Writing with the Hero's Journey

What is the Hero's Journey?

I found a great article that included a discussion of how the hero's journey as formulated by Joseph Campbell and used as a pattern for Star Wars, Harry Potter, "The Book of Life," and countless other narratives, could be used as a basic pattern for powerful stories by any author.  In fact, Lucas had Campbell on hand for consultation to create "Star Wars: New Hope." The hero's journey is the basic plot line for stories used throughout the history of the world.  For a longer explanation, one can google or click on one of the links above.  

For Example: 

I'll go through the basics of this journey, using the recent Pixar movie "The Good Dinosaur" as an example.  The most recent Pixar movie didn't perhaps receive as stellar reviews as their other movies because it was A. targeted as a bildungsroman or coming of age flick to children--instead of toward an adult or universal audience--and B. not quite as rich in in dialogue as other Pixar offerings.  On the other hand, it does do a really nice job of the hero's journey, merging that pattern seamlessly with a dinosaur Western, a genre I, for one, have never seen anywhere.  

Spoiler alert, FYI.  The overarching theme is overcoming fear.  In the hero's journey, hero starts in the normal world.  In the case of The Good Dinosaur, the normal world is a land in which dinosaurs are western-style farmers, and people are wild animals. The main character in this movie is Arlo, a juvenile sauropod with an animal traveling companion who happens to be a human.  He refuses a call to adventure, to voyage outside his homeland but is forced into the underworld when his father dies in a flood.  He meets a cast of antagonists, including cattle rustling raptors and pterosaur desperados.  He also meets a seasoned traveler/guide, played by Sam Eliot--a famous actor in Westerns--a hard-bitten cowboy who imparts wisdom while training Arlo to face his fears through the tests he undergoes.  In order to reach home, Arlo faces ordeals similar to tests he failed earlier but succeeds this time, thereby overcoming what seems like certain death and emerging master of both worlds.  The movie does what one may expect of a Western hero's journey, and yet it has enough twists to surprise the audience. 

Universality

      As I said before, this basic story structure can be used in countless kinds of stories.  Clearly, the most obvious is the adventure saga.  But I used the themes and ideas as chapters for After the Dream, my first romance novel.  The entire novel did not follow the hero's journey, but part of it did.  The major pieces of the hero's journey became my guide through one of the most challenging parts of my book.  My chapter titles include: "Seasoned Traveler," "The Refusal," "Call to Adventure," "Sense of Purpose," "Road of Trials," "Underworld," "Fellow Travelers," "Tests, Allies, and Enemies," "The Ordeal," and "Mission Fulfilled."  Basically, this formula and its themes can be used in any context, in any genre.  

The hero's journey has been proven in everything from mythology to folklore to Hollywood.  It can give a sense of meaning and purpose to just about anything you want to write.  If something you're working on isn't clicking, incorporate some aspects of the hero's journey, and see if it can work for you.