.

Forests may represent reconnection with nature or wildness, or the fear of the unknown.

Cities or small towns may represent humanity at its best and at its worst. A small town may offer comfort and rest, while simultaneously offering judgment; a city may represent danger while simultaneously championing diversity of ideas, beings, and cultures.

Water and fire within a landscape may represent danger, change, purification, and cleansing.

Symbolic items

Items of the past self. These items are generally tokens from home that remind the hero of where they came from and who or what they’re fighting for.

Gifts to the hero. These items may be given to the hero from a mentor, ally, or even a minor character they meet along the way. These items are typically hero talismans, and may or may not be magical, but will aid the hero on their journey.

Found items. These items are typically found along the journey and represent some sort of growth or change within the hero. After all, the hero would never have found the item had they not left their everyday life behind. These items may immediately seem unimportant, but often carry great significance.

Earned rewards. These items are generally earned by overcoming a test or trial, and often represent growth, or give aid in future trials, tests, and conflicts.

The three act structure of the Hero’s Journey

The structure of the Hero’s Journey, including all 12 steps, can be grouped into three stages that encompass each phase of the journey. These acts follow the the external and internal arc of the hero—the beginning, the initiation and transformation, and the return home.

Act One: Departure (Steps 1—5)

The first act introduces the hero within the ordinary world, as they are—original and untransformed. The first act will typically include the first five steps of the Hero’s Journey.

This section allows the writer to set the stage with details that show who the hero is before their metamorphosis—what is the environment of the ordinary world? What’s important to the hero? Why do they first refuse the call, and then, why do they ultimately accept and embark on the journey to meet with the conflict?

This stage introduces the first major plot point of the story, explores the conflict the hero confronts, and provides the opportunity for characterization for the hero and their companions.

The end of the first act generally occurs when the hero has fully committed to the journey and crossed the threshold of the ordinary world—where there is no turning back.

Act Two: Initiation (Steps 6—9)

Once the hero begins their journey, the second act marks the beginning of their true initiation into the unfamiliar world—they have crossed the threshold, and through this choice, have undergone their first transformation.

The second act is generally the longest of the three and includes steps six through nine.

In this act, the hero meets most of the characters that will be pivotal to the plot, including friends, enemies, and allies. It offers the rising action and other minor plot points related to the overarching conflict. The hero will overcome various trials, grow and transform, and navigate subplots—the additional and unforeseen complexity of the conflict.

This act generally ends when the hero has risen to the challenge to overcome the ordeal and receives their reward. At the end of this act, it’s common for the theme and moral of the story to be fully unveiled.

Act Three: Return (Steps 10—12)

The final stage typically includes steps 10—12, generally beginning with the road back—the point in the story where the hero must recommit to the journey and use all of the growth, transformation, gifts and tools acquired along the journey to bring a decisive victory against their final conflict.

From this event, the hero will also be “reborn,” either literally or metaphorically, and then beginning anew as a self-actualized being, equipped with internal knowledge about themselves, external knowledge about the world, and experience.

At the end of the third act, the hero returns home to the ordinary world, bringing back the gifts they earned on their journey. In the final passages, both the hero and their perception of the ordinary world are compared with what they once were.

The 12 steps of the Hero’s Journey

The following guide outlines the 12 steps of the Hero’s Journey and represents a framework for the creation of a Hero’s Journey story template. You don’t necessarily need to follow the explicit cadence of these steps in your own writing, but they should act as checkpoints to the overall story.

We’ll also use JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit as a literary example for each of these steps. The Hobbit does an exemplary job of following the Hero’s Journey, and it’s also an example of how checkpoints can exist in more than one place in a story, or how they may deviate from the typical 12-step process of the Hero’s Journey.

1. The Ordinary World

This stage in the Hero’s Journey is all about exposition. This introduces the hero’s backstory—who the hero is, where they come from, their worldview, culture, and so on. This offers the reader a chance to relate to the character in their untransformed form.

As the story and character arc develop, the reader is brought along the journey of transformation. By starting at the beginning, a reader has a basic understanding of what drives the hero, so they can understand why the hero makes the choices they do. The ordinary world shows the protagonist in their comfort zone, with their worldview being limited to the perspective of their everyday life.

Characters in the ordinary world may or may not be fully comfortable or satisfied, but they don’t have a point of reference to compare—they have yet to leave the ordinary world to gain the knowledge to do so.

Step One example

The Hobbit begins by introducing Bilbo in the Shire as a respectable and well-to-do member of the community. His ordinary world is utopian and comfortable. Yet, even within a village that is largely uninterested in the concerns of the world outside, the reader is provided a backstory: even though Bilbo buys into the comforts and normalcy of the Shire, he still yearns for adventure—something his neighbors frown upon. This ordinary world of the Shire is disrupted with the introduction of Gandalf—the “mentor”—who is somewhat uncomfortably invited to tea.

2. Call to Adventure

The call to adventure in the Hero’s Journey structure is the initial internal conflict that the protagonist hero faces, that drives them to the true conflict that they must overcome by the end of their journey.

The call occurs within the known world of the character. Here the writer can build on the characterization of the protagonist by detailing how they respond to the initial call. Are they hesitant, eager, excited, refusing, or willing to take a risk?

Step Two example

Bilbo’s call to adventure takes place at tea as the dwarves leisurely enter his home, followed by Gandalf, who identifies Bilbo as the group’s missing element—the burglar, and the lucky 14th member.

Bilbo and his ordinary world are emphasized by his discomfort with his rambunctious and careless guests. Yet as the dwarves sing stories of old adventures, caverns, and lineages, which introduce and foreshadow the conflict to come, a yearning for adventure is stirred. Though he still clings to his ordinary world and his life in the Shire, he’s conflicted. Should he leave the shire and experience the world, or stay in his comfortable home? Bilbo continues to refuse the call, but with mixed feelings.

3. Refusal of the Call

The refusal of the call in the Hero’s Journey showcases a “clinging” to one’s original self or world view. The initial refusal of the call represents a fear of change, as well as a resistance to the internal transformation that will occur after the adventure has begun.

The refusal reveals the risks that the protagonist faces if they were to answer the call, and shows what they’ll leave behind in the ordinary world once they accept.

The refusal of the call creates tension in the story, and should show the personal reasons why the hero is refusing—inner conflict, fear of change, hesitation, insecurity, etc. This helps make their character clearer for the reader.

These are all emotions a reader can relate to, and in presenting them through the hero, the writer deepens the reader’s relationship with them and helps the reader sympathize with the hero’s internal plight as they take the first step of transformation.

Step Three example

Bilbo refuses the call in his first encounter with Gandalf, and in his reaction to the dwarves during tea. Even though Bilbo’s “Tookish” tendencies make him yearn for adventure, he goes to bed that night still refusing the call. The next morning, as Bilbo awakes to an empty and almost fully clean hobbit home, he feels a slight disappointment for not joining the party, but quickly soothes his concerns by enjoying the comfort of his home—i.e. the ordinary world. Bilbo explores his hesitation to disembark from the ordinary world, questioning why a hobbit would become mixed up in the adventures of others, and choosing not to meet the dwarves at the designated location.

4. Meeting the Mentor

Meeting the mentor in the Hero’s Journey is the stage that provides the hero protagonist with a guide, relationship, and/or informational asset that has experience outside the ordinary world. The mentor offers confidence, advice, wisdom, training, insight, tools, items, or gifts of supernatural wonder that the hero will use along the journey and in overcoming the ultimate conflict.

The mentor often represents someone who has attempted to overcome, or actually has overcome, an obstacle, and encourages the hero to pursue their calling, regardless of the hero’s weaknesses or insecurities. The mentor may also explicitly point out the hero’s weaknesses, forcing them to reckon with and accept them, which is the first step to their personal transformation.

Note that not all mentors need to be a character . They can also be objects or knowledge that has been instilled in the hero somehow—cultural ethics, spiritual guidance, training of a particular skill, a map, book, diary, or object that illuminates the path forward, etc. In essence, the mentor character or object has a role in offering the protagonist outside help and guidance along the Hero’s Journey, and plays a key role in the protagonist’s transition from normalcy to heroism.

The mentor figure also offers the writer the opportunity to incorporate new information by expanding upon the story, plot, or backstory in unique ways. They do this by giving the hero information that would otherwise be difficult for the writer to convey naturally.

The mentor may accompany the hero throughout most of the story, or they may only periodically be included to facilitate changes and transformation within them.

Step Four example

The mentor, Gandalf, is introduced almost immediately. Gandalf is shown to be the mentor, firstly through his arrival from—and wisdom of—the outside world; and secondly, through his selection of Bilbo for the dwarven party by identifying the unique characteristics Bilbo has that are essential to overcoming the challenges in the journey. Gandalf doesn’t accompany Bilbo and the company through all of the trials and tribulations of the plot, but he does play a key role in offering guidance and assistance, and saves the group in times of dire peril.

5. Crossing the Threshold

As the hero crosses the first threshold, they begin their personal quest toward self-transformation. Crossing the threshold means that the character has committed to the journey, and has stepped outside of the ordinary world in the pursuit of their goal. This typically marks the conclusion of the first act.

The threshold lies between the ordinary world and the special world, and marks the point of the story where the hero fully commits to the road ahead. It’s a crucial stage in the Hero’s Journey, as the hero wouldn’t be able to grow and transform by staying in the ordinary world where they’re comfortable and their world view can’t change.

The threshold isn’t necessarily a specific place within the world of the story, though a place can symbolize the threshold—for example a border, gateway, or crossroads that separate what is safe and “known” from what is potentially dangerous. It can also be a moment or experience that causes the hero to recognize that the comforts and routine of their world no longer apply—like the loss of someone or something close to the hero, for example. The purpose of the threshold is to take the hero out of their element and force them, and the reader, to adapt from the known to the unknown.

This moment is crucial to the story’s tension. It marks the first true shift in the character arc and the moment the adventure has truly begun. The threshold commonly forces the hero into a situation where there’s no turning back. This is sometimes called the initiation stage or the departure stage.

Step Five example

The threshold moment in The Hobbit occurs when the party experiences true danger as a group for the first time. Bilbo, voted as scout by the party and eager to prove his burglar abilities, sneaks upon a lone fire in the forest where he finds three large trolls. Rather than turn back empty-handed—as he initially wants to—Bilbo chooses to prove himself, plucking up the courage to pickpocket the trolls—but is caught in the process. The dwarves are also captured and fortunately, Gandalf, the mentor, comes to save the party.

Bilbo’s character arc is solidified in this threshold moment. He experiences his first transformation when he casts aside fear and seeks to prove himself as a burglar, and as an official member of the party. This moment also provides further characterization of the party as a whole, proving the loyalty of the group in seeking out their captured member.

Gandalf’s position as the mentor is also firmly established as he returns to ultimately save all of the members of the party from being eaten by trolls. The chapter ends with Bilbo taking ownership of his first hero talisman—the sword that will accompany him through the rest of the adventure.

6. Tests, Allies, Enemies

Once the hero has crossed the threshold, they must now encounter tests of courage, make allies, and inevitably confront enemies. All these elements force the hero to learn the new ways of the special world and how it differs from the hero’s ordinary world—i.e. how the rules have changed, the conditions of the special world vs. the ordinary world, and the various beings and places within it.

All these elements spark stages of transformation within the hero—learning who they can trust and who they can’t, learning new skills, seeking training from the mentor, and overcoming challenges that force and drive them to grow and transform.

The hero may both succeed and fail at various points of this stage, which will test their commitment to the journey. The writer can create tension by making it clear that the hero may or may not succeed at the critical moment of crisis. These crises can be external or internal.

External conflicts are issues that the character must face and overcome within the plot—e.g. the enemy has a sword drawn and the hero must fight to survive.

Internal conflicts occur inside the hero. For example, the hero has reached safety, but their ally is in peril; will they step outside their comfort zone and rise to the occasion and save their friend? Or will they return home to their old life and the safety of the ordinary world?

Tests are conflicts and threats that the hero must face before they reach the true conflict, or ordeal, of the story. These tests set the stage and prime the hero to meet and achieve the ultimate goal. They provide the writer the opportunity to further the character development of the hero through their actions, inactions, and reactions to what they encounter. The various challenges they face will teach them valuable lessons, as well as keep the story compelling and the reader engaged.

Allies represent the characters that offer support to the protagonist along the journey. Some allies may be introduced from the beginning, while others may be gained along the journey. Secondary characters and allies provide additional nuance for the hero, through interactions, events, and relationships that further show who the hero is at heart, what they believe in, and what they’re willing to fight for. The role of the allies is to bring hope, inspiration, and further drive the hero to do what needs to be done.

Enemies represent a foil to the allies. While allies bring hope and inspiration, enemies will provide challenges, conflicts, tests, and challenges. Both allies and enemies may instigate transformative growth, but enemies do so in a way that fosters conflict and struggle.

Characterization of enemies can also enhance the development of the hero through how they interact and the lessons learned through those interactions. Is the hero easily duped, forgiving, empathetic, merciful? Do they hold a grudge and seek revenge? Who is the hero now that they have been harmed, faced an enemy, and lost pieces of their innocent worldview? To answer that, the hero is still transforming and gestating with every lesson, test, and enemy faced along the way.

Step Six example

As the plot of The Hobbit carries on, Bilbo encounters many tests, allies, and enemies that all drive complexity in the story. A few examples include:

The first major obstacle that Bilbo faces occurs within the dark and damp cave hidden in the goblin town. All alone, Bilbo must pluck up the wit and courage to outriddle a creature named Gollum. In doing so, Bilbo discovers the secret power of a golden ring (another hero talisman) that will aid him and the party through the rest of the journey.

The elves encountered after Bilbo “crosses the threshold” are presented as allies in the story. The hero receives gifts of food, a safe place to rest, and insight and guidance that allows the party to continue on their journey. While the party doesn’t dwell long with the elves, the elves also provide further character development for the party at large: the serious dwarf personalities are juxtaposed against the playful elvish ones, and the elves offer valuable historical insight with backstory to the weapons the party gathered from the troll encounter.

Goblins are a recurring enemy within the story that the hero and party must continue to face, fight, and run from. The goblins present consistent challenges that force Bilbo to face fear and learn and adapt, not only to survive but to save his friends.

7. Approach to the Inmost Cave

The approach to the inmost cave of the Hero’s Journey is the tense quiet before the storm; it’s the part of the story right before the hero faces their greatest fear, and it can be positioned in a few different ways. By now, the hero has overcome obstacles, setbacks, and tests, gained and lost allies and enemies, and has transformed in some way from the original protagonist first introduced in the ordinary world.

The moment when the hero approaches the inmost cave can be a moment of reflection, reorganization, and rekindling of morale. It presents an opportunity for the main characters of the story to come together in a moment of empathy for losses along the journey; a moment of planning and plotting next steps; an opportunity for the mentor to teach a final lesson to the hero; or a moment for the hero to sit quietly and reflect upon surmounting the challenge they have been journeying toward for the length of their adventure.

The “cave” may or may not be a physical place where the ultimate ordeal and conflict will occur. The approach represents the momentary period where the hero assumes their final preparation for the overall challenge that must be overcome. It’s a time for the hero and their allies, as well as the reader, to pause and reflect on the events of the story that have already occurred, and to consider the internal and external growth and transformation of the hero.

Having gained physical and/or emotional strength and fortitude through their trials and tests, learned more rules about the special world, found and lost allies and friends, is the hero prepared to face danger and their ultimate foe? Reflection, tension, and anticipation are the key elements of crafting the approach to the cave.

Step Seven example

The approach to the cave in The Hobbit occurs as the party enters the tunnel of the Lonely Mountain. The tunnel is the access point to the ultimate goal—Thorin’s familial treasure, as well as the ultimate test—the formidable dragon Smaug. During this part of the story, the party must hide, plot, and plan their approach to the final conflict. It’s at this time that Bilbo realizes he must go alone to scout out and face the dragon.

8. The Ordeal

The ordeal is the foreshadowed conflict that the hero must face, and represents the midpoint of the story. While the ordeal is the ultimate conflict that the hero knows they must overcome, it’s a false climax to the complete story—there’s still much ground to cover in the journey, and the hero will still be tested after completing this, the greatest challenge. In writing the ordeal phase of the Hero’s Journey, the writer should craft this as if it actually were the climax to the tale, even though it isn’t.

The first act, and the beginning of the second act, have built up to the ordeal with characterization and the transformation of the hero through their overcoming tests and trials. This growth—both internal and external—has all occurred to set the hero up to handle this major ordeal.

As this stage commences, the hero is typically faced with fresh challenges to make the ordeal even more difficult than they previously conceived. This may include additional setbacks for the hero, the hero’s realization that they were misinformed about the gravity of the situation, or additional conflicts that make the ordeal seem insurmountable.

These setbacks cause the hero to confront their greatest fears and build tension for both the hero and the reader, as they both question if the hero will ultimately succeed or fail. In an epic fantasy tale, this may mean a life-or-death moment for the hero, or experiencing death through the loss of an important ally or the mentor. In a romance, it may be the moment of crisis where a relationship ends or a partner reveals their dark side or true self, causing the hero great strife.

This is the rock-bottom moment for the hero, where they lose hope, courage, and faith. At this point, even though the hero has already crossed the threshold, this part of the story shows how the hero has changed in such a way that they can never return to their original self: even if they return to the ordinary world, they’ll never be the same; their perception of the world has been modified forever.

Choosing to endure against all odds and costs to face the ordeal represents the loss of the hero’s original self from the ordinary world, and a huge internal transformation occurs within the hero as they must rise and continue forth to complete their journey and do what they set out to do from the beginning.

The ordeal may also be positioned as an introduction to the greater villain through a trial with a shadow villain, where the hero realizes that the greatest conflict is unveiled as something else, still yet to come. In these instances, the hero may fail, or barely succeed, but must learn a crucial lesson and be metaphorically resurrected through their failure to rise again and overcome the greater challenge.

