The Hero’s Journey

What I’m gonna talk about today is nothing new. You’ve probably heard it before too. It is a cyclical progression of the hero/heroin of the story and it comprises of the eight following things.

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Let’s talk about them one by one.

1. Call to adventure

Your hero lives in an ordinary world, living an ordinary life. Suddenly, he found himself being part of something bigger. Did he found himself a powerful magic ring like Frodo in Lord of the Rings? Or perhaps he found out that he is wizard like Harry Potter? This is where your journey starts. Thus begins the first act of your story.

2. Supernatural aid

This is where your hero, who was just a newbie at the game, receives help from a mentor or a friend who takes you along. These helpers will help the hero understand their powers, situation and conditions better.

3. Threshold

Now that your hero has been training and learning, he finally reached the stage where he is a stronger person than he was before. But because of him reaching that new level, he has brought himself to face a higher level of challenges, beyond those he faced during his ordinary life. This is him stepping away from his known world to an unknown, unfamiliar and bizarre, new reality. We now enter the second act.

4. Challenges and Temptations

The first of his trials in this unknown world took place. Maybe he faced his adversary for the first time. Maybe its his first time using his powers in the real world. This is where things get real for the hero, which will bring him to the next stage.

5. Revelation

Contrary to this section title, this is the stage where the hero failed.    He’ll find himself depressed or crippled, unable to do anything. He would feel hopeless and perhaps even petrified. This usually happens in the middle of the second act. Go watch any movie and skip to the very center of the timeline. Most of the time, you’ll find the hero in this terrible state. Be careful with this section. This is where the audience or readers is supposed to feel most relatable to your character. So keep it real and interesting.

6. Transformation

For some reason, your hero, who was in the lowest point in his life, received an higher enlightenment, gift, motivation or whatever it is that leaves him empowered to a new, more improved self than before! He is now equipped with the needs to fight off his enemy in one final battle!

7. Atonement

This is it. The third act. The climax. Your hero will use his newly transformed and inspired self to fight against the enemy. And, you guessed it, he’ll be triumphant in this fight! His loss during the revelation stage has been atoned for.

8. Return

With the adventure or quest done and finish, he could now return back to his ordinary life. Doing what he was doing before. Yup. Nothing is more satisfying than returning home after a horrendous journey! But this time, the ordinary is a level higher, ready for the next call to adventure to begin again. And this time, our hero is more ready than before.

Conclusion

This “Hero’s journey” is a wonderful template for writers to use. It is statistically proven to be most appealing to the audience. Of course, you can diverge from the flow to add more creativity to it. I certainly in did in my book. But if you are just starting to write, try this out. Almost all the time, you’ll be able to create an amazing character arc.

If you want to learn more, here’s a Ted-Ed video talking about it. It’s very nicely laid out, although it has few extra steps here and there. You should watch it if you have the time.

So here’s an exercise for you. Try to see if you recognize this cycle in your favourite book or movie. Arrange that character’s arc according to these steps.

Let me show you an example based on the latest Marvel movie, Black Panther. SPOILER ALERT IF YOU HAVEN’T WATCHED IT YET (which you should have already! lol). BTW, I’m using this as an example (even though it’s not purely a fantasy movie) because it’s very recent and I’m just huge fan of superhero stories! But it also has the perfect example of the Hero’s journey in it. So here it goes!

Example of the character arc in Black Panther: SPOILER ALERT

1. Call to adventure: T’challa was the Prince of Wakanda in his ordinary life. That was until his father passed away and he was to be crowned the new King.

2. Supernatural aid: Winning the ritual battle of coronation, he was aided with the Heart Shaped Herb that gave him superhuman strength as well as to commune with the spirit of his late father (and mentor!) King T’chaka.

3. Threshold: Having achieved the title of king and protector, he is now in charge of the political situations and needs of his people. He had stepped away from his known world to a new reality.

4. Challenges: He met a new rival, Erik Killmonger, who challenged him for the throne.

5. Revelation: T’challa was defeated (and even entered a coma!) from a terrible beating by Killmonger. He was thrown down a waterfall and was assumed to be dead.

6. Transformation: He was revived with the Heart-shaped herb and woke up with a stronger will and drive to protect his nation. He made amends with former rivals to aid him in his battle to save Wakanda.

7. Atonement: With his newly empowered self, he fought against Killmonger and his army, ultimately winning the fight! His loss has been atoned for.

8. Return: Having won the fight, he returned to his throne as he used to be. But now, the ordinary is a level higher as he chose to share the advanced technology of his country to the whole world.