by Elizabeth J. Maison
If you are looking for a way to structure your novel so that it feels emotionally satisfying and true to you and your readers, you should really consider following the Hero’s Journey archetype. If you watch any blockbuster movie or runaway bestselling novel, you will see that they all follow this essential outline. The Hero’s Journey structure feels so honest and compelling because it reflects the essential challenges we all face as we strive to be authentic and true to ourselves on our own journey through life.
In this article, I will go over the basics steps of the Hero’s Journey that you can use to structure your novel so that the final result will be a story that feels satisfying and meaningful to you as well as to your readers.
The Hero’s Journey In Ten Simple Steps
1. The Ordinary World of Your Character Is Revealed. Your novel begins by showing us your main character and illustrating what his life is like at the beginning. Generally, you want to also show how his life is out of balance in some way as well.
2. Your Main Character is Presented With a Challenge. Something significant occurs in your novel that forces your character to more clearly see the problems in his life and decide whether he will make a change.
3. Initial Rejection of the Call To Action. Your character does not want to make this change to begin with. It will entail a lot of effort as well as some kind of risk and he does not want to do it.
4. The Decision To Change. Something happens that makes your character reconsider this decision. He realizes he cannot continue as he is and so decides to go forward and make this change in his life.
5. Your Character Gains Mentors and Allies. As your story progresses, your character meets people along the way who offer help and support.
6. Gaining the Skills and Knowledge Needed To Succeed. Your character takes action that helps him develop the skills and perspective he will need to succeed at his goal. It is revealed that the stakes are getting higher as he proceeds.
7. Your Character Fails In His First Confrontation With the Antagonist. Your characters first attempt to overcome his fears and achieve his goal fail because he is not yet strong enough to succeed.
8. The Dark Night of the Soul. Your character questions his ability to succeed and considers giving up.
9. The Leap of Faith. Your character experiences a renewed inner commitment to his goal based on an inner faith that he can be, do, or have whatever he really wants.
10. Final Climactic Confrontation and Ultimate Success. Your character faces his biggest challenge and puts everything into achieving what he wants. With this final powerful effort, he finally succeeds and get what he has wanted for so long.
You will find that following the archetypal structure of the Hero’s Journey will help you craft an inspiring novel that resonates deeply for your and your readers. Because you have a clear plan for where you are going with your novel, the process of writing becomes much more enjoyable and easy. Whenever you are not sure what to write about next, you can simply refer to your outline and see what’s next for your character on the Hero’s Journey.
About the Author:
Elizabeth J. Maison writes for WritersSolutions.com, a helpful
website for writers. At that site, you can read a good
review of NewNovelist, a special novel writing software program that will help you incorporate the Hero’s Journey into your novel. Grab a totally unique version of this article from the Uber
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