Step Eight example

Bilbo must now face his ultimate challenge: burgle the treasure from the dragon. This is the challenge that was set forth from the beginning, as it’s his purpose as the party’s 14th member, the burglar, anointed by Gandalf, the mentor. Additional conflicts arise as Bilbo realizes that he must face the dragon alone, and in doing so, must rely on all of the skills and gifts in the form of talismans and tokens he has gained throughout the adventure.

During the ordeal, Bilbo uses the courage he has gained by surmounting the story’s previous trials; he’s bolstered by his loyalty to the group and relies upon the skills and tools he has earned in previous trials. Much as he outwitted Gollum in the cave, Bilbo now uses his wit as well as his magical ring to defeat Smaug in a game of riddles, which ultimately leads Smaug out of the lair so that Bilbo can complete what he was set out to do—steal the treasure.

The reward of the Hero’s Journey is a moment of triumph, celebration, or change as the hero achieves their first major victory. This is a moment of reflection for both the reader and the hero, to take a breath to contemplate and acknowledge the growth, development, and transformation that has occurred so far.

The reward is the boon that the hero learns, is granted, or steals, that will be crucial to facing the true climax of the story that is yet to come. The reward may be a physical object, special knowledge, or reconciliation of some sort, but it’s always a thing that allows for some form of celebration or replenishment and provides the drive to succeed before the journey continues.

Note that the reward may not always be overtly positive—it may also be a double-edged sword that could harm them physically or spiritually. This type of reward typically triggers yet another internal transformation within the hero, one that grants them the knowledge and personal drive to complete the journey and face their remaining challenges.

From the reward, the hero is no longer externally driven to complete the journey, but has evolved to take on the onus of doing so.

Examples of rewards may include:

A weapon, elixir, or object that will be necessary to complete the quest.

Special knowledge, or a personal transformation to use against a foe.

An eye-opening experience that provides deep insight and fundamentally changes the hero and their position within the story and world.

Reconciliation with another character, or with themselves.

No matter what the reward is, the hero should experience some emotional or spiritual revelation and a semblance of inner peace or personal resolve to continue the journey. Even if the reward is not overtly positive, the hero and the reader deserve a moment of celebration for facing the great challenge they set out to overcome.

Step Nine example

Bilbo defeats the dragon at a battle of wits and riddles, and now receives his reward. He keeps the gifts he has earned, both the dagger and the gold ring. He is also granted his slice of the treasure, and the Lonely Mountain is returned to Thorin. The party at large is rewarded for completing the quest and challenge they set out to do.

However, Tolkien writes the reward to be more complex than it first appears. The party remains trapped and hungry within the Mountain as events unfold outside of it. Laketown has been attacked by Smaug, and the defenders will want compensation for the damage to their homes and for their having to kill the dragon. Bilbo discovers, and then hides, the Arkenstone (a symbolic double edged reward) to protect it from Thorin’s selfishness and greed.

10. The Road Back

The road back in the Hero’s Journey is the beginning of the third act, and represents a turning point within the story. The hero must recommit to the journey, alongside the new stakes and challenges that have arisen from the completion of the original goal.

The road back presents roadblocks—new and unforeseen challenges to the hero that they must now face on their journey back to the ordinary world. The trials aren’t over yet, and the stakes are raised just enough to keep the story compelling before the final and ultimate conflict—the hero’s resurrection—is revealed in the middle of the third act.

The hero has overcome their greatest challenge in the Ordeal and they aren’t the same person they were when they started. This stage of the story often sees the hero making a choice, or reflecting on their transformed state compared to their state at the start of the journey.

The writer’s purpose in the third act is not to eclipse the upcoming and final conflict, but to up the stakes, show the true risk of the final climax, and to reflect on what it will take for the hero to ultimately prevail. The road back should offer a glimmer of hope—the light at the end of the tunnel—and should let the reader know the dramatic finale is about to arrive.

Step Ten example

What was once a journey to steal treasure and slay a dragon has developed new complications. Our hero, Bilbo, must now use all of the powers granted in his personal transformation, as well as the gifts and rewards he earned on the quest, to complete the final stages of the journey.

This is the crisis moment of The Hobbit ; the armies of Laketown are prepared for battle to claim their reward for killing Smaug; the fearless leader of their party, Thorin, has lost reason and succumbed to greed; and Bilbo makes a crucial choice based his personal growth: he gives the Arkenstone to the king as a bargaining chip for peace. Bilbo also briefly reconnects with the mentor, Gandalf, who warns him of the unpleasant times ahead, but comforts Bilbo by saying that things may yet turn out for the best. Bilbo then loyally returns to his friends, the party of dwarves, to stand alongside them in the final battle.

11. Resurrection

The resurrection stage of the Hero’s Journey is the final climax of the story, and the heart of the third act. By now the hero has experienced internal and external transformation and a loss of innocence, coming out with newfound knowledge. They’re fully rooted in the special world, know its rules, and have made choices that underline this new understanding.

The hero must now overcome the final crisis of their external quest. In an epic fantasy tale, this may be the last battle of light versus darkness, good versus evil, a cumulation of fabulous forces. In a thriller, the hero might ultimately face their own morality as they approach the killer. In a drama or romance, the final and pivotal encounter in a relationship occurs and the hero puts their morality ahead of their immediate desires.

The stakes are the highest they’ve ever been, and the hero must often choose to make a sacrifice. The sacrifice may occur as a metaphoric or symbolic death of the self in some way; letting go of a relationship, title, or mental/emotional image of the self that a hero once used as a critical aspect of their identity, or perhaps even a metaphoric physical death—getting knocked out or incapacitated, losing a limb, etc.

Through whatever the great sacrifice is, be it loss or a metaphoric death, the hero will experience a form of resurrection, purification, or internal cleansing that is their final internal transformation.

In this stage, the hero’s character arc comes to an end, and balance is restored to the world. The theme of the story is fully fleshed out and the hero, having reached some form of self-actualization, is forever changed. Both the reader and the hero experience catharsis—the relief, insight, peace, closure, and purging of fear that had once held the hero back from their final transformation.

Step Eleven example

All the armies have gathered, and the final battle takes place. Just before the battle commences, Bilbo tells Thorin that it was he who gave the Arkenstone to the city of men and offers to sacrifice his reward of gold for taking the stone. Gandalf, the mentor, arrives, standing beside Bilbo and his decision. Bilbo is shunned by Thorin and is asked to leave the party for his betrayal.

Bilbo experiences a symbolic death when he’s knocked out by a stone. Upon awakening, Bilbo is brought to a dying Thorin, who forgives him of his betrayal, and acknowledges that Bilbo’s actions were truly the right thing to do. The theme of the story is fully unveiled: that bravery and courage comes in all sizes and forms, and that greed and gold are less worthy than a life rich in experiences and relationships.

12. Return with the Elixir

The elixir in the Hero’s Journey is the final reward the hero brings with them on their return, bridging their two worlds. It’s a reward hard earned through the various relationships, tests, and growth the hero has experienced along their journey. The “elixir” can be a magical potion, treasure, or object, but it can also be intangible—love, wisdom, knowledge, or experience.

The return is key to the circular nature of the Hero’s Journey. It offers a resolution to both the reader and the hero, and a comparison of their growth from when the journey began.

Without the return, the story would have a linear nature, a beginning and an end. In bringing the self-actualized hero home to the ordinary world, the character arc is completed, and the changes they’ve undergone through the journey are solidified. They’ve overcome the unknown, and though they’re returning home, they can no longer resume their old life because of their new insight and experiences.

Step Twelve example

The small yet mighty hero Bilbo is accompanied on his journey home by his mentor Gandalf, as well as the allies he gathered along his journey. He returns with many rewards—his dagger, his golden ring, and his 1/14th split of the treasure—yet his greatest rewards are his experience and the friends he has made along the way. Upon entering the Shire Bilbo sings a song of adventure, and the mentor Gandalf remarks, “My dear Bilbo! Something is the matter with you, you are not the hobbit you were.”

The final pages of The Hobbit explore Bilbo’s new self in the Shire, and how the community now sees him as a changed hobbit—no longer quite as respectable as he once was, with odd guests who visit from time to time. Bilbo also composes his story “There and Back Again,” a tale of his experiences, underlining his greatest reward—stepping outside of the Shire and into the unknown, then returning home, a changed hobbit.

Books that follow the Hero’s Journey

One of the best ways to become familiar with the plot structure of the Hero’s Journey is to read stories and books that successfully use it to tell a powerful tale. Maybe they’ll inspire you to use the hero’s journey in your own writing!

The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkien.

The Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling.

The Earthsea series by Ursula K. Le Guin.

The Odyssey by Homer.

Siddhartha by Herman Hesse.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

Writing tips for the Hero’s Journey

Writing a Hero’s Journey story often requires planning beforehand to organize the plot, structure, and events of the story. Here are some tips to use the hero’s journey archetype in a story:

Use a template or note cards to organize and store your ideas. This can assist in ensuring that you tie up any loose ends in the plot, and that the cadence of your story is already outlined before you begin writing.

Use word count goals for writing different sections of your story. This can help you keep pace while you plan and write the first draft. You can always revise, edit, and add in detail at later stages of development, but getting the ideas written without bogging them down with details can assist in preparing your outline, and may perhaps provide additional inspiration and guidance along the way.

Lean into creativity and be flexible with the 12 steps. They don’t need to occur in the exact order we’ve listed above, but that ordering can offer great checkpoint moments for your story.

Invest in characterization and ensure that your main character is balanced with credible strengths and weaknesses. A perfect, pure hero has no room to grow. A one-dimensional villain who relies on the trope of “pure evil” without any motivations for their actions is boring and predictable.

Ensure tension and urgency is woven into the story. An epic tale to the grocery store for baby formula may still be fraught with danger, and the price of failure is a hungry child. Without urgency, tension, and risk, a Hero’s Journey will fall flat.

Be hard on your characters. Give them deep conflicts that truly test their nature, and their mental, physical, and spiritual selves. An easy journey isn’t a memorable one.

Have a balance of scenes that play on both positive and negative emotions and outcomes for the hero to create a compelling plot line that continues to engage your reader. A story that’s relentlessly positive doesn’t provide a pathway for the hero to transform. Likewise, a story that’s nothing but doom, strife, and turmoil, without a light at the end of the tunnel or an opportunity for growth, can make a story feel stagnant and unengaging.

Reward your characters and your reader. Personal transformation and the road to the authentic self may be grueling, but there’s peace or joy at the end of the tunnel. Even if your character doesn’t fully saved the world, they—and the reader—should be rewarded with catharsis, a new perspective, or personal insight at the end of the tale.

Hero’s Journey templates

Download these free templates to help you plan out your Hero’s Journey:

Download the Hero’s Journey template template (docx) Download the Hero’s Journey template template (pdf)

Prompts and practices to help you write your own Hero’s Journey

Use the downloadable template listed below for the following exercises:

Read a book or watch a movie that follows the Hero’s Journey. Use the template to fill in when each step occurs or is completed. Make note of themes and symbols, character arcs, the main plot, and the subplots that drive complexity in the story.

When writing, use a timer set to 2—5 minutes per section to facilitate bursts of creativity. Brainstorm ideas for cadence, plot, and characters within the story. The outline you create can always be modified, but the timer ensures you can get ideas on paper without a commitment; you’re simply jotting down ideas as quickly as you can.

Use the downloadable template above to generate outlines based on the following prompts.

A woman’s estranged mother has died. A friend of the mother arrives at the woman’s home to tell her that her mother has left all her belongings to her daughter, and hands her a letter. The letter details the mother’s life, and the daughter must visit certain places and people to find her mother’s house and all the belongings in it—learning more about her mother’s life, and herself, along the way.

The last tree on earth has fallen, and technology can no longer sustain human life on Earth. An engineer, having long ago received alien radio signals from a tower in their backyard, has dedicated their life to building a spaceship in their garage. The time has come to launch, and the engineer must select a group of allies to bring with them to the stars, on a search for a new life, a new home, and “the others” out there in the universe.

A detective is given a new case: to find a much-talked-about murderer. The twist is, the murderer has sent a letter to the detective agency, quietly outing a homicidal politician who is up for re-election and is a major financial contributor to the police. In the letter, the murderer states that if the politician doesn’t come clean about their crimes, the murderer will kill the politician on the night of the election. The detective must solve the case before the election, and come to terms with their own feelings of justice and morality.

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A Complete Guide to The Hero’s Journey (or The Monomyth)

Learn how to use the 12 steps of the Hero’s Journey to structure plot, develop characters, and write riveting stories that will keep readers engaged!

Before I start this post I would like to acknowledged the tragedy that occurred in my country this past month. George Floyd, an innocent man, was murdered by a police officer while three other officers witnessed that murder and remained silent.

To remain silent, in the face of injustice, violen ce, and murder is to be complicit . I acknowledge that as a white man I have benefited from a centuries old system of privilege and abuse against black people, women, American Indians, immigrants, and many, many more.

This systemic abuse is what lead to the murder of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Sandra Bland, Eric Garner, Treyvon Martin, Philando Castile, Freddie Gray, Walter Scott, Tamir Rice and many more. Too many.

Whether I like it or not I’ve been complicit in this injustice. We can’t afford to be silent anymore. If you’re disturbed by the violence we’ve wit nessed over, and over again please vote this November, hold your local governments accountable, peacefully protest, and listen. Hopefully, together we can bring positive change. And, together, we can heal .

In this post, we’ll go over the stages of Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey, also known as the Monomyth. We’ll talk about how to use it to structure your story. You’ll also find some guided questions for each section of the Hero’s Journey. These questions are designed to help guide your thinking during the writing process. Finally, we’ll go through an example of the Hero’s Journey from 1997’s Men In Black.  

Down at the bottom, we’ll go over reasons you shouldn’t rely on the Monomyth. And we’ll talk about a few alternatives for you to consider if the Hero’s Journey isn’t right for your story.  

But, before we do all that let’s answer the obvious question- 

What is the Hero’s Journey?

The Hero’s Journey was first described by Joseph Campbell. Campbell was an American professor of literature at Sarah Lawrence College. He wrote about the Hero’s Journey in his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces . More than a guide, this book was a study on the fundamental structure of myths throughout history. 

Through his study, Campbell identified seventeen stages that make up what he called the Monomyth or Hero’s Journey. We’ll go over these stages in the next section. Here’s how Campbell describes the Monomyth in his book:

“A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.” 

Something important to note is that the Monomyth was not conceived as a tool for writers to develop a plot. Rather, Campbell identified it as a narrative pattern that was common in mythology. 

George Lucas used Campbell’s Monomyth to structure his original Star Wars film. Thanks to Star Wars ’ success, filmmakers have adopted the Hero’s Journey as a common plot structure in movies. 

We see it in films like The Matrix , Spider-man , The Lion King , and many more. But, keep in mind, this is not the only way to structure a story. We’ll talk about some alternatives at the end of this post. 

With that out of the way, let’s go over the twelve stages of the Hero’s Journey, or Monomyth. We’ll use the original Men In Black film as an example (because why not?). And, we’ll look at some questions to help guide your thinking, as a writer, at each stage. 

Quick note – The original Hero’s Journey is seventeen stages. But, Christopher Vogler, an executive working for Disney, condensed Campbell’s work. Vogler’s version has twelve stages, and it’s the version we’re talking about today. Vogler wrote a guide to use the Monomyth and I’ll link to it at the bottom.)

The 12 Stages of The Hero’s Journey 

The ordinary world .

This is where the hero’s story begins. We meet our hero in a down-to-earth, or humble setting. We establish the hero as an ordinary citizen in this world, not necessarily “special” in any way. 

Think exposition . 

We get to know our hero at this stage of the story. We learn about the hero’s life, struggles, inner or outer demons. This an opportunity for readers to identify with the hero. A good idea since the story will be told from the hero’s perspective. 

Read more about perspective and POV here.

In Men In Black, we meet our hero, James, who will become Agent J, chasing someone down the streets of a large city. The story reveals some important details through the action of the plo t. Let’s go over these details and how they’re shown through action. 

Agent J’s job: He’s a cop. We know this because he’s chasing a criminal. He waves a badge and yells, “NYPD! Stop!” 

The setting: The line “NYPD!” tells us that J is a New York City cop. The chase sequence also culminates on the roof of the Guggenheim Museum. Another clue to the setting. 

J’s Personality: J is a dedicated cop. We know this because of his relentless pursuit of the suspect he’s chasing. J is also brave. He jumps off a bridge onto a moving bus. He also chases a man after witnessing him climb vertically, several stories, up a wall. This is an inhuman feat that would have most people noping out of there. J continues his pursuit, though. 

Guided Questions

• What is your story’s ordinary world setting? 
• How is this ordinary world different from the special world that your hero will enter later in the story? 
• What action in this story will reveal the setting? 
• Describe your hero and their personality. 
• What action in the story will reveal details about your hero? 

The Call of Adventure

The Call of Adventure is an event in the story that forces the hero to take action. The hero will move out of their comfort zone, aka the ordinary world. Does this sound familiar? It should, because, in practice, The Call of Adventure is an Inciting Event. 

Read more about Inciting Events here. 

The Call of Adventure can take many forms. It can mean a literal call like one character asking another to go with them on a journey or to help solve a problem. It can also be an event in the story that forces the character to act. 

The Call of Adventure can include things like the arrival of a new character, a violent act of nature, or a traumatizing event. The Call can also be a series of events like what we see in our example from Men In Black.  

The first Call of Adventure comes from the alien that Agent J chases to the roof of the Guggenheim. Before leaping from the roof, the alien says to J, “Your world’s going to end.” This pique’s the hero’s interest and hints at future conflict. 

The second Call of Adventure comes after Agent K shows up to question J about the alien. K wipes J’s memory after the interaction, but he gives J a card with an address and a time. At this point, J has no idea what’s happened. All he knows is that K has asked him to show up at a specific place the next morning. 

