The Ultimate Hero's Journey
Page 7
Sideways: Miles and Jack run down a hill and end up by the vines at the bottom of it. Miles’s depression is a symbolic hole, too.
Dodgeball: It seems that there are no options left for the team of friends. Peter says, “We gave it a hell of a run, guys.” (Note the mention of hell). Then Gordon saves the day: He reads about a dodgeball tournament in Las Vegas, in his copy of Obscure Sports Quarterly.
Related Stage:
138 – No Way Back, No Way Forward
072 – No Going Back
Just like life, good stories
don’t have an “undo” button.
Description:
The Hero is determined to continue. But even if the Hero weren’t, going back is out of the question. The Heroes suspect that the Adventure might hurt but know that the decadence of the Ordinary World will kill them.
Well, adventure may kill them, too.
Examples:
Star Wars: Obi-Wan tells Luke that he will have to sell his speeder to pay Han for the trip to Alderaan. Luke says, “That’s okay. I’m never coming back to this planet again.”
The Matrix: Neo says, “I can’t go back, can I?” Morpheus answers, “No. But if you could, would you really want to?” Neo knows he doesn’t.
Harry Potter: Harry doesn’t express any regrets; on the contrary, he is happy to at Hogwarts. From his dorm’s window he looks at the moonlight reflected on the bay: He found a home here.
Sideways: Miles and Jack argue. Miles threatens to leave, saying, “Take the car. I’ll catch the train back.” Jack refuses, of course—nobody is going back anywhere.
Dodgeball: The guys put the idea of playing dodgeball to a vote. They are all in. (Dwight’s proposal of selling blood and semen was rejected.) Peter has no option but joining them. “You guys had me at blood and semen,” he says
Related:
082 – Stakes Increase
138 – No Way Back, No Way Forward
073 – The Hero’s Determination
The Hero shows readiness to advance.
Description:
This stage comprises one simple expression of agreement or readiness. It shows the Hero’s well-intended immaturity, because he underestimates the challenges ahead.
Examples:
Star Wars: Obi-Wan warns Luke before entering the cantina, “Watch your step. This place can be a little rough.” Luke says, “I’m ready for anything”.
The Matrix: Neo just got Jiu-Jitsu uploaded to his brain. Tank asks him if he wants some more; Neo says, “Oh, yes. Hell, yeah.”
Harry Potter: Determination is Harry’s signature trait. He shows it, for example, by running directly toward a wall between platforms 9 and 10 at King’s Cross Station.
Sideways: Miles tells Jack, “Despite your crass behavior, I’m really glad we’re finally getting this time together.”
Dodgeball:See stage072.
Related:
172 – The Hero’s Verbal Attack
074 – The Traitor
Someone follows the Hero’s movements.
Description:
The Traitor’s role is to create conflict, which is vital in order to move the story forward.
Note that the Traitor doesn’t directly works against the Hero, because the Traitor failed to assess the threat the Hero implies, just as the Villain did. The Traitor works for the dark side, but it’s ultimately for some personal benefit: Money, revenge, freedom.
The Traitor is scheming in the shadows, which is difficult to show in a first-person narrative because the point-of-view character supposedly ignores that there is a Traitor. In such cases, all the author can do is plant clues of the Traitor’s movements.
Examples:
Star Wars: Ben and Luke try to leave Tatooine. A hooded figure alerts the stormtroopers. They don’t even notice the presence of the spy.
The Matrix: Neo approaches Cypher, who is going through his night shift on the ship’s bridge. Cypher acts suspiciously and turns off all the monitors. Neo doesn’t realize what Cypher is up to (he was coordinating a meeting with the Agents).
Harry Potter: Ron travels with Scabbers, his pet rat, which is actually the Animagus Peter Pettigrew, a traitor, transmogrified.
Sideways: The Traitor in this case is represented by both protagonists and their self-sabotage.
Dodgeball: Peter’s Traitor is Peter himself: Self-sabotage again.
Related:
111 – Traitor on the Move
075 – Book of Laws
Some authority figure explains the laws of the Adventure World.
Description:
New worlds have new rules, especially in fantasy, science fiction, and other genres with intensive world building.
Do not fall into long information dumps or backstory. Focus on the way things arenow in your world, instead. Readers will suspend their disbelief but will not be so tolerant with long explanations. Only discuss rules that affect the plot; the rest is descriptions.
Examples:
Star Wars: Obi-Wan explains, “The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It’s an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together.” (I had no problem believing this—well, not until they started talking about midiclorians).
The Matrix: Morpheus explains, “These rules are no different that the rules of a computer system. Some of them can be bent. Others can be broken.”
Harry Potter: McGonagall explains, “Your triumphs will earn your house points; any rule breaking and you will lose points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup.” Questions?
Sideways: Miles explains how to taste a wine: “First take your glass and examine the wine against the light. You’re looking at color and clarity.” Jack just wants to drink it. And he’s chewing gum.
Dodgeball:Patches explains the fived’s of Dodgeball: “Dodge, duck, dip, dive, dodge!” Either follow them or bleed. Your call.
