Profile of a Hero

Yesterday, I was talking with some coworkers about books, and I’m preeeeetty sure I sucked up their entire lunch breaks with my chatter. We talked about all manner of literary bric-a-brac before settling on protagonists, and particularly heroes. One of them said she liked total Boy Scout heroes, while the other admitted to liking the bad boy heroes more. Then they both looked at me and asked about my favorite kind of hero, and I completely froze. After squeaking out the first name that popped in my head (Jesus, actually *face palm*) and then all of us collapsing on the check-out counter laughing, I realized I didn’t have a ready-made answer. What kind of hero do I like???

The thing I had planned to write for today got derailed, so this seemed like as good a topic as any! And this also seems like a pretty “clean slate” time to think about it too, since I’ve only read… two?… *sobs* fiction books for fun this year. So let’s take a quick look at five broad hero archetypes to refresh my desperately deprived lit brain and then we’ll make some choices!

(Note: maybe your freshman English teacher had a different number than five. Maybe six. Or eight! Or whatever. But if you think I’ve missed an important classification, give me a shout out in the comments! I’d love to hear more categories!)

The Everyman Hero Everyone from Bilbo Baggins to Homer Simpson (sort of?). This is just some rando guy who, for whatever reason, is out doing adventuresome things. No superpowers, nothing special. Just a normal person that the reader can feel kinship with as they head off into the unknown.

The Classical Hero Here we’ve got our Percy Jacksons and Luke Skywalkers, people who seem normal on the surface and who think of themselves as regular folks, but who are more than they seem upon closer inspection, able to weild previously unknown powers with just a bit of training. You’re a wizard, Harry!

The Epic Hero These people always knew they were playing with a stacked deck. These are folks like Wonder Woman, Gilgamesh, and Superman. Whether they’re superheroes, children of gods, or space aliens (or maybe all three!), these guys have been destined for greatness from birth.

The Tragic Hero Oh, Romeo, you could have just paused to think for five minutes. These are the heroes who almost had it all, but due to a fatal flaw or even just a trick of fate, they lose everything in the end. Whether it’s Oedipus or Ned Stark or Severus Snape, these noble(ish) characters all suffered a tragic hero’s fate in the end.

The Anti-Hero The Punisher seriously needs to talk to a therapist. These are the ends-before-the-means folks, the looking-out-for-number-one-ers, the people who can’t work within the law and don’t care much about collateral damage so long as they come out on top. The roguish Han Solos and the psychotic Deadpools and the incorrigible conman Phoney Bones. They’re not really villain villains, but they maybe kind of look like them.

Some heroes also pull double duty! Is Jay Gatsby with his criminal history and his single-minded dedication to stealing another person’s spouse a tragic hero or an anti-hero? (I despise him either way. Fight me.) And some heroes can be a little tricky to pin down. Would someone like Bruce Wayne or Tony Stark be a classical hero, who starts off as a normal dude but becomes great through hard work and choices, or are they more like epic heroes? Because, let’s face it, being born super wealthy is kind of like being born with superpowers. It can be fun to think of favorite characters and try to figure out what kind of hero they are.

Upon deeper reflection, the first fictional hero that popped in my mind as a potential favorite character is Aragorn from The Lord of the Rings. I’m sure someone already has, but I haven’t decided if I’d classify him more as a classical hero or an epic hero. I can see traits of both in him. But either way, he’s fabulous and I love him. I like a hero who stands up for people and fights for what’s right. I like a hero who is selfless and kind, someone who puts the wellbeing of others first without being a doormat himself. And if he also recites poetry, isn’t afraid to cry and hug his bros, and is good with a bow, then hot dang, we have a winner. Positive masculinity for the win!

Who’s your favorite fictional character? Do you have a particular category that you gravitate toward? Let me know in the comments below! And until next week, happy writing!

Reblog: 7 Narrative Structures

Greetings from the Nanosphere! I am desperately behind, but slowly closing up that gap. I’m not quite as panicky as I was feeling last week, haha. Things might be okay? We’ll see. In fact, I was so wrapped up in writing tonight that I just barely remember that I haven’t posted for the week yet! Whoops!

