Comments on: The Hero’s Journey with Story Structure

By: Iapetus999

Iapetus999 — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 02:48:20 +0000

Sorry for the late response

What happened to “The Road Back” and “Resurrection”?

This combination feels a bit shoehorned. It’s not clear that these two structures are compatible, because they talk about different plot points and moods.
Going back to 3-act structure, the Ordeal is the climax of Act II, and Resurrection is the climax of Act III. So now I’m just confused.

By: Screenwriting Best of the Web | The Story Department

Screenwriting Best of the Web | The Story Department — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 00:02:26 +0000

[...] 1st Lesson: A simple overview of the 12 Hero’s Journey Stages. [...]

By: michelle

michelle — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 18:00:38 +0000

@Karel, I like the strict structure of Brooks’ structure over the HJ, HJ is too leinent for me. I also believe that you can still have a sagging middle using HJ.

Once I went to Brooks site and read the articles about Structure, it all began to make sense, where the HJ never clicked or made sense like Structure did. I still like the Hero’s Jounrey, it has good points, I just like Structure more.

By: michelle

michelle — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 05:59:24 +0000

@ Jordan, Actually, that is where I place something brooks doesn’t have in the structure. I call it introdouction to theme where you are using something in your story to give the reader an idea of what your theme is. you get a little action and a teaser of whats to come. sometimes this is the call and the reaction is the refusal. Then the true acceptance where the MC HAS to accept the call is plot point #1. I was weary of how far in the PP#1 comes but I now see the logic of it. It does give you time to get to know the characters and the world. That is why you so often see something like a introdouction of the theme in books.

@Karel, The next book I plotted and wrote I used story structure first to plan out the story then added the Hero’s Journey to augment and enhance the story and character arc. The Hero’s Journey, is not set in stone and that is where I see the drawback of that type of plotting tool, however, it does have excellent points to flesh the story out especially if you recognize how the two of them go together.

By: Jordan

Jordan — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 00:51:04 +0000

@Karel—All right, now that that’s fixed.

Michelle is showing us how she used both the Hero’s Journey and Brooks’s story structure in plotting her story—she used the Hero’s Journey to create the story, and then story structure to order and apportion it. Story structure enhances the Hero’s Journey by setting up solid pacing, as well as phases of the book for action to fall into.

@Michelle—You know, thinking over this again, I think that you could argue that the Call to Adventure is Plot Point 1, and that the Refusal would fall under Reaction—it’s not moving forward, after all. Refusing (denial, etc.) is a reaction. But it does depend on how you want to do it, I think. Waiting 20-25,000 words for a call to adventure can be really hard.