Related:
075 – Book of Laws
107 – Breaking the Law
076 – Encounter with the Goddess
Without her, the Hero doesn’t
have a chance in hell.
Description:
The Hero and the Goddess (i.e. theegoand theanima, in Jungian terms) start out polarized or divided; they are opposites, after all. But they are also complementary, and they converge as the story evolves.
The Goddess is a driver for the forward movement, an inspiration for the Hero to prove worthy.
“They meet for the first time” means: For the first time in this story or for the first time as potential lovers—not necessarily for the first time ever in their lives.
Examples:
Star Wars: Luke enters the cell where Leia is kept prisoner. This scene plays like an intentional misdirection of the plot regarding romance, because they are actually brother and sister, of course.
The Matrix: Neo enters the kitchen where The Oracle is baking cookies. She is one of the Goddesses in this story; Trinity is the other.
Harry Potter: Hermione enters the train compartment where the boys are. When she leaves, Ron says, “Mental, that one. I’m telling you.”
Sideways: Miles enters the restaurant where Maya works. He knew her from before, and they have a nice, short dialogue. There is attraction but nothing else.
Dodgeball: Peter enters his office, where Kate is already working.
Related:
030 – The Goddess
077 – Girl Tests Boy
The girl has to see what her romantic interest is made of.
Description:
Selecting a good partner is the essence of the evolution of most animal species, isn’t it?
This test takes the form of a question that the Goddess poses to the Hero, who can’t respond adequately.
Also, if there is any romance potential here, our Hero will need another chance to show any seductive powers because this time it resulted in a miserable fail.
&
nbsp; Examples:
Star Wars: Princess Leia asks, “Aren’t you a little short to be a stormtrooper?” Luke just stands there, not knowing what to say.
The Matrix: The Oracle asks: “So, what do you think? You think you’re The One?” Neo doesn’t know. Then she says, “Well, I better have a look at you. Open your mouth; say ‘ahhh.’” After the test, she lets Neo arrive at the (wrong) conclusion that he’s not The One.
Harry Potter: Hermione asks Ron: “Oh, are you doing magic? Let’s see then.” He tries to turn his rat, Scabbers, yellow. The spell doesn’t work.
Sideways: Maya asks, “So how’s that book of yours going, Miles? I think you were almost done with it last time we talked.” Miles lies about it.
Dodgeball: Kate asks for the gym’s financial records; Peter opens a closet and a huge pile of documents falls to the floor. Peter flirts with her to no avail.
Related:
076 – First Encounter with the Goddess
078 – Training: Success
The Hero makes some progress.
Description:
The Hero goes through competitions, initiations, questions, auditions, or anything intended to improve proficiency. The Hero learns fast, but the Weakness will soon be revealed.
Here in Act 2.1, the trials are either part of a training or minor battles; in Act 2.3, the trials become increasingly serious challenges.
Examples:
Star Wars: Luke blocks the electric shocks from the training drone with his lightsaber. He learns fast.
The Matrix: Neo’s passes the dojo test. He’s even faster than Morpheus.
Harry Potter: Harry wins his first Quidditch match.
Sideways: Miles barely passes the test of establishing conversation with the girls.
Dodgeball: We see Jason getting hit by balls, and—oh, God—wrenches. The rest of the team does pretty well, though.
Related:
026 – The Hero’s Weakness
041 – Test of Worthiness
077 – Girl Tests Boy
079 – First Encouragement
The trials become more difficult.
Description:
The road to victory is paved with success. But the road to success is paved with failures. Nonetheless, the Hero receives encouragement before the next challenge.
Examples:
Star Wars:The training gets harder: Luke has to block the shocks blindfolded. He gets zapped. Obi-Wan tells him, “Try again, Luke.”
The Matrix: The training gets more difficult: Neo must jump between two buildings. Trinity whispers, “Come on.”
Harry Potter: Professor McGonagall is the one who does the encouraging in every movie, in a gentle but sarcastic way. When the kids arrive late at her class, she tells Ron, “If I were to transfigure Mr. Potter or yourself into a pocket watch, maybe one of you would be on time.”
Sideways: Miles starts a conversation with Maya about the Fiddleback she is drinking. She encourages him to taste her cup of the sauvignon blanc: “Try it.” It is an encouragement to share, a subtle invitation to get closer to each other.
Dodgeball: The guys encourage Gordon: “You got it, Gord.” And he runs across the highway. Or he tries, at least.
Related:
141 – Second Encouragement
169 – Third Encouragement
080 – Training: Failure
The Hero fails some harder test.
Description:
Of course the Hero fails; it’s because of the Weakness.
This problem persists until stage142 – Third Epiphany, when the Hero finally realizes what to do with that inner limitation.
Examples:
Star Wars: Luke received a couple of electric shocks from the training drone; his weakness is that he doesn’t trust the Force. (He eventually succeeds, though).
The Matrix: Neo fails the jump. His weakness is his disbelief. He is told to leave doubts, fear, and disbelief behind. He can’t.
Harry Potter: Professor Snape ridicules Harry in front of the whole class. Harry’s weakness is his lack of knowledge about magic.
