# The Hero's Journey - Demystified



## Kyle R (Jun 27, 2012)

Let's jump right into it, shall we? No filler, no blah-blah talk, just pure instruction. Some of the terminology is my own but the information is generally the same as used by screenwriters and novelists alike.

This is a basic Hero's Journey plotline. It's not the only plotline that can be used, but it is quite universal in its beats. Each beat could be a scene or a sequence of scenes, however long or short you want it to be is up to you.

Some like to stick with this format rigidly, others like to jumble it around to their own preferences. Some don't use it at all. It's your call. 

But here it is for you. First, a basic lesson about the Three Act Structure.

*The Three Act Structure
*
Act One - Beginning
Act Two - Middle
Act Three - End

The second act is twice as long as the first or third act. So we can split it into four equal segments, like so:

Act One -- Act 2a -- Act 2b -- Act Three

*Story Posts
*
Between each quarter we have story posts.

They are:

Act One -*First Doorway*- Act 2a -*Midpoint*- Act 2b -*Final Doorway*- Act Three

Large view:

*ACT ONE
*
Setup
Inciting Incident
Debate
First Doorway

*ACT 2A*
New World:
New Characters:
Adventures:

*MIDPOINT MASTERY or Reversal*

*ACT 2B*
Bad Guys Close In:
All is Lost:
Dark Night of the Soul:
Final Doorway:

*ACT THREE*
Rally the Troops:
Storm the Castle:
High Tower Surprise:
Dig Down Deep:
Victory (or Defeat):

New/Old World Synthesis:



*In Depth*

*Setup: *
Introduce your Main Character in her Ordinary World. 

*Inciting Incident: 
*Something happens to disrupt your MC's Ordinary World. 

*Debate: 
*Your MC deliberates how to respond to the I.I. 

*First Doorway
*Your MC takes action.
It's a departure from his ordinary life. He's going through the first doorway, into a new adventure.



*New World:
*Your MC finds himself in a new world or lifestyle. Things are strange and unfamiliar.

*New Characters:
*Your MC meets new characters who have very different morals and goals from those he knew in the Ordinary World.
A romantic subplot may be developed here.

*Adventures:
*Your MC begins learning the ways of the New World. He will be awkward and confused at first, but begins to show improvement.
The romantic subplot continues to blossom.



*Midpoint Mastery or Reversal:
*Your MC achieves a victory of sorts. He feels he has Mastered the New World. 
The romantic subplot reaches a high point, with a kiss, or possibly making love.
Or, this could be a point where the story takes a new drastic turn.



*Bad Guys Close In:
*Something threatens the harmony of your MC with the New World

*All is Lost:
*Something your MC cares about (either from the Old World or the New World) is taken from him or lost.
The romantic interest may turn away from the MC.

*Dark Night of the Soul:
*Your MC mourns the loss.
An epiphany, or advice from another character motivates the MC.

*Final Doorway:
*Your MC enters the final act as a warrior.



*Rally the Troops:
*Your MC enlists the help of others, or gathers aides, from the Old World and/or New World, 
to confront whatever is threatening the New World.

*Storm the Castle:*
The big showdown.

*High Tower Surprise:
*The plan falls apart. Everything goes wrong. All hope seems lost.

*Dig Down Deep:
*Your MC does something heroic, possibly martyrdom, to turn the tables.

*Victory (or Defeat):
*The opposition is defeated, temporarily or permanently.
Or the good side loses.



*New/Old World Synthesis:
*Your MC is now a Master of both the Old World and the New,
or your MC is now very much aware of the differences between the two.
The romantic subplot is resolved, or taken to a new level of complication.

Examples from stories and films:

1) The Terminator
2) Spider-Man
3) The Fellowship of the Ring
4) The Hunger Games

*ACT ONE
*
*Setup
*1) Sarah Conner is living as a waitress
2) Peter Parker is a student with a crush on Mary Jane
3) Frodo Baggins lives carefree in the Shire
4) Katniss Everdeen lives in District 12

*Inciting Incident
*1) The Terminator arrives and begins killing
2) Peter Parker is bitten by a radioactive spider
3) Bilbo gives Gandalf the Ring of Power
4) Primrose Everdeen's name is picked in the Reaping

*Debate
*1) Sarah Conner hides in a discotech
2) Peter Parker explores his new powers
3) Gandalf decides to go research the Ring
4) Katniss is frantic

*First Doorway
*1) Sarah Conner takes Kyle Reese's hand and runs.
2) Peter creates an alter ego and makes himself a suit
3) Gandalf asks Frodo to leave with the Ring
4) Katniss volunteers to take Prim's place.