The final and most important Call comes after K has revealed the truth to J while the two sit on a park bench together. Agent K tells J that aliens exist. K reveals that there is a secret organization that controls alien activity on Earth. And the Call- Agent K wants J to come to work for this organization.  

• What event (or events) happen to incite your character to act? 
• How are these events disruptive to your character’s life? 
• What aspects of your story’s special world will be revealed and how? (think action) 
• What other characters will you introduce as part of this special world? 

Refusal of the Call

This is an important stage in the Monomyth. It communicates with the audience the risks that come with Call to Adventure. Every Hero’s Journey should include risks to the main characters and a conflict. This is the stage where your hero contemplates those risks.  They will be tempted to remain in the safety of the ordinary world. 

In Men in Black, the Refusal of the Call is subtle. It consists of a single scene. Agent K offers J membership to the Men In Black. With that comes a life of secret knowledge and adventure. But, J will sever all ties to his former life. No one anywhere will ever know that J existed. Agent K tells J that he has until sunrise to make his decision.

J does not immediately say, “I’m in,” or “When’s our first mission.” Instead, he sits on the park bench all night contemplating his decision. In this scene, the audience understands that this is not an easy choice for him. Again, this is an excellent use of action to demonstrate a plot point. 

It’s also important to note that J only asks K one question before he makes his decision, “is it worth it?” K responds that it is, but only, “if you’re strong enough.” This line of dialogue becomes one of two dramatic questions in the movie. Is J strong enough to be a man in black? 

• What will your character have to sacrifice to answer the call of adventure? 
• What fears does your character have about leaving the ordinary world? 
• What risks or dangers await them in the special world? 

Meeting the Mentor 

At this point in the story, the hero is seeking wisdom after initially refusing the call of adventure. The mentor fulfills this need for your hero. 

The mentor is usually a character who has been to the special world and knows how to navigate it. Mentor’s provides your hero with tools and resources to aid them in their journey. It’s important to note that the mentor doesn’t always have to be a character. The mentor could be a guide, map, or sacred texts. 

If you’ve seen Men In Black then you can guess who acts as J’s mentor. Agent K, who recruited J, steps into the mentor role once J accepts the call to adventure. 

Agent K gives J a tour of the MIB headquarters. He introduces him to key characters and explains to him how the special world of the MIB works. Agent K also gives J his signature weapon, the Noisy Cricket. 

• Who is your hero’s mentor? 
• How will your character find and encounter with their mentor? 
• What tools and resources will your mentor provide? 
• Why/how does your mentor know the special world? 

Crossing the Threshold 

This is the point where your hero finally crosses over from the ordinary world into the special one. At this point, there is no turning back for your hero. 

Your hero may not cross into the special world on their own. Or, they may need a dramatic event that forces them to act.

At this point, you’ll want to establish the dramatic question of your story. This is the question will your reader wants to answer by the end of your story. A dramatic question is what will keep your audience reading. 

Once J decides to commit to the MIB Agent K starts the process of deleting J’s identity. The filmmakers do a great job communicating the drastic nature of J’s decision. This is done through, again, action and an effective voice-over. J’s social security number is deleted, and his fingerprints are burned off. He dons a nondescript black suit, sunglasses, and a sick-ass Hamilton watch . 

This scene is immediately followed by a threatening message sent by aliens called the Arquillians. They tell the MIB they will destroy the Earth unless J and K can deliver a galaxy. The only problem is no one knows what the galaxy is. So, we get our story question. Can J and K find and deliver the MacGuffin before the Earth is destroyed? 

Read more about MacGuffins here.

• What event will push your hero into the special world? 
• Once they enter the special world, what keeps them from turning back?
• What is the dramatic question you will introduce?
• How will your hero’s life change once they’ve entered the special world?

Tests, Allies, Enemies

This is stage is exactly what it sounds like. Once they’ve entered the special world, your hero will be tested. They will learn the rules of this new world. Your hero’s mentor may have to further teach your hero. 

The hero will also begin collecting allies. Characters whose goals align with those of your hero’s. People who will help your hero achieve their goal. These characters may even join your hero on their quest. 

And this is also the point where your hero’s enemy will reveal themselves. Now, you’ve may have hinted at, or even introduced the villain in the earlier stages. But, this is where the audience discovers how much of a threat this villain is to your hero. 

Read more about creating villains here. 

J and K arrive at the city morgue to investigate the body of a slain member of Arquillian royalty. While there, J encounters the villain of the film. He is lured into a standoff with Edgar. Edgar isn’t Edgar. He’s a 10 foot tall, alien cockroach wearing an “Edgar suit.” 

J doesn’t know that yet, though. 

Edgar has also taken a hostage. He threatens the life of Dr. Laurel Weaver who has discovered the truth about aliens living on Earth. Dr. Weaver becomes an ally of J’s as he continues his search for the Arquillian’s galaxy. 

J is faced with a new test as well. Just before he dies, the Arquillian alien tells J that the galaxy is on Orion’s Belt. J must discover the meaning behind this cryptic message if he hopes to save Earth. 

• Who is the villain of your story, and what is their goal?
• Who are your hero’s allies?
• How will your hero meet them? And, How do everyone’s goals align? 
• How will your hero be tested? Through battle? A puzzle? An emotional trauma? 

Approach to the Inmost Cave

The inmost cave is the path towards the central conflict of your story. In this section, your hero is preparing for battle. They may be regrouping with allies, going over important information, or taking a needed rest. This is also a part of the story where you may want to inject some humor. 

The approach is also a moment for your audience to regroup. This is an important aspect of pacing. A fast-paced story can be very exciting for the audience, but at some point, the writer needs to tap the breaks. 

This approach section gives your audience time to process the plot and consider the stakes of your conflict. This is also a good time to introduce a ticking clock, and it’s perfect for character development. 

In Men, In Black the Approach the Inmost Cave involves an interview with a character called Frank the Pug. Frank is a Pug breed of dog. He’s an alien in disguise. 

Frank knows important details about the conflict between the Arquillians and Edgar. This is one of the funnier scenes in an overall funny film. 

Read more about alliteration here… jk. 

Frank also gives J a vital clue to determine the location of the Arquillian’s galaxy. They also discover that the galaxy is an energy source and not an actual galaxy. 

Finally, we have the arrival of the Arquillian battleship come to destroy Earth. They give the MIB a warning. If the galaxy is not returned in one hour the will fire on the planet. So, we have a literal ticking clock. 

• Where and how will your hero slow down and regroup? 
• What information or resources will they need to go into the final battle? 
• How can you introduce some humor or character development into this section? 
• What kind of “ticking clock” will you introduce to increase the stakes of your final act? 

The Ordeal 

The Ordeal is about one thing, and that’s death. Your hero must go through a life-altering challenge. This will be a conflict where the hero faces their greatest fears. 

It’s essential that your audience feels as if the hero is really in danger. Make the audience question whether the hero will make it out alive. But, your story’s stakes may not be life or death, such as in a comedy or romance. 

In that case the death your character experiences will be symbolic. And, your audience will believe that there’s a chance the hero won’t achieve their goal. 

Through the ordeal, your hero will experience death whether that be real or symbolic. With this death, the hero will be reborn with greater powers or insight. Overall, the ordeal should be the point in which your character hits rock bottom. 

The Ordeal in Men In Black comes the moment when J and K confront Edgar at the site of the World’s Fair. In the confrontation with Edgar, K is eaten alive by Edgar. At this moment J is left alone to confront death. The audience is left to wonder if J can defeat Edgar on his own. 

Guided Questions 

• What death will your hero confront? 
• What does “rock bottom” mean for your character? 
• How will your hero be changed on the other side of this death event? 

Reward or Seizing the Sword

At this point in the story, your hero will earn some tangible treasure for all their trouble. This can be a physical treasure. In the context of the monomyth, this is often referred to as the elixir or sword. 

However, the reward can be inwardly focused. Your hero might discover hidden knowledge or insight that helps them vanquish their foe. Or, your hero can find their confidence or some self-actualization. This reward, whatever it is, is the thing that they will take with them. It is what they earn from all their hard-fought struggles. 

Once K is eaten J seems to be on his own with a massive alien cockroach. This is a pretty bad spot for the rookie agent. What’s worse is the Arquillian clock is still ticking. Edgar, the cockroach, is about to escape Earth, with the galaxy, sealing the planet’s fate. 

All seems lost until J claims his reward. In this case, that reward comes in the form of an insight J has about Edgar. Being a giant cockroach, J realizes that Edgar may have a weakness for his Earth-bound counterparts. So, J kicks out a dumpster and starts to smash all the scurrying bugs under his foot. 

J guesses correctly, and Edgar is momentarily distracted by J’s actions. Edgar climbs down from his ship to confront J. Agent K, who is still alive in Edgar’s stomach, can activate a gun, and blow Edgar in two.  J’s reward is the knowledge that he is no longer a rookie, and he is strong enough for this job. J also captures a physical treasure. After Edgar has exploded, J finds the galaxy which Edgar had swallowed earlier in the film. In this scene, both dramatic questions are answered. The MIB can save the world. And, J is strong enough for the MIB.  

• What reward will your hero win?
• A physical treasure, hidden knowledge, inner wisdom, or all of the above? 

The Road Back 

At this point, your hero has had some success in their quest and is close to returning to the ordinary world. Your hero has experienced a change from their time in the special world. This change might make your hero’s return difficult. Similar to when your hero crossed the threshold, your hero may need an event that forces them to return. 

The road back must be a dramatic turning point that heightens stakes and changes the direction of your story. This event will also re-establish the dramatic question of your story. This act may present a final challenge for your hero before they can return home. 

In Men In Black, the road backstage gets a little tricky. The film establishes that when J crosses the threshold he is not able to go back to the ordinary world. His entire identity is erased. Having J go back to his life as a detective would also undo his character growth and leave the audience feeling cheated. Luckily, the filmmakers work around this by having K return to the ordinary world rather than J. 

After Edgar is defeated, K tells J that he is retiring from the MIB and that J will step in as K’s replacement. The movie establishes early that agents can retire, but only after having their memory wiped. So, K asks J to wipe his memory so that he can return to a normal life. Once again, J has to grapple with the question of whether he is strong enough for this job. Can he bring himself to wipe K’s memory and lose his mentor forever? Can he fill K’s shoes as an MIB agent? 

• How will your hero have to recommit to their journey? 
• What event will push your hero through their final test? 
• What final test will your hero face before they return to the ordinary world? 

Resurrection 

This is the final act of your story. The hero will have one last glorious encounter with the forces that are set against them. This is the culminating event for your hero. Everything that has happened to your hero has prepared them for this moment. 

This can also be thought of as a rebirth for your hero. A moment when they shed all the things that have held them back throughout the story. The resurrection is when your hero applies all the things they’ve learned through their journey. 

The final moment can be a physical battle, or again, it can be metaphorical. This is also a moment when allies return to lend a last-minute hand. But, as with any ending of a story, you need to make sure your hero is the one who saves the day. 

So, here’s where things start to get a little clumsy. There are a couple of moments that could be a resurrection for our hero J. It could be the moment he faces off with Edgar. This is right before Edgar is killed. But, it’s K that pulls the trigger and kills Edgar. Based on our explanation J needs to be the one who saves the day. Maybe by stalling for time J is the one responsible for saving the day? It’s hard to say what the filmmakers’ intention was here. 

The second moment that could represent a resurrection for J might be when he wipes K’s memory. It is the final dramatic hurdle that J faces before he can become a true Man in Black. But, this moment doesn’t resolve the conflict of the film. 

Notice that the Hero’s Journey framework isn’t always followed to the letter by all storytellers. We’ll get back to this point at the end of the article. 

• What final challenge will your hero face? 
• How will your hero use the skills they’ve used to overcome their last challenge?
• How will your hero’s allies help save the day?  

Return with the Elixir

The ending of your story. Your hero returns to the ordinary world, but this time they carry with them the rewards earned during their journey. They may share these rewards with others who inhabit the ordinary world. But most important, is that you show that your hero has changed for the better. 

The elixir represents whatever your hero gained on their journey. Remember, the elixir can be an actual physical reward like a treasure. But, the elixir can also be a metaphorical prize like knowledge or a feeling of fulfillment.  This is a moment where your hero will return some sort of balance to the ordinary world. 

Be sure to show that the journey has had a permanent effect on your hero. 

In the final scene of the movie, we see that J has taken on a mentor role for Dr. Weaver, an MIB recruit now. He has physically changed- his clothes are more representative of his personality. This physical transformation is meant to show that J has fully embraced his new life and journey. No longer a rookie, J has stepped into his mentor, K’s, role. 

• How will you show that your character has changed from their journey? 
• What reward will they bring back to the ordinary world? 
• In what way will they change the ordinary world when they return? 

Should I Use the Hero’s Journey for My Story? 

This is a question you should ask yourself before embarking on your journey. The Monomyth works well as a framework. This is pretty obvious when you realize how many films have used it as a plotting device. 

But there’s a downside to the popularity of the Monomyth. And that’s that audiences are very familiar with the beats of this kind of story. Sure, they may not be able to describe each of the twelve sections in detail. But, audiences know, intuitively, what is going to happen in these stories. At the very least, audiences, or readers, know how these stories are going to end. 

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If your story is exciting, well-paced, and the stakes are high, people aren’t going to mind some predictability. But, if you want to shock your readers- 

(And if you’re interested in how to shock readers with a plot twist, click here. )

this might not be the best story structure. And, despite how popular it is, the hero’s journey ain’t the only game in town when it comes to story structure. And, you can always take artistic liberty with the Hero’s Journey. The fact that audiences are expecting certain beats means you have an opportunity to subvert expectations. 

You can skip parts of the hero’s journey if they don’t fit your plot. With my example, Men In Black it was difficult to fit the story neatly into the hero’s journey framework. This is because aspects of the movie, like the fact that it’s a buddy comedy, don’t always jive with a hero’s journey. Agent K has an important character arch, and so he ends up killing the villain rather than J. But, K’s arch isn’t at all a hero’s journey. 

The point is, don’t feel locked in by any single structure. Allow yourself some freedom to tell your story. If there’s no purpose to a resurrection stage in your story then skip it! No one is going to deduct your points. 

With that said, here are a few resources on the Hero’s Journey, and some alternate plot structures you’ll want to check out! 

This post contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links

Further Reading on Plot Structure and the Hero’s Journey

If you’d like to learn more about the Hero’s Journey, or Monomyth, why not go straight to the source? The Hero With 1000 Faces is a collection of work written by Joseph Campbell. His version of the hero’s journey has 17 stages. This is less of a writing manual and more of an exploration of the evolution of myth and storytelling through the ages. 

The Seven Basic Plots , by Christopher Booker, is another academic study of storytelling by Christopher Booker. Booker identifies seven basic plots that all stories fit into. They are: 

• Overcoming the Monster
• Rags to Riches
• Voyage and Return

The Snowflake Method is a teaching tool designed by Randy Ingermanson that will take you through a step-by-step process of writing a novel. The Snowflake Method boils down the novel-writing process six-step process. You will start with a single sentence and with each step you build on that sentence until you have a full-fledged novel! If you’re love processes then pick up a copy of this book today.  

In The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers, Hollywood consultant, Christopher Vogler teaches writers how to use the Hero’s Journey to write riveting stories.

Resources: 

Wikipedia- Joseph Campbell

Wikipedia- Hero With 1000 Faces

Published by John

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6 comments on “A Complete Guide to The Hero’s Journey (or The Monomyth)”

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I don’t understand the use of all those pictures/graphics you threw in as I was reading. They were extremely distracting and seriously detracted from whatever message you were trying to convey.

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15 May 2023

From Ordinary to Extraordinary: How To Write The Hero’s Journey

For writers who plot, the blank page before you start outlining your story is perhaps the most daunting of all. No matter how good the concept is, without a clear idea of where your story will go and a good understanding of beats and pacing, it can feel impossible to get started. A plot template like The Hero’s Journey provides a blueprint around which your story can grow and develop.

Plotting tools are one of our most requested features. We’d love to build and integrate a solution directly into Novlr, but to help you along your way until that happens, we’ll be looking at some of the most popular story structures and breaking down how to use them to their fullest effect. You’ll be able to access the full repository here as we release them, complete with downloadable templates for you to use in your next Novlr project.

A brief history of the Monomyth

The Hero’s Journey is probably the most well-known of all story structures. Its origins can be traced back to ancient mythology, where heroes embarked on transformative quests, facing trials and triumphs. However, it was Joseph Campbell, the renowned mythologist, who popularised its use and study. In his seminal work, “The Hero with a Thousand Faces,” Campbell unveiled the monomyth , a blueprint for heroes’ adventures (what we now call The Hero’s Journey). Divided into three stages—Departure, Initiation, and Return—it takes protagonists on a profound odyssey of self-discovery.

From the Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh to the Greek legend of Jason and the Argonauts, countless tales have embraced this structure. More modern examples include The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, and Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games .

What is The Hero’s Journey?

The Hero’s Journey is a three-act plot structure that divides into twelve stages with a specific purpose and function within the narrative. The reason The Hero’s Journey is the most popular is that it combines plot direction with character building. It is as much about the characters’ emotional or mental development as it is about the physical journey they undertake.

By travelling a physical path and their inner journey simultaneously, plots based around The Hero’s Journey are full of conflict and tension. Characters struggle and grow, and there is a clear flow to the way the story moves. With an obvious beginning, middle, and end the reader will be on the edge of their seats, but know that they will have a satisfying conclusion by the time they’ve finished your book.

Act 1: Departure

Your hero leaves their ordinary world and takes up the call of adventure. This should make up the first 25% of the story.

Stage 1: The Ordinary Wor ld

In the first stage, you should introduce your hero, the world they inhabit, and what their everyday life looks like. This is where your character development will do the bulk of the heavy lifting – your readers need to care about your character before something enters their story to disrupt their existence.

