There are many different ways to structure a story. The easiest and most common is the plot pyramid, which we’ve briefly discussed in this post. The plot pyramid starts with an exposition introducing our hero and the world. The next part is the rising action where the struggles and challenges become more apparent for our hero. The falling action reaches a climax which is the turning point of the story. The biggest challenge the protagonist faces is often at the climax of a story. After the climax is the falling action where the story starts to resolve. Finally, the story ends at the resolution. This five step pyramid is the basis for every story. You can break down each book to this most simple form.
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There are other methods to structure stories. One of my favorite methods, which I will talk about today, is the hero’s journey. The hero’s journey structure first gained popularity in mythology. The Greeks and Romans used the structure in telling of their mythology. The Odyssey is a perfect example to use.
The hero’s journey is similar to the plot pyramid, yet more complicated. Joseph Campbell, a writer and literature professor, is the first to write about the hero’s journey which he called monomyth. In his book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, he breaks the hero’s journey into 17 parts. Other scholars and a screenwriter named Christopher Volger, broke it down into 12 simpler parts. It’s broken into three acts and those acts are broken up into specific events. Take a look below.
The Overview
Act I: The Departure – Here the hero leaves for his adventure. This is broken up into 5 steps.
- Step 1: The ordinary world
- Step 2: The call to adventure
- Step 3: Refusing the call
- Step 4: Meeting the mentor or supernatural
- Step 5: Crossing the threshold
Act 2: The Initiation – Here the hero overcomes challenges in his new life.
- Step 1: Test, allies, and enemies
- Step 2: Approach to innermost cave
- Step 3: The ordeal
- Step 4: The Reward
Act 3: The Return – Here the hero returns to his previous life with new skills or powers.
- Step 1: The road back
- Step 2: Resurrection
- Step 3: Return with elixir
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Act 1: The Ordinary World
The ordinary world compares itself to the exposition section in the plot pyramid. We get to see the hero in his normal life with his normal struggles. The reader wants to know why we should care about this protagonist. Often the reader sees, in this stage, that the protagonist wants something different with his life. We can use Star Wars: A New Hope as a perfect example. We see Luke Skywalker on his home planet as a moisture farmer but he wants to join the Rebellion.
The Call to Adventure
The call to adventure can also be called the inciting incident. This is what pushes the hero away from his comfort zone and into their new life, propelling the story forward. This is usually an exciting point in the story to help the reader or viewer keep their interest. The hero faces a choice at this point in the story. They can either ignore the call or accept the call. Most often in this plot structure the hero ignores the call.
In our Star Wars example Luke buys a droid, R2-D2, who plays a message from a princess in distress. You know, the famous quote, “Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi. You’re my only hope.”
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Refusing the Call
While not every protagonist will refuse the call, the refusal of the call lets the reader or viewer glimpse into the hero’s insecurities. This helps us relate more with the protagonist keeping us interested in the story. If we have a confident protagonist ready for adventure, it could cause disinterest because no one wants a story about a flawless individual. If however, they learn a lesson from their overconfidence that sounds like a good read. In refusing the call something must happen to push the hero to end up taking up the call.
Luke refuses the call from his droid until R2-D2 takes off to go find Obi-Wan for himself. Luke realizes he must chase after the droid or his uncle will be angry they bought a defective droid.
Meeting the Mentor
The hero finally accepts the call to adventure. However, the hero lacks the skills he needs to complete his quests. This is where the mentor comes in. The hero ends up meeting someone who can train him to succeed. While the mentor is often a person, it can also be objects, such as a map, a magic staff, or a book. The mentor provides the hero with information and the confidence they need to continue their journey.
R2-D2 leaving takes Luke right to Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan decides to teach Luke about the Jedi and the Force, which provides Luke with information and powers he needs to continue on his adventure.
Crossing the Threshold
The end of Act 1 is the crossing of the threshold. After this point in the story the hero cannot return to his normal life and must go on the quest. This section often introduces the main antagonist of the story. We see why the hero must go on this journey to defeat the villain. Sometimes, the mentor is killed in this section, leaving our hero to grieve or want revenge against whatever killed the mentor. Also in this section the hero is fully involved in his new world.
For Luke two separate things happen. First the Empire kill his aunt and uncle leaving his home a charred wreck. This shows the strength of the antagonists. Secondly, Luke and Obi-Wan go to a cantina to look for a ship off the planet. Luke cannot return to his old home and is fully involved in this new world.
