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Nanowrimo Day 24: The Hero’s Journey

  1. Opening scene–ground your reader in the hero’s world.
  2. Thesis Statement—Hints at the transformation that will need to take place.
  3. Set up the hero’s flaw and the stakes for your story.
  4. Inciting Incident. This is also known as the catalyst or point of no return.
  5. Your hero rejects the call.
  6. Act two begins when your hero accepts the call and sets new goals to pursue.
  7. Your hero meets people along the way that show him what he or she needs to learn in order to fulfill their quest and grow as a person. They will also warn him of coming dangers.
  8. Your hero pursues his or her goal while exploring the world they are in. The hero has many fun adventures and battles scary monsters. He or she faces many challenges and wins.
  9. Arrives at a destination that turns out to not be their final distention. Think Frodo and Rivendell.
  10. Plot twist–all of the fun and games comes to an end as the hero learns something or encounters a new challenge, and the stakes are raised. You can also say that a secret or new knowledge is revealed that changes the nature of the quest. Think Elrond and the meeting that sets up the fellowship of the ring and their new quest.
  11. The antagonist or antagonistic forces are winning and have your hero on the run.
  12. Something happens to devastate your hero and shake their courage and resolve. Often this is a significant defeat at the hands of the antagonist.
  13. Dark Night of the Soul–your hero must assess what led to their failure and not give in to defeat. Think of the fellowship when they lose Gandalf.
  14. Epiphany Moment–when your hero realizes the lesson, they were meant to learn all along. This knowledge will help them when they face the antagonist again.
  15. Climax—the hero and the antagonist meet one last time. The knowledge gained in the epiphany moment is put into practice to defeat the antagonist. The uruk-hai attack them, Boromir dies, and the fellowship is broken.
  16. Resolution–often this mirrors the opening scene. Here the hero must act out the lessons they have learned. Frodo must bear the ring alone.
Heather Carrington
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