The Hero's Journey

The Hero's Journey, as put forth by Joseph Campbell in "The Hero of A Thousand Faces", is arguably one of the best-known ways to organize a potential legend. Rather than do a complete re-hash of the rather famous story generator, we're going to look at how to have some fun with the concept while tying it into the standard three-act structure. While it should be relatively obvious, the two work together rather well.

It should be noted that I've changed a few names of the steps; this is not meant to be disrespectful; some of the names were a little more obscure than I would have wanted. As such, please consult with Campbell's original work for those names. I debated including the original but felt I should encourage you to read the original. "The Hero of A Thousand Faces" is something you really should read for yourself.

The Ordinary World

In the ancient myths, you just introduced the political situation and then headed straight into the story. In today's world, you sometimes need a little more beyond a prophecy, the relevant deities, and where the hero is coming from. For our purposes, this is what most of us would call the first act: Introducing the main character, the relationship between the main protagonist(s) and antagonist(s), and in general the status quo before you go through and totally destroy it.

Put another way, this is the origin of your characters, and is something that should be in your notes at least. The idea here is that you need to establish some sort of baseline to show exactly what normally goes on, and even possibly why the characters are looking for a change in their life or even why they don't want it to change. This is what their lives look like prior to being called to adventure and forced on the path.

This is also where you establish the "normal" aspects of your world, which includes how the tech/magic works, how common rare individuals (such as supers and cyborgs), and how most people see the world in general. The irony is that you need to establish a whole lot of minor details and you have to do this as quickly as possible; you only have the first fourth of your story to do it. Also, you're going to end up disrupting or even destroying, so have fun setting it up before you go after it like practice dummy.

 The Call To Adventure

Eventually, Adventure is going to call. This isn't quite the instigating incident; this is more of an instigating warning shot. The protagonist starts getting the idea that his world isn't as safe as he thinks it and starts to see the cracks. This can be details that don't quite add up, something seen out of the corner of the eye, or even a representative of the antagonist that winks at him. All you're doing at this point is setting up the conflict and that the protagonist can see that there is a conflict coming, but is choosing to just ignore it or has no choice but to note it and just take it.

The Refusal of the Call

There will hit a point where the protagonist can no longer ignore what is going on around him and must face a choice. However, the protagonist decides to make the choice that best allows him to keep living his normal life as much as possible. The antagonist may give him little choice, keeping his family hostage or maintaining some sort of emotional control over the person. The protagonist may even some personal restraint in place, such as a personal honor code, that keeps him from acting. As such, the antagonist is allowed some more time to get really bad.

Meeting the Mentor

Somewhere in the first act the protagonist needs to meet someone who will teach him how to eventually deal with the problem and/or provide the tools that will help him overcome the antagonist in the end. This can be some sort of weapon, vehicle, upgrade, or even martial arts technique; all that matters is that the mentor somehow gives the protagonist a way to defeat the antagonist. It is ultimately through the gift of the mentor that the protagonist will eventually defeat the antagonist.

However, the two do not need to have a friendly relationship. The mentor can be a mutual enemy of the antagonist using the protagonist to take down the antagonist; he has decided that the enemy of his enemy makes a good ally or he can use the protagonist to take down the antagonist and then take over himself, becoming the antagonist later on down the road. The mentor can even be the antagonist himself, who either raises the protagonist in order to create a challenge due to his own boredom or curiosity, or who the protagonist will rebel against in order to start the journey.

Heck, you could even have a mentor who resists teaching the protagonist what he needs to know until forced or otherwise convinced to do so. No one ever said that the mentor needed to be some kindly old teacher with the interest of something good and wholesome in mind.

Crossing the Threshold

Eventually, the protagonist is going to get going on the adventure. This has to be a choice, however forced, but there are plenty of options. The honorable warrior may decide that the antagonist has finally crossed some sort of line. He may accept a mission to deal with the antagonist. He may even rebel against the antagonist as the antagonist may have finally threatened the protagonist far too often; this could even lead to a fight between the two that the protagonist loses and is forced to retreat. The protagonist can also be forced by those opposed to the antagonist into the opposing position and may eventually accept his role.

Regardless, the protagonist is finally forced into what amounts to another world, either based off new perceptions or an actual new world. He's going to find that rules are now a little different, either more advanced rules of the basics he was used to or a completely different set of rules. This is in effect an initiation as the protagonist is now beginning his membership in a new world; his perception of his world is going to change at the very least, and some may even suffer some sort of physical change that begins here as well. The protagonist will never be the same by the end of the journey.

The Three Tests

Generally, the protagonist is going to undergo three tests. One will test him physically, another mentally, and the third morally. Obviously, this won't apply to all trials but it tends to work out best thematically. It should be noted that the protagonist can fail at these tests; the point is not so much to succeed at them but to learn something from each one. In fact, it helps if the protagonist fails at least once in order to humble them and to allow him a chance to learn from the failure. The option to try again is up to the writer, and may actually be good to see how his perspective may have begun to change.

As for the specific nature of the tests, there is a lot of leeway. A physical test can be wrestling or any direct combat, an endurance test, some feat of strength, or even climbing up a mountain. The mental test can be solving a puzzle, a test of combat strategies, playing a board game, or even a trivia contest. The moral test can be how he takes defeat, whether or not he would save someone, simply doing the right thing, or even engaging someone in a philosophical debate. There are no real limits when you're designing a test so have some fun.