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Act 2: Test, Allies, and Enemies
At the start of act 2, the hero realizes he will need help to defeat the antagonists. The hero finds new friends to help him in their struggles and also to learn and grow from them. In this section they also face some challenges which their new friends and mentored abilities can help them overcome.
Luke comes across Han Solo and Chewbacca who rents him their ship. Without his new friends Luke could have never left the planet. While escaping the planet the empire tries to stop him from leaving. Han Solo helps them fight off the stormtroopers and take off in their ship.
Approach to the Innermost Cave
Here the hero reflects on their past struggles. Fear and doubt creep into the hero about their adventure. Their new friends might be damaged from the previous section but they are closer to achieving their goal which helps them push forward. The group in this section might make a new plan to face their challenges or regroup and recoup from any damage they suffered.
Luke learns to wield the Force and his lightsaber while the party approaches where the princess is. They discover the planet is gone, replaced with the Death Star, a physical innermost cave where fear and doubt creep into Luke’s life. Star Wars often uses the line “I have a bad feeling” about this to show where the approach to the innermost cave is.
The Ordeal
The ordeal is the biggest challenge our hero faces in the story. This moment changes everything in the story or the way the hero sees things. This part has the highest risks in the story. Often, the hero loses someone or something important to them. The ordeal brings the hero to their lowest point which allows them to overcome their emotions to push through the pain. The character becomes stronger overall from the challenge. This is often the longest section in the story.
Luke and his crew wind up on the Death Star to rescue the princess. This is the one of the biggest challenges in the movie. While Luke, Chewbacca, and Han succeed in the rescue mission, Obi-Wan gets killed in their escape. Luke becomes more mature from this loss and his successful rescue mission.
The Reward
The reward is the end of Act 2. The hero is rewarded from his ordeal. They receive whatever it is they wanted from the start of the story. Another name for this section is “seizing the sword” because often the hero gets the symbolic sword they set out for. The reward must be great enough to overcome the antagonist in the final battle. Like the innermost cave, this section provides the heroes some relief and time to plan their next move again. Minor celebrations can take place here as well due to surviving the ordeal.
Luke Skywalker became a more mature person from his quest so far. Luke wanted to join the Rebellion against the Empire at the start of the movie and this is the point where he finally can. He joins the Rebellion as a pilot which is the sword needed to fight the antagonistic empire.
Act 3: The Road Back
The hero wants to start his journey back to where he came from, however obstacles still stand in his way. The reward comes with more problems the hero did not anticipate and must resolve before they can return to their old life. Here the hero sees how they are still in a lot of trouble with the antagonist and why they must face them once and for all.
Luke’s journey is slightly different. Luke does not want to go back to the desert planet and be a moisture farmer. He wants to return to a life without the Death Star and the Empire. Luke realizes to return to that life he must fight with the rebels to destroy the Death Star.
The Resurrection
The resurrection comes from the change in the hero. This part of the story is the climax. The resurrection is the biggest challenge, trial, or battle the hero must face. This is the final showdown between the protagonist and the antagonist. If the hero fails everything changes for the worse, while if the hero succeeds they come out on top, resurrected into a true hero. Sacrifices happen in the resurrection stage otherwise the story would be less meaningful.
Luke realizes he must help destroy the Death Star otherwise the Rebellion will be crushed. If he wins however, the Rebellion can thrive without the fear of the Death Star. Luke and fellow pilots battle the Death Star in the sky. While a lot of pilots are lost, Luke overcomes the antagonists and blows up the Death Star.
Return with the Elixir
The hero finally gets to return to their previous life with their newfound skills. The hero changed for the better during his journey. These skills and changes are often used to help people they left behind in their old life. The hero and friends celebrate their victory over the antagonists and can live at peace once again. The hero must decide whether to return to the life they left or to stay in their new world.
Luke decides to stay a part of the Rebellion with his newly discovered force powers and new friends. He gets to keep his reward he earned. Here we see them celebrate the defeat of the Empire and Death Star because the princess hands out medals to Luke and his friends.
In conclusion
I personally love the hero’s journey. Some of my favorite books and movies follow this story structure. If you are looking for more examples besides Star Wars look no further. Here are a few of my favorite books that follow the hero’s journey.
The Lord of the Rings series by J.R.R Tolkien
The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K Rowling
Eragon by Christopher Paolini
The Wizard of Oz by L Frank Baum
Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol
There are many more books and movies that follow the hero’s journey. Try and see if your favorite books fit into this type of storytelling. Do you like or dislike the hero’s journey? What are some other examples you can think of? Does your favorite story fit into this category? Let us know down below in the comments. We always love to hear from you!
As always, Happy reading!