The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure For Writers is a popular writing textbook by writer Christopher Vogler, focusing on the theory that most stories can be boiled down to a series of narrative structures and character archetypes, described through mythological allegory.[1]
An earlier edition, The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Storytellers and Screenwriters, was published in 1992. Vogler revised the book for the second release in 1998 and changed the title to The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers. The third edition, published in 2007, included a new introduction, new artwork, and analysis of recent, popular motion pictures. In July 2020, the 25th Anniversary Edition was published, which includes new sections and topics.[6]
Summary of content
The archetypes
The first part of the book describes eight major character archetypes in detail.[7] Those are:
Hero: someone who is willing to sacrifice his own needs on behalf of others
Mentor: all the characters who teach and protect heroes and give them gifts
Threshold Guardian: a menacing face to the hero, but if understood, they can be overcome
Herald: a force that brings a new challenge to the hero
Shapeshifter: characters who change constantly from the hero's point of view
Shadow: character who represents the energy of the dark side
Ally: someone who travels with the hero through the journey, serving variety of functions
Trickster: embodies the energies of mischief and desire for change
Stages of the Journey
The second part describes the twelve stages of the Hero's Journey.[7] The stages are:
The Ordinary World: the hero is seen in their everyday life
The Call to Adventure: the initiating incident of the story
Refusal of the Call: the hero experiences some hesitation to answer the call
Meeting with the Mentor: the hero gains the supplies, knowledge, and confidence needed to commence the adventure
Crossing the First Threshold: the hero commits wholeheartedly to the adventure
Tests, Allies, and Enemies: the hero explores the special world, faces trial, and makes friends and enemies
Approach to the Innermost Cave: the hero nears the center of the story and the special world
The Ordeal: the hero faces the greatest challenge yet and experiences death and rebirth
Reward: the hero experiences the consequences of surviving death
The Road Back: the hero returns to the ordinary world or continues to an ultimate destination
The Resurrection: the hero experiences a final moment of death and rebirth so they are pure when they reenter the ordinary world
Return with the Elixir: the hero returns with something to improve the ordinary world
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
