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The Hero’s Journey: A 17 Step Story Structure Beat Sheet

The Hero’s Journey is a classic plot structure made up of 17 steps. Learn how to craft an epic story using the Hero’s Journey story beats.

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The Hero’s Journey is a story structure that tells how a hero starts in one place, goes on an adventure into an unknown world, and then returns to what they started with.

This blog post will explain the 17 steps of the Hero’s Journey and share how you can use this common plot structure to write your own story or novel.

What is the Hero’s Journey?

Joseph Campbell first introduced the Hero’s Journey in 1949. It is based on the idea that we can break down most stories into one basic story structure.

The plot structure of the Hero’s Journey is made up of 17 steps, all of which can be excellent guideposts for you when plotting your novel and planning your chapters.

To simplify the 17 steps of the Hero’s Journey, there are 3 main acts of the story: The Departure, The Initiation, and The Return.

Here’s an overview of all of the 17 steps of Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey:

Act One: The Departure

The Call to Adventure

Refusal of the call, supernatural aid.

• The Crossing of the First Threshold

Belly of the Whale

Act 2: The Initiation :

The Road of Trials

The meeting with the goddess, woman as the temptress, atonement with the father/abyss, the ultimate boon.

Act 3: The Return:

Refusal of the Return

The magic flight, rescue from without, the crossing of the return threshold, master of the two worlds, freedom to live.

In this post, we will cover each step of the Hero’s Journey and what it includes. If you are writing a novel , think of this as the ultimate beat sheet to help you plan and plot your novel !

To understand the 17 steps of the hero’s journey, we will share with you exactly what happens in each step and what it should include. We’ve divided the 17 steps into the three main acts: The Departure, The Initiation, and the Return.

Let’s dive on in, shall we?

The Departure

The Departure (Act 1) of the Hero’s Journey is all about your novel’s main characters and their ordinary lives. You want to show how they live before something happens that throws them into a world outside of what was normal for them.

In a nutshell, The Departure is when we see our heroes start in their current environment and set out on an adventure where they leave their comfort zone.

There are 5 steps of the Departure, each of which can help you base your chapters for your novel. Let’s look at these 5 steps in detail.

In the first 1 or 2 chapters of our book, our character is introduced and is given the call to adventure. Of course, the call to adventure is what sets our character on their journey. There is a moment when our hero realizes something isn’t right, and it’s time for them to become the hero of their own story.

The Call to Adventure should introduce your main characters and what part of life they are living before things start changing for them. You want this to be a scene that you can use to give your reader an idea of who they are and what their life is like.

The call to adventure is sometimes also called the inciting incident because it often comes from another character or situation in which our hero feels compelled to do something. This could come in the form of a problem or something that they’ve always wanted to accomplish.

Once we understand the character’s life and why they must go on their journey, we move onto the next crucial element: Refusal of the Call.

The Refusal of the Call sounds like it’s a bad thing, but in reality, it can help the hero grow and become more self-sufficient. In this step of the Departure, we see that our character isn’t sure if they are ready for such an adventure.

The refusal of the call is often used as a way for your reader to get more insight into some of your character’s weaknesses. It can also open up the character to seeing what they are missing in their life and get them a little more excited about going after it.

When writing your story, you will show your readers why your hero is reluctant to go on the journey. Why don’t they want to change? What are their fears? This step helps build your character arc, as well as builds some suspense in the story.

You also want to make sure in this step that the refusal of the call is resolved in some way. This can be through another character encouraging your hero or by realizing what they are missing out on if they don’t go on the journey.

Either way, you need to ensure this scene or chapter ends with the hero deciding to accept the challenge.

After your main character decides whether or not they want to go on this journey, we move onto Supernatural Aid.

Supernatural aid is the hero’s first experience with a mentor or teacher. While we use the term supernatural here, it does not necessarily have to be some mystical being.

It could be a random stranger giving our hero advice or someone who has been to this magical place before and knows the path. The important thing is this character is someone who will help your protagonist in their journey.

Supernatural aid helps your audience understand there will be obstacles along the way. The hero will need help. You will need a strong supporting character willing to give our main character advice on how they should proceed through their journey.

In this scene, you want to show us why you chose these characters for mentors. What qualities do they possess? Do they have experience with adventures like this? Why can they help the hero, and more importantly, why do they want to help the hero?

Once this person is introduced, we are ready for the next stage of the Hero’s Journey: Crossing the First Threshold.

Crossing the First Threshold

Crossing the first threshold is where your hero commits to going on the journey. They may have made some attempts at it before, but now they are fully committed and ready to go, even if that means leaving their comfort zone behind.

Your character will be doing something different than what they’ve done in the past, or perhaps this act will lead them into a dark and dangerous place.

For example, your hero may leave their home for the first time to go on this journey, or they are finally ready to go and confront someone who has been standing in their way of happiness.

In this 4th step of the Hero’s Journey, you want to show your reader why this is such a big change for the character.

You want to show your character scared and uncertain of what lies ahead for them while still being brave enough to continue on their journey! You don’t need to make this scene too long or spend time explaining every little detail; just put us in the headspace of your hero so we can understand what unknown dangers and fears are ahead.

Once our hero takes their first steps towards danger, we find ourselves in the Belly of the Whale.

The Belly of the Whale is the last step before the hero breaks away from their normal existence and sense of self. When someone enters this stage, they are showing that they want to change.

A typical element of the Belly of the Whale Scene is displaying a small problem or threat. These problems aren’t the major conflict of the story, but it is enough of an obstacle that we see the hero absolutely cannot go back to where they used to be and must change.

In this scene, it’s common to show a “dark night of the soul.” This is where they feel like everything in their life has been turned upside down, and things seem hopeless. Yet, they must commit to making a change and continuing on their journey in this final step of the Departure stage.

Now that we’ve covered all the steps of the Departure state let’s move onto Act 2: The Initiation.

The Initiation

The second act of our story, the Initiation, is the part where things get interesting. The character is now deeper into their journey and facing new challenges that they must overcome.

Not only are we focusing on our hero’s personal development, but our protagonist’s character traits start to change. They will be showing how they’ve become different from who they were in Act One and developing the traits needed for a successful journey.

The first scene or chapter of the Initiation stage of the Hero’s Journey is The Road of Trials. The Road of Trials is where the protagonist faces a series of tests that your hero must pass to move onto the next stage.

These trials will continue until our hero has shown they are ready for whatever is waiting ahead on their journey and have discovered what lessons they needed to learn along the way.

Usually, there is a series of 3 tests, and your hero will not ace all of them immediately. Sometimes, we will revisit the person introduced as a mentor or guiding force from Act One in these scenes, as the hero will certainly need some support in going through these trials.

In this scene, you want to make sure your reader sees how the hero experiences growth and changes. You want your reader to appreciate how far our hero has come along their journey, but there are still more experiences ahead for them!

The next step of the Initiation stage is The Meeting with the Goddess/Saviour. This is where we are introduced to someone who will give our protagonist a sense of love, peace, safety, and unity.

This character is essential because they offer our protagonist something he didn’t have before and will be the support that helps them through whatever journey lies ahead. Sometimes they appear as a love interest, but not always.

The Goddess figure is often human but could also be an animal or nature spirit. They are someone who will help your hero become whole again. They are an equal opposite of your hero.

In this scene, we want our hero to feel everything