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Feb 15, 2012

Mark rated it:

My father was an English Lit and Humanities teacher. He gave me a deep appreciation for the story. I've loved Joseph Campbell ever since I saw him on PBS with Bill Moyer. I went back and have read several of his books. Unfortunately, he seems to have written them for academia, instead for the layman, and sometimes I feel they are difficult to get through. Also, he doesn't always help tell how to use the myths and folklore.

This book is a godsend for me. While I have read other books dea More...

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Jul 15, 2010

Nicholas rated it:

The most effective movie moment on writing I've ever seen came in "Wonder Boys" when Rip Torn very dramatically intones, "I...am... A WRITER!" It's said without any trace of irony. This is a common feature in writers both amateur and professional. No empathy, no sense of irony.

If you've seen a lecture about story structure, you've probably been listening to someone regurgitate this same set of values.

It's doubly funny because from what I can tell, Vogl More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jul 15, 2010

Saundra is currently reading it

When I first heard about this book, I resisted it as it sounded like a formula for success in Hollywood (Vogler was an advisor at Disney). I was at the beginning of my writing journey and wanted to give myself freedom to write in whatever direction I wanted. Also, I had just finished a Ph.D. program, and I wanted to write without rules for awhile. That was ten years ago, however, and lately I've become interested in mythic structure and archetype Since Vogler translates Campbell's ideas about More...

2 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jun 30, 2011

Kevin rated it:

Just a copy of Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Face, but for modern readers.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

May 10, 2011

Trish rated it:

After reading Michael Hauge, Psychology For Screenwriters by William Indick and watching the Vogler/Hauge Hero's Journey discs I picked up at a conference a few years ago, I'm almost through my mini-at-home-study and can honestly say Vogler's book is one that will remain on my keeper shelf for a considerable period of time. I do think it's easy to look at it as a 'formula' if you are new to writing, but from my point of view it is more of a guideline and a way of giving yourself a few 'markers' More...

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Apr 13, 2011

David rated it:

Christopher Vogler readily acknowledges his debt to Joseph Campbell, whose 1949 seminal work on comparative mythology 'The Hero with a Thousand Faces' is the source of the Hero's Journey that Vogler uses as his template for an effective screenplay. Vogler's more contemporary style is perhaps more accessible for the modern reader, and his many examples from well-known movies ('Shane', 'Star Wars', 'Titanic') really help to demonstrate the practical application of the formula that he explains in r More...

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Feb 26, 2011

Alex rated it:

One of the books they made us read in film school way back when was Christopher Vogler's book THE WRITER'S JOURNEY: MYTHIC STRUCTURE FOR WRITERS. Vogler has come out with a third edition, so I thought I'd take a read.

Vogler is coming at story structure out of the Joseph Campbell HERO WITH A THOUSAND FACES tradition. Campbell theorized that hero stories have a similar structure across all human cultures, and that there are archetypes that we always see in them: the refusal of the call, More...

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Apr 09, 2010

Michelle rated it:

My review of this book is coloured by my expectations - always a dangerous thing. While this was certainly an interesting book, I don't know if was particularly helpful to me as a writer. Maybe it was just too much detail. Too many different potential players/personas to consider when someone is considering a putting together a story.

When I write I start with a germ of an idea, and maybe a few scenes in my head, but I'm not a plotter by nature. I have a background in mythic literatu More...

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Jul 15, 2010

بثينة rated it:

Reading this book wasn't a lot of fun!

Few years ago I read " The Hero with a Thousand Faces " By Joseph Campbell ( and I loved it! ), and I also read about 4 books for C.G. Jung ( I loved 'em either!) ..

