THE HERO’S JOURNEY - STORY STRUCTURE

1. Heroes are introduced in the ORDINARY WORLD, where

Life is normal, the character is normal

2. they receive the CALL TO ADVENTURE.

Someone or something makes them leave.

3. They are RELUCTANT at first or REFUSE THE CALL, but

Firstly, they do not want to leave.

4. are encouraged by a MENTOR to

The Mentor person pushes them to

5. CROSS THE FIRST THRESHOLD and enter the Special World, where

They leave their normal life for something new

6. they encounter TESTS, ALLIES AND ENEMIES.

In the new world they meet friends, challenges and enemies

7. They APPROACH THE INNERMOST CAVE, crossing a second threshold

They face a big issue

8. where they endure the SUPREME ORDEAL.

They face the biggest challenge of the story

9. They take possession of their REWARD and

They receive a reward

10. are pursued on THE ROAD BACK to the Ordinary World.

They venture back to the normal world

11. They cross the third threshold, experience a RESURRECTION, and are transformed by the experience.

They are different than when they left

12. They RETURN WITH THE ELIXER, a boon or treasure to benefit the Ordinary World. The change they have faced helps their normal world.

The Hero’s Journey is a skeletal framework that should be fleshed out with the details and surprises of the individual story. THE STRUCTURE SHOULD NOT DRAW ATTENTION TO ITSELF, nor should it be followed

too precisely. The order of the stages given here is only one of many possible variations. The stages can be deleted, added to, and drastically

shuffled without losing any of their power.