The Hero''s Journey is the template upon which the vast majority of successful stories and Hollywood blockbusters are based upon. Understanding this template is a priority for story or screenwriters.
The Hero''s Journey:
? Attempts to tap into unconscious expectations the audience has regarding what a story is and how it should be told.
? Gives the writer more structural elements than simply three or four acts Laurent Duvernay-Tardif Jeysey , plot points, mid point and so on.
? Interpreted metaphorically, laterally and symbolically, allows an infinite number of varied stories to be created.
The Hero''s Journey is also a study of repeating patterns in successful stories and screenplays. It is compelling that screenwriters have a higher probability of producing quality work when they mirror the recurring patterns found in successful screenplays.
Consider this:
? Titanic (1997) grossed over $600,000 Kareem Hunt Jeysey ,000 ? uses the Hero''s Journey as a template.
? Star Wars (1977) grossed over $460,000,000 - uses the Hero''s Journey as a template.
? Shrek 2 (2004) grossed over $436,000,000 - uses the Hero''s Journey as a template.
? ET (1982) grossed over $434 Patrick Mahomes Jeysey ,000,000 - uses the Hero''s Journey as a template.
? Spiderman (2002) grossed over $432,000,000 - uses the Hero''s Journey as a template.
? Out of Africa (1985), Terms of Endearment (1983) Tyreek Hill Jeysey , Dances with Wolves (1990), Gladiator (2000) ? All Academy Award Winners Best Film are based on the Hero''s Journey.
? Anti-hero stories (Raging Bull (1980), Goodfellas (1990) etc) are all based on the Hero''s Journey.
? Heroine''s Journey stories (Million Dollar Baby (2004), Out of Africa (1980) etc) are all based on the Hero''s Journey.
How to Write A Scene
The trick is to know what part of the Hero''s Journey is applicable and what micro elements of that part of the journey help to build that stage of the story. Once you know that, you have focus and you know WHAT TO WRITE.
Lets use The Gladiator (2000) as an example - an Academy Award winner (Best Film Tyrann Mathieu Jeysey , 2000) with worldwide receipts of just under $187,000,000 at the time of writing.
The first stage of this story establishes the Call to Adventure. There are a number of micro elements that consistently recur in this stage of the Hero''s Journey: establish the hero''s nature, the hero''s status, the hero''s superior intelligence Frank Clark Jeysey , the hero''s capabilities, introduce the antagonism, the herald etc.
The first stage of Gladiator (2000) builds up to the Call to Adventure by piecing together scenes that have definite purpose:
The hero''s nature: We first meet Maximus taking time to feel the tall grass. This tells us something about the man.
The hero''s status: we see Maximus walk through the camp, where his men are preparing to fight the Germanic tribes. They watch him and almost bow, indicating his high status.
The hero''s superior intelligence: Maximus converses with Quintas Darwin Thompson Jeysey , who argues that the Germanic tribes should know when they are beaten. Maximus responds with an intelligent answer ? ?would you know when you are beaten??
The hero''s capabilities: We see Maximus in battle ? he is a superior fighter.
Meeting the Antagonist: We meet Commodus and learn a bit about his nature.
In conclusion, each scene has a definite purpose. Once you know what the purpose is, writing it becomes a matter of simply generating and selecting ideas that solve specific problems...
Learn more...
The detailed deconstruction and the Complete 188 stage Hero''s Journey and FREE 17 stage sample and other story structure templates can be found at can also receive a regular, free newsletter by entering your email address at this site.
Kal Bishop, MBA
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