The Hero's Journey: From myth to Hollywood

The Hero’s Journey - sounds epic, right? If you’re a writer you’ve undoubtedly heard about it, but...what exactly is it?

Basically, the Hero’s Journey is a storytelling template. But not only is it a neat way to structure your screenplay or novel but it’s also a ready-made arc for your protagonist AKA the main character who drives the plot.

In this article, I’m going to give you a condensed but hopefully, comprehensive history of the Hero’s Journey, how it works, if it works and how it fits with traditional three-act structure!

Contents

1. Origins of the monomyth

   1. The Rank-Raglan mythotype

   2. Joseph Campbell: The Hero With A Thousand Faces

2. Hollywood Hero

   1. George Lucas

   2. Christopher Vogler

3. The Hero’s Journey in action

   1. Examples

   2. The Mettle of Man: Ash Williams and the (Anti-)Hero’s Journey

4. The Heroine’s Journey

   1. Maureen Murdock

   2. Victoria Lynn Schmidt

   3. The Queen’s Gambit

   4. Criticism

5. Conclusion

ORIGINS OF THE HERO MYTH

The Rank-Raglan mythotype

According to the most accurate and trustworthy site on the internet, Wikipedia, the study of hero myth narratives can be traced back to 1871 with anthropologist Edward Burnett Tylor, who observed common patterns in the plots of heroes' journeys.

Then, in 1909, psychoanalyst Otto Rank came up with his own list based on the Greek legend of Oedipus (yes, that Oedipus).

Otto Rank’s Hero’s Journey

1. Child of distinguished parents

2. Father is a king

3. Difficulty in conception

4. Prophecy warning against birth

5. Hero surrendered to the water in a box

6. Saved by animals or lowly people

7. Suckled by female animal or humble woman

8. Hero grows up

9. Hero finds distinguished parents

10. Hero takes revenge on the father

11. Acknowledged by people

12. Achieves rank and honours

In true Freudian fashion, Rank believed that the first half of a Hero’s life was as the result of their relationship with their parents (Segal, et al., 1990). Which is true - just not in a sexual way.

Think about the most iconic heroes - Peter Parker, Harry Potter, Luke Skywalker. What do they all have in common? They’re orphans. Or at least Luke Skywalker thinks he is but regardless, he still has a complicated relationship with Darth Vader which, if you didn’t know already, is German for Dark Father.

Fun fact (unless you’re a Star Wars trivia buff) George Lucas didn’t know Darth would be Luke’s daddy when he made the first Star Wars. But surely, Lucas knew how the name translated? He couldn’t have picked it at random? Did he know the meaning and just pretend he was making it up as he went along?

*shrugs* Maybe. Maybe, he was aware of the Hero’s Journey’s connection to Oedipus and that’s why Luke and Leia kissed? Or…maybe not.

That said, prequels and problematic stuff, George Lucas is smarter than you think. He does his research, as you’ll find out…

Lord Raglan’s Hero’s Journey

Anyway, 27 years after Rank developed the concept of the Mythic Hero in his text, The Myth of the Birth of the Hero, amateur anthropologist Lord Raglan, real name Fitzroy Richard Somerset (yes, really), tried to outdo Rank’s 12-point list with his own list of 22:

1. Mother is a royal virgin

2. Father is a king

3. Father often a near relative to mother

4. Unusual conception

5. Hero reputed to be son of god

6. Attempt to kill hero as an infant, often by father or maternal grandfather

7. Hero spirited away as a child

8. Reared by foster parents in a far country

9. No details of childhood

10. Returns or goes to future kingdom

11. Is victor over king, giant, dragon or wild beast

12. Marries a princess (often daughter of predecessor)

13. Becomes king

14. For a time he reigns uneventfully

15. He prescribes laws

16. Later loses favour with gods or his subjects

17. Driven from throne and city

18. Meets with mysterious death

19. Often at the top of a hill

20. His children, if any, do not succeed him

21. His body is not buried

22. Has one or more holy sepulchres or tombs

Following myth ritualists like James Frazer and S.H. Hooke and accounting for patterns across Indo-European cultures, the more traits a hero could tick off from Fitz Dick’s big list the more mythical their journey was (Segal, et al., 1990)

So, at the top of the leaderboard, you’ve got the likes of Oedipus, of course, with 22, Moses (20) and King Arthur (19) but then according to Sienkewicz, Harry Potter has 8? Sure, King Arthur has Merlin, but Harry Potter has the Wizarding WORLD. Doesn’t that make his story inherently more mythical?

