How To Use the Hero’s Journey To Structure Your Novel
The hero’s journey is one of the most well-known and trusted story structures. It was developed by Joseph Campbell and his monomyth and then later adapted by Christopher Vogler into the twelve stages we see today.
If you don’t know what the hero’s journey is, it is something that structures probably most of the novels and films you’ve read and seen. The Lion King, The Matrix, The Lord of the Rings, The Green Mile, even Fifty Shades of Grey. It is everywhere in the story world, whether it is a book or a film.
I used to write my stories with no plot, and that was great. I had a lot of fun with that, and at the moment, I am writing again with no plot for my national novel writing month book. However, I went off and learnt my craft. I am still learning, of course. I don’t think there is a point in a writer’s career where they will say, that’s it. I know everything there is to know.
I learnt a lot about story structure by studying the hero’s journey, and you can too.
The Hero’s Journey
The twelve-step hero’s journey is a well-proven and effective, if not the most effective model for story structure out there. If you have never used it before to outline a novel, I highly suggest you give it a go, even if it is just to see how it works and what…