*ACT 2A
*
*New World:
*1) Sarah Conner's mundane life is over, she's now on the run
2) Peter enters a cage-wrestling match
3) Frodo and Sam leave the Shire with the Ring
4) Katniss goes on the train to The Capitol

*New Characters:
*1) Kyle Reese is Sarah's protector
2) Norman Osborn's world is crumbling around him
3) The hobbits meet Aragorn
4) Katniss' district partner is Peeta Melark. Haymitch is their mentor.

*Adventures:
*1) The police capture Reese, the Terminator kills the police, Kyle and Sarah run for it
2) Peter's Uncle is killed. Peter sets out for revenge.
3) Aragorn helps fight the Nazgul, Frodo is stabbed.
4) Katniss and Peeta training and going in front of the judges

*MIDPOINT MASTERY or Reversal
*1) Kyle Reese tells Sarah he traveled through time for her. They make love.
2) Peter Parker dedicates himself to fighting crime as Spider-Man.
3) After being saved by the Elves, Frodo volunteers to take the Ring to Mordor
4) Peeta declares his affections for Katniss just before the games begin

*ACT 2B*

*Bad Guys Close In:
*1) The Terminator hunts Sarah and Kyle down and they have an explosive car chase.
2) Norman Osborn becomes the Green Goblin and attacks the parade
3) The Fellowship travels into the Mines of Moria and are attacked by Orcs
4) The violent games begin and Katniss tries to survive with the help of sponsors

*All is Lost:
*1) Kyle flips the truck and is too injured get up, the Terminator barrels toward them in a semi
2) Peter's Aunt May is attacked and ends up in the hospital
3) Gandalf dies fighting the Balrog
4) Katniss' new ally Rue is speared to death

*Dark Night of the Soul:
*1) Kyle blows up the semi and the terminator burns. Sarah and Kyle collapse into each other's arms.
2) The Green Goblin attacks a cable car and Mary Jane, and forces Peter to choose who to save
3) In Lothlorien, Galadriel tells Frodo it is his destiny to destroy the Ring
4) Katniss puts flowers on Rue and District 11 erupts in rioting

*Final Doorway:
*1) The terminator rises from the flames and Kyle and Sarah run into a factory
2) Peter saves the people in the cable car and Mary Jane
3) Boromir tries to take the Ring and Frodo puts on the ring, to travel alone
4) Katniss sets out to find Peeta

*ACT THREE*

*Rally the Troops:*
1) Kyle Reese turns on the machines in the factory for cover
2) The citizens on the bridge throw things at the Green Goblin to help Spider-Man
3) Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli prepare to fight the Urak Hai
4) Katniss barely survives and gets medicine from the Cornucopia for Peeta

*Storm the Castle:
*1) The Terminator corners them. Kyle tries to fights Terminator with a steel pipe
2) Spiderman is thrown into an atrium
3) The Fellowship battles the Urak Hai
4) Katniss and Peeta arrive at the Cornucopia

*High Tower Surprise:
*1) Kyle sacrifices himself by blowing up the Terminator
2) The Green Goblin beats Peter to a pulp
3) Boromir falls trying to defend the hobbits
4) The Muttations arrive. Cato gets the upper hand on Peeta.

*Dig Down Deep:
*1) The terminator is still alive! Sarah crawls through the machines as it crawls after her
2) Enraged by Osborn's threats against MJ, Peter defends himself and fights back
3) Aragorn slays the Urak Hai leader
4) Katniss shoots Cato's hand and mercy-kills him. She and Peeta prepare to eat the berries.

*Victory (or Defeat):
*1) Sarah squashes the terminator in a compressor as it claws at her. She growls, "You're terminator, motherfugger."
2) Peter's spider-sense saves him from glider-impalement. Osborn asks Peter not to tell Harry, as he dies.
3) The Urak Hai fleeing, Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas set out to rescue Merry and Pippin.
4) The Gamemakers declare Katniss and Peeta the winners of the Hunger Games.