Sideways: Miles fails to follow Jack’s request and ends up drinking too much during the dinner at the restaurant.
Dodgeball: Gordon gets hit by a car. He is okay. Then he gets hit again.
Related:
078 – Training: Success
079 – First Encouragement
081 – The False Enemy
Mislead your readers by planting a fake bad guy.
Description:
A traitor is an enemy who looks like a friend; a false enemy is a friend who looks like an enemy. Both characters benefit from subtlety; don’t say, “Surely the disgusting Mr. Galveston was behind the fishy business going on,” only to reveal that he was a good guy after all.
The False Enemy’s true allegiance must be kept unknown to the Hero, to the audience, or to both. A good place for revealing the False Enemy as a good guy is stage167 – The Cavalry Arrives.
Examples:
Star Wars: Han Solo is a smuggler and a gambler, only interested in money. He doesn’t care about the Empire or the Rebellion. Predictability: Han is too handsome, fun, and charming to be a real enemy.
The Matrix: The misdirection comes from the one who’s supposed to tell the truth: The Oracle. She lets Neo think he’s not The One. But that’s exactly what he needed. Predictability: None. We all fell for it.
Harry Potter: Professor Snape is the False Enemy, acting as a double agent. He is actually a good guy, of course, acting out of loyalty to Dumbledore and of love for Harry’s mother, Lily. Classic.
Sideways: Here things are never as simple as in the other examples. Both Miles and Jack are the Hero, the Villain, the Mentor, and the False Enemy—all at the same time. Such human complexity is what makes this movie great (it was nominated for five Oscars).
Dodgeball: As a comedy, this example remains pretty simple in this regard: No red herrings here—just a hysterical Villain. The objective is to induce laughter, not to build a suspenseful masterpiece.
Related:
167 – The Cavalry Arrives
082 – Stakes Increase
We get another peek into what’s really at play.
Description:
The author’s job is to involve the audience more and more in the story, and this is done by raising the importance of what’s at stake. Otherwise, the adventure becomes a devalued enterprise.
Consider not only the external stakes (the ones described in the examples below) but also the inner ones: It is the Hero’slife that is truly at stake. Well, not necessarily the Hero’s actual life, but the Hero’s honor, worth, and all that the Hero loves.
Examples:
Star Wars: Luke starts with mere curiosity about the holo-message. Then he fights stormtroopers, rescues a princess, and finally saves a whole planet.
The Matrix: At first, Neo only thinks about saving himself. Then he saves Morpheus, then the Nebuchadnezzar, then Trinity, and finally he must save humanity. It took three movies to go through that arc, though.
Harry Potter: Harry started with a children’s rivalry with Malfoy, then he faced all kinds of opponents, and he ended up facing Voldemort in order to save the world.
Sideways: What started as a wine-tasting trip becomes a life-changing experience.
Dodgeball:At first, Average Joe’s faced the qualifying match, then it was the championship, and then it was the controlling stake of Globo Gym Corporation. At the end,Dodgeball is about honoring friendship.
Related:
072 – No Going Back
138 – No Way Back, No Way Forward
083 – The Random Ally
Some disinterested gesture by the Hero wins a new friend.
Description:
This is good karma in action.
We see the Hero’s kindness toward someone who doesn’t receive much of that from other people. This circumstantial friend will reappear to help the Hero.
This is a mino
r character that the Hero met by chance. This character shows up, disappears, and reappears later as The Elixir or The Cavalry—think the Dove Lady inHome Alone, 1990.
Note that this character is not the same as the one in stage144 - The Reluctant Aid.
Examples:
Star Wars: InEpisode VI – The Return of the Jedi, our heroes are friendly to the Ewoks. When everything seems lost, these furry little things push the Battle of Endor in favor of the Rebellion. They certainly know how to sling a stone.
The Matrix:Neo’s Random Ally is Spoon Boy, described in stage097 – Right Words at the Right Time (1).
Harry Potter: Harry makes lots of odd friends who come to his aid: Dobby the Elf, Buckbeak the Hippogriff, Moaning Myrtle, etc.
Sideways: (Not applicable).
Dodgeball: (Not applicable).
Related:
144 – The Reluctant Aid
084 – Snake Symbolism
The dark side is associated with a symbolic (or real) snake.
Description:
Snakes have represented evil since time immemorial—an archetypical association with the danger they embody. Myth echoes that primal fear by surrounding the figure of the Villain with this symbolism.
If it fits the genre of your story (like fantasy, for example), put at least one snake, serpent, reptile, or dragon in there. If such creatures would look out of place in your story, for example in a romantic comedy, or in a war story happening inside a submarine, then include them anyway, but make it subtle.
Instead of reptiles, some stories include skulls, spiders, ghosts, monsters, vampires, or a legendary creature, like the Golem or Bigfoot.
Examples:
Star Wars: Luke fights a Dianoga slug, a snake-like creature that lurks in the deepest sewer of the Death Star.
The Matrix: Here the snake symbolism is replaced by that of a virus, which is better adapted to computer-centered science fiction.