The expression “hero’s journey” designates a narrative structure derived from Joseph Campbell’s mono-myth theory. The theme of the hero myth occurs in all cultures, at all times. According to Campbell, the many steps of the hero’s journey could be summarized in twelve stages. This is the way of life. It is a story template that involves a hero embarking on an adventure. If writing is your goal, you should explore a simple structure on your first attempts. You can write a story with characters that go through all the stages or just one of them.
Of course, beyond that, you can view the hero’s journey pattern in light of your current life as an exercise in personal growth. It can be a physical, emotional, and spiritual experience; they all involve stepping out of old ways, your comfort zone. This is because the challenges we face on our own life journey can offer potential for personal growth.
The hero’s journey can be condensed into ten steps: (1) The hero faces a challenge. (2) Initially rejects the challenge (fear), and then (3) accepts the challenge, or is forced to accept it. (4) Take the path of trials, where (5) find allies and gain powers (abilities). (6) Has an initial confrontation with evil (failure) that leads to (7) the Dark Night of the Soul (depression, fear, anger and hopelessness). (8) Take the leap of faith. (9) He faces evil again, and this time he is victorious. (10) The student becomes a teacher. You should have the ability to share what you find with others.
We are talking here about the value of structure with respect to creative writing. Templates and frameworks reduce complex problems to their intellectual components. Hero’s Journey is a ready-to-use analysis for your story – through it, you can expand an idea into a story. The essence of the story is transformation. Hero’s journey clearly reveals the transformation process of the characters in the story. The transformation cycle in many stories is as follows: initiation, testing, transformation, and demonstration. This basic route is related to all the stages listed above. The underlying idea is simple: creativity is supposed to be the result of a process. This formula or plot can be reduced to the transformation cycle of the hero’s journey. In short, a template can help you increase the quantity and quality of your creative output.