This is a fantastic post. I checked right through my latest manuscript and I’m happy to say I could tick all the boxes in my hero’s journey. I’ve been a little concerned about the ending to the second, finished manuscript in my junior fiction series, but after reading this, I realize that my twist at the end is good.

Jordan, you mentioned the characters receiving their rewards or punishments and wrapping up the loose ends, then you said, ‘A surprise or two in here is always fun’. Well that’s the part I worried about because I usually add a surprise at the end of all my stories. Now I know that it’s okay.

After reading this, I suddenly realized that the villain in my story isn’t who I thought. The hero in my story definitely triumphs over the real villain, but I‘d mistakenly thought that the rival was the villain. You’ve cleared that up for me, thanks for that.

I’ll go over all my stories now to look for problems.

Thanks so much, Jordan. I’ve never had this explained to me so simply before. I’ll follow these rules for every manuscript.

Trish.