*New/Old World Synthesis:
*1) Sarah is pregnant with Kyle's son, and now has a dog and carries a gun. She looks at the horizon and knows a storm is coming.
2) At Osborn's funeral, Harry swears vengeance will be his against Spider-Man, and MJ kisses him. Peter sadly declines her advances,
knowing she would never be safe around him. He recalls his uncle's words, "With great power comes great responsibility."
3) Frodo and Sam stare out toward Mordor, looking at the long journey ahead, and Frodo says he is glad Sam is with him.
4) Katniss holds Peeta's hand for the camera, while thinking sadly, "Already the boy with the bread is slipping away from me."


Don't worry about holding too rigidly to the structure. It's not a rule, it's a guide to help you if you need it.

Best of luck, and happy plotting!


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## Potty (Jun 27, 2012)

*Hands Kyle a cookie*


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## Cefor (Jun 28, 2012)

*Hands Kyle a dozen cookies*

Wow... that's amazing. I've never seen someone explain this in detail before, cheers!


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## Sunny (Jun 28, 2012)

Kyle Colorado of the Pacific Ocean, this is amazing! Thank you for all that you do on this site, and for the help you give. I LOVE this. You have obviously put a lot of time into this, and it's fabulous the way you help us. 

I found it all intimidating, until you wrote it out with the characters and the scenes from the actual movies. That's GREAT! 

Thanks AGAIN! 

*Hands Kyle 2 dozen _chocolate-chip_ cookies and a glass of ice cold milk*


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## GonneLights (Jun 28, 2012)

This is fantastic. I generally have no problem with plots and they meander around themselves in their strange romances, but I had to do one for a particularly important roleplay in some far-off literary place, and I was STRUGGLING to create something other people could take part in. You literally just helped me come up with a plot and transform my little junk-sketch into a Fantasy Epic. I'm really ecstatic.


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## Robdemanc (Jun 28, 2012)

That was worth copying and pasting into a word doc for later use.  Brilliant!

I am going to have a go at my favourite film


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## Robdemanc (Jun 28, 2012)

It was harder than I thought but I think this fits.*

ALIEN*

*Setup: *
Ripley and the crew of the Nostromo wake up after their hyper sleep

*Inciting Incident: 
*The captain Dallas tells them they are not home yet and that the ships computer woke them after detecting a signal from an unknown planet.

*Debate: 
*The engineers, Parker and Brett, argue that it is not their job to rescue people.  The science officer Ash, tells them it is in their contract to do so.

*First Doorway
*They head for the planet



*New World:
*After Kane, Lambert, and Dallas head out to search for the signals source, Ripley discovers the signal is possibly a warning, but Ash persuades her not to go out after them.

*New Characters:
*When the search group arrive back, Kane has an alien parasite on his face.

*Adventures:
*The parasite has acid for blood and cannot be removed but later it disappears and they find it dead.  


*Midpoint Mastery or Reversal:*
Feeling the crisis is over the crew take off and resume the course home.  Kane regains consciousness and they all decide to have dinner before returning to hyper sleep.


*Bad Guys Close In:
*Whilst eating Kane has a ‘fit’ and they struggle to control him.  A vicious looking creature punches through his chest and he dies.

*All is Lost:
*The creature runs off into the ship and the remaining crew must hunt for it.  It grows fast and kills Brett and then Dallas.  This leaves Ripley in charge.

*Dark Night of the Soul:
*Ripley discovers that Ash has company orders to bring the alien back to Earth.  In a violent fight with Ash they discover he is a robot and he tells them they will not defeat the alien.

*Final Doorway:
*After the robot is smashed up, Ripley decides they will blow up the ship and escape in the shuttle. 


*Rally the Troops:
*In the rush to collect supplies Lambert and Parker are killed by the Alien.  Ripley is alone.

*Storm the Castle:*
She sets the ship to self-destruct, collects the cat, and escapes in the shuttle with seconds to spare.

*High Tower Surprise:
*But the Alien is hiding on board the shuttle.

*Dig Down Deep:
*Ripley slips into a space suit and straps herself to a chair, pressurises the cabin then opens the air lock.  The Alien is sucked out into space!