You’ll remember a few months ago that I wrote about the Hero’s Journey and mentioned that there were plenty of other story structures floating about. And then a couple weeks ago, I reblogged Steve Seager’s Beyond the Hero’s Journey, which highlighted four of those other structures.

Well, this week we have even more! With a hop, skip, and a jump over to the Reedsy blog, you can read up on seven narrative structures and how to use them. And that’ll give me a little more time to finish up my own narrative structure! One week to go!

PS- To all my fellow Americans, happy Thanksgiving this week! Be safe!

Story Structure: 7 Narrative Structures All Writers Should Know

Nothing makes the challenging task of writing a novel feel more attainable than adopting a story structure to help you plot your narrative.

While using a pre-existing blueprint might make you worry about ending up with a formulaic, predictable story, you can probably analyze most of your favorite books using various narrative structures that writers have been using for decades (if not centuries)!

This post will reveal seven distinct story structures that any writer can use to build a compelling narrative. But first…

What is narrative structure?

Narrative structure (also known as story structure) is the order in which elements of a narrative are presented to the reader or audience. It is composed of two things:

• Plot — the chain of events that occur in the book; and
• Story elements — the underlying factors that drive the narrative action: protagonists, conflicts, setting, etc.

By weaving together a plot and its driving forces, a storyteller can draw connections between ‘things that happen’ and ‘things that matter.’ A tale about two vastly different people falling in love can also be about the value of compromise. An account of two brothers who rob a bank can become an examination of greed, loyalty, or the failure of the American Dream.

Good narrative structure is about presenting the plot and story elements to allow readers to understand what is happening and what it all means. It unravels the plot in a way that doesn’t accidentally confuse the reader while also pushing along the characters’ development and the central conflicts. Structure helps the storyteller deliver a satisfying narrative experience — whether it’s meant to be happy, hilarious, or tragic.

Writers can turn to story theory and narrative structure whenever their story just isn’t working; when they feel that their writing is awkward, aimless, or — worst of all — boring. Writing is an art, but if there’s one part of the craft that’s closer to science, this would be it. Become a master of story structure, and you will have the world at your feet.

Ready to read the rest? Go check it out! And until next week, happy writing!

Reblog: Beyond the Hero’s Journey

Hey, friends! It’s November, and that means reblogs! You’ll remember I wrote about the Hero’s Journey a few weeks ago and mentioned that it was by no means the only story structure out there. Well the fantastic Steve Seager has you covered! Check out his blog to read the full article! Happy writing!

Beyond the Hero’s Journey: Four innovative models for digital story design

by Steve Seager on April 8, 2015

Hero’s Journey image above excerpted from Action Philosophers! © Ryan Dunlavey and Fred Van Lente.

All storytelling has inherent structures. But for the most part, communicators and creators employ just one.  It really is time to move beyond the Hero’s Journey. Here are four alternative models to get you in the mood.

Roland Barthes, master linguist and semiotician once said: “There are countless forms of narrative in the world.” And yet the majority of western storytellers have been ploughing just one narrative model for over 60 years: Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey from the Hero with a Thousand Faces.

While it has its value, Campbell’s model is, I would argue, no longer a useful model for narrative design on a structural level. Down below, I offer four alternative narrative structures that we could use to design intelligent stories more fitting to our contemporary context. But why the big deal about structure?

Ready for the full meal deal? Hop on over to steveseager.com for the whole article!

Thoughts on the Hero’s Journey

What do Moby Dick, The Lord of the Rings, and Star Wars have in common? You already know, don’t you? And that’s because the hero’s journey—also known more awesomely as the monomyth—is everywhere. Jane Eyre? Hero’s journey. The Lion King? Hero’s journey. Lanani of the Distant Sea (which is less famous but still gorgeous so I’m throwing it in)? Hero’s journey! I’m telling you. E. V. E. R. Y. W. H. E. R. E.

This is the plot archetype, and once you start looking for it, it crops up all over the place, no matter the genre, the setting, or the format of the story. And that is because it works.

