 |
| Power Structure is the first story development environment designed for writers who aren't in search of an electronic muse, but who have a story that they want to tell.
|
| ScriptWizard - Write and format your screenplay in MS-Word. Bonus: includes 12 professional script formats.
|
| Dramatica Pro - Develop unforgettable characters, seamless plots, and passionate themes into fully realized stories!
|
| FictionMaster guides the writer in making characters truly memorable, unveils the Actors Studio technique for creating instant tension in any scene.
|
| Character Pro puts a proven system for understanding human behavior to create a "character spine" for your character.
|
|
|
( Go Back
to Article Index )
 RSS
FEED ~ 
|
HERO’S
JOURNEY (COMPLETE, 106 STAGES) by Kal Bishop
Beyond three and four act story structure,
lies the Hero’s Journey.
The Hero’s Journey is the most
usable story structure consisting of at least 106 stages and the template for
successful contemporary stories, from Star Wars to Al Pacino Scarface to The
Incredibles to War of the Worlds to The Dirty Dozen to Midnight Cowboy.
The Hero’s Journey is a valuable template because:
a. It attempts to tap into unconscious expectations
the audience has regarding what a story is and how it should be told.
b. It gives the writer more structural elements than
simply three or four acts, plot points, mid point and so on.
c. Interpreted metaphorically and symbolically, it
allows an infinite number of varied stories to be created.
One
(usually critical) stage of the journey is the Supernatural Aid.
The
Supernatural Aid encompasses the Meeting with a Mentor as well as the receiving
of Magical Potions or Gifts. Writers often mistakenly believe that this is a
straightforward affair.
Often the Hero has left his Ordinary World
knowing that he has broken an Interdiction. As such, it is not unusual to find
that the Journey to the Mentor takes place at night and in haste.
Even
though the Hero may want to embark on the adventure, it is not unusual that
there is resistance to it (expanded upon in the Refusal). Therefore, the Hero
is often pulled into the adventure. The Pull can be the result of a number of
factors - a death, an event, the lead of an ally and so on.
The Hero
will know that the Journey to the Mentor is dangerous and will be wary. There
may be natural or man-made obstacles and dangers. Thus this is also a reason
for haste.
The Hero may undergo a near death experience on the way,
and may be saved by the Mentor – who may use his own magical powers. This
demonstrates the superior nature of the Mentor and the status relationship
between them.
The Mentor will seem to know the Hero, as if privy to
some insight.
Wary of danger, the Mentor will take the Hero to a Safe
Place, where a meeting between then will take place. This is a Sacred Meeting
and others will recognise this and make themselves absent.
The Hero
will relate the Call to Adventure and the Mentor will intuitively understand it
(and may have had previous experience of it) and likely encourage the Hero to
embark on it.
The Mentor will be familiar with the Hero’s history
and relate it to him, which up to now has been a mystery to him. It will seem
as if the Hero is destined for the adventure and following in the footsteps of
ancestors or blood relatives.
The Mentor will provide Magical Potions,
Gifts and Spiritual Guidance to aid the Hero on his adventure. These will have
limitations – he will be warned not to misuse them.
There is much
more…
The 106 stage Hero’s Journey and other story structure
templates can be found at
http://www.managing-creativity.com/CreativeWriting.html
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kal Bishop is a management consultant based in
London, UK. He has consulted in the visual media and software industries and
for clients such as Toshiba and Transport for London. He has led Improv,
creativity and innovation workshops, exhibited artwork in San Francisco, Los
Angeles and London and written a number of screenplays. He is a passionate
traveller. He can be reached on
http://www.managing-creativity.com/
|
|
|
StoryScribe.com (URL:
www.StoryScribe.com)