You see, the problem with Raglan’s list, other than it being completely arbitrary (which he admitted himself! (Segal, et al., 1990)) is that it fits historical figures better than fictional characters.

Folklorist Francis Utley pointed this out by applying it to Abraham Lincoln who fits all 22 of Raglan’s points. Similarly high would be JFK, whereas Jesus and Buddha only have 18 and 15 respectively (Eddy & Boyd, 2007). It seems because both were presidents who were assassinated, they are more heroic than say Robin Hood (13) and more mythical than Jason of Argonauts fame (15).

You could argue otherwise but I think it’s clear what Raglan thinks makes a hero, well, isn’t so clear.

For some reason, Rank and Raglan’s theories are bundled together as the Rank-Raglan mythotype even though Rank took hero stories symbolically and Raglan took them literally (yet also weirdly equated real people to gods?) and they have very different lists. That said, you can see how both of their interpretations of the Hero’s Journey, flawed as they may be (I’m looking at you Mr Somerset!), fit certain stories.

Joseph Campbell: The Hero with a Thousand Faces

After the conflicting theories of Rank and Raglan, American professor Joseph Campbell came along and consolidated all the different studies in his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces, summarising the Hero’s Journey as being about:

“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.”

Campbell believed there were 17 stages in the Hero’s Journey. You’d think this was a nice compromise between Rank and Raglan’s lists, but…well, take a look yourself.

Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey

Act 1 - Departure

1. The Call to Adventure

2. Refusal of the Call

3. Supernatural Aid

4. The Crossing of the First Threshold

5. Belly of the Whale

Act 2 - Initiation

6. The Road of Trials

7. The Meeting with the Goddess

8. Woman as the Temptress

9. Atonement with the Father

10. Apotheosis

11. The Ultimate Boon

Act 3 - Return

12. Refusal of the Return

13. The Magic Flight

14. Rescue from Without

15. The Crossing of the Return Threshold

16. Master of the Two Worlds

17. Freedom to Live

Without further explanation, on first glance, Campbell’s steps are more confusing than his predecessors’. Yet, Campbell’s book became the Bible for worshippers of the Hero’s Journey because it generalised and made the so-called monomyth (a phrase coined by Campbell meaning the Hero’s Journey – yeah, I don’t get it either) “universal”. But many critics and folklorists see Campbell’s work as so vague it’s meaningless (Wikipedia, 2020).

For instance, Robert Ellwood said, "a tendency to think in generic terms... is undoubtedly the profoundest flaw in mythological thinking” (1999). Furthermore, Alan Dundes, notably Campbell’s biggest critic, labelled him a “non-expert” saying-

‘Like most universalists, [Campbell] is content to merely assert universality rather than bother to document it’ and ‘if [his] generalizations about myth are not substantiated, why should students consider his work?’

These quotes are 1984 but Dundes has never let go of his grudge saying in 2016 that ‘there is no single idea promulgated by amateurs that has done more harm to serious folklore study than the notion of archetype’.

Essentially, the consensus from his peers was that Campbell didn’t do his homework by backing up his claims with academic texts (like I’m doing right now in this article!). Whether or not they were right, I don’t know because I’m not an expert either, but I agree with them that Campbell’s version of the Hero’s Journey only makes sense if you do the reading.

Nevertheless, Campbell’s theory became so popular that it was picked up by Hollywood…

Hollywood Heroes

George Lucas

Star Wars was classified as a typical example of the Hero’s Journey as soon as it came out and it turns out this was on purpose…but not at first.