Things to include in Stage 1 are:

• Introduce readers to the Hero in a way that is sympathetic.
• Create a three-dimensional character with wants, needs, desires, and flaws.
• Include a hook that hints at something not quite right in your hero’s life which will ensure they heed the call to adventure. As well as the overarching problem of the narrative, your protagonist also needs a personal problem that must be solved.
• Start building your world – showcase the hero’s idyllic life, but hint at something bigger out in the wider world

Stage 2: The Call of Adventure

Stage 2 should happen around the middle of Act 1, at the 12% mark of your story. It shouldn’t take up too much space and be no longer than a single chapter, two at most. It is in this stage that your hero will have their everyday life disrupted. Whether your protagonist willingly heeds the call of adventure or needs more convincing will determine how much time you spend on this part of your story.

The call of adventure introduces the main conflict. It will come in the form of a challenge or a quest that the hero must embark on before they can return to their idyllic life. Otherwise known as the inciting incident, or hook, it is this call that will determine the trajectory of the rest of your story.

Things to include in stage 2 are:

• An inciting incident. This can come in the form of a quest, the result of your protagonist’s choices, a new discovery, or an accident.
• Show how this incident disrupts your character’s life, and why it is imperative that they are the ones to heed the call of adventure.

Stage 3: Refusal of the Call

If your hero has refused the call of adventure in stage 2, then this is the section where they need to be convinced. If your protagonist is a willing adventurer, then this step can be skipped completely – the importance of stage 3 depends entirely on the nature of the character and the challenge you’ve created.

There are many reasons your hero may initially refuse the call of adventure: modesty, too much risk, age, and beliefs might factor into it. In stage 3 the hero must have no choice but to finally accept the call. This may take multiple attempts with stakes being raised each time, but it must end with the hero finally accepting their task.

Things to include in stage 3 are:

• Your hero’s emotional response to the call of adventure.
• Show what motivates your hero’s refusal, and how that refusal can be overcome. This can be through threats, an increase in the danger the refusal poses to loved ones or even encouragement from family and friends.
• A secondary inciting incident that means the hero can no longer ignore the call.

Stage 4: Meeting the Mentor

Even if your hero willingly heeded the call of adventure, they will still need encouragement and the right tools to succeed on their journey. Stage 4 leads to the end of Act 1 and should bring the story to the 20% mark.

If the protagonist refused the call to adventure in stage 3, then meeting the mentor can serve as the catalyst for an acceptance of their role. If they accepted the call in stage 2, then the mentor can serve as someone who can train the hero in the skills they need to make it home.

The mentor should be an expert, a specialist, or someone whose advice the hero trusts. Whether through training, providing equipment, giving advice, or simply being a ready ear to give the hero the emotional support they need to mentally prepare for what is to come, the mentor will be the one to give the protagonist the final push they need.

Things to include in stage 4 are:

• The hero must gain confidence and feel ready for the journey ahead.
• Clearly show how the mentor helps the hero take up the call of adventure.
• Have a trigger moment where something just clicks for the hero – when they truly know they are ready to take up the call of adventure. This can take the form of an epiphany, mastering a new skill, coming to a personal understanding, or discovering a latent power.

Stage 5: Crossing the First Threshold

Once the mentor has helped the hero accept their role in the call of adventure, and prepared them as best they can, your book should have reached the end of Act 1. This should bring you to the 25% mark of your novel. It represents the first turning point – the moment when your protagonist leaves their ordinary world behind and ventures into the unknown.

By crossing the first threshold, your hero commits to the call of adventure. They should be equipped with the bulk of what they will need to progress on their journey, but don’t be afraid to leave them in the dark about certain things. Whether your hero feels they have learned all they can and are mentally ready to progress, or whether their training is cut short thanks to the actions of your book’s antagonist will yield the same result – your hero is fully dedicated to overcoming the challenge before them.

Stage 5 should include:

• Re-emphasising the task your hero has been called to perform and why it is important.
• Ensure you have fully developed your protagonist and that your readers will be invested in them.
• Show your hero finally leaving their ordinary world behind and what it means to them.

Act 2: Descent and Initiation

The hero enters an unfamiliar world where they encounter new friends and enemies and overcome various trials and challenges . Act 2 should make up 50% of your story (from 25%-75%).

Stage 6: Test, Allies, Enemies

In Act 2, your plot really gets going. From the first moments of stage 6, your hero will face challenges that test their new resolve or abilities. While the mentor has given them a good starting point, your hero still has a lot to learn, and your protagonist will need to learn to rely on the assistance of friends and allies they meet along the way.

Both the hero and the reader should have doubts about their ability to succeed against the overwhelming odds stacked against them. The rules of the outside world are different to where they came from, which makes stage 6 the perfect time for additional character development. The hero and their allies will react to the stresses of challenges in different ways and doubt their abilities or suitability for the task in front of them.

Stage 6 will make up a huge portion of Act 2. It’s when you’ll introduce the majority of your new characters and introduce any additional stakes. You’ll need to develop any allies or enemies and how they react with your hero. Don’t be afraid to play with loyalties – just like your hero, the circumstances of friends and foes can change. Just because your characters are on this journey together, doesn’t mean their motivations are aligned. Each will have had their personal reasons to heed their own call of adventure.

Stage 6 should include:

• Introduce foes and challenges to highlight the danger of this new world.
• Make sure you develop deep and compelling allies and enemies.
• Your hero and their allies should face a series of tests or challenges.
• Don’t be afraid to kill characters off.
• Develop your hero’s character further by showing their doubts and any disagreements they may have with their allies. Show how they work as a group, and whether anyone has any doubts about the righteousness of their quest.

Stage 7: Approach to the Inmost Cave

After the build-up of stage 6, stage 7 is the calm before the storm. After all the world and character building of the trials and challenges that have come before, your hero finally has their goal in sight.

A lot of stage 7 will be about preparation. Your hero and their allies know how to reach their goal, and now they need to rest and gather any necessary supplies, information, or last-minute knowledge. If allies and enemies have come, gone, or switched allegiances in the previous stage, this is the point where the final team is in place. These are the characters who will be with your hero largely until the end.

By the end of stage 7, your hero and their team must be prepared to face what comes next. It’s also a good time to reintroduce the mentor if applicable to provide some much-needed morale boost for the group. Any lingering doubts your protagonist has about their ability to complete their quest must be overcome with a reaffirmation of their commitment to the call of adventure.

Stage 7 should include:

• Moments of character development and growth between your protagonist and their remaining allies.
• Make a plan and gather the necessary supplies and knowledge to ensure success in your hero’s quest.
• Be clear on what your hero’s final goal is and make sure that they are fully prepared for what lies ahead.
• Provide an emotional pause for your characters where they bond as they prepare for their greatest challenge. If your narrative includes a romance, this is where you would have the culmination of this arc.
• Even if your hero still has doubts, make sure that they will not inhibit their performance or readiness for the final stage of their quest.

 Stage 8: The Ordeal

This marks a mini climax of your novel as the rising action of your narrative begins to peak. Your hero will face a series of challenges as they and their allies work toward their goal and face the antagonist. Stage 8 is the culmination of your story’s central conflict. It brings together everything your hero has learned not only from their mentor but also through the trials and challenges of stage 6 to emerge victoriously.

It is at this point that your hero will undergo a transformation. There must be a metaphorical death and rebirth (although for some narratives this can be literal), where they leave behind who they were in stage 1 and become a stronger, more powerful version of themselves. This death can come in the form of a significant sacrifice, or the death of a character who is close to them – whatever this catalyst is, it must be powerful enough to change your hero as a person.

Depending on the nature of your story, where the ordeal happens and whether it is successful may vary. A successful ordeal will likely happen late in Act 2 as a natural climax. If the hero is unsuccessful, however, then the ordeal should happen closer to the middle of Act 2 as it will introduce more stakes and tension that will need to be explored and developed.

Stage 8 should include:

• A dark moment for the hero like the death of a mentor or ally, their own death, a stunning revelation, or a painful sacrifice.
• Strong character building highlighting the changes the hero must go through to become the best and most powerful version of themselves.
• A moment of confrontation, whether it be facing a serious challenge or encountering the antagonist.
• Show how the hero’s world has changed by what they have endured.

Stage 9: Reward (Seizing the Sword)

Whether a success or failure, your hero will have passed through the ordeal, receiving their reward, marking the end of Act 2. This reward can be knowledge or an object – whatever form it takes, it will be the catalyst that propels them toward the final battle and ensures their survival. No matter the losses of stage 8, this is a moment of celebration for your hero and gives your readers a breather before your story ramps into the climax.

While this moment represents a victory for your protagonist, it’s also a good time for your characters to remember those they have lost along the way. It’s an emotional reset where your hero and their allies can come to terms with everything they have endured, and what is yet to come.

Stage 9 should include:

• The acquisition of the reward, and a clear indication of how it will help the hero achieve their ultimate goal.
• A reflection on what your hero has learned, and how they have changed.

Act 3: Return

Your hero enters the final battle and begins their journey home but is a very different person from when they left their ordinary world. It makes up the final 25% of your story.

Stage 10: The Road Back

With the reward now firmly in their possession, the hero begins their journey home. Instead of being a simple journey, however, this is where you will increase the tension and heighten the stakes of your narrative, leading to the ultimate climax of your story. It is in stage 10 that your protagonist must face the consequences of the outcome of stage 8: the ordeal.

This part of the narrative will mark the catalyst that leads to the climax. It is where your hero will complete their quest, leading them to the final battle. The stakes should be higher than when your hero undertook the ordeal – with the mission not yet fully complete, there must be severe consequences if they were not to complete their quest.

Stage 10 should include:

• A sense of urgency. Make clear what it would mean for your hero and their world if they don’t succeed in the final confrontation.
• Highlight the consequences of the ordeal and the reward and how it will lead to the final confrontation.
• Show how your hero has changed and highlight their newfound confidence post-ordeal.

Stage 11: Resurrection

This is where your story finally reaches its climax. The stakes should be higher and the difficulty more acute than anything your hero has faced before. It should tie together all the lessons your hero has learned during their journey.

This climax carries all the emotional weight of the rising action – your hero is fighting for a cause and for those they have lost along the way. After this battle they will have fully embraced the role of hero and can return to their ordinary world, changed by their experience.

Stage 11 should include:

• The final battle, showing how the hero has grown and developed over the course of the story to emerge victorious.
• Show how the reward makes the hero’s victory possible.
• Dramatise the hero’s sacrifice. This sacrifice can be metaphorical or literal. It could be a physical sacrifice or the sacrifice of who they were before.
• Prepare the hero for a triumphant return to their ordinary world (even if only in memory).

Stage 12: Return with the Elixir

Having undergone profound change, your hero is now ready to return home. The return should make up only 5% of your narrative, and reaffirm your protagonist’s growth and development. Have your hero reflect on their experiences, what they’ve learned, and the people they have met and lost along the way.

Your hero can now look forward to a new phase of life, whether that be settling back into their ordinary world, or seeking out a new adventure, finding their old life incompatible with their growth. Either way, on their return, the hero is rewarded and celebrated. They have faced danger and challenges, and have come through it, which earns them the respect of those they have left behind, or at least a new perspective for both the hero and the people of the ordinary world to consider.

Stage 12 should include:

• A triumphant return highlighting how the ordinary world seems different to the hero now.
• Reaffirm your hero’s growth, and show whether they decide to settle into a calm life in the ordinary world, or if they have developed beyond what the ordinary world can offer them and choose to embark on further adventures.
• Make clear how your hero’s ordinary world was changed by their journey, and how the events of stage 11 make a difference to the people of that world.

Download the template

You can  download the template  below to use it for your next project and import it directly into Novlr. If you go to your Projects  page from your Novlr dashboard and click on “Import,” the template will automatically split your project into acts and sections for easy plotting!

There is no “right” way to outline a novel. That’s why there are lots of different story structures out there. The trick is finding one that works for you, and adapting it to suit your needs. Once you understand the way story structure works, it’s easy to bend the rules to make something completely unique to you.

What a good plot template can do is provide a springboard for your ideas, giving them fertile soil in which your imagination can help them flourish into the novel they deserve to be.

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The Hero’s Journey

What is the Hero's Journey in Literature?

Crafting a heroic character is a crucial aspect of storytelling, and it involves much more than simply sketching out a brave and virtuous figure. The hero's journey definition is not the typical linear narrative but rather a cyclical pattern that encompasses the hero's transformation, trials, and ultimate return, reflecting the profound and timeless aspects of human experience. The writer's journey in this endeavor goes beyond the external actions of the hero and delves into the character's inner world. The hero arc is the heart of the narrative, depicting the character's evolution from an ordinary person to a true hero.

Narratology and Writing Instructions for Heroic Characters

Related to both plot diagram and types of literary conflict , the ”Hero’s Journey” structure is a recurring pattern of stages many heroes undergo over the course of their stories. Joseph Campbell, an American mythologist, writer, and lecturer, articulated this cycle after researching and reviewing numerous myths and stories from a variety of time periods and regions of the world. He found that different writers take us on different journeys, however, they all share fundamental principles. Through the hero's trials, growth, and ultimate triumph, the narrative comes full circle, embodying the timeless pattern of the hero cycle. Literature abounds with examples of the hero cycle, illustrating how this narrative structure transcends cultural boundaries and remains a fundamental element of storytelling. This hero cycle in literature is also known as the Monomyth, archetype . The most basic version of Joseph Campbell's Monomyth has 12 steps, while more detailed versions can have up to 17 steps. His type of hero's journey diagram provides a visual roadmap for understanding the various stages and archetypal elements that protagonists typically encounter in their transformative quests. The wheel to the right is an excellent visual to share with students of how these steps occur. Hero's journey diagram examples provide a visual roadmap for understanding the various stages and archetypal elements that protagonists typically encounter in their transformative quests. Exploring the monomyth steps outlined by Joseph Campbell, we can see how these universal narrative elements have shaped countless stories across cultures and time periods.

Which Story Structure is Right for You?

The choice of story structure depends on various factors, including the type of story you want to tell, your intended audience, and your personal creative style. Here are some popular story structures and when they might be suitable:

• The Hero's Journey: Use this structure when you want to tell a story of personal growth, transformation, and adventure. It works well for epic tales, fantasy, and science fiction, but it can be adapted to other genres as well.
• Three-Act Structure: This is a versatile structure suitable for a wide range of genres, from drama to comedy to action. It's ideal for stories that have a clear beginning, middle, and end, with well-defined turning points.
• Episodic or Serial Structure: If you're creating a long-running series or a story with multiple interconnected arcs, this structure is a good choice. It allows for flexibility in storytelling and can keep audiences engaged over the long term.
• Nonlinear Structure: Experiment with this structure if you want to challenge traditional narrative conventions. It's suitable for stories where timelines are fragmented, revealing information gradually to build intrigue and suspense.
• Circular or Cyclical Structure: This structure is great for stories with recurring themes or for tales that come full circle. It can be particularly effective in literary fiction and philosophical narratives.

Ultimately, the right story structure for you depends on your creative vision, the genre you're working in, and the narrative you want to convey. You may also choose to blend or adapt different structures to suit your story's unique needs. The key is to select a structure that serves your storytelling goals and engages your target audience effectively.

What is a Common Theme in the Hero's Journey?

A common theme in the hero's journey is the concept of personal transformation and growth. Throughout the hero's journey, the protagonist typically undergoes significant change, evolving from an ordinary or flawed individual into a more heroic, self-realized, or enlightened character. This theme of transformation is often accompanied by challenges, trials, and self-discovery, making it a central and universal element of hero's journey narratives.

Structure of the Monomyth: The Hero's Journey Summary

This summary of the different elements of the archetypal hero's journey outlines the main four parts along with the different stages within each part. This can be shared with students and used as a reference along with the hero's journey wheel to analyze literature.

Part One - Call to Adventure

During the exposition, the hero is in the ordinary world , usually the hero’s home or natural habitat. Conflict arises in their everyday life, which calls the hero to adventure , where they are beckoned to leave their familiar world in search of something. They may refuse the call at first, but eventually leave, knowing that something important hangs in the balance and refusal of the call is simply not an option.

Part Two - Supreme Ordeal or Initiation

Once the hero makes the decision to leave the normal world, venture into the unfamiliar world, and has officially begun their mysterious adventure, they will meet a mentor figure (a sidekick in some genres) and together these two will cross the first threshold . This is the point where turning back is not an option, and where the hero must encounter tests, allies and enemies . Obstacles like tests and enemies must be overcome to continue. Helpers aid the hero in their journey.

Part Three - Unification or Transformation

Having overcome initial obstacles, in this part of the heroic cycle, the hero and their allies reach the approach . Here they will prepare for the major challenge in this new or special world. During the approach, the hero undergoes an ordeal , testing them to point near death. Their greatest fear is sometimes exposed, and from the ordeal comes a new life or revival for the hero. This transformation is the final separation from their old life to their new life. For their efforts in overcoming the ordeal, the hero reaches the reward . The hero receives the reward for facing death. There may be a celebration, but there is also danger of losing the reward.

Part Four - Road Back or Hero's Return

Once the hero achieves their goal and the reward is won, the hero and companions start on the road back . The hero wants to complete the adventure and return to their ordinary world with their treasure. This stage is often referred to as either the resurrections or atonement . Hero's journey examples that showcase the atonement stage often highlight the protagonist's inner turmoil and the difficult decisions they must make to reconcile with their past and fully embrace their heroic destiny. The hero becomes "at one" with themselves. As the hero crosses the threshold (returning from the unknown to their ordinary world), the reader arrives at the climax of the story. Here, the hero is severely tested one last time. This test is an attempt to undo their previous achievements. At this point, the hero has come full circle, and the major conflict at the beginning of the journey is finally resolved. In the return home, the hero has now resumed life in his/her original world, and things are restored to ordinary.

Popular Hero's Journey Examples

Monomyth example: homer's odyssey.

Monomyth examples typically involve a hero who embarks on an adventure, faces trials and challenges, undergoes personal transformation, and returns home or to society with newfound wisdom or a significant achievement, making this storytelling structure a powerful and timeless tool for crafting compelling narratives.