*Victory (or Defeat):
*The Alien is dead

*New/Old World Synthesis:*
*Ripley hates her employers now*


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## Kyle R (Jun 28, 2012)

Thanks for the cookies 

Which movie is that, Rob?

One movie which fits the Hero's Journey really obviously is _Avatar_.

*ACT ONE

Setup: 
*Jake Sully is a wheelchair-bound marine, who's twin brother just died.

*Inciting Incident
*Jake enters the Avatar program, and loves being able to walk again in the Navi body.
While on an excursion, a Thanatar arrives and roars at Jake.
This is clearly a disruption to the ordinary.

*Debate
*"What do I do now? Run? Don't run?"
Grace yells, "Run! Definately run!"*

First Doorway
*After an intense chase sequence, Jake dives off the cliff to the water below.
He's now left the old world behind and entered...

*ACT 2A*

*New World:
*As night falls, strange creatures are chirping around Jake.
He makes a spear and a torch and sees alien wolves surrounding him.*

New Characters:
*Neytiri arrives and saves Jake from the wolves.
(Neytiri is the romantic subplot.)
Jake wants to go with her but she scolds him and calls him a baby.
The tree-spirits sense Jake's noble soul and Neytiri is in awe.
She brings him to HomeTree to meet her parents.
*Adventures:
*Neytiri reluctantly begins teaching Jake to be a Navi.
He learns to hunt and ride a horse.
Jake wrestles the serpent bird and becomes a sky hunter.
(He's awkward at first, but slowly beginning to learn the ways of the New World).
He and Neytiri playfully flirt more and more. (Romantic subplot continues to blossom)

*MIDPOINT MASTERY or Reversal*
Jake is accepted as a Navi. He has mastered the New World.
Neytiri says he can now choose a woman and he chooses her.
They make love. (The Romantic subplot high point)

*ACT 2B*
*Bad Guys Close In:
*The army marches in and destroys the soul trees.
(Something arrives to disrupt the harmony)
They announce they're going to destroy HomeTree.
Jake pleads to let him convince the Navi to run.
*All is Lost:

*While explaining who he is, Neytiri lashes out at him.
(Romantic interest turns away from MC)
The army arrives and destroys HomeTree.
(Something the MC cares about is taken away)


*Dark Night of the Soul:
*Jake wakes up in his Navi body, isolated and alone.
He's an outcast from both his Old World and New World.
He realizes now is the time to fight for the New World.
(Your MC has an epiphany and is motivated)

*Final Doorway:
*Jake sets out to capture the giant serpentbird
(Your MC enters the final act as a warrior)
*
ACT THREE
*
*Rally the Troops:
*Jake arrives at the Tree of Souls on the giant serpentbird
Neytiri "sees him" and embraces him.
After Grace dies, Jake gives a speech to rouse the Navi to fight.
They travel around Pandora, rallying the other clans.
Grace's team of scientists and the latina pilot agree to help fight Quaritch.(Your MC enlists the help of others from the Old/New World to fight)
*
Storm the Castle:
*The battle for Pandora begins.
In the air, the Navi ride the serpent birds and fight the airships.
On the ground, the Navi ride the horses and fight the ground troops.
(The big showdown)
*
High Tower Surprise:
*The airships blast the Navi from the air.
The ground troops decimate the Navi on the ground.
Tsu'tey dies. The latina pilot dies.
His scientist friend is shot.
Jake calls to them but nobody responds. 
Only Neytiri is left, and the ground troops are closing in on her.(The plan fails. Allies fall. All hope seems lost.)

*Dig Down Deep:
*The animals of Pandora come to the rescue.
Neytiri rides the Thanator.
Neytiri and Jake heroically battle the mech-suited Quaritch.
(Your MC does something heroic, possibly martyrdom, to turn the tables.)

*Victory (or Defeat):
*Neytiri kills Quaritch, and rescues a suffocating Jake.The army (called "the aliens") are escorted off Pandora.
(The opposition is defeated, temporarily or permanently)

*New/Old World Synthesis:

*Jake's consciousness is transferred permanently into his Navi body at the Tree of Souls.
Neytiri kisses his eyelids and looks hopefully at his Navi face. (Romantic subplot resolved)
He is now a Master of both the Old World and the New.