"It came to me that there really was no modern use of mythology... so that's when I started doing more strenuous research on fairy tales, folklore and mythology, and I started reading Joe's books. ... It was very eerie because in reading The Hero with a Thousand Faces I began to realize that my first draft of Star Wars was following classical motifs" – George Lucas

Before Star Wars, the Hero’s Journey was not a thing. But after it became a phenomenon, execs did what they always do and concentrated on the wrong thing, believing the Hero’s Journey was one of the biggest reasons for its success and that if others followed the template, they too would be box-office hits.

Consequently, screenwriters claimed it was harder for their ideas to get made unless they explicitly met the template. What didn’t help was Campbell’s “road-map”, as Yorke calls it, wasn’t exactly easy to follow. Like everything else, Hollywood needed it boiled down to simple terms, which is when Christopher Vogler walked on the scene.

Christopher Vogler

In 1970, while working for Disney, Christopher Vogler, a young film producer and screenwriter, created a 7-page company memo titled A Practical Guide to The Hero with a Thousand Faces, which did exactly what it says on the tin, simplifying and condensing Joseph Campbell’s baffling list into 12 easy steps.

Here they are explained by Ray Frensham in my favourite screenwriting manual, Teach Yourself Screenwriting, which I’d highly recommend to any beginners out there!

Christopher Vogler’s Hero’s Journey

Act I – The Hero decides to act

1. The Hero is introduced in their ORDINARY WORLD

This is pretty self-explanatory. Establish the Hero’s version of normal in contrast to the what’s ahead.

2. The Hero receives a CALL TO ADVENTURE

AKA the Inciting Incident. The Hero is presented with a problem, challenge or adventure that can’t be ignored e.g. a new case for a detective or a meet-cute in a romcom.

3. The Hero is RELUCTANT at first. They REFUSE THE CALL

The Hero is scared. They aren’t sure and almost turn back. They need convincing either through a change of circumstances or encouragement from a Mentor.

4. The Hero meets/is encouraged by a MENTOR

By this point, we will have met the Hero’s Mentor. Their relationship is usually symbolic e.g. parent-child, teacher-student etc. They prepare the Hero for the Special World.

5. The Hero must CROSS THE 1ST THRESHOLD and enter the Special World

The Hero commits to their journey, overcoming their fear, confronting the problem and taking action. There’s no turning back now!

Act II - The action itself

6. The Hero encounters TESTS and makes ALLIES AND ENEMIES

Again, self-explanatory. The Hero tests their newfound courage and learns the rules of the Special World.

7. The Hero must APPROACH THE INMOST CAVE, crossing the 2nd threshold

To acquire what they want, the Hero must enter the most dangerous place in the Special World. But first, they pause and prepare the best plan of action.

8. The Hero endures the SUPREME ORDEAL

AKA The mid-point/point of no return. The Hero confronts their greatest fear/enemy and is pushed to the brink.

9. The Hero takes their REWARD

The Hero survives and has cause to celebrate, either they’ve secured a literal weapon or elixir or a piece of knowledge that gives them an advantage over the enemy. They’ve officially become a hero.

Act III – The consequences

10. The Hero is pursued on THE ROAD BACK to the Ordinary World

If the enemy hasn’t been truly defeated, they will come after the Hero. The Hero must return to the Ordinary World, but their journey continues.

11. The Hero crosses the 3rd threshold, experiencing a RESURRECTION that transforms them.

The Hero needs to wash their hands of the Special World via a 2nd ordeal. The final test where the enemy gets in their last shot before being defeated.

12. The Hero RETURNS WITH THE ELIXIR or treasure to benefit the Ordinary World

Returning to the Ordinary World is meaningless/pointless unless the Hero acquires some knowledge/treasure/freedom/wisdom/love/lesson. If they don’t bring back anything, they are doomed to repeat their journey. Frensham says this is often the case with foolish characters in comedies where the protagonist makes the same mistake that got them in trouble in the first place.

