Thoughts on Mythic Structure: Return with the Elixir

This is the 11th and final post in my series on mythic structure, or monomyth. 1. After being reborn and purified through a resurrection experience, our hero finally returns from the Extraordinary World. The journey has ended. The circle is complete. The hero has, in some sense, returned to the point where she started. 2. …

Thoughts on Mythic Structure: Resurrection

This is Part 10 of my series on mythic structure, or monomyth. 1. This stage is the climax of your story. The Ordeal was the major crisis; now your hero is facing his final and most terrifying confrontation with death. 2. It is often a major set piece sequence. Roger Thornhill in the movie North …

Thoughts on Mythic Structure: The Road Back

This is Part 9 of my series on mythic structure, or monomyth. 1. The Road Back is the transition from Act 2 to Act 3 of your story. The hero has completed her initiation and is now an evolved hero. It is time for her to begin her transition from the Extraordinary World back to …

Thoughts on Mythic Structure: Reward/Seizing the Sword

This is Part 8 of my series on mythic structure, or monomyth. 1. After surviving the Ordeal, the hero now claims a reward. The reward may come in many different forms: treasure, an object that helps the hero return home, a declaration of love/friendship, knowledge, power. In The Wizard of Oz, this is the point …

Thoughts on Mythic Structure: Tests, Allies, and Enemies

This is Part 5 of my series on monomyth or the hero's journey. 1. After your hero crosses the threshold into the world of adventure, the rules of the new world are a good place to start when it comes to testing your hero. Here are some ways he can get into trouble right away: …

Thoughts on Mythic Structure: The Call to Adventure & Refusal of the Call

This is Part 2 in my series on mythic structure, or the hero's journey. I am combining the next two stages of the hero's adventure, The Call to Adventure and Refusal of the Call, because they are so closely connected. 1. The call to adventure is issued by the herald archetype. This may be personified …

Thoughts on Mythic Structure: The Ordinary World

Now that I've finished my series about archetypes, I am beginning a new one about mythic structure. Mythic structure is also known as "monomyth" and even more commonly as the hero's journey. Mythologist Joseph Campbell described monomyth in his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Film development executive Chris Vogler adapted and simplified many …