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## Kyle R (Jun 28, 2012)

Robdemanc said:


> It was harder than I thought but I think this fits.*
> 
> ALIEN*
> 
> ...



Great job!!

I think the New/Old World Synthesis is that Ripley is now changed forever.
She's aware of the existence Aliens now and also, like you said, corruption. 
She's an alien killer now, and a captain, a master of both worlds.

(I also have to say, young Ripley sure looked hot all wet in that tiny shirt and panties.) Lol. *slaps forehead*


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## Gamer_2k4 (Jun 28, 2012)

I think that this might be the reason I don't watch movies much anymore.  Too many are all the same. =/


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## Robdemanc (Jun 28, 2012)

Thanks Kyle!   I tried with Aliens but it was more difficult.

*ALIENS*
*Setup: *
Ripley is rescued, eventually, and must come to terms with losing 57 years of her life, not to mention her job!

*Inciting Incident: *
Burke, the company guy, tells her that a colony of humans on the alien planet have suddenly gone silent.

*Debate: *
Ripley is devastated by nightmares and agrees to go back to the alien planet on the condition the marines will “wipe them out!”

*First Doorway*
Burke gives her his word and she agrees to go.



*New World:*
Ripley arrives at the planet with a troop of space marines to find “Newt”, a little girl who is the lone survivor of an obvious walkover by the aliens.

*New Characters:*
The marines track down the colonists in the atmosphere processor and discover a huge alien nest.

*Adventures:*
Ripley must take charge again and drives into the nest, rescuing the lucky ones and getting them out.  But their plan to nuke the alien nest from space is foiled when their rescue ship is destroyed.


*Midpoint Mastery or Reversal:*
The survivors must barricade themselves in the colony buildings to await rescue from Earth.  But company man Burke tries to get Ripley and Newt pregnant with aliens!  Then the android Bishop tells them the atmosphere processor will blow them all up!


*Bad Guys Close In:*
And if that wasn’t enough the aliens come lurking and find a way into the building.

*All is Lost:*
As they try to escape, the aliens get them and little Newt is taken!

*Dark Night of the Soul:*
Ripley knows she must go and rescue Newt from the alien nest and defies Bishops warning that there is only 17 minutes left!

*Final Doorway:*
She arms herself with every weapon she can lay her hands on then runs fearlessly into the Alien nest.   She rescues Newt just in time but then stumbles across the Big Mama alien!


*Rally the Troops:*
On seeing the Alien queen in the middle of its egg laying, Ripley decides to throw in a bunch of grenades, then rushes out with Newt in her arms.

*Storm the Castle:*
Ripley, Newt and Bishop escape just before the massive explosive climax!

*High Tower Surprise:*
BUT!  Big Mama alien stowed away on their craft and rips Bishop in two on the main ship.

*Dig Down Deep:*
Ripley gets into the “loader” and fights the alien queen, picks her up and drops her into the airlock.  But after she tumbles in herself she must open up the door to suck the queen out before defying gravity and pulling herself back into the ship!

*Victory (or Defeat):*
The queen is dead!

*New/Old World Synthesis:*
Ripley and Newt can dream of nice things now….or so they think


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## Kyle R (Jun 28, 2012)

Robdemanc said:


> Thanks Kyle! I tried with Aliens but it was more difficult.
> 
> *ALIENS*
> *Setup: *
> ...




Hey Rob! Almost! Here's my take on _Aliens_, it's almost the same as yours but the beats fall slightly different places:


*Setup*
Ripley is trying to cope with being frozen for 57 years. They revoked her flight privelages and don't believe her.

*Inciting Incident
*On the planet, a man is attacked by a facehugger. The young girl screams.
Burke approaches Ripley and informs her that contact with the colony has been lost.

*Debate
*Burke wants her to go, but Ripley refuses.
(The debate isn't necessarily an argument, though it often is.
It's more of a "reaction" and "figuring out what to do" section)

*First Doorway
*With a team of space marines, Ripley reluctantly jettisons to the planet.
(She's now leaving the ordinary world behind, yet again)

*New World:
*The marines explore the new world, see evidence of a firefight
and the signs of where the people made their "last stand".
(things are strange and unfamiliar)

*New Characters:
*They find two facehuggers in tubes, and a traumatized "Newt"

*Adventures:
*They find the colonists cocooned.
The aliens attack! The Marines fall like dominoes!
Ripley rescues them!