Vogler eventually turned his memo into a textbook called The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers (1992) which I haven’t read but I’d probably recommend if you want to read more about the Hero’s Journey - there was a new edition released just in July!

For me, Vogler’s version of the Hero’s Journey is the definitive guide because it’s the easiest to understand.

Others in the field do not agree. If being cruel, John Yorke would call it “Campbell for Dummies” explaining, ‘The principles are simplistic, reductive, but contain the kernel of something extremely important…the author himself does not appear to have been aware of.’

Yorke goes on to admit he dismissed the Hero’s Journey at first. When he first learned about it as a script editor for EastEnders, he couldn’t see how it applied to stories such as the one he worked on.

He also thought the template implied the biggest point of drama happened at stage 8, the Supreme Ordeal, the middle of the story, meaning the rest of the hero’s journey is backwards and the antagonism doesn’t build.

He also couldn’t understand how there could be two paradigms, the other being three-act structure, until he realised that the Hero’s Journey fit it. How he didn’t notice that at first I don’t know considering both Campbell and Vogler break down the Hero’s Journey into three acts.

Anyway, Yorke describes the Hero’s Journey as a three-act structure from the protagonist’s POV which yeah, sure, but I disagree it’s no more complex than that.

So, what if Vogler didn’t dig deep into the questions of ‘why’ the Hero’s Journey is the way it is? At the end of the day, he wasn’t a theorist and never claimed to be. He was someone whose job was to make it easy to understand and that’s exactly what he did. Sure, he made a career out of other people’s work but it’s kind of elitist to say he’s dumb because he didn’t connect his storytelling template to some philosophy.

The Hero’s Journey in action

Now, you have a general understanding of how the Hero’s Journey works, let’s see it in action.

The most obvious go-to examples, some I’ve already mentioned, include Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, The Matrix and Star Wars (which Frensham uses in his book).

Click here for the full infographic by Sara McGuire: https://venngage-wordpress.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2016/07/HerosJourney10.png

But you know what happened a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, so let’s deconstruct something a bit less conventional…

The Mettle of Man: Ash Williams and the (Anti-)Hero’s Journey

Remember what Frensham said about the twelve steps of the Hero’s Journey? That if a Hero didn’t learn his lesson, he’d have to do it all over again. Well, a perfect example of a character doomed to repeat their journey against their will is Ash Williams.

Ash Williams is the protagonist of the Evil Dead franchise, a horror-comedy series about a stock boy who has to fight evil. Oh, and did I mention he’s the one who brings it into the world in the first place by reading from a book called the Necronomicon?

Yeah, he’s not the smartest. He’s also a drunk, a sexist and a racist who enjoys killing far too much. Doesn’t exactly sound like your typical hero, right? But his story fits the template, as you’ll see, showing that the Hero’s Journey isn’t just limited to mythic paragons of virtue (or even straight white men for that matter).

Across three films and three seasons, Ash just wants to live his idea of a “normal life” but evil keeps returning, and he feels obligated, not because it’s usually his fault (for instance, when he gets high and reads the Necronomicon to impress a girl) but because he’s good at slaying demons and prophesied as The Chosen One to do something about it.

I’d say Ash takes a Hero’s Journey more in the TV series, Ash vs Evil Dead, which was on purpose.

"Why not make it into a television show where you can take this character, take him on a hero's journey," Bruce Campbell (hey, another Campbell!) said of the impetus behind the show. "He's Job. Evil is rising once again to test the mettle of the average man, and that happens to be Ash. And in this case a middle-aged, crabby Ash who's dragged basically kicking and screaming back into this.” (CBR, 2015)

Season three, in particular, explores “the myth more about Ash being the chosen one,” Campbell said at the time, “We’re doing a little more of the old Joseph Campbell thing. Why him? What’s the dealio with the schmeilio?”

However, rather than talk about the last act of Ash’s journey in the series, I thought I’d let someone else, who’s already done the work and deserves the credit, show you how Ash’s arc in the third film of the Evil Dead trilogy, Army of Darkness, follows the Hero’s Journey according to Joseph Campbell.

