The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Storytellers and Screenwriters

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

A bit of a review and some exercises based on

The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Storytellers and Screenwriters by Christopher Vogler

ISBN 0-941188-13-2

Enjoy!

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Writer's Journey (part one)

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

original posting: Thu, 10 Sep 1998 23:42:20 -0400

[a peregrination? What if the pair only smile, or even frown? And is a nation composed of two sets of ivory choppers -- floating a la Cheshire cat or not -- a body politic or impolitic?]

The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Storytellers and Screenwriters by Christopher Vogler ISBN 0-941188-13-2

(P. vii) "What is a myth? For our purposes, a myth is not the untruth or fanciful exaggeration of popular expression. A myth... is a metaphor for a mystery beyond human comprehension. It is a comparison that helps us understand, by analogy,some aspect of our mysterious selves. A myth, in this way of thinking, is not an untruth but a way of reaching profound truth."

(P. 3) "I invite you to join me on a Writer's Journey, a mission of discovery to explore and map the elusive borderlands between myth and modern storytelling. We will be guided by a simple idea: all stories consist of a few common structural elements found universally in myths, fairy tales, dreams, and movies..."

[Woofie and the Search for the Golden Fleas? You think there's an epic tale from down under lurking in that scratching? Well, okay, I'll admit, there's a certain element of fantasy in Upper Swan, but will it travel?]

Book One -- Mapping the Journey. The 12 steps of the journey, and the seven archetypes.
Book Two -- The Stages of the Journey.

(P. 17) "I'm retelling the hero myth in my own way, and you should feel free to do the same. Every storyteller bends the mythic pattern to his own purpose or the needs of her culture."

(P. 16) The Writers Journey
Act One
Ordinary World
Call to Adventure
Refusal of the Call
Meeting with the Mentor
Crossing the First Threshold
Act Two
Tests, Allies, Enemies
Approach to the Inmost Cave
Supreme Ordeal
Reward
Act Three
The Road Back
Resurrection
Return with Elixir

(P. 17) "... In any good story the hero grows and changes, making a journey from one way of being to the next... It's these emotional journeys that hook an audience and make a story worth watching."

[Would you mind putting a little bit more detail on those stepping stones? Are they slate or granite or crumbling cement?]

(P. 19) 1. The Ordinary World

"Most stories take the hero out of the ordinary, mundane world and into a Special World, new and alien..."

"If you're going to show a fish out of his customary element, you first have to show him in that Ordinary World to create a vivid contrast with the strange new world he is about to enter."

2. The Call to Adventure

"The hero is presented with a problem, challenge, or adventure to undertake. Once presented with a Call to Adventure, she can no longer remain indefinitely in the comfort of the ordinary world."

3. Refusal of the Call (The Reluctant Hero)

"This one is about fear. Often at this point the hero balks at the threshold of adventure, Refusing the Call or expressing reluctance. After all, she is facing the greatest of all fears, terror of the unknown."

4. Mentor (The Wise Old Man Or Woman)

"The function of mentors is to prepare the hero to face the unknown..."

5. Crossing the First Threshold

"Now the hero finally commits to the adventure... He agrees to face the consequences of dealing with the problem or challenge posed in the call to adventure..."

(P. 23) 6. Tests, Allies, and Enemies

"Once across the first threshold, the hero naturally encounters new challenges and Tests, makes Allies and Enemies, and begins to learn the rules of the Special World."

7. Approach to the Inmost Cave

"... when the hero enters that fearful place, he will cross the second major threshold. Heroes often pause at the gate to prepare, plan, and outwit the villain's guards. This is the phase of Approach."

8. The Supreme Ordeal

"Here the fortunes of the hero hit bottom in a direct confrontation with his greatest fear. He faces the possibility of death and is brought to the brink in a battle with a hostile force."

(P. 26) "this is a critical moment in any story, an ordeal in which the hero must die or appear to die so that she can be born again..."

[continued]

Writer's Journey (Part Two)

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

Original posting: Mon, 26 Oct 1998 08:02:00 -0500

[what? talking about the craft underlying the mythos? can't we just hunker down around a fire, gaze deep into the embers, and let ourselves -- quite bemused -- a tale tell for the ages? Oh, I see, you think that tinder and a well laid fire is more likely to make good use of the sparks of inspiration... well, get on with it then:-]

based on The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Storytellers and Screenwriters by Christopher Vogler ISBN 0-941188-13-2

Having looked quickly at the "general plot" of the hero's journey, Vogler now looks at seven archetypes -- the characters that are met along the path of the hero's journey.

(P. 33) "... in describing these common character types, symbols, and relationships the Swiss psychologist Carl G. Jung employed the term archetypes, meaning ancient patterns of personality that are the shared heritage of the human race."

"The concept of archetypes is an indispensable tool for understanding the purpose or function of characters in a story. If you grasp the function of the archetype which a particular character is expressing, it can help you determining if the character is pulling her full weight in the story. The archetypes are part of the universal language of storytelling, and a command of their energy is as essential to the writer as breathing."

(P. 34) "Looking at the archetypes in this way, as flexible character functions rather than as rigid character types, can liberate your storytelling. It explains how a character in a story can manifest the qualities of more than one archetype. The archetypes can be thought of as masks, worn by the characters temporarily as they are needed to advance the story...."

(P. 36) The most common and useful archetypes:
Hero
Mentor (Wise Old Man or Woman)
Threshold Guardian
Herald
Shapeshifter
Shadow
Trickster

There are many other archetypes, many other human qualities that are dramatized in stories.

Vogler next has sections about each of the archetypes. For this exercise, we will briefly review what he says about the hero... and save the others for later.

(P. 39) "A Hero is someone who is willing to sacrifice his own needs on behalf of others, like a shepherd who will sacrifice to protect and serve his flock. At the root the idea of Hero is connected with self-sacrifice."

Psychological Function

"In psychological terms, the archetype of the hero represents what Freud called the ego -- that part of the personality that separates from the mother; that considers itself distinct from the rest of the human race. Ultimately, a Hero is one who is able to transcend the bounds and illusions of the ego, but at first, Heroes are all ego; the I, the one, that personal identity which thinks it is separate from the rest of the group. The journey of many Heroes is the story of that separation from the family or tribe, equivalent to a child's sense of separation from the mother."

"The Hero archetype represents the ego's search for identity and wholeness...."

[to be continued]