Now this isn’t to say that the monomyth isn’t without its critics (and rightly so). And I’m also not claiming that this is the only plot archetype out there that works (‘cause it’s not). And it also can’t be said that all hero’s journey stories contain every single one of the described seventeen stages of the monomyth, or that they necessarily follow this order. But for today’s thoughts, I’m going to focus on the hero’s journey as popularized by Joseph Campbell, and how it can help you in your plotting endeavors. (November’s coming up faaast!)

So without further ado, here’s the quick and dirty seventeen plot points of the hero’s journey (divided into a three act structure, no less)!

Departure

The Call to Adventure– A normal hero living in the normal world receives a call to head off into the unknown.

Refusal of the Call– The hero at first refuses to follow the call, usually out of a sense of duty or fear. They would rather stay right here in normaland, thank you very much.

Supernatural Aid– The hero eventually commits to the adventure and a mentor and magical guide shows up to help, usually with a gift that will help the hero on their journey.

The Crossing of the First Threshold– The hero leaves the borders of the known world and strikes out into unfamiliar territory.

Belly of the Whale– Something goes wrong and the hero experiences their first hiccup along the way. Through this experience, they begin to change, often first showing their true inner self.

Initiation

The Road of Trials– The hero undergoes a series of tests that furthers their transformation. These trials usually group in threes.

The Meeting with the Goddess– Some supernaturalish being finds the hero worthy of their task and grants them a gift (new information, new skills, new weapons, etc).

Woman as the Temptress– The hero is tempted to leave their quest. Despite this plot point’s awful name, the temptation is not necessarily a woman.

Atonement with the Father/Abyss– The hero encounters whatever holder of ultimate power operates in the hero’s personal life. (Again, does not have to be a literal dad.) This ego-smashing encounter sets the course for the remainder of the story.

Apotheosis– Armed with new knowledge and perception, the hero proceeds to the most difficult part of his journey.     

The Ultimate Boon– Having been properly trained/purified/whatever, the hero achieves their goal and receives what they were seeking all along.

Return

Refusal of the Return– Again, the hero may hesitate to return, having achieved such awesomeness in the new world (or being so exhausted from their ordeal that the return is just too much).

The Magic Flight– The hero leaves the scene of the climax, usually quickly.

Rescue from Without– If they’ve been wounded/drained/etc, they may need help getting back. This is often when the mentor reappears.

The Crossing of the Return Threshold– The hero must learn to manage all the wisdom/power/whatever they’ve gained on their journey and how to use it in everyday life/share it with their normal neighbors.

Master of the Two Worlds– The hero shows they can now be competent in both the normal world and the adventure world.

Freedom to Live– The hero is no longer afraid to truly live. They are unchained from their past and can live in peace.

Whew! That’s a lot of moving parts. So now that we know the parts, let’s chat about the dangers of relying on the hero’s journey formula too heavily in your own plotting plans.

Look at the points above. Suuuper generic, right? When using the hero’s journey as a template for your own work, make sure that your story isn’t generic, too. The world doesn’t need more clichéd rehashings of the same stories again and again. Make sure that your world and your characters are a new take on this very old structure.

Another thing to be careful of is using the list above as a checklist. Formulaic writing is boring writing. Don’t feel like every one of these elements must be included (and all others excluded) just because Campbell said so back in the eighties. In addition to making your world and characters unique, the structure itself should be in some way unique as well.

The hero’s journey can be great at helping you decide what your story idea may be missing, or helping you come up with an interesting storyline to go with your amazing characters you’ve been daydreaming of, but it isn’t always the best structure for every story. If you find your story has some element that doesn’t fit into the grand monomyth, ditch the myth and don’t look back.

What do you think about the hero’s journey structure, fair readers? Good, bad, ugly? It’s awesome because it makes for tight, fast-paced stories? It’s terrible because it ignores traditional story structures originating anywhere but Europe? Let me know your thoughts on it in the comments below!

And until next week, happy writing!

PS- Thank you for your patience these last couple weeks as I get my stuff in order and my head on straight. Bisous!