1. Call to Adventure: Ash Williams lives an ordinary life as a stock boy before his life is disrupted when he accidentally reads from an evil book that traps him in the Middle Ages. This change in situation forces him to take action in unknown territory.

2. Refusal of the Call: After Ash’s many trials in the previous films, he has chosen to live a pampered, restful life in Castle Kandar, uninterested in helping the Wizard rid the castle of its monstrous threat. This changes when Ash is targeted by a deadite in the castle.

3. Supernatural Aid: With the help of a blacksmith (and despite the technological limitations of the era), Ash constructs a powerful, prosthetic hand to replace his missing one. This new hand proves essential in Ash’s journey ahead.

4. Crossing the First Threshold: Ash simply leaves on his quest after being told magic words by the Wizard. Ash doesn’t bother to memorize these magic words; Ash’s ignorance becomes his point of no return later.

5. Belly of the Whale: After beginning his journey, Ash almost immediately finds himself in danger, being chased by a dark force in the woods.

6. Road of Trials: Ash is forced to endure a series of trials while trapped in an old mill, where he’s relentlessly attacked by evil, tiny, duplicates of himself. This is where the main antagonist emerges: Bad Ash, Ash’s life-sized, evil double.

7. Magic Flight: After failing to read the correct magic words to safely retrieve the Necronomicon, Ash is forced to make a hurried escape with the book as evil forces in the cemetery rise to attack him.

8. Atonement: After initially being selfish, Ash decides to own up to the mistakes he made and atone for his actions by aiding Castle Kandar in the fight ahead. This earns Ash respect in the eyes of the Wizard and all of the villagers he once let down.

9. Apotheosis: Ash demonstrates a greater wisdom after his long journey, actually preparing the villagers for the battle ahead of them against Bad Ash’s army. Ash trains the peasants to fight and he creates advanced weaponry.

10. Ultimate Boon: After a difficult battle, Ash achieves his goal by defeating Bad Ash, the darkness within himself, freeing the Castle of the evil threat that plagued it.

11. Crossing of the Return Threshold: After his long quest in time and his glorious triumph, Ash decides to return to his ordinary life as a stock boy in Michigan.

12. Master of Two Worlds: After Ash tells his tale to his bemused co-workers, Ash reflects that he could have been King back in the past but realizes that, even in his modern time, he is a King in his own way.

13. Freedom to Live: After everything he learned, Ash demonstrates the great skills he has gained by effortlessly dispatching a deadite. This proves Ash as a hero and demonstrates that he is free to live however he wants without anything standing in his way.

Again, full credit to Doctor Wolfula on Twitter for this. If you want to read the full thread, it’s right here in all its glory: https://twitter.com/doctorwolfula/status/1300939857687126025

The Heroine’s Journey

Now so far, everything I’ve talked about refers to the Hero in a Hero’s Journey as he and considering men came up with these theories they probably never considered and would be shocked at the sheer idea of a woman being considered a Hero but obviously, heroines exist.

Strangely enough, another man, Barre Toelken says (and yes I’m using his words for my own argument) the preconceived mould of the Hero’s Journey leaves out equally valid stories (1996).

Does that mean the Hero’s Journey does not apply to stories about women? Not necessarily. But there is an alternative – the Heroine’s Journey.

Maureen Murdock

Feeling the Hero’s Journey didn’t fully encompass the journey of a female protagonist, Jungian psychotherapist Maureen Murdock (I know, another one! The Hero’s Journey is very much connected/rooted in psychology with many believing the journey is more mental than physical. It is a character arc after all!) published a self-help book called The Heroine's Journey: Woman's Quest for Wholeness (1990) to help her patients heal from feminine wounds.

She stated the feminine Journey ‘is about going down deep into soul, healing and reclaiming, while the masculine journey is up and out, to spirit’ (Davis, 2005).

"At Mythic Journeys the feminine journey was being discussed in the basement in a room too small, while the masculine journey was discussed upstairs in the hotel’s Grand Ballroom!" – Maureen Murdock.

