Posted by Michelle Butler Oct 2 2011, 7:30 pm in inspiration, Michelle Butler, Michelle Mondays, Writing
Last week I mentioned how helpful Barbara Samuel’s voice workshop was at my last local writers’ meeting. What I did not mention was that I found her afternoon workshop on the heroine’s journey even more helpful. She gave me a new analytical tool to use when I think about a book’s structure and plot.
Many of you have probably heard of the hero’s journey. Drawing from the work of Joseph Campbell, particularly the hero with a thousand faces, Christopher Vogler calls the 12-step hero’s journey the basic plot of most stories. In his book The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Storytellers & Screenwriters, Vogler identifies the 12 steps as:
1) Ordinary World
2) Call to Adventure
3) Refusal of the Call
4) Meeting the Mentor (Wise Old Man or Woman)
5) Crossing the First Threshold
6) Tests, Allies, Enemies
7) Approach to the Inmost Cave
 Supreme Ordeal
9) Reward (Seizing the Sword)
10) The Road Back
11) Resurrection
12) Return with the Elixir
This structure can be seen in most male adventure stories, but it’s not always relevant for women’s fiction. While men are going out in the world to prove themselves, women, Barbara pointed out, often are coming to terms with themselves and bringing that knowledge back to the community. This can be more of an inner journey than an outer journey.
If the hero’s journey is not a helpful plotting device for some women’s stories, is there something out there that can be helpful? A writing friend of Barbara’s recommended the concept of the heroine’s journey, as it was outlined by Victoria Lyn Schmidt in her book 45 Master Characters: Mythic Models for Creating Original Characters.
Schmidt has a chapter devoted to the heroine’s journey, and she breaks it down into 9 steps.
Act 1 – Containment
1) The Illusion of a Perfect World
2) Betrayal or Recognition or Realization
3) Awakening and Preparing for the Journey
Act 2 – Transformation
4) The Descent
5) The Eye of the Storm
6) Death/All is Lost (when the heroine faces her biggest fear and there is no hope left)
Act 3 – Re-Emergence
7) Support
The Rebirth and the Moment of Truth
9) Full Circle/Return to Perfect World
This plot structure can be very inward-focused and capture the inner journey of a character. It seems immediately relevant to women’s journey stories that are so prevalent in women’s fiction and some romance fiction, such as Harlequin SuperRomance. This structure really resonated with me and captures the journey I’ve gone through in various, big life transitions. I think it could be very helpful when plotting a women’s journey type story, but it could also be helpful when plotting the inner journey of a character when there is a strong, external plot.
What do you think of the heroine’s journey? Has it given you any insights on storytelling? Can you name a story that you think follows the heroine’s journey? Do you think you’ll use it in a future story?
Posted by Michelle Butler Sep 25 2011, 9:16 pm in fear, inspiration, Michelle Butler, Michelle Mondays, Writing
For years the one concept in the craft of writing that scared me the most was voice. It always sounded so mysterious and literary and out-of-my-league. I couldn’t wrap my mind around what it was much less how to figure out what my voice was and how to improve it. I started to calm down [...]
Posted by Michelle Butler Aug 29 2011, 1:58 am in exercise, inspiration, Michelle Butler, Michelle Mondays, process, Writing
Last week, I went on a fabulous writers’ retreat in West Virginia with friends Marjanna Bogan, Diane Gaston and Elise Hayes. I was excited about it and even posted on Facebook about leaving soon for the trip. I asked my friends to, “Wish us great productivity and creative breakthroughs.” This got me thinking about what one can [...]
Posted by Trish Milburn Aug 23 2011, 12:01 am in eating healthy, exercise, goals, progress, Trish Milburn, weight loss, Writing
Last week, I marked an important milestone on my journey to becoming a healthier writer. On Wednesday, I hit the number on the scale that indicated I’d lost 15 pounds since my highest point at the beginning of February. I will admit to doing a little happy dance once I stepped off the scale. There [...]
Posted by Michelle Butler Aug 15 2011, 1:14 am in Expectations, Michelle Butler, Michelle Mondays, positive thinking, process, Writing
I meet regularly with a bunch of girlfriends for dinner or afternoon tea. In addition to catching up on each others’ lives, both personal and professional, we’ll often talk about financial planning. It started out with us talking about which Suze Ormand book we had read first and how it had changed our lives. We [...]
Posted by Trish Milburn Jul 27 2011, 12:01 am in eating healthy, exercise, guest blogger, weight loss, Writing
By Angi Morgan Thanks, Trish, for inviting me to share my journey to becoming a healthy writer. It’s actually taken me quite a while to work up the courage to write this post. There’s so much that’s happened–Good & Bad–it’s hard to pick and choose what to include. Most of my family, friends and even [...]
Posted by Anna Sugden Jul 22 2011, 1:46 am in Anna Sugden, demanding cursor, stress, the danger zone, Writing
I love that phrase! I can’t remember who said it, but it sums up one of the biggest stresses we writers face! Successful writers will tell you to treat your writing seriously, to write every day, to make the time you can’t seem to find. Easier said than done, sure, but we know, deep down, [...]
Posted by Trish Milburn Jul 20 2011, 12:01 am in exercise, fitness, guest blogger, motivation, weight loss, Writing
By Gillian Doyle I consider myself an accidental novelist. Oddly enough, my lifelong battle-of-the-bulge led me to a writing class by one of my students at the Richard Simmons Anatomy Asylum. Yes, that wild and crazy weight-loss guru. In the mid-’80s I was an aerobics instructor at one of his studios in Los Angeles. But [...]
Posted by Michelle Butler Jul 17 2011, 7:32 pm in inspiration, Michelle Butler, Michelle Mondays, Writing
This past Thursday I went with my fabulous boyfriend to a preview screening of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 in Georgetown. In preparation for the big event, I reread HP7 to page 500, right around where part 1 ended and part 2 began. I was really looking forward to the movie, [...]
Posted by Trish Milburn Jul 8 2011, 12:01 am in exercise, food, guest blogger, personal journey, process, weight loss, Writing
By Donna Alward When Trish asked me to guest blog, I asked what sort of topic she wanted and she said that talking about particular journeys is always good. I’m not sure if she’s prepared for that – after all, I can go as far back as the early grade school years and being [...]
|