The hero's journey chart below for Homer’s Odyssey uses the abridged ninth grade version of the epic. The Heroic Journey in the original story of the Odyssey is not linear, beginning in media res , Latin for “in the middle of things”.)

To Kill a Mockingbird Heroic Journey

Did you know that many popular movies have heroes that follow this type of journey? It is true! In the "Star Wars" movies, Hollywood film producer George Lucas creates a journey for Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia. In "The Lion King", Simba goes on quite the adventure that ends in a final battle with his uncle Scar, a major turning point in the film before the hero returns to save his land. In "The Wizard of Oz", Dorothy takes on the role of the epic hero as she teeters between the two worlds of Kansas and Oz. These are just a few of the many examples of Campbell's theory in the cinematic realm.

Classroom Applications and Uses

Example exercises.

Create your own hero's journey examples using the Storyboard That Creator! Customize the level of detail and number of cells required for projects based on available class time and resources.

• Students identify the stages of the heroic journey in a piece of literature by creating one cell depicting each of the twelve steps.
• Students create storyboards that show and explain each stage found in the work of literature, using specific quotes from the text which highlight each part of the journey.
• Students create an outline of their own original story that follows the monomyth stages.

Common Core

• ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.3 : Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme
• ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.7 : Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two different artistic mediums, including what is emphasized or absent in each treatment (e.g., Auden’s “Musée des Beaux Arts” and Breughel’s Landscape with the Fall of Icarus)
• ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.6 : Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically
• ELA-Literacy.SL.9-10.2 : Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source
• ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.3 : Analyze the impact of the author’s choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed)
• ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.7 : Analyze multiple interpretations of a story, drama, or poem (e.g., recorded or live production of a play or recorded novel or poetry), evaluating how each version interprets the source text. (Include at least one play by Shakespeare and one play by an American dramatist.)
• ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.6 : Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products in response to ongoing feedback, including new arguments or information
• ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.2 : Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) in order to make informed decisions and solve problems, evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source and noting any discrepancies among the data

Related Resources

• Plot Diagram and Narrative Arc
• Types of Conflict In Literature
• What is an Archetype?
• The Odyssey Teacher Guide
• Types of Heroes in Literature

How Teachers Can Use The Concept of The Heroic Journey To Help Students Better Understand Character Development In Literature

Introduce the concept of the heroic journey.

Teachers can introduce the concept of the heroic journey to students and explain the different stages involved in the journey. This will provide a framework for students to better understand how characters develop throughout the story.

Analyze Characters Using the Heroic Journey

Teachers can guide students through the stages of the heroic journey and ask them to identify where the character is in the journey. This will help students to understand the character's development and how their actions and decisions are influenced by the different stages of the journey.

Compare and Contrast Character Journeys

Teachers can ask students to compare and contrast the journeys of different characters within a story or across multiple stories. This will help students to gain a deeper understanding of how the heroic journey is used to develop characters in literature and how it can be applied across different genres and cultures.

Discuss the Role of Character Motivation

Teachers can encourage students to think critically about the motivations of characters at each stage of the journey. This will help students to understand why characters make certain decisions and how their motivations contribute to their development.

Apply the Concept to Real-Life Situations

Teachers can encourage students to apply the concept of the heroic journey to real-life situations. This will help students to see how the journey applies not only to literature, but also to their own lives and experiences.

Frequently Asked Questions about the Hero's Journey

What is a "monomyth" or the "hero's journey" in literature.

In comparative mythology, the monomyth, or the hero's journey, is the series of stages that can be applied to a variety of stories from all genres. It involves a hero who is called to pursue an adventure, undergoes an ordeal, achieves their goal and returns home transformed.

What are the 12 Stages of the Hero's Journey in literature?

• Ordinary World
• Call to Adventure
• Meeting the Mentor / Helper
• Crossing the Threshold
• Test / Allies / Enemies

What is a common theme in the hero's journey?

The Hero's Journey usually follows the path of the main character from childhood or young adulthood through maturity. It is about the common human experiences of growth, challenges and change that are relatable to us all.

Why should students learn about the hero's journey?

The hero's journey is relevant for students in that it demonstrates the possibility of overcoming adversity and the potential for growth and change that is within us all. It is a common theme of literature and movies that once students understand, they will be able to identify over and over again. It is helpful for students to make the text-to-self connection and apply this thinking to their own life as a "growth mindset" . They can see that they are on their own hero's journey and that everyone has the ability to overcome obstacles to achieve their goals and affect positive change in their lives and the lives of others.

What are some of the best examples of the hero's journey?

The hero's journey stages appear in more books than students may realize! Here are just a few examples of popular books that contain the monomyth structure:

• The Graveyard Book
• The Hunger Games
• To Kill a Mockingbird
• The Odyssey
• The Lions of Little Rock
• Wednesday Wars
• One Crazy Summer
• Out of My Mind
• Brown Girl Dreaming
• The Lightning Thief
• The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
• The Stars Beneath Our Feet
• Fish in a Tree

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How to Write a Hero: The 12 Stages of the Hero’s Character Arc

by Lewis / September 17, 2019 / Character Development

Heroes are integral to the history of storytelling.

Not only are heroes beloved, but they’re practically required for many stories. Classic heroes such as Robin Hood and King Arthur mix with modern variations like Simba and Shane to form a formidable pantheon. However, perhaps more interesting than who we consider a hero is what all heroes have in common: the hero’s character arc.

This hero’s character arc demands that the hero leave home, sent away to prove themselves and grow into the leader their community needs. Their journeys are always ones of service and self-sacrifice. Most importantly, this hero’s character arc is something you can use to write memorable, compelling heroes all your own!

How to Write a Classic Hero: The Hero’s Journey

• 1 How to Write a Classic Hero: The Hero’s Journey
• 2 Understanding the Hero’s Inner Journey
• 3.1 Starting in the Ordinary World:
• 3.2 Entering the Unknown:
• 3.3 Returning Home:
• 4.1 Starting in the Ordinary World:
• 4.2 Entering the Unknown:
• 4.3 Returning Home:
• 5 Writing a Hero’s Character Arc for Your Story

After all, we can’t talk about heroes without first talking about the Hero’s Journey.

At its most basic, the Hero’s Journey is a common pattern all hero characters follow, popularized by Campbell.

It follows a character as they’re called on an adventure, face a series of trials, and undergo a final challenge where they prove they’ve grown into the hero’s archetype. However, unlike similar story structures like the Three Act Structure , the Hero’s Journey doesn’t stop there.

You see, the success of society is just as important as the success of the hero themself.

This is why the Hero’s Journey requires the hero to return home and share their new skills and knowledge, helping their society heal and prosper as the final phase of their journey. Without that crucial step, their hero’s character arc is incomplete.

“Heroes are symbols of the soul in transformation, and of the journey each person takes through life. The stages of that progression, the natural stages of life and growth, make up the Hero’s Journey.”  — Christopher Vogler

While Campbell’s legacy may be complex these days (especially because of his rather toxic views of women), the basic structure he outlined in The Hero with a Thousand Faces remains one of the best explanations of the journey characters must go on to be considered a hero.

You can find his Hero’s Journey at work in nearly every myth, novel, movie, and play out there—and, despite Campbell’s views, there’s absolutely no requirement for the hero character to be male or female.

Understanding the Hero’s Inner Journey

Despite how useful Campbell’s work is on its own, there have been some important additions that have not only clarified his ideas, but added new and unique interpretations. Most notably is The Writer’s Journey by Christopher Vogler, which turned the Hero’s Journey into a more usable guide for writers.

In particular, Vogler helped create the idea of the hero’s character arc by separating the Hero’s Journey into two halves:

The Outer Journey (story structure) and the Inner Journey (character development).

This Outer Journey is all about the plot of the Hero’s Journey, which we discussed above, while the Inner Journey focuses on the growth and psychological state of the hero. This Inner Journey is the foundation of the hero’s character arc, and you can see it at work in any of the three different primary character arcs . It’s this journey that takes a standard character arc and turns it into a hero’s arc, even if the hero fails at the end.

This understanding of the hero’s Inner Journey is incredibly valuable, because almost all writers will wonder how to write a hero at some point. Heroes are an integral part of our storytelling language, and this pattern of the hero’s character arc provides a guide to help you create the type of memorable, compelling heroes readers can’t get enough of.

The 12 Stages of the Hero’s Character Arc

Starting in the ordinary world:.

In every hero’s character arc, the hero begins in their ordinary world. This is their home and community, and it gives the reader a baseline from which to judge their later growth.

At this stage the hero is often ignorant of the outside world, but still feels a certain level of discontent. Something about their ordinary world isn’t right, and this something will slowly push them to venture into the unknown in hopes of solving this problem.

#1: The Call to Adventure:

The Call to Adventure is a pretty well know plot point within the hero’s Outer Journey. Here they’re introduced to the conflict and pushed to engage with it. However, there’s another side to this.

In the hero’s Inner Journey, the Call to Adventure marks the first time they’re asked to come face to face with the flaws of themselves and their world. Until now they’ve lived a life sheltered from the outside, even if only through their own naivety.

#2: Refusing the Call:

The Refusal of the Call is the immediate follow up from the Call to Adventure. Here, most heroes will refuse to believe the flaws they saw through the Call. They’ll be unwilling to answer the Call at this stage.

#3: Meeting the Mentor:

To clear their mind, the hero will need to meet with a mentor figure . This could be another character, a spiritual guide, or even an aspect of the hero’s own mind. Whatever it is, this stage helps push the hero to recognize reality by showing them another example of the conflict, both Inner and Outer, that they’re being called to face.

#4: Finding Allies:

Before the hero can set out on their journey, they need allies to support them. These allies help the hero mentally prepare for the massive change they’re about to experience by giving them a lasting connection to their community and their old self.

#5 Facing the First Threshold:

This much like the traditional First Plot Point of the Three Act Structure . At the First Threshold, the hero begins their Outer Journey, setting off from their community into the unknown world. In their Inner Journey, the hero finally recognizes the Call and sets out hoping to find answers. At this stage, most heroes still believe their lives can return to normal, and it is often this belief that propels them forward—even though they’ll soon find it isn’t true.

Entering the Unknown:

Once the hero has faced the first threshold and stepped outside their ordinary world, they’ve begun the next phase of the hero’s character arc.

This portion of their journey is all about learning.

Here they suddenly come face to face with the truth of what the outside world is—and often, the truth about their own community as well. They’ll likely be beat down a lot at this stage as the story shows them their weaknesses and forces them to grow. They can no longer remain naive if they’re to survive here.

#6: The Road of Trials:

The hero has entered the unknown, and will now have to face the many new challenges and tests of that world. Here they’ll learn a lot about themselves, and will come face to face with the conflict they were warned about in the Call. In their Inner Journey, they’re likely holding on to hopes of returning home, but slowly they will recognize that things were never as simple as they seemed.

#7: Approaching the Cave:

Here the hero will approach a major showdown (The Ordeal), both in their Outer and Inner Journeys. For their Inner Journey in particular, the hero will need to face their old beliefs in new ways and will be tempted to abandon their quest.

In many traditional stories, this manifested as the hero meeting with a goddess or being tempted by an evil female figure—though again, there are no gendered requirements when creating a hero’s character arc. If they overcome this challenge, they’ll have passed a critical test of the hero’s character arc.

#8: The Ordeal:

Here the hero will have to prove all they’ve learned thus far. They’ve overcome their temptation, and now must show that through action. The conflict of the Outer Journey will reach a turning point, and the psychological conflict of the Inner Journey will as well. The hero will need to make a choice here; either embrace their role in healing the wounds of their world, or abandon their quest and their role as the hero.

#9: A Reward:

If the hero succeeded during The Ordeal, they’ll receive a reward. This reward is key both to the conflict of their Outer Journey, and the wounds they’re struggling to heal in their Inner Journey. Their reward could be anything, but it must have both plot and character related aspects. It should reveal the answer they set out to find after the First Threshold.

Returning Home:

The final phase of the hero’s character arc sees them return to their community.

It’s finally time for them to share their newfound knowledge and skills.

The hero has learned the secrets of the outside world, but their community is still suffering. This is when the self-sacrifice of the hero’s character arc really comes into play, as the hero often has to risk losing their newfound life and allies to return home.

They’re no longer the person they once were, but that doesn’t free them from their responsibility to their community. Returning home and healing society is integral to the hero’s character arc, and the final stage in the hero’s development.

#10: The Road Back:

The Road Back is, in many ways, a mirror of the first five stages of the hero’s character arc. The hero will refuse to return home, unwilling to give up their new life (or sometimes unwilling to jeopardize up their old life, depending on the Inner Journey of the hero). This is the hero’s darkest moment, when they’re unsure what all of this has been for and if they’re really capable of fulfilling the hero’s role.

Eventually, if they’re to succeed in the hero’s character arc, they’ll realize they must return. From there, they’ll often receive aid from a spiritual guide or from another powerful source that helps transport them home, often in the nick of time before the conflict of the Outer Journey reaches its head.

#11: Resurrection:

Here the hero crosses the “return threshold,” returning to their community and using all of their skills and knowledge to help heal their world and overcome the conflict of the story. This is the Climax of their story, where all the threads of both the Outer and Inner Journey meet.

#12: Returning With the Elixir:

Finally the hero has returned. They’ve resolved the story’s conflict and put their reward to work, helping their society proper. They’ve overcome the flaws of their world and of themselves, and will help steer their community on a new and better path.

This also comes with the freedom for the hero to live their own life at last, often with a foot in both the outside world and their own community. This resolution is often bittersweet, but triumphant, and it what sets the hero apart from other protagonists.

Ashitaka: The Hero’s Arc of Princess Mononoke

While working on the first draft of this article, I was watching Princess Mononoke by Hayao Miyazaki. It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of Miyazaki’s work, and this movie is no exception, but this time I saw the movie in a new light.

You see, the protagonist of Princess Mononoke , Ashitaka, perfectly follows the hero’s character arc.

If you’re not familiar with it, Princess Mononoke follows Ashitaka as he journeys west, searching for a way to lift the curse placed on him when he defeated the demon boar Nago. What he finds outside his isolated village is a world torn by violence.

On one side feudal lords wage war against each another, and on the other the spirits of nature struggle to survive against encroaching humans. As you might imagine, Ashitaka gets caught up between these wars, both sympathetic to the humans but deeply reverent towards the spirits.

Ashitaka’s time in his ordinary world is short.

He begins the story when the demon boar Nago arrives at his village (The Call to Adventure) . At first he avoids it, watching from afar (Refusal of the Call) , and an older village guard warns him not to let the demon touch him or risk being cursed himself.

As the demon approaches the village, it traps a group of girls in front of it, and Ashitaka dives in to kill the demon and protect them. In the process he enters the demon’s path and it touches his arm. Though he kills the boar, he is now cursed.

That evening, Ashitaka meets with the elders of his village (Meeting with the Mentor) and they tell him the curse will eat away at him, eventually killing him. The elders talk about how their bloodline is weakening, and how all the human kingdoms outside their isolated village are in decay as well. They mourn Ashitaka’s loss, but know he cannot stay.

However, before he goes they tell him to journey west in hopes of lifting his curse. Ashitaka leaves under the cover of night, bringing his loyal elk, Yakul, with him (Finding Allies) . He and Yakul disappear into the darkness of the forest (Facing the First Threshold) .

Having officially left home, Ashitaka makes the long journey west, facing a variety of challenges along the way. He gets caught up in a battle with samurai and discovers his cursed arm gives him increased strength, and a traveling monk tells him to seek the mountain of the Deer God to find answers.

Later, he helps rescue two men who were thrown from a cliff, and they warn him about the war between the people of the Ironworks and the nature gods that live in the Deer God’s mountains. Ashitaka even sees the Deer God while traveling through their woods, and discovers that his cursed arm moves on its own, still imbued with the raging spirit of the demon boar (Road of Trials) .

The plot of the story moves more quickly when Ashitaka finally reaches the Ironworks. There he discovers the humans have been clearing the forests and killing the local gods to mine more iron. When he finds out their leader, Lady Eboshi , personally killed Nago and turned him into a demon, he feels enraged by her cruelty.

However, Lady Eboshi shows him another side of the Ironworks; not only is it a shelter for the sick, but it provides safe haven for people who otherwise would face terrible abuse from those more powerful than them. Still, Lady Eboshi is bent on killing the Deer God once and for all. Ashitaka isn’t sure what to think (Approaching the Cave) .

At first, Ashitaka helps around the Ironworks, unsure if he should stay or go. When he is about to leave, however, the wolf-princess Mononoke arrives intent on killing Lady Eboshi. Ashitaka knows Eboshi will kill her if he doesn’t stop them and fights to protect Mononoke, getting shot in the process.

He carries Mononoke out of the Ironworks and back to the wolf gods who raised her, before passing out from his wound (The Ordeal) . At first Mononoke wants to kill him, but realizes he is on nature’s side. She and the wolves take him to the Deer God’s forest, where the Deer God heals him. However, the curse remains; it seems the Deer God won’t save him after all (A Reward) .

Ashitaka struggles with the fact that he is still cursed and is unsure what he should do next. Meanwhile, the war between the humans of the Ironworks, the opposing samurai, and the nature gods escalates into a massive battle. Ashitaka goes to the wolf gods and tries to explain that humans and nature can coexist, but they refuse to believe him. Eventually Ashitaka gives up, leaving the Deer God’s forest and Mononoke behind.

However, Ashitaka won’t surrender so easily. When he passes the Ironworks and sees that it’s under attack, he steps in to protect it—Ashitaka races to find Lady Eboshi so she can send reinforcements to protect the people at the Ironworks.

In the process he realizes Mononoke has gone to war with the humans, and that one of the other leaders of the nature spirits is horribly wounded. They’re heading for the Deer God’s forest, and Ashitaka must stop Lady Eboshi from following them (The Road Back) .