There are eight stages of the Heroine’s Journey. Here is Wikipedia’s breakdown of them.

Maureen Murdock’s Heroine’s Journey

1. Shift from feminine to masculine

The Heroine rejects the idea of femininity in favour of masculinity. She may still be tied to the feminine, but she increasingly resents that attachment (Winkle, 2014).

2. Identification with the masculine

The Heroine begins to identify with masculine values via a father figure or traditionally male role in society. The father represents freedom from a mother figure who praises the heroine for her strength but also ridicules her for her femininity.

3. Road of trials

The Heroine faces obstacles and trials that lead to character development. These will be related to gaining success, achieving a higher status, and empowerment.

The Heroine emerges victorious and her confidence is bolstered by the applause of others. “She has built an impressive, masculine reputation”. However, contrary to the Hero's Journey, the heroine also struggles with inner conflict (Winkle, 2014).

4. Experiencing the illusory boon of success

Upon experiencing success, the Heroine will realise she has betrayed her own values to achieve the goal (The Heroine Journeys Project, 2016) and feel limited in her new life

"She has achieved everything she set out to do, but it has come at great sacrifice to her soul. Her relationship with her inner world is estranged. She feels oppressed but doesn’t understand the source of her victimization,” (Murdock, 2010).

5. The descent

Crisis falls upon the Heroine. The crisis can be death in the family, loss of self-identity etc. Here the Heroine must reconcile with her feminine side.

6. Meeting with the goddess

The Heroine meets with a “goddess figure”, who represents all the positive values of femininity she has left behind. After this meeting, she is inspired to return to femininity.

7. Yearning for the reconnect

The Heroine wants to reconnect to her feminine side and may try to go back to her previous lifestyle. However, the heroine will discover that she is not able to do this and will see her old values and traits from a different perspective.

8. Reconciliation with the masculine

Another crisis falls upon the heroine and she must look inward and understand the masculine part of her identity. She will recognise that there are positives and negatives to her masculinity.

Murdock describes this as a healing stage where the Heroine ‘[identifies] parts of herself that have ignored her health and feelings, refused to accept her limits, told her to tough it out, and never let her rest…it helps her to speak her truth and own her authority”.

9. The union

In the final stage, the heroine finds a balance, integrating her masculine and feminine aspects.

Just to make it easier, here is a diagram from the Heroine Journeys Project, who have a breakdown of Murdock’s steps of their own.

Victoria Lynn Schmidt

An alternative version of the Heroine’s Journey can be found in Victoria Lynn Schmidt’s book 45 Master Characters (2001).

Schmidt’s version is more commonly used than Mudock’s but I prefer the original, so I won’t go into too much detail about it as it’s very similar and long-winded, much like Joseph Campbell’s.

In fact, I’d go as far as to say Schmidt’s version is more like Campbell’s Hero’s Journey than Murdock’s Heroine’s Journey, but I’ll let you make your own conclusions.

Victoria Lynn Schmidt’s Heroine’s Journey

1. Illusion of the perfect world

2. Betrayal/disillusionment

3. The awakening

4. The descent

5. Eye of the storm

6. All is lost/death

7. Support

8. Rebirth/moment of truth

9. Return to a new world

Here’s another (very complicated but helpful) diagram courtesy of the Heroines Journey Project and if you want to learn more about Schmidt’s version check out their breakdown on their website.

The Queen’s Gambit

You can see the Heroine’s Journey as early as Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre and many great examples include Moana, Coraline, Katniss Everdeen and Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz (and you can read all about those in Valeria Estelle Frankel’s article Moana and Feminine Symbolism (2016)) but I want to talk about something more recent…and controversial.

I know I’m a bit late and this isn’t the first article to point it out, but I promise I noticed this all on my own. Before the first episode had even finished, I noticed The Queen’s Gambit was following the Hero’s Journey model.

Now, I loved The Queen’s Gambit and I think it’s a rather refreshing take on a woman’s story but I can also see where the criticism is coming from. You can tell it was written by a man and that’s probably why it follows the Hero’s Journey model. But I also think it works within Maureen Murdock’s framework, especially since the show is about a character who suffers trauma and addiction and clearly, needs therapy.

