From TED-ED: What makes a hero?

From Holly Bell over at The Black Board, this nifty overview of The Hero’s Journey. If you’re a parent or teacher, this is a good visual resource to introduce young people to the idea of the Monomyth.

I do have an issue with the video: The narrator’s use of the word “template”. Indeed the idea of 1 o’clock, 2 o’clock, reinforces a notion I do not think Joseph Campbell, the originator of The Hero’s Journey, would have been comfortable with.

These are not stages. The Hero’s Journey is not a set pattern of eleven beats. Rather these are recurring narrative elements we find in stories. Writers who think of this as a template, especially in trying to adapt it for screenplays, run several risks most notably the following.

The Hero’s Journey is a metaphor for Life and Life Experiences. The latter are organic and spontaneous, often surprising and transcending logic. Stories should have that feel as well. Hewing too closely to any structural template — filling in boxes, a paint-by-numbers approach — can result in precisely the opposite. Instead of a vibrant story that feels fresh and alive, we end up with a formulaic narrative that comes across as stale and lifeless.

Again The Hero’s Journey is not a template, it is a metaphor. Don’t worship the specific iteration of these eleven dynamics, rather embrace the underlying spirit of the Monomyth.

Separation. Initiation. Return. Tests. Metamorphosis.

In my view, those are the big takeaways from The Hero’s Journey. Be cognizant of those dynamics as you write stories and you’re tapping into its soul while allowing the narrative room to evolve, breathe and emerge into being in an organic way.

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