This book is primarily based on the great work, effort, sweat, and research of these two Godfathers of mythology, and it annoys me to see the richness and depth of their work converted into a "recipe" for "ready-meal microwave writers!".
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Jul 15, 2010

Jeania rated it:

I learned a new way of looking at stories and movies from this book. They say it is one of the fundamental texts for hollywood script writers and I believe the archetypes and journey stages are strong models to refer to for the fiction writer. One might best explain this book in applying one of its models - the journey stages - to a film many of us are familiar with. I tried it with Forrest Gump:

1) Ordinary World: Begins life as a cripple, with odds stacked against him

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Jul 15, 2010

Gregory rated it:

This is an extremely useful tool when trying to plot out a novel. It has to be taken with a grain of salt, but the author himself points out repeatedly that the idea is not to slavishly follow his outline of the standard mythic patterns made famous by Joseph Campbell, but to use them as a guide and inspiration. His examples rely heavily on movie scripts, but his observations apply very well to novel writing.

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Jul 27, 2010

Tessa rated it:

In this book, Vogler explores the relationship between mythology and penmanship by adapting Joseph Campell's classic work on mythology, "The Hero's Journey", to a writer's path.

Basically, this is a more easily read version of Campell's book with references to movies and books to illustrate certain points. It gives you a clear structure that, strangely, all stories ever told seem to follow in one way or another.

For the writer, this can be a set of guidelines of More...

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Dec 11, 2011

Ferneeen rated it:

When I first browsed tried to read this book 10 years ago I didn't get passed the first 50 pages. My main problem with these kind of books is that they are so packed with information that it is hard for me to apply their lessons later. I might retain the gist of what they preach, but I end up forgetting most of the specifics, and so it feels like a waste of time to read them from cover to cover.

These last few weeks I have indeed read it cover to cover, but this time I had a concrete g More...

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May 19, 2010

Dara rated it:

This book is a handy fix-it kit for anyone who has ever struggled to invent a plot for a short story or other work of fiction. Based on Joseph Campbell's classic The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Vogler lays out the template for the classic adventure plot. It starts with the hero's "Ordinary World" (think Kansas in the Wizard of Oz), and progresses through the "Call to Adventure," and subsequent stages like "Approach to the Inmost Cave," and "The Ordeal." More...

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May 19, 2011

Pandora rated it:

If you want to truly understand the power of story this is a must read. What Vogler has done is taken A Hero of a Thousand Faces and made it simple to understand. Instead of using myths that no one knows he uses movies to show how stories are shaped by an ancient pattern. Powerful book.

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Feb 20, 2011

Merci rated it:

A great book that talks about Joseph Campbell's Hero with a Thousand Faces and relates the concepts of the archetypal hero to how to structure a story. Interesting examples given on how this structure was used in many famous movies (Star Wars anyone?) and how writers can use the techniques to craft a story that follows this formula. Even if one hates formulaic stories, this is good reading to help understand the flow of stories and even help to write oneself out of a corner if the plot/story d More...

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May 10, 2009

Djrmel rated it:

Not only is this an excellent book for writers of fiction, I'd recommend it very strongly to anyone who reads or watches films with a critical eye. Vogler relies on Joseph Campbell's explorations into myths and why humans need them to build a classic story telling formula that works. How do we know it works? He's got example after example, and honestly, it's hard to argue with the success of The Wizard of Oz, Titanic, the Indiana Jones' franchise, etc as successful story telling. Certainly, More...

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Feb 14, 2012

Graham rated it:

I bought this book as set reading for a writing course I'm currently studying. Having recently finished, I can say without doubt it's the most useful book on writing I've ever read - and I've read a fair few of them.

The great thing about this book is its simplicity. The main concept - that all stories and narratives follow a set path, or journey, involving archetypal characters - is a strong one that's easy to grasp. The rest of the book then elaborates on the theme, exploring divers More...

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Feb 09, 2012

Jerry rated it:

Found that Vogler's 'The Writer's Journey' is a great resource for me. Being an aspiring writer I see many ideas about writing that I had not considered before. I read Campbell's 'The Hero with a Thousand Faces' many years ago, in graduate school, and plan on taking it down from my bookshelf again for re-read. I feel that 'The Writer's Journey' has helped me to a deeper understanding of Campbell's master work and that once I go through Hero again I will have a greater understanding Vogler's b More...