*Midpoint Mastery or Reversal
*Instead of mastering the new world, this is a reversal.
The stakes are raised and _the story takes a new turn
_
They discover that Burke has been manipulating the crew.

Burke tries to get Ripley and Newt facehugged.
The marines rescue them. Consider killing Burke.

*Bad Guys Close In:
*But the aliens close in!
"The censor says they're in the room, man! They're right on top of us, man!"
Ripley checks the ceiling and the monsters are right above them.
They attack through the ceiling!

*All is Lost:
*Hudson, Burke, Gorman, and Vasquez are killed.
Newt is taken!

*Dark Night of the Soul:*
Ash is preparing the ship but Ripley decides to go back for Newt.
(Think of the Dark Night of the Soul as another "Debate" section, 
where the MC reacts to the previous disaster, and makes a decision)

*Final Doorway:
*Ripley literally enters an elevator doorway back into the compound
(your MC enters the third act as a warrior)

*Rally the Troops:
*There are no troops left to rally. Ripley instead relies on her weapons: 
a flame thrower and grenade launcher.
(the weapons are her aides)

*Storm the Castle:
*(the big showdown!)

Ripley enters the Hive.
(the hive is the Castle, and Ripley is storming it)

She torches the eggs and blasts the queen and the queen is totally pissed off.
Ripley escapes carrying Newt, with the queen in pursuit.

Ash rescues them just in time!
Kaboom! goes everything.

*High Tower Surprise:
*(The plan fails. Everything goes wrong! All hope seems lost.)

They land safely in a loading dock.
But the alien queen appears!
She impales Ash on her tail, then rips him in half!
She claws at the floor grates, trying to get to Newt.

*Dig Down Deep:
*(the mc does something heroic)

"Get away from her, you bitch!"
Ripley fights the alien queen in a loading suit

*Victory (or Defeat):
*She blasts the queen into space!


*New/Old World Synthesis:
*Ripley and Newt embrace, and it's Ripley 2, Aliens 0.
Ripley is once again a master of both worlds.


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## Cefor (Jun 29, 2012)

I haven't actually seen the Alien films yet, but they're on my list of 'to watch'.

Gamer, I think the point here is to show that many stories have similarities that one can utilise when writing your own novel or script or play, what have you. 

I'd post an example of using this with my own novel, but then, this _is_ a public forum and all that


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## Kyle R (Jun 29, 2012)

Yeah. I think it's mostly about, there are no "wrong" ways to tell a story.

But the Hero's Journey has been shown to be one of the _effective_ ways, as far as moving the reader/audience through a satisfying experience.

If I were to break it down into emotions, it'd be something like:

Act 1: Curiosity
Act 2a: Excitement
Act 2b: Fear and Sadness
Act 3: Exhiliration and Relief

..maybe. Something like that. 

And _Alien_ is pretty much a horror movie in space. Pretty awesome one, too. Hurry up and watch it!


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## Gamer_2k4 (Jun 29, 2012)

KyleColorado said:


> Yeah. I think it's mostly about, there are no "wrong" ways to tell a story.
> 
> But the Hero's Journey has been shown to be one of the _effective_ ways, as far as moving the reader/audience through a satisfying experience.



Weren't you the one who said, some time ago, "One effect of being a writer is that I call out elements of movies as I see them, like 'Here's the rising action, here's the darkest hour,' and so on"? Well, I'm the same way, though it's not so much an explicit awareness as it is the lingering feeling that, "I've seen all this before."  It's hard to feel emotionally connected to the "All is Lost" moment when you know the "Victory" moment is around the corner.  For example, when watching Avatar, I was rooting for the humans at the end (_even though I knew I wasn't supposed to!_), not because I sympathized with them, but because it was going to be so frustratingly cliche if the smurfs won.  My emotional involvement was completely external to the movie itself, simply because of how it used this model.