1. Shift from masculine to feminine: Beth wants to play chess which Mr Shaibel tells her “isn’t for girls” but she insists.

2. Identification with the masculine: After her mother kills herself, Beth attaches herself to Mr Shaibel, a caretaker at the orphanage who teaches her how to play chess and encourages her to be better but is also strict. Beth goes on to compete against men who underestimate her ability because she’s a girl.

3. Road of trials: Beth starts to win bigger and bigger competitions and becomes famous in the chess community with a reputation as a prodigy. But she believes she has to drink and take drugs, particularly, green tranquiliser pills she was given at the orphanage, to be good. This derives from her traumatic childhood where she was abandoned by her father, then her adoptive father, and being in the car crash that killed her mother

4. Experiencing the illusory boon of success: Beth becomes one of the highest-rated chess players and the co-champion of America. But along the way, she defeats a boy even younger than her by resorting to putting him off and asks him what happens when he achieves his own goals at sixteen? Like her, he has no answer.

5. The descent: Beth loses her adoptive mother to addiction which only sets hers off.

6. Meeting with the goddess: Beth bumps into a girl who bullied her at school. She has settled down with kids and become an alcoholic herself.

7. Yearning for the reconnect: Back in her hometown, Beth fails to keep up her mother’s house and spirals. Two former opponents and love interests, Harry and Benny, try to coach her to no avail.

8. Reconciliation with the masculine: After a visit from an old friend, Beth finds out Mr Shaibel has passed away. Learning he was proud of her and kept track of her success motivates Beth to finally take on Borgov, the series’ main antagonist, and go sober.

9. The union: With help from Harry and Benny, Beth beats Borgov to become world champion.

See, it works.

Criticism

…Or so I thought. Unsurprisingly, there are people – men – who don’t see the point in the Heroine’s Journey.

Joseph Campbell rejected the model entirely saying women don’t go on journeys but are the goals of heroes (Davis, 2005). Basically, women are trophies. So, not only is his theory shit but he’s sexist too.

Other more reasonable criticisms, such as Hunter Emkay say because Murdock wrote her book specifically for therapy, it’s hard to apply it to writing (2015). Which is bullshit considering the Hero’s Journey has always been tied to psychology. And as proven by applying it to The Queen’s Gambit, it’s perfect for character studies about damaged individuals who need to undergo recovery/self-improvement arc.

If you want to read more about the Heroine’s Journey, check out The Heroines Journeys Project, which was set up because of that quote from Campbell, which collects and analyses literature, film, and transforming life experiences of women and members of marginalised groups with the narrative patterns by Murdock and Schmidt.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter which version of the Hero’s Journey you use. After all, it’s called the monomyth because there is a pattern all the variations share.

So many characters change and grow according to the same pattern and writers often do this unconsciously. Yorke believes there’s nothing mystical about this ‘but nor is it sinister. It’s not to be feared. It’s a natural by-product of how we order.’ ‘A product of physics, a chain of cause and effect with beginning, middle and end, seeking a symmetry.’

Basically, humans see patterns and want to control everything, and the Hero’s Journey is a way of explaining why we keep telling the same stories.

But the biggest advice to you to avoid writing a Hero’s Journey we’ve seen before is not to think about the template at all.

Sure, it’s useful for making a strong structure and fleshing out themes but don’t write with it at the forefront of your mind otherwise you draw attention to it when it should be invisible.

Don’t try and tick off boxes. The Hero’s Journey is just a blueprint. Your characters and your story are what’s really important.

“The Hero's Journey is a skeletal framework that should be fleshed out with the details and surprises of the individual story. The structure should not call attention to itself, nor should it be followed too precisely. The order of the stages outlined is only one of many possible variations. The stages can be deleted, added to and drastically shuffled without losing any of their power” – Vogler

Overall, the Hero’s Journey and all its variations are flawed but useful for structure and symbolism. It’s what you add to the equation that matters.

Now-