Upon reaching the forest, Ashitaka saves Mononoke from certain death, but cannot stop Lady Eboshi, who kills the Deer God and steals his head. As soon as he loses his head the Deer God becomes a massive demon, consuming and killing everything it touches.

Ashitaka and Mononoke race to retrieve the head and warn the Ironworks of the coming calamity. Eventually, they force Eboshi’s allies to relinquish the head and return it to the Deer God, seeming to die in the process (Resurrection) . However, when the Deer God regains his head, a divine wind blows across the mountains.

Not only are the forests healed, but the sick people of the Ironworks are as well. Ashitaka and Mononoke are both alive and Ashitaka’s cursed arm is healed. While Mononoke is unwilling to come live at the Ironworks with him, she promises to live in peace alongside the humans. Ashitaka returns to the Ironworks, forging a new balance between nature and humanity (Returning With the Elixir) .

Writing a Hero’s Character Arc for Your Story

If you’re wondering how to write a hero of your own, Ashitaka’s journey is a great example of the hero’s character arc in action.

Not only does he follow every beat of the hero’s character arc, but he shows how the Outer and Inner Journeys of the hero interact and weave together into a powerful story. When you sit down to write a hero of your own, start by considering what flaw, sickness, or weakness their society has. What does their society need to grow and prosper? Most importantly, what does their society need to learn to become better?

With that information you can build the basic framework of your hero.

The world around Ashitaka was decaying because humans and nature were at war, so his Hero’s Journey ties into a quest to unite the two. While Ashitaka was a flat arc character , your hero can follow any of the three primary character arcs —positive, negative, or flat—as long as the ending wraps around to them solving the problems of their community.

This defines them as a classic hero, though it’s possible for them to be a failed hero (negative arc) that not only fails to grow into a better character, but fails to lift up their society.

Of course, there are plenty of other archetypes beyond the hero archetype, and Campbell and Vogler discuss many of them. If you want to learn more about the Hero’s Journey and the characters you can find within it, check out these articles next:

• 9 Stages of the Hero’s Journey and How to Use Them
• 8 Key Archetypes of the Hero’s Journey

—–

As you can see, the hero’s character arc follows many of the common patterns seen in the three primary character arcs all characters—regardless of hero status—follow. However, what sets it apart is its focus on the hero’s return to their community.

To truly be a hero, it seems we have to not only grow into a better person, but into a leader as well. 🙂

What journey does your story’s hero go on? Let me know in the comments!

Thoughts on how to write a hero: the 12 stages of the hero’s character arc.

The best description yet! Or is it because it confirms that without knowing this my character arc is right on track!

Thank you Marta. 🙂 I’m glad to hear you were already ahead of the curve. I’ve found that many writers pick up on these character arcs subconsciously over the years, and many are shocked it’s actually an official structure when they find out!

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The Hero’s Journey: A Classic Story Structure

Writing a compelling story, especially if you’re new at this, can be grueling.  

Conflicting advice online can overwhelm you, making you want to quit before you’ve written a word.

But you know more than you think.

Stories saturate our lives. We talk, think, and communicate with story in music, on television, in video games, in books, and in movies.

Every story, regardless of genre or plot , features a main character who begins some adventure or quest, overcomes obstacles, and is transformed.

This is generically referred to as The Hero’s Journey, a broad story template popularized by Joseph Campbell in his The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949).

In essence, every story ever told includes at least some of the seventeen stages he outlined .

In 1985, screenwriter Christopher Vogler wrote a memo for Disney titled The Practical Guide to Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces that condensed the seventeen steps to twelve.

The Hero’s Journey template has influenced storytellers worldwide, most notably George Lucas (creator of Star Wars and Indiana Jones ).

Vogler says of Campbell’s writings: “The ideas are older than the pyramids, older than Stonehenge, older than the earliest cave painting.”

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is a prime example of The Hero’s Journey, so I use “she” inclusively to represent both genders.

• The 3 Hero’s Journey Stages

1. The Departure (Separation)

The hero is compelled to leave her ordinary world.

She may have misgivings about this compulsion, and this is where a mentor may come to encourage and guide her.

Example: Katniss Everdeen is a devoted sister, daughter, and friend. She’s an avid hunter, well acquainted with the forbidden forest outside District 12, where she and her friend Gale hunt to keep their families from starving. The Hunger Games, wherein only one winner survives,  loom, and she fears she or one of her friends will be chosen. 

2. Initiation

The hero crosses into the other world, where she faces obstacles.

Sometimes she’s alone, sometimes she’s joined by a companion. Maybe a few.

Here she must use the tools she’s been given in her ordinary life to overcome each obstacle. She’ll be rewarded, sometimes tangibly.

Eventually she must return to the ordinary world with her reward.

Example: District 12’s Representative and Stylist Effie Trinket arrives to choose the Tributes who will compete in The Hunger Games. 

Katniss and her family attend, and she breathlessly wills Effie not to draw her name. She gets her wish, but to her horror, her little sister Primrose is chosen. 

Peacekeepers shove Prim toward the stage before Katniss volunteers to take her place. She’s joined by the male tribute, the baker’s son Peeta. They are soon whisked away for training and then the competition. 

The hero crosses the threshold back into her ordinary world, which looks different now. She brings with her the rewards and uses them for good.

Example: Unexpectedly, Katniss and Peeta are told there can be two victors instead of one. But Katniss and Peeta, to the dismay of the Capitol, decide they’ll die together or emerge as victors together. They emerge not only as victors, but also as celebrities. They have changed in unimaginable ways. 

• The 12 Hero’s Journey Steps (and How to Use Them)

1 — Ordinary  World

Before your hero is transported to another world, we want to see her in her ordinary world—who is she when no one is watching? What drives her?

This sets the stage for the rest of your story , so show her human side. Make her real and knowable.

But don’t wait long to plunge her into terrible trouble. Once you give your readers a reason to care, give them more to keep them turning the pages.

Example: Katniss Everdeen is introduced as a teenager for whom life isn’t easy. Her father is dead, her mother depressed, and Katniss will do anything to provide for her family and protect her little sister. 

2 — The Call to Adventure

This is the point at which your hero’s world can never be the same. A problem, a challenge, or an adventure arises—is she up to the challenge?

Example: The Reaping, where Katniss volunteers to take Prim’s place. 

3 — Refusal of the Call

Occasionally, a hero screeches to a halt before the adventure begins. When faced with adversity, she hesitates, unsure of herself.

She must face her greatest fears and forge ahead.

Example: There is no refusal of the call in The Hunger Games. Katniss eagerly steps forward. 

4 — Meeting With the Mentor

The mentor may be an older individual who offers wisdom, a friend, or even an object, like a letter or map.

Whatever the form, the mentor gives your hero the tools she needs for the journey—either by inspiring her, or pushing her in the direction she needs to go.

Example: Katniss is introduced to Haymitch the minute she reaches the stage to accept the challenge. He’s the only person from District 12 to have ever won The Hunger Games. She’s not initially impressed, but he eventually becomes her biggest ally. 

5 — Crossing the First Threshold

In the final step of the departure phase, your hero musters the courage to forge ahead, and the real adventure begins.

There’s no turning back.

By now, you’ve introduced your hero and given your readers a reason to care what happens to her. You should have also introduced the underlying theme of your story .

Why is it important for your hero to accomplish this task?

What are the stakes?

What drives her?

Example: Katniss is transported via train to the Capitol to begin training for The Hunger Games. She’s promised Prim she’ll do everything in her power to return home.

Your hero is laser focused, but this is the point at which she faces her first obstacle. She will meet her enemies and be forced to build alliances. She will be tested and challenged.

Can she do it?

What does she learn in this initiation phase?

Example: Katniss meets her competitors for the first time during training and is able to watch them to get a sense of what challenges lie ahead.  

6 — Tests, Allies, and Enemies

Things have shifted in the new world. Danger lies ahead. Alliances are formed, chaos ensues.

Your hero may fail tests she’s confronted with at first, but her transformation begins. She has the ability and knowledge to accomplish her tasks, but will she succeed?

Example: The Hunger Games begin. Tributes die. Katniss fights without water or a weapon. Her allies are Peeta and young Rue (the 12-year-old Tribute from District 11). The strongest players have illegally spent their young lives training for The Hunger Games and loom as her enemies from the start. 

7 — Approach to the Inmost Cave

Your hero approaches danger—often hidden, sometimes more mental than physical. She must face her greatest fears time again and may even be tempted to give up. She has to dig deep to find courage.

Example: Katniss is in the arena, the games underway. There’s no escape. She’s seen death, fears she may be next, and must find water and a weapon to survive. 

8 — The Ordeal

Your hero’s darkest moment and greatest challenge so far, in a fight for her life, she must find a way to endure to the end.

This may or may not be the climax of your story, but it is the climax of the initiation stage.

During this terrible ordeal, the steepest part of her character arc takes place.

Example: Katniss faces dying of thirst (if she’s not killed by another Tribute first) and faces every obstacle imaginable, including the death of Rue, before she finally wins the battle. 

9 — Reward (Seizing the Sword)

Against all odds, your hero survives. She’s defeated her enemies , slain her dragons—she has overcome and won the reward.

Whether her reward is tangible depends on the story. Regardless, your hero has undergone a total inward and outward transformation.

Example: Peeta and Katniss stand alone in the arena, told that because they are from the same district they can both claim the victory—or can they?

10 — The Road Back

As she begins to cross the threshold back into the ordinary world, she learns the battle isn’t finished.

She must face the consequences for her actions during the initiation stage.

She’s about to face her final obstacle.

Example: The Capitol reverses and announces that only one winner will be allowed. 

11 — The Resurrection

During this climax of your story, your hero faces her final, most threatening challenge.

She may even face death one more time.

Example: Katniss and Peeta decide that if they can’t win together, there will be no winner. They decide to call the Capitol’s bluff and threaten to die together. As they are about to eat poison berries, the Capitol is forced to allow two winners. 

12 — Return With the Elixir

Your hero finally crosses the threshold back into her ordinary life, triumphant. Only things aren’t so ordinary anymore.

She’s been changed by her adventure. She brings with her rewards, sometimes tangible items she can share, sometimes insight or wisdom. Regardless, this all impacts her life in ways she never imagined.

Example: Katniss and Peeta return home celebrities. They’re given new homes, plenty of food to share, and assistants who tend to their needs. Katniss learns that her defiance of the Capitol has sparked a revolution in the hearts of residents all across Panem. 

• Hero’s Journey Examples

You may recognize The Hero’s Journey in many famous stories, including Greek Mythology and even the Bible. Other examples:

• Sleeping Beauty
• Lord of the Rings
• Indiana Jones
• Sherlock Holmes
• Pilgrim’s Progress
• The Wizard of Oz
• Should You Use The Hero’s Journey Story Structure?

Structure is necessary to a story , regardless which you choose. Because the Hero’s Journey serves as a template under which all story structures fall, each bears some variation of it.

For fiction or nonfiction, your story structure determines how effectively you employ drama, intrigue, and tension to grab readers from the start and keep them to the end.

For more on story structure, visit my blog post 7 Story Structures Any Writer Can Use .

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Essays About Heroes: 5 Examples And Topic Ideas

Here, we’ll look at examples of essays about heroes and questions that can be used as topics for essays about an imagined or real hero.

A few different images likely come to mind when you hear the word hero. You may imagine Superman flying above the world with his superpower of flight. You may imagine a personal hero, a real person who has made a significant impact on your life for the better. You might think of a true hero as someone who has shown heroic qualities in the public eye, working to help ordinary people through difficult situations.

When writing an essay about your life hero, it’s important to consider the qualities of that person that make them stand out to you. Whether you choose to write an essay about how your mom got you through tough times and became your role model or about a political figure who made a difference in the lives of people in history, it’s key to not just focus on the person’s actions—you’ll also want to focus on the qualities that allowed them to act heroically.

Here, we’ll explore examples of hero essays and potential topics to consider when writing about a hero.

For help with your essays, check out our round-up of the best essay checkers

Examples Of Essays About Heroes

• 1. These Are The Heroes Of The Coronavirus Pandemic By Ruth Marcus
• 2. Why Teachers Are My Heroes By Joshua Muskin
• 3. Martin Luther King Jr.—Civil Rights Activist & Hero By Kathy Weiser-Alexander

4. Steve Prefontaine: The Track Of A Hero By Bill O’Brian

5. forget hamilton, burr is the real hero by carey wallace, topic ideas for essays about heroes, 1. what makes a hero, 2. what are the most important characteristics of heroes in literature, 3. what constitutes a heroic act, 4. is selflessness required for heroism.

1.  These Are The Heroes Of The Coronavirus Pandemic  By Ruth Marcus

“Is this what they signed up for? There is some danger inherent in the ordinary practice of medicine, but not this much. I confess: I do not know that I would do the same in their circumstances; I am not sure I am so generous or so brave. If my child were graduating from medical school, how would I deal with her being sent, inadequately protected, into an emergency room? If my husband were a physician, would I send him off to the hospital — or let him back into the house in the interim?” Ruth Marcus

Healthcare workers have had no choice but to go above and beyond in recent years. In this essay, Marcus discusses the heroism of those in the healthcare field. He delves into the traits (including selflessness and courage) that make doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers heroes.

2.  Why Teachers Are My Heroes   By Joshua Muskin

“Teachers are my heroes because they accept this responsibility and try extremely hard to do this well even when the conditions in which they work are far from ideal; at least most do. Our jobs as society, education systems, and parents is to do our best to be strong allies to teachers, since their success is essential to ours.” Joshua Muskin

In this essay, Dr. Muskin discusses the many challenges teachers face and what parents, administrators, and education researchers can do to help teachers support students. Muskin explains that most teachers go above and beyond the call of duty to serve their classrooms.

3.  Martin Luther King Jr.—Civil Rights Activist & Hero   By Kathy Weiser-Alexander

“During this nonviolent protest, activists used boycotts, sit-ins, and marches to protest segregation and unfair hiring practices that caught the attention of the entire world. However, his tactics were put to the test when police brutality was used against the marchers, and King was arrested. But, his voice was not silenced, as he wrote his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” to refute his critics.” Kathy Weiser-Alexander

In this essay, Weiser-Alexander details both the traits and the actions of Dr. King before and during the civil rights movement. The author touches on King’s commitment to justice, persistence, and willingness to stand for his beliefs despite difficult circumstances.

“I remember this so vividly because Prefontaine was a hero to me, a hero in a way that no one was before, or really has been since. A British commentator once called him “an athletic Beatle.” If so, his persona was much more Lennon than McCartney. Actually, I thought of him more as Mick Jagger — or ultimately James Dean.” Bill O’Brian

A hero to many in the running world, Prefontaine’s confidence, unique style, and unmatched athletic ability have been heralded for decades. In this essay, O’Brian shares how he, as a distance runner during the era of Pre, related to his struggles and ambition.

“Burr fought against an ugly tide of anti-immigrant sentiment in the young republic, led by Hamilton’s Federalist party, which suggested that anyone without English heritage was a second-class citizen, and even challenged the rights of non-Anglos to hold office. In response, Burr insisted that anyone who contributed to society deserved all the rights of any other citizen, no matter their background.” Carey Wallace

In this essay, Wallace explains why Aaron Burr, the lifelong nemesis of founding father Alexander Hamilton, should be considered a historical hero. This essay exposes someone seen as a villain but much of society with a different take on their history. 

It can be interesting to think about your definition of a hero. When describing what the term hero means to you, you may want to choose a person (or a few people) you look up to as a hero to solidify your point. You might want to include fictional characters (such as those in the Marvel universe) and real-life brave souls, such as police officers and firefighters.

A word of caution: stay away from the cliche opening of describing how the dictionary defines a hero. Instead, lead-in with a personal story about a hero who has affected your life. While talking about a public figure as a hero is acceptable, you may find it easier to write about someone close to you who you feel has displayed heroic qualities. Writing about a family member or friend who has shown up as a heroic main character in your life can be just as exciting as writing about a real or imagined superhero.

From Beowulf to Marvel comics, heroes in literature take on many different traits. When writing an essay on what trait makes a hero come alive in a short story, novel, or comic, choose a few of your favorite heroes and find common themes that they share.

Perhaps your favorite heroes are selfless and are willing to put themselves last in the name of sacrifice for others. Perhaps they’re able to dig deep into the truth, being honest even when it’s hard, for the greater good. There’s no need to list endless heroes to make your point—choosing three or four heroes from literature can be a great way to support your argument about what characteristics define heroism in literature.

When someone is named a hero in real life, we often picture them saving people from a burning building or performing a difficult surgical operation. It can be difficult to pin down exactly what constitutes a heroic act. When writing about what constitutes a heroic act, think about people who go above and beyond, performing feats of courage, honesty, and bravery to support themselves or others. When writing about what constitutes a heroic act, discuss real-life or literary examples of heroes at work.

To many people, being a hero means giving back to others. While giving something away or trading in one’s well-being for others can certainly be seen as a heroic act, many people wonder if selflessness is required for heroism or if a hero can serve the greater good in a way that also supports their happiness. When writing about whether selflessness is required for heroism, choose examples from literature and real-life to support your point.

Tip: If writing an essay sounds like a lot of work, simplify it. Write a simple 5 paragraph essay instead.

If you’re still stuck, check out our available resource of essay writing topics .

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The Hero’s Journey Sample

Joseph Campbell. an American psychologist and fabulous research worker. wrote a celebrated book entitled The Hero with a Thousand Faces. In his womb-to-tomb research Campbell discovered many common forms running through hero myths and narratives from around the universe. Old ages of research lead Campbell to detect several basic phases that about every heroquest goes through ( no affair what civilization the myth is a portion of ) . He calls this common construction “the monomyth. ”

George Lucas. the Godhead of Star Wars. claims that Campbell’s monomyth was the inspiration for his groundbreaking movies. Lucas besides believes that Star Wars is such a popular saga because it taps into a timeless story-structure which has existed for 1000s of old ages. Many followings of Campbell have defined the phases of his monomyth in assorted ways. sometimes providing different names for certain phases. For this ground there are many different versions of the Hero’s Journey that retain the same basic elements.