I'm not saying that this formula is bad for protagonist-centric stories.  In fact, it's probably, like you say, one of the consistently better ways of doing it.  (If nothing else, things like Act One and parts of Act Three are almost indispensable).  It's just that too many movies do it so transparently.  If you can manage to hide the fact that this is the model you're using (by making everything flow logically and allowing the reader/viewer to actually CONNECT to the characters), it's great.  That doesn't seem to happen often, though.


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## Robdemanc (Jun 29, 2012)

I agree that Avatar was too predictable to fully enjoy.  I just knew that Jake Sully was going to end up joining the natives and defeating the humans early in the film and it was only the dazzling scenery that kept me watching.

But I have found this thread to be very helpful to make me think about my own stories and how I should try to structure them.

I may try to rewrite one of mine to be as close to this design as possible.  Up to now I have been using the 8 point arc (stasis, trigger, quest, surprise, critical choice, climax, resolution, reversal).    So I think this new way will help me.

BTW Kyle I like your Aliens one but I think you did the dirctors cut


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## SR Steed (Jun 29, 2012)

Gamer_2k4 said:


> I'm not saying that this formula is bad for protagonist-centric stories.  In fact, it's probably, like you say, one of the consistently better ways of doing it.  (If nothing else, things like Act One and parts of Act Three are almost indispensable).  It's just that too many movies do it so transparently.  If you can manage to hide the fact that this is the model you're using (by making everything flow logically and allowing the reader/viewer to actually CONNECT to the characters), it's great.  That doesn't seem to happen often, though.



Having just recently watched the Alien sort-of-prequel Prometheus I can recognise this. It just felt like they were hitting the plot points, like "this must happen here because this is what is supposed to happen in a story" without letting it develop naturally as the story progresses. The original Alien might have hit those same points, but you don't really notice it as you watch it; Dan O'Bannon said he just wanted to do "Jaws in space" - basically a horror movie where an alien starts killing everyone aboard a spaceship - and any conflicts and resolutions can build up naturally without the writers ever consciously thinking of structure, or at least without seeming to.


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## ppsage (Jun 30, 2012)

It might be interesting to some people to have a look at the the origination of this in Joseph Campbell's 1949 work of mythological analysis, _The Hero With A Thousand Faces_. This book put him on the map, outside academic circles and perhaps got most of its impetus as a screenwriting device from George Lucas who touted it as an inspiration for the Star Wars scripts. In my opinion, Campbell's studies have importance for the writing of fiction far beyond the developement of mechanical plot systems, although the one outlined here always seems quite useful and suggestive and is maybe the best of the bunch. It does however more or less entirely eschew the notions of psychological individuation which underlaid Campbell's ideas for the importance of myth in this particular analysis.


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## Jeko (Jun 30, 2012)

*gives doughnuts (they're better than cookies)*

I'm recording this for future reference...


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## Sam (Jun 30, 2012)

KyleColorado said:


> Let's jump right into it, shall we? No filler, no blah-blah talk, just pure instruction. Some of the terminology is my own but the information is generally the same as used by screenwriters and novelists alike.
> 
> This is a basic Hero's Journey plotline. It's not the only plotline that can be used, but it is quite universal in its beats. Each beat could be a scene or a sequence of scenes, however long or short you want it to be is up to you.
> 
> ...



Come on, Kyle, are you seriously telling me you need all that to write or plan a novel? If so, is it any wonder people keep quitting after 10,000 words?


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## GonneLights (Jun 30, 2012)

ppsage said:


> In my opinion, Campbell's studies have importance for the writing of fiction far beyond the developement of mechanical plot systems, although the one outlined here always seems quite useful and suggestive and is maybe the best of the bunch.



This is something I was thinking about earlier, I'm new to this mechanics stuff. You're saying there are *more *mechanical plot systems? Where would one learn/read/find out about them?


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## AspiringAuthor (Aug 29, 2012)

Gamer_2k4 said:


> I think that this might be the reason I don't watch movies much anymore.  Too many are all the same. =/




I agree.  It's gotten to the point where they're like videogames, only non-interactive!

And I think this Joseph Campbell thing is way overdone.  I wonder if one day, when society changes from beyond all recognition (human evolution is still in its adolescence, wouldn't you agree?), new forms will emerge, new plotlines -- or maybe even no such structures at all....


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