WU ROAD TEST: The Writer’s Journey by Christopher Vogler
November 16th, 2006 by Kathleen Bolton
Regular readers may know that I’ve recently completed my current WIP using Holly Lisle’s One-Pass Manuscript Revision process. You can read the gory details HERE. After a break, it was time to get back into the saddle. I’d agreed to participate in NaNo, and I needed to get a story plotted out to a point where I’d be writing something that actually resembled a novel instead of a mishmash of scenes with no direction.
My usual approach to plotting was loosely based on Debra Dixon’s Goal, Motivation, and Conflict method, vague character sketches, an ending, and a theme I wanted to examine. I’d knock out an outline, and get to work.
Then everything’d go to hell in a handbasket. Plot tangents, characters that had nothing to do with the story except they were cool when they wandered into my head the night before, blind alleys, you name it. Sometimes the lack of discipline would be exciting. Great things would come of the exploration, and it’s what I love about writing. Other times . . . . eecch. So I’d have this rough draft which was mostly a steaming pile of poo and it would take six months to edit.
NO MORE! I cried. This time, I’d use a plotting method that would give me the storytelling structure I wanted, while allowing for exploration and creativity. My writing bud Elena Greene had been telling me good things about Christopher Vogler’s mythic structure method, outlined in his book THE WRITER’S JOURNEY, (its on our WU recommended list) so I decided to give it a go.
How did it measure up?
It’s a pretty good method and it made the initial phases of plotting a breeze. Vogler uses Jungian psychology and Joseph Campbell’s observations on myths as the foundation for storytelling. Since stories have been told since man first learned to talk, the myth-based model of storytelling has been centuries in the making. The strength of using the mythic structure is that the plot points are easily recognizable and adaptable to many types of stories. The downside is that the plot points are universal and predictable, which can lead to hackneyed storytelling replete with trite motivations. The challenge for the writer is to take the archetypes and freshen them.
THE WRITER’S JOURNEY is split into two parts. Part One concerns character archetypes, which I won’t get into in this post. Part Two, “Stages of the Journey” is a step-by-step method for plotting.
The seasoned writer will recognize many if not all of them: The Ordinary World (where the story starts), The Call to Adventure (change); Refusal of the Call (initial conflict); Mentor (viewpoint character conflict); First Threshold (first big challenge); Tests, Allies, Enemies (introducing new characters, monkey wrench, a subplot).
After these first phases are easily plotted out, this is the point where novels can careen out of control in the dreaded middle arc. And this is where Vogler’s book is worth shelling out $25.
In a basic three-act story, the Ordeal (stage 7) comes at the midpoint of the book. No breakthrough observation there. But I dunno about you, but after the Ordeal (or big major challenge that the character has overcome), my stories seem to run out of gas until the climax at the end. That’s because I wasn’t working on the aftermath of the Ordeal correctly, letting my character get their Reward (stage eight), and then complicating it up with reversals, epiphanies, and major angst during the Road Back (stage 9). Forehead smack time.
Then Vogler gets even better. There’s that tricky moment in every story where the overarching theme is revealed to your characters, and maybe more explicitly revealed to your reader. This takes place in stage 10, Resurrection. In the mythic structure, the Resurrection is the part of the story where your character symbolically dies and is reborn again. Or it could be as simple as the moment when a character realizes they’ve been changed by their ordeal.
The final stage of your hero’s journey is stage 12, Return with the Elixir. Subplot questions raised earlier are resolved, happy endings glow happily, or doors are left open. In other words, The End.
Vogler helpfully asks the writer to consider different scenarios when plotting out their stories. He also deconstructs popular movies like Star Wars, Pulp Fiction, and Titanic and shows how the screenwriters use the mythic structure to make stronger stories.
Bottom line: it’s highly recommended. I breezed through my initial plot outline, and it gave me enough to ponder where I could steer away from the trite and reformulate into something fresher.
Vogler’s not foolproof, however. He disagrees with the choices the writers make for Disney’s Lion King, and he makes some random cultural observations like “Australians and Germans are herophobic.” Still, these are quibbles. THE WRITER’S JOURNEY is a valuable tool in the writer’s arsenal, but it’s not a panacea. As long as one makes a conscious effort to steer clear of overused plot points, it can take the agony out of plotting. Not the pain, just the agony.
I’ve heard of this book before, but never picked it up. I might have to now. Great review, Kathleen.
It’s a good book, I can vouch for it. Of course, it is the victim of the usual “But that’s formula! Ewww!” complaint. At no point does it tell you what to write, or how to write it. It is an abstract layer or guide for your story. You still have to do all the hard work of creating memorable characters and giving them interesting troubles. The Writer’s Journey just gives you a hint about when certain types of things that are probably already in your story should occur.
“Types of things” should be the key phrase here. It is a generalization of structure featured in some of the greatest stories. The specific story is and always will be up to you.
I’ve never heard of it, and I thought I have heard of every writing book
Once you read it, you see it in action in every film, t.v. sitcom, etc. But Eric’s right, the real challenge is to take the archtypes and freshen them. At its worst, it could be a recipe for formulaic stories, at its best, it really does help negotiate the mindfields. If nothing else, folks should check it out.
Glad you found the book useful, Kathleen!
One thing I like a lot is his advice on how to use the Hero’s Journey principles. To quote: “It’s probably best to acquaint yourself with the Hero’s Journey ideas and then forget about them as you sit down to write. If you get lost, refer to the metaphor as you would check a map on a journey. But don’t mistake the map for the journey. You don’t drive with a map pasted to your windshield. You consult it before setting out or when you get disoriented. The joy of a journey is not reading or following a map, but exploring unknown places and wandering off the map now and then. It’s only by getting creatively lost, beyond the boundaries of tradition, that new discoveries can be made.”
Elena, you bring up a great point I’ve been meaning to do a post about;
“The map is not the territory.”
Great post, Kath. This book is on my shelves but I haven’t read it yet. I know, I know…