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THE ORDINARY WORLD

Heros exist in a universe is considered ordinary or uneventful by those who live at that place. Often the heroes are considered uneven by those in the ordinary universe and possess some ability or characteristic that makes them experience out-of-place.

• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: Dorothy in Kansas• The Hobbit: Bilbo Baggins in Hobbiton• Star Wars: Luke Skywalker on Tatooine• The Lion King: Simba at Pride Rock

THE CALL TO ADVENTUREFor heroes to get down their journeys. they must be called off from the ordinary universe. Antic pursuits don’t go on in mundane life. Heroes must be removed from their typical environment. Most heroes show a reluctance to go forth their place. their friends. and their life to travel on a pursuit. But in the terminal they accept their fate. Normally there is a find. some event. or some danger that starts them on the epic way. Heroes happen a mysterious object or detect their universe is in danger. In some instances. heroes go on upon their pursuit by accident. Campbell puts it like this. “A blunder—the merest chance—reveals an unsuspected universe. ”

The new universe the hero is forced into is much different than the old 1. Campbell describes this new universe as a “fateful part of both hoarded wealth and danger…a distant land. a wood. a land resistance. beneath the moving ridges. or above the sky. a secret island. exalted mountaintop. or profound dream state…a topographic point of queerly unstable and polymorphic existences. impossible tortures. superhuman workss. and impossible delight” . This description may look reasonably obscure. but think of all the assorted fantasy kingdom characters have entered throughout the old ages: Middle-Earth. Oz. Narnia. Wonderland. It could even be outer infinite. a haunted house. or the Matrix. Regardless of the inside informations. the new universe is certain to be filled with escapade.

• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: The twister• The Hobbit: Gandalf the ace arrives• Star Wars: R2D2’s deep message

Refusal OF THE QUESTDuring the Call to Adventure heroes are given a undertaking or quest which merely they can finish. They are faced with a pick: accept the quest or deny it. Their pick might look like a no-brainer. If they don’t accept the quest. there won’t be much of a story—or will there? Actually there are narratives where heroes don’t accept their fates. When this happens. the phase is set for catastrophe. There’s a ground why the powers-that-be have chosen a peculiar hero. A refusal of the quest merely brings problem.

King Minos. the sovereign of Crete who antagonizes the Grecian hero Theseus. does non make what the Gods ask of him. Poseidon. Lord of the Seas. sends him a beautiful white bull. The god’s merely order is that Minos must give the animal back to him. After seeing the brilliant animal. Minos decides he merely can’t conveying himself to make what the God asks and keeps the bull as a personal trophy.

Enraged. Poseidon vows retaliation and causes Minos’ married woman to fire with lecherousness for her husband’s prized animal. The remainder of this narrative is purely NC-17. It consequences in the birth of the Minotaur. a animal half-bull. half-human. a expletive to his male parent King Minos. Campbell notes that heroes who refuse their quest frequently become characters in demand of delivering or in Minos’ instance. the scoundrel of another hero’s journey.• Star Wars: Luke refuses the pursuit until he learns his aunt and uncle are dead• The Lion King: Simba refuses to return to Pride Rock and accept his fate• Groundhog Day: Example of the negative rhythm caused by declining the call

ACCEPTING THE CALL: Once the escapade is accepted. the heroes advance into the following phase of their journey.

ENTERING THE UNKNOWNAs they embark on their journey. the heroes enter a universe they have ne’er experienced before. Very frequently it is filled with supernatural animals. breathtaking sights. and the changeless menace of decease. Unlike the heroes’ place. this outside universe has its ain regulations. and they rapidly learns to esteem these regulations as their endurance. strength. and hearts are tested clip and clip once more. After all. it is non the terminal of the journey which teaches. but the journey itself. The Wizard of Oz: Dorothy must larn the regulations of Oz

The Matrix: Neo must come to clasps with the worlds and unrealities of the Matrix

SUPERNATURAL AIDSupernatural doesn’t have to intend charming. There are plentifulness of hero narratives that don’t have aces or enchantresss per say. Supernatural merely means “above the Torahs of nature. ” Heros are about ever started on their journey by a character who has mastered the Torahs of the outside universe and come back to confer this wisdom upon them. This supernatural character frequently gives them the agencies to finish the quest. Some of the clip the gift is merely wisdom. Other times it is an object with charming powers. In every case it is something the hero needs to win. As Campbell says. “One has merely to cognize and swear. and the ageless defenders will look. ” The occupation of the supernatural assistor is to give the heroes what they need to complete the quest—not complete it for them.

The Hobbit: GandalfStar Wars: Obi-Wan KenobiCinderella: Fairy GodmotherAmulet: A Special ( and frequently charming ) points that assist the heroes on their quest. The Wizard of Oz: Ruby SlippersThe Hobbit: The RingStar Wars: LightsaberALLIES/HELPERSEvery hero needs a assistant. much like every superhero needs a buddy. Without the aid of their comrades and assistants along the manner. most heroes would neglect miserably. For illustration. in the Grecian hero narrative of Theseus. Minos’ girl Ariadne. after falling hopelessly in love. helps Theseus voyage the Labyrinth. She does this by keeping one terminal of a aureate yarn while Theseus works his manner inward to murder the Minotaur. Without her aid. Theseus would ne’er hold fulfilled his pursuit or found his manner out of the labyrinth one time he did so.

Lord of the Ringss: Samwise Gamgee

The Wizard of Oz: The Tin Woodsman. Scarecrow. and Cowardly Lion

TESTS & A ; THE SUPREME ORDEALThe heroes progress through a series of trials. a set of obstructions that make them stronger. fixing them for their concluding confrontation. At long last they reach the Supreme Ordeal. the obstruction they have journeyed so far to get the better of.

All the heroes’ preparation and labor comes into drama now. The journey has hardened them. and it’s clip for them to demo their art. Once this obstruction is overcome. the tenseness will be relieved. The worst is passed. and the quest. while non officially over. has succeeded.

Star Wars: Blowing up the Death StarLord of the Ringss: Mount DoomThe Wizard of Oz: Get the better ofing the Wicked Witch

REWARD AND THE JOURNEY HOMETypically. there is a wages given to heroes for go throughing the Supreme Ordeal. It could be a land. It could be the manus of a beautiful princess. It could be the Holy Grail. Whatever it is. it is a wages for the heroes’ endurance and strength. After the heroes complete the Supreme Ordeal and have the wages firmly in manus. all that is left is for them to return place. Just because the bulk of the escapade has passed doesn’t mean that the return journey will be smooth sailing. There are still lesser homebound obstructions to get the better of.

The Hobbit: The Battle of Five ArmiesThe Lord of the Ringss: Tax return to Hobbiton

Maestro OF TWO WORLDS/ RESTORING THE WORLDSuccess on the heroes’ pursuit is life-changing. for them and frequently for many others. By accomplishing triumph. they have changed or preserved their original universe. Often they return with “the exilir. ” an object or personal ability that allows them to salvage their universe. The heroes have besides grown in spirit and strength. They have proved themselves worthy for matrimony. kingship. or queenship. Their command of the outside universe qualifies them to be giants in their ain.

Lord of the Ringss: Frodo saves the ShireThe Wizard of Oz: Dorothy rids Oz of the Wicked WitchTHE MONOMYTH: NOT JUST FOR MYTHOLOGY

While Joseph Campbell’s monomyth works best with the traditional signifier of the quest— common people and fairy narratives. myths. fables. and other fantasies—it can be applied to many different genres or types of narratives. A pursuit does non hold to include blades and monsters. It can merely as easy occur in the existent universe. The monomyth. ageless and universal. exists anyplace and everyplace.

ARCHETYPES APPEARING IN THE HERO’S JOURNEY

Joseph Campbell was to a great extent influenced by the Swiss Psychiatrist Carl Jung whose theory of the corporate unconscious involved archetypes—recurring images. forms. and thoughts from dreams and myths across assorted civilizations. Below are several originals frequently found in myths.

• HEROES: Cardinal figures in narratives. Everyone is the hero of his or her ain myth.• SHADOWS: Villains. enemies. or possibly the enemy within. This could be the pent-up possibilities of the hero. his or her possible for immorality.• MENTORS: The hero’s usher or guiding rules.• HERALD: The 1 who brings the Call to Adventure. This could be a individual or an event.• THRESHOLD GUARDIANS: The forces that stand in the manner at of import turning points. including covetous enemies. professional gatekeepers. or even the hero’s ain frights and uncertainties.• SHAPESHIFTERS: In narratives. animals like lamias or wolfmans who change form. In life. the shapeshifter represents alteration.• Pranksters: Clowns and troublemakers.• ALLIES: Fictional characters who help the hero throughout the quest.• WOMAN AS TEMPTRESS: Sometimes a female character offers danger to the hero ( a femme fatale )

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How romance novels got me through the grief of my double mastectomy

In April 2021, the Bluetooth blunder all romance readers fear most happened to me in while I was in the hospital recovering from a preventative mastectomy.

With COVID-19 vaccines still difficult to come by, I spent most of my hospital stay alone in a dimly lit room, plowing through the array of romance audiobooks that I had downloaded onto my iPhone. While the nurse was checking the status of my surgical drains, my traitorous phone disconnected from my Bluetooth headphones and amplified my audiobook throughout the room. Though not a steamy scene, it was a romantic scene. Characters were sharing furtive glances, imagining what would happen if they closed the distance between them and shared a kiss. It certainly wasn’t a moment I would’ve chosen to play on speaker.

“Fun! A book,” my nurse said, completely unruffled. She was a total pro. Meanwhile, I rained apologies all over her as I fumbled with my phone.

Once she was gone, I searched my bed for my rogue earbud, careful to avoid movements that sent searing pains through my chest. Then, the voice beside me asked, “What book was that?”

Those were the first words exchanged with my roommate behind the curtain. Before that, she’d merely been the person responsible for the occasional whir of a bed raising and lowering on the other side of the pink curtain separating us. I rattled off all the books I’d downloaded for my hospital stay: “Take a Hint, Dani Brown,” by Talia Hibbert, “You Deserve Each Other” by Sarah Hogle, and “The Happy Ever After Playlist” by Abby Jimenez . “Oh, those are on my list,” she said. “I read romance, too.”

Like so many women, I read romance novels in 2020. I mean dozens. Heaps. I had romance coming out of my ears. I simply couldn’t get enough of their happy endings and incendiary arm grazes replete with yearning. I only had time for novels where good things happened to good people and heroines spoke freely about their bodies and their sexualities. Unlike most women, however, I wasn’t only reading romance during the early days of COVID for a mental vacation from the indignities of driving to a far-flung Target in search of single-ply toilet paper based on a questionable NextDoor tip. (Though that was certainly a bonus). I was reading romance to soothe my heart and mind as I prepared for a preventative double mastectomy and weighed the pros and cons of sparing my nipples.

Being a carrier of the BRCA 1 genetic mutation puts me at a significantly higher risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer in my lifetime. Back in 2020, all tests indicated that I was healthy and cancer free. Still, I couldn’t shake the “what if.” Namely: What if I waited too long and missed my chance at a cancer-free life? So, on the advice of my doctors, I began the overwhelming process of planning my double mastectomy.

Redesigning your own breasts within the (decidedly unsexy) bounds of medical science is an odd task. While so many people who undergo this procedure have little choice in the matter, I was choosing everything : the date, the material, the size and the shape of my new, artificial breasts. I was even choosing whether to lose or keep my nipples, a decision that comes with some potential medical risks. Turns out that if you are planning a prophylactic mastectomy, the world is your oyster — but only if you enjoy oysters as I do, which is to say, you don’t at all and think they look a bit grisly set on ice in the middle of a picnic table.

Each of these decisions is deeply personal , and therefore, deeply isolating. A person’s relationship to their breasts and their component parts isn’t exactly virtual happy-hour fodder. (Again, this was early 2020, when we still attended gender reveal parties via Zoom, and I would slip conversational nipples into small talk while the party waited in gallery view for the appearance of a blue or pink cupcake.) So, as I fixated on the pros and cons of nipples while faced with a life without physical sensation in my breasts, I turned to the only women I knew who were equally as eager to discuss their breasts: women in romance novels.

While the romance genre varies widely in its depictions of sex — from the mere implication of intimacy to explicit on-page descriptions — it is mostly consistent in the ways it centers women’s physical experience of sexual attraction and desire. I’ve read countless descriptions of women noting specific states of nipple arousal upon meeting the strapping hero or striking heroine — from perky to pinched, purpled to pebbled, puckered to even plumped. Whereas most women don’t pay close attention to the pair of nipples on their chest, the nipples of romantic fiction all seem to have lives of their own — in part, because authors rarely shy away from depicting their heroine’s physical experience of attraction. As a result, their characters feel empowered by their sexuality, not embarrassed of it, and they can embrace it boldly and without shame.

In reading about these women, whose struggles, zip codes and sometimes charmingly impractical day jobs weren’t like my own, I reveled in how they were each boldly taking control of their sexuality and being rewarded for it. They were looking for love, yes, but they were also searching for identity and self-acceptance. These women were teaching themselves that love was a worthwhile pursuit and that they were worthy recipients of it, exactly as they were.

After my diagnosis, I’d begun to resent my breasts. I found myself slumping in my chair and gained an affinity for sleeveless summer turtlenecks. I looked at them in the mirror with anger and dread. They were my enemy. And though I was mounting a preemptive attack, I blamed them for forcing my hand. But reading romance — a genre brimming with optimism and frank discussions of women’s bodies, self-love, and pleasure — gave me permission to see my breasts as more than ticking time bombs. They gave me the language I needed to discuss my own relationship with my body and what I was afraid of losing: beauty, sensuality and self-confidence.

Romance authors didn’t punish, minimize or deride the women in their novels for wishing to feel sexual and for wanting to love themselves and their bodies. They validated those feelings in their warm, joyful stories, and in doing so, they validated me.

I judged myself harshly for caring about these things. I told myself it was vapid and shallow. Smart, confident women didn’t care about the shape of their breasts, I told myself. But romance authors didn’t punish, minimize or deride the women in their novels for wishing to feel sexual and for wanting to love themselves and their bodies. They validated those feelings in their warm, joyful stories, and in doing so, they validated me.

When I wrote a romance novel of my own, I centered the story on a post-mastectomy heroine whose surgery is only the beginning of her journey for love and self-acceptance rather than a threat looming in the distance. Through my heroine, Alison, I was able to unpack my feelings on living with BRCA, recovery and existing without nipples, all while giving her the happy ending a 2020 version of myself so desperately needed to read.

In 2021, I made my own happy ending. I underwent a preventative double mastectomy and significantly lowered my risk of developing breast cancer. At first, it was challenging to exist in skin that felt unfamiliar, to treat myself well, and to recover with parts that felt physically numb and jarring to the rest of my body. But I had language to discuss this dichotomy between the breasts I remembered and the ones that were safe but sensationless. I had heroines who reminded me it was OK to care about these things and that self-love would come with time. And it did. I found a tattoo artist who created an artistic floral design to cover my scarring, and my post-mastectomy breasts became something new and more beautiful. They became mine again, and I changed my own narrative — all thanks to the narratives that sustained me.

Ellie Palmer is the author of "Four Weekends and a Funeral," out August 2024. 

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'Last time': El Paso jailer arrested for smuggling papers laced with cannabis into annex

A longtime El Paso County Sheriff's Office jailer, who said it would be his "last time" smuggling drugs to an inmate, was allegedly paid by a Gangster Disciples street gang member to deliver papers laced with synthetic cannabis into the El Paso County Jail Annex, court documents state.

Lance Brown, 57, of El Paso, was arrested July 30 on suspicion of engaging in organized criminal activity, El Paso County Sheriff's Office officials said.

“The illegal acts of this high-ranking Sheriff’s Office employee are reprehensible and placed the health of inmates in jeopardy," Sheriff Richard Wiles said in a statement. "Criminal acts will not be tolerated and those responsible will be held accountable.”

Brown worked at the Sheriff's Office for 35 years and was serving as a detention lieutenant at the Jail Annex in far East El Paso. He resigned from his position after his arrest, officials said.

No attorney is listed for Brown in court records.

Jailer paid to smuggle synthetic cannabis to inmate

Deputies received information in July that an inmate, 43-year-old Charles Anthony “Ant” Johnson, was receiving illegal drugs from outside of the Jail Annex, officials said.

An investigation allegedly revealed Johnson’s sister, 28-year-old Deshone Green, was applying the synthetic cannabis into sheets of paper and she would give the drug-laced paper to Johnson’s girlfriend, a complaint affidavit states.

The girlfriend, 40-year-old Alante Grandberry, would deliver the drug-laced papers in a folder to Brown who would then give it to Johnson, the affidavit states.

More: Veteran El Paso detention officer arrested for bringing drugs to inmate at jail annex

Johnson allegedly would smoke the drug-laced papers or sell them to other inmates.

He would have his sister or girlfriend pay Brown through CashApp for smuggling the drugs into the Jail Annex, the affidavit states. The affidavit does not state how much Brown was paid.

Johnson is a “confirmed member of the Gangster Disciples Street Gang,” the affidavit states. The affidavit does not state what crime Johnson is serving time for in the jail annex. However, jail records show he has an extensive criminal record, including arrests for several assaults and drug charges.

Jailhouse phone calls lead to arrest of jailer

An El Paso County Sheriff’s Office detective, along with detectives from the office’s Internal Affairs, began monitoring Johnson’s jailhouse phone calls.

Johnson was allegedly heard in several phone conversations directing Grandberry on when to deliver the drugs to Brown, the affidavit states.

The detectives were monitoring the jail annex parking lot about 9:53 p.m. July 19 when they were notified Johnson told Grandberry about a delivery.

Grandberry arrived at the parking lot and went into the annex’s lobby with a folder in her hand. She remained in the lobby for “some time” and exited with the folder, the affidavit states.