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Jul 15, 2010

Jackie rated it:

I'll start out with the negatives:
-Vogler is overly arrogant about his own accomplishments. The entire introduction of the book is essentially a narrative testimony of how famous and well-traveled he is.
-Most of the contents of this book are concepts I learned long ago in theatre classes. Readers who have a background in storytelling of any sort may find most of the author's advice self-evident.
-The analysis is useful, but not revelatory

These things aside, this bo More...

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Dec 24, 2011

Mark rated it:

Vogler mentioned several times his book isn't a strict system on how to write a story. Although he used sequential numbering to label each stage in a story, he says they can appear out of order or not appear at all. Further he states that a single stage in a story might be repeated several times in the manuscript; and he mentions several times that audiences these days are more sophisticated, and although following his outline to the letter will make for a satisfying story, you need to keep your More...

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May 19, 2011

Britta rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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May 06, 2011

Brett rated it:

Essentially Joseph Campbell for Dummies, but it does the job. The preface is great for demonstrating the relevance of the Hero's Journey, and how knowledge of it can only be beneficial.

The highlight of this book for me was the Archetype section, which gave a nice overview of the different types of characters and the roles they fulfill in a story. If I'm ever stuck on determining the actions of one of my characters, I've taken to referring back to this section for guidance.

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Jul 15, 2010

Robert rated it:

This book is difficult to review as a whole. The first half is a layman's look at Joseph Campbell's The Hero With a Thousand Faces as it applies to story-craft in novels or movie scripts (which all of his examples tend to reference). Campbell is a heavy influence on this part of the book so it's almost like I'm re-reading that book instead, albeit with a few terminology changes to make it a little more PC for today's easily offended crowd. If you haven't read Hero With a Thousand Faces I can't w More...

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Jul 15, 2010

H. rated it:

Talk about a journey. Over the course of this book the writing took a brutal tumble from informative and interesting to ridiculous fluff. I went from happily staying up late to boredom and eye-rolling to disgust and finally actual anger while reading. Vogler's 370-page supposed guide to story-writing, set on the solid foundation of Joseph Campbell's work (reviewed here in the worthwhile first 70 pages), is a joke. It's a waste of time and insult to the reader, with indulgently superficial skimmi More...

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Jul 15, 2010

Chrissa rated it:

This is an great book for parsing stories in terms of the Hero's Journey proposed by Joseph Campbell. Mr. Vogler takes the reader through each stage in the journey with examples primarily from film and television and gives suggestions on how to apply each stage to or find it in a story. His cautions against applying this model in a formulaic way are a good reminder of his aims in looking at a more global structure and his point of view of what an audience is looking for in terms of entertainment More...

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Apr 17, 2007

Aaron rated it:

Ostensibly a guide for screenwriters, but unlike most other books aimed at that market, it doesn't offer much in the way of specific techniques and guidelines. Rather, it's a readable distillation of Joseph Campbell's work on mythic storytelling, using examples from well-known movies. Vogler recognizes that there is no single fixed formula for a good story. The book is presented as a way of looking at and thinking about story elements in ways that will connect with an audience.

Lik More...

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Aug 13, 2010

Wendy rated it:

Great book and very helpful for the aspiring writer. Anyone who is just curious to understand the inner workings of a good story and why some stories seem to have instant and timeless appeal will also enjoy this book.

The Writer’s Journey borrows heavily from the work of Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell, but frames their studies in the context of stories and screenplays. WJ takes us through the stages of a compelling story as it follows the hero’s (protagonist’s) journey through a st More...

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Apr 13, 2011

Leslie rated it:

This book goes in depth about creating plot structure. It suggests that a good story is a three act story and takes you through the construction of each act. The author talks about the hero's journey and all the people the hero should meet along the way to his destination in a good story including people like the mentor and the shadow. This is one of the best books I have read as far as guides for writers, it is simple and easy to understand but does a thorough job.

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Jul 07, 2011

David rated it:

The Writer's Journey is the most practical book I've seen on story structure. Based on Joseph Campbell's Hero Of A Thousand Faces, it compares stories throughout histories and cultures, linking common elements that all add up to successful story creation.

This isn't a "How To" book, but rather a guide for checking and maintaining character arcs, story holes, and overall structure.

It's a fast, fun, and damned useful book.

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