The 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.kalbashir.com/
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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/
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Copyright (c) 2007 Peter D. Marshall / All Rights Reserved
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