#writingbasics

Simplified Journey Illustration by Reg Harris

Have you heard of the plot structure called The Hero’s Journey? Even if you haven’t, you certainly do know it, as it is one of the oldest (and very used) plot recipes of all time.

From Star Wars, to The Lion King, to Lord of the Rings, and even Shrek, they all follow the same plot beats.

The beats may be in slightly different order(and there are many different names for these), but the basics are simply that the hero goes on an adventure, is victorious, and comes home changed.

This formula tends to be used in most popular movies, and while some critics say that is a bad thing, it does not change the fact that the readers or watchers of those stories tend to love the structure.

1. The Call to Adventure.

These stories typically start with the character living a normal life, often while unknowing that something is missing in their life. Then something uproots that normal life and tosses the main character on a quest. This is often a message, words from an elder, or a sudden life-changing moment.

For Frodo, it was when he was told by Gandalf that the ring had to leave the Shire (Lord of the Rings), for Luke, it was when he found the message asking for help from Princess Leia (Star Wars), and for Shrek, it was when he was faced with the problem of his home being overrun by refugees, and he sets off on a Journey to be rid of them.

The hero is often very reluctant to leave their normal life(or simply is in denial), and may downright refuse to go.

2. The Mentor

The hero needs guidance on their journey, and in fairy tails, it is often a wise-woman who tells the hero advice or items that will save them with what tasks they have ahead. Without them, the hero would never accomplish their goals.

For Mulan, this was Mushu(Disney’s animated Mulan). For Simba, this was Timon and Pumbaa(The Lion King). for Luke, it was Obi-Wan Kenobi(Star Wars).

3. The First Threshold

This is a moment of big change for the main character where they embrace the journey(though it may be reluctantly).

The hero has what they need now, and suddenly they are facing a big problem. No matter what the problem is, the result is that there is no going back for the Hero, and they have to finish the quest. That is why some writers call this “The First Doorway of No Return.”

4. Challenges

The character finds themselves somewhere very different from their home. They find allies, perhaps meet a love interest, and face a series of trials.

In fairy tails and old stories, there are often three small trials. These trials often test the resolve of the hero, but he ultimately makes it through. The hero will likely also be tempted by something that will make them want to give up their journey, but they do not give in.

All the above show the reader that the character has resolve, but also skills that are needed.

5. The Darkest Moments

The hero faces something, and is ruined by it. Whatever happens, they have hit rock bottom.

Often, this is when the mentor character dies, when the main character themselves die, they lose something important to them, or when something causes them to break down. They are either dead in body or spirit.

After it seems like all hope is lost, the hero faces a rebirth (sometimes literally) and again continues on the journey. They sometimes find or are given a MacGuffin that helps them later on.

6. The Win

They are up against the impossible obstacle they face (sometimes also in the form of 3 trials) and often sacrifice themselves in order to win.

They beat the obstacle, but the journey as a whole has changed them so drastically, that the person at the start of the quest may seem like a different person all together.

They also have something the didn’t before (sometimes a MacGuffin or love interest), and face a moment where they correct a mistake they made in the past.

7. The Return.

The hero returns home(or to the place they now consider their home). Here, the hero often grants a boon to their people, or the people who stood in the hero’s way at the start face their justice.

The character may have been changed for the better or the worst, but the quest is officially finished.

That’s it! As you can probably understand now, yes, it is a recipe, but what ingredients people use are different to every writer. While one person might use a best friend as the mentor, another person might use the villain. While one person might have the “trials” be physical fights, for another person it could just be school tests. The point is that the structure is close to the same, while the ingredients are unique to the writer.

For example, yes, while both Luke and Frodo do follow the Heroes Journey, one went for the lush green Shire, and the other went for the sandy Tatooine as the starting point. While one kept the wise-old mentor dead, the other brought him back reborn. While both picked a bittersweet yet hopeful ending, one sad mix was due to the loss of someone, while the other sad mix was because of the mental scars the journey caused for Frodo.

That is also not to say that you have to follow this formula; in fact, many don’t. I just think it is important to know the common plot formulas, so that you can begin to recognize them in the media around you. I hope that in doing so myself, it can help me narrow down exactly why I love the stories I do, while also taking a moment to appreciate the unique twists the writers have used.

If you are curious about how the stories I mentioned used the formula, here are some links from other bloggers:

Mulan

Shrek

The Lord of the Rings

The Lion King

Harry Potter

Jurassic Park

The Goonies

The Matrix

There is a belief that writers come up with ideas out of their imagination as simply as you pick apples from a tree, but that is not always the case. Sometimes writers hear a story, and it stays with them so long that they are inspired by it. Put simply: they take a base story, and build off it.

Now you might be thinking “well that is cheating!” and if that is the case, then Disney is the biggest cheater of all. Disney really started to explode in popularity when they took fairytales, like Cinderella and Snow White, and gave them life in animated form. When that worked for them, they moved on to folk tales and books.

For example, in the book The Littlest Mermaid by Hans Cristian Anderson, the base story is quite similar to the Disney The Little Mermaid, but they did some tweaking (like by not having her die at the end), added some Disney magic, and boom, a hit. Even Mulan is based off a folk tale.

My point is that what Disney is great at is taking stories, like they did with the fairy tale The Snow Queen, and building it into a money maker(Frozen). They do not always spend time trying to come up with a basic plot, instead they take an old story, take what they need, and reimagine the rest.

Doing this not only saves time and money, but it can be an interesting challenge for your imagination. If you retell Little Red Riding Hood the way it has always been told, people will not want to read it because they will feel like they have read it before. However, if Little Red Riding Hood is a hunter and the wolf is a werewolf, it changes it drastically. It is still the same story in basics, but it is the twists you weave in that draw your readers to keep reading.

If Disney is not the example you want, the same is done for almost every popular book there is. Harry Potter (don’t kill me for saying this, Potter fans) is basically a mix of The Wizard of Earthsea, The Worst Witch, and mythological creatures from our world. Game of Thrones is almost the the exact “plotline” to the real lifeWar of the Roses.

No one argues that these authors are cheating because they made the stories their own and wrote them in a way that spoke to people.

For a final example: Star Wars (the originals) follow “The Hero’s Journey” plotline beat-for-beat, but the addition of space, aliens, and the inspiration from old samurai films, gave us the Star Wars we know. For those who do not know, the hero’s journey is the most common template for stories that involve a hero going on an adventure, does the adventuring, and comes home a changed person.