The Internal Affairs detectives contacted Brown who had several pieces of paper and was in the processing of making copies, the affidavit states. The detectives took the papers as evidence and Brown was “dismissed from his tour of duty,” the affidavit states.

An El Paso County Sheriff’s Office K9 officer and his drug-sniffing dog, Walter, arrived to assist in the investigation. The drug-sniffing dog alerted the detectives to the papers that Brown had been carrying.

More: Socorro man arrested on murder charge in fatal shooting on Valle Verde Road

The detectives met with other Jail Annex employees. One of the employees said they recalled Grandberry had delivered folders that contained sheets of paper to the front desk on June 4 and asked for Brown.

The employee claimed they overheard Brown during a July 19 incident tell Grandberry “it was the last time he would be doing that,” the affidavit states.

A second Jail Annex employee told detectives Grandberry came to the annex in April and May asking for Brown. Grandberry allegedly handed a “folder that contained glossy type sheets, which the officers found to be unusual since they weren't for court purposes,” the affidavit states.

The Jail Annex employee told detectives they knew Grandberry from their time as co-workers at a restaurant on Fort Bliss.

Jailhouse security cameras on May 12 showed Brown delivering a folder to jail pod 300, the affidavit states. A few moments later, Brown is seen walking out of pod 300 without the folder. Johnson was later seen with a similar folder.

The sheets of paper taken from Brown July 19 were tested for drugs. The results were positive for "ADB-BUTINACA" which is a form of synthetic cannabis, the affidavit states.

Jailer resigns after drug smuggling arrest

Brown was arrested on suspicion of engaging in organized criminal activity. He was booked into the El Paso County Jail on a $10,000 bond, jail records show. He was released from jail the same day after posting bail, jail logs show.

He resigned from his position after his arrest, officials said.

Jail records do not show if Johnson is being charged with a crime for allegedly using and selling the drugs while in jail. He pleaded guilty in 2019 to possession of a prohibited substance in a correctional facility. He was sentenced to nine years in jail on the charge.

Grandberry was arrested Monday, July 29, on suspicion of engaging in organized criminal activity, jail records show. She was released from jail the next day after posting a $10,000 personal recognizance bond, jail logs show.

Jail records do not show if Green also was arrested in connection with the jail drug smuggling scheme. However, she was arrested March 20 on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance, jail records show. No other information is listed in jail or court records in connection with that arrest.

Aaron Martinez may be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @AMartinezEPT.

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New Helldivers 2 Freedom’s Flame Warbond burns bright on August 8

It’s getting hot in here, so gear up with new weapons, armor, and much more.

They say you can’t start a fire without a spark… Well, Helldivers, we’re about to spark a galactic-scale inferno. Your new Premium Warbond is deploying to all active patriots on 8 August – codename Freedom’s Flame.*

Incinerate everything standing in your path with new weaponry almost too hot to handle; survive the heat of battle with lifesaving armor; and burn brightly across the cosmos with fresh emotes, capes, and skins. Right now, swarms of disgusting bugs and packs of mechanized monstrosities are invading innocent worlds. Stop them… destroy them… cremate them. Let’s cook, Helldivers. Light it up in the name of liberty!

SG-451 Cookout Burn, baby, burn! A pump action shotgun that unleashes a burst of incendiary phosphorus pellets at your helpless enemies.

FLAM-66 Torcher A lightweight flamethrower shooting pressurized fuel through a nozzle into a roaring, open flame. Sounds safe. It isn’t. Watch where you’re standing.

P-72 Crisper A flamethrower that fits in your pocket for the Helldiver on the go! What will those guys think of next? This lovely compact handgun projects a jet of freedom flames over short distances.

Fiery Drop – Firebomb Hellpods Scorch the earth (and anything else) below as you touch down with attitude and ignite the dropsite.

I-09 Heatseeker Proudly display the burnished blood-red plates that were forged in righteous fire, like the heroes they were wrought to protect — a true vision of democracy.

I-102 Draconaught Ah, there’s nothing quite like those satisfying screeches as the enemies of freedom burn. Enjoy it all in this 14-cm sheathed silica fiber foam armor with an exclusive tube-to-ear feature.

Armor Passive Inflammable! Enjoy 75% damage resistance to fire as you run head-first into danger like the unstoppable legend your mum said you’d be.

Title: Fire Safety Officer You can now call yourself a Fire Safety Officer. Doesn’t come with a certificate.

Skin: Safety Orange Repaint your Shuttle, Hellpod, and Exosuit in striking Safety Orange.

Capes & Cards

Purifying Eclipse A heartfelt tribute to the Liberation of Choepessa IV in the First Galactic War, in which so much orbital ordnance was detonated that its sun was occluded by ash for an entire lunar cycle.

The Breach The final mission of the 361 st Freedom’s Flame saw this storied unit deploy into the heart of a Supervolcano in a mission of heroic sacrifice. Triggering a huge eruption, this act of incredible bravery wiped out a massive Terminid swarm. As documented in the bestselling graphic novel ‘The Breach,’ it is available at all good book shops on Super Earth.

Big Stretch, Deep Reflection, and Thoracic Collision Exultation Manoeuvre Co-emote. If you’re going to win. Win in style.

Freedom’s Flame is rolling out to your Destroyer’s Acquisitions panel on 8 August.

So ramp up the temperature to fry up some tasty justice, served with a side order of delicious grilled democracy. Tonight, we dine – and dive – in hell.

See you planetside.

*Requires base game, paid purchase of Super Credits, and game progression to unlock. PSN account required.

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25 Hero’s Journey Story Ideas to Start an Epic Adventure

by Sue Weems | 0 comments

The hero's journey is one of the most beloved and popular story frameworks in books and film. Today we have 25 prompts with hero's journey story ideas, so you can write your own epic adventure tale!

If you've watched any one of George Lucas's Star Wars films, read or watched any of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings books or films then you've experienced the hero's journey. I've walked my creative writing classes through these stories numerous times, helping them identify and emulate the story principles. 

Part of what makes these stories so compelling is that they follow a character from their ordinary life into an adventure they couldn't have imagined, leading to personal transformation.

You can see David Stafford's (our resident expert on Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey Story Structure) Ultimate Guide to the Hero's Journey here if you want to see a complete breakdown of the heroic journey that creates these character arcs. 

While there are twelve stages or phases in a traditional hero's journey story, I've organized these prompts in the three essential stages: the departure, the initiation, and the return. You can combine these into a story or use them individually to fuel just one section of your larger story. 

Try one and see how it pushes your character out of their normal life and into a hero venture! 

Hero's Journey Story Ideas for the Departure

This opening stage is all about establishing a would-be hero's everyday life, revealing the status quo, and then disrupting it. What's expected of this character in their current state? What do they believe about themselves? 

The departure stage requires the hero to leave that mundane life, that familiar world behind to begin their adventure that will happen in a series of stages. The departure includes: the Ordinary World , the Call to Adventure and Refusal of the Call , Meet the Mentor , and the Crossing of the Threshold .

1. Create a scene where your character is frustrated or in trouble at their current workplace or home. Avoid a wake-up scene unless you can make it compelling.

2. Show your character doing their favorite activity when it gets interrupted with something inconsequential.

3. Show your character interacting with a pesky sibling, challenging family member, or sometimes friend. 

4. What problem will arise in your character's community that will necessitate them leaving home to solve it? 

5. Create a major threat to your character's favorite place or person , preferably one that could be extended to the entire community. 

6. Describe the insecurities that plague your character, focusing on ones that will inform their refusal of the call to adventure. 

7. Create a mentor (or two or three!) that will inspire your character to think beyond their current limitations and plant a seed of inspiration. What kind of person or being will best speak into your character's specific fears?

8. Write the scene where the character accepts the call and leaves home to begin the adventure. 

Hero's Journey Story Ideas for the Initiation Stage

The initiation stage includes Trials, Allies, and Enemies ; Approach to the Inmost Cave ; The Ordeal ; and The Reward .

This next part, the initiation, is usually the longest in a story, loosely from the inciting incident to the end of the climax (and immediate repercussions). This is a place to play—get creative with the trials, the complications, and the ultimate battle.

9. Make a list of your hero's strengths and weaknesses. Now, create a trial or an antagonist that can challenge each of those traits. 

10. Write a scene where your hero meets an unexpected ally on their journey . 

11. Create a fantastical challenge or physical obstacle in the world where your story is set. Drop your hero and one other character into the situation and force them to fight their way through it. 

12. Write a scene where the hero faces something they think will be easy, but it challenges them in an unexpected (and humbling way).

13. How will your character take on a new physical look during the initiation phase? How will their build, clothing, features change? Write the description , including an outline of how it happens. 

14. Create a creature who the hero will approach as a threat. What happens in the face-off? Will the creature remain foe? or become a friend?

15. The character archetype of the shadow (sometimes called the villain) appears during the approach to the inmost cave. The villain is the dark side of the hero. Write a scene where the hero misuses their power and prowess—then see if you can adapt it for the shadow OR use it to help the hero grow. 

16. Write a scene where the hero faces their toughest foe, the scene where they are not sure they can beat evil.

17. Consider how the fight has become even more personal for the hero. Write about what they believe they are fighting for now. Make sure the stakes are high.

Hero's Journey Story Ideas for the Return

Finally, the Return stage shows off how our hero has changed, how the internal transformation has now manifested as an external change as the hero fully embraces their new status and learning.

It includes the final stages of the journey structure: The Road Back , The Resurrection , and the Return with the Elixir . 

18. Write a scene (or a list!) where the hero recounts what they have lost on the journey. 

19. Write a scene where the hero has achieved what they hoped, but somehow it falls short of what they thought it would be to them.

20. Write out the worst thing that could happen on the hero's way back home. How will they face it?

21. Describe (or draw!) a map of the hero's way home. Will they return the same way or go a new direction? What have they learned? 

22. Write a scene where your hero makes a significant sacrifice to defeat evil, preferably on behalf of their community.

23. Write a scene where the hero encounters a setback on their way home, either physical or relational. Make sure they are using their newfound confidence to solve the problem. 

24. Make a list of possible “elixirs” or rewards your hero could bring back from their adventure. Think about what is broken or important to their community and what that physical object will mean to them. Choose one elixir and write the moment the hero presents it. 

25. Write a hero's celebration feast scene. 

Now you try! 

The hero's journey structure can push you as a writer to focus on character development in addition to its opportunities for action and world building. Try one of these prompts today in your writing time and see where it leads!

Choose one of the prompts above. Set your timer for fifteen minutes and write. When finished, post your practice in the Pro Practice Workshop here , and I hope you'll share feedback and encouragement with a few other writers. Help those heroes shine! 

Sue Weems is a writer, teacher, and traveler with an advanced degree in (mostly fictional) revenge. When she’s not rationalizing her love for parentheses (and dramatic asides), she follows a sailor around the globe with their four children, two dogs, and an impossibly tall stack of books to read. You can read more of her writing tips on her website .

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Award-winning instructor and writer of 20+ years, book coach, and editor. Sue Weems specializes in working with Children's, Memoir, Middle Grade, Mystery, Nonfiction, Romance, and Thriller books. Sound like a good fit for you?

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Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Hero's Journey — Hero’s Journey: Moana Movie

Hero’s Journey: Moana Movie

• Categories: Hero's Journey

About this sample

Words: 596 |

Published: Jan 31, 2024

Words: 596 | Page: 1 | 3 min read

Table of contents

Overview of the hero's journey, identifying moana as a hero, departure: call to adventure, initiation: challenges and transformation.

• The Ultimate Boon: Achieving the Goal
• Return: Bringing the Boon back to the Ordinary World
• Closing Thoughts

Judge rejects bid by Judicial Watch, Daily Caller to reopen fight over access to Biden Senate papers

A Delaware judge has refused to vacate a ruling denying a conservative media outlet and an activist group access to records related to President Joe Biden’s Senate papers at the University of Delaware

DOVER, Del. -- A Delaware judge has refused to vacate a ruling denying a conservative media outlet and an activist group access to records related to President Joe Biden’s gift of his Senate papers to the University of Delaware.

Judicial Watch and the Daily Caller News Foundation sought to set aside a 2022 court ruling and reopen a FOIA lawsuit following the release of Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report about Biden’s handling of classified documents.

Hur’s report found evidence that Biden willfully retained highly classified information when he was a private citizen, but it concluded that criminal charges were not warranted. The documents in question were recovered at the Penn Biden Center in Washington, Biden’s Delaware home and in his Senate papers at the University of Delaware.

Judicial Watch and the Daily Caller maintained that the Hur report contradicted representations by university officials that they adequately searched for records in response to their 2020 FOIA requests, and that no consideration had been paid to Biden in connection with his Senate papers.

Hur found that Biden had asked two former longtime Senate staffers to review boxes of his papers being stored by the university, and that the staffers were paid by the university to perform the review and recommend which papers to donate.

The discovery that the university had stored the papers for Biden at no cost and had paid the two former Biden staffers presented a potential new avenue for the plaintiffs to gain access to the papers. That’s because the university is largely exempt from Delaware’s Freedom of Information Act. The primary exception is that university documents relating to the expenditure of “public funds" are considered public records. The law defines public funds as funds derived from the state or any local government in Delaware.

“The university is treated specially under FOIA, as you know,” university attorney William Manning reminded Superior Court Judge Ferris Wharton at a June hearing.

Wharton scheduled the hearing after Judicial Watch and The Daily Caller argued that the case should be reopened to determine whether the university had in fact used state funds in connection with the Biden papers. They also sought to force the university to produce all documents, including agreements and emails, cited in Hur’s findings regarding the university.

In a ruling issued Monday, the judge denied the request.

Wharton noted that in a 2021 ruling, which was upheld by Delaware’s Supreme Court, another Superior Court judge had concluded that, when applying Delaware's FOIA to the university, documents relating to the expenditure of public funds are limited to documents showing how the university itself spent public funds. That means documents that are created by the university using public funds can still be kept secret, unless they give an actual account of university expenditures.

Wharton also noted that, after the June court hearing, the university’s FOIA coordinator submitted an affidavit asserting that payments to the former Biden staffers were not made with state funds.

“The only outstanding question has been answered,” Wharton wrote, adding that it was not surprising that no documents related to the expenditure of public funds exist.

“In fact, it is to be expected given the Supreme Court’s determination that the contents of the documents that the appellants seek must themselves relate to the expenditure of public funds,” he wrote.

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Florida attorney pleads guilty to bomb attempt outside Chinese Embassy

A Florida attorney pleaded guilty to attempting to set off a backpack of explosives outside the Chinese Embassy in Washington.

Investigators say they found the lawyer's DNA on the bag of explosives.

Christopher Rodriguez, a licensed criminal defense lawyer in Panama City, Florida, placed a backpack filled with explosive material a few feet away from the embassy in September, then tried to detonate it by shooting it with a rifle, according to court filings. But Rodriguez missed his target and the explosives failed to detonate.

He also admitted to damaging a sculpture in Texas that depicted communist leaders Vladimir Lenin and Mao Zedong, a piece the artists say was intended as a satirical critique of communism.

Rodriguez pleaded guilty to damaging property occupied by a foreign government, malicious damage to federal property using explosive materials, and receipt or possession of an unregistered firearm. A plea agreement said both parties agreed that imprisonment for seven to 10 years followed by three years of supervised released is an “appropriate sentence.”

Court papers detail late night bombing attempt near Chinese Embassy

According to an affidavit filed in support of a criminal complaint in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Rodriguez, 45, drove in September from his Panama City home to northern Virginia with a rifle and 15 pounds of explosive material. He stopped on the way to buy a backpack, nitrile gloves and a burner cell phone.

On Sept. 24, Rodriguez parked his car in Arlington, Virginia, and used the phone to call a taxi to get near the Chinese Embassy, which is about 4 miles northwest of the White House. Sometime after midnight, Rodriguez placed the bag of explosives outside the embassy and fired gunshots toward it, prosecutors said.

At about 2:45 a.m., Secret Service agents found three shell casings, bullet fragments and the backpack near the outer perimeter wall of the Chinese Embassy, as well as impact marks on the wall, according to the affidavit.

DNA found on the backpack was consistent with DNA obtained from Rodriguez in a June 2021 arrest in Los Angeles County, prosecutors said, when California Highway Patrol officers found his car didn't match the license plate. Officers spotted weapons in his console after pulling him over, and he was subsequently charged with possession of a loaded/concealed firearm in a vehicle, possession of an unregistered firearm, and possession of a switchblade knife, according to the affidavit. Police also found several jars of the same type of explosive material that was later used in the bombing attempt outside of the embassy.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arrested Rodriguez on Nov. 4 in Lafayette, Louisiana, and he has been detained since then, according to prosecutors.

Attorneys for Rodriguez listed in court records did not return USA TODAY’s requests for comment.

Attorney admits to destroying sculpture in Texas

Less than one year before the embassy assault, Rodriguez had targeted an art sculpture in San Antonio, Texas, court filings said. The piece, called "Miss Mao Trying to Poise Herself at the Top of Lenin’s Head," was made in 2009 by Beijing artists Gao Zhen and Gao Qiang – together known as the Gao Brothers – and inspired by their family's tumultuous experience in China, the San Antonio Report said.

Rodriguez rented a vehicle in Pensacola, Florida, and drove to San Antonio in November 2022, according to a statement of offense. He scaled a fence to get to the courtyard where the piece was sitting and placed two canisters of explosive mixture, before climbing onto a rooftop and shooting at them with a rifle, causing "significant damage" to the artwork, court papers said.

Texas Public Radio headquarters is near the courtyard and captured the assault on its security cameras. The footage, which TPR posted on social media, showed a man in a ski mask placing the cans and walk away before a fiery explosion ensued.

The sculpture depicted a tiny figure of Mao Zedong, founder of the People's Republic of China, holding a pole atop a giant head of Vladimir Lenin, founder of the Soviet Union.