Enemies

As part of the journey, he's going to encounter enemies. Some he may overcome as part of his trials, sort of like mini-bosses in a video game, and others may be brought back later on, such as at the final climax. If the enemies are part of the trials, then they need to work thematically as a physical, mental, and ethical challenge. He doesn't need to kill them and it's even possible that he wins them over to his side, even if it's only until they satisfy a debt to him. Lastly, keep in mind that the protagonist doesn't have to kill or even defeat his opponent; sometimes humbling himself can work. It all depends on what kind of point you need to make with the enemy.

Allies

If he's going to pick up enemies, then he is likely to pick up allies as well. While they can all be best friends, they can also be enemies that he has convinced to join him, those whose quests just happen to match his, or even those that he has defeated and owe him one. As long as the ally helps him on the journey and possibly even against the antagonist, then they can work as allies. It doesn't matter how much or how little an ally helps (even if it is to give the protagonist a hint that helps him solve a puzzle or a night of shelter) as long as the ally does something to aid the protagonist in his journey.

Journey to the Treasure

The journey itself is eventually going to lead to where whatever it is that he is seeking. It just important that he crosses some sort of distance, be it an actual physical distance or a change in perspective; the actual journey doesn't matter just that there is one. The key is that the protagonist needs to show the audience that he has traveled from his old self to his new self, or at least some progress on that path. The journey can thus be thousands of light years or just changing which side of the room he sleeps on, or is just a matter of changing his perspective enough that he sees the world in an entirely different light. As long as others can see the change the journey works.

The completion of the journey also ends the second act. After this, it is on to the climax and the final act.

The Last Test

Once the character has completed the journey he needs to face the antagonist. He's faced the trials, acquired enemies and allies, and made the journey; now he needs to face down the reason for all of this. This does not need to necessarily be an actual opponent, i.e., a foe to be fought. It can be a final test of some sort, something that can only be fought using the tools and allies he found on the way, or even just convincing someone not to do something. The key here is that he needs to show that he has actually changed and the tougher the better; it has to be something that he had no way of defeating at the beginning of the journey.

Seizing the Sword

After he has faced the final test, he needs to receive some sort of reward. It doesn't need to be a better weapon, fabulous riches, or any other physical reward. It's even possible to receive some sort of souvenir or even just some form of knowledge; he could have also attained the respect or acceptance he wanted, or just proved something to himself. It's even possible for the reward to be something for someone else, such as peace for the land or it finally rains. There just needs to be some sort of reward at the end of the journey.

It's even possible that he recognizes that what he receives has a different value: He could have been trying to get a baseball back that was stolen but recognizes that the baseball is merely represents something else. It's entirely possible that his mindset has changed so much that he leaves the treasure behind or lets someone else claim it. It just doesn't matter to him anymore because he may have gained what he feels is even more important on his journey than the final reward itself.

The Road Back

Once the Last Test has been faced and the Sword Seized, the protagonist needs to start on the road back. This needs to be seen as sort of a cooling down; the protagonist needs a chance to reflect on what he's been through, and to recognize that he has changed. He needs a chance to think through what that means to him, and what will change in his life. Just like the journey itself, this can take light years or just be a matter of falling asleep; there just needs to be a chance for the protagonist to reflect.

Resurrection

The character needs to die in order to return to his former world. While it is possible that this means an actual, physical death and a return to life, it can mean simply that the protagonist recognizes that he has been through some serious changes and that he is not the same entity as he was at the beginning. It's important to remember that the Death card in the Tarot represents some change of status and not the actual death of the recipient; the character just needs to recognize that his status has changed somehow for the resurrection to have happened.

Return

The protagonist should return now return to his former world, at least one that resembles his former world in some terms, such as similar situations, relationships, or even the actual world. However, this does not mean that the protagonist will see the world the same as when he left it and he may effect changes. He may now be able to ignore bullies, quit his job for another one or even returning to college. He may even have people treating him differently, either with a little more tolerance or even worship. The reason to return him to his former world is to show how much he has been changed by his journey.

* * * * *

It should be noted that this path is usually portrayed as a circle; this implies that Campbell was aware that one story could beget another. This is something you see quite frequently in literature, such as the history of Hercules, where the hero is not limited to his first story. For those debating sequels, that should make you feel better; even the Ancient Greeks were infamous for their franchises. However, copyright does give you one advantage over the Greeks: You have fewer worries that someone else would run with the character.

And especially if you doing something visual: The character's clothing should go through several changes during the journey to represent his changing mentality. The obvious one is the potentially for nudity; by stripping him down literally you show that he is being reborn into a new world, a naked and defenseless infant as it were. His outfit should change, at least during the journey, to reflect changes in his self. Hair style and color changes work as well. If nothing else, just making him a little more buff by the end of the journey is acceptable.

This should also be seen as just a beginning. While a pretty good system, it doesn't allow for the subplots and character development we've gotten used in modern writing. The one flaw in the Hero's Journey is that it's all about plot development; anything past that you need to add on yourself. But, that should not be a major problem; just add it on wherever you feel it works. While I'm sure a lot of people see this as archaic, there is no reason for you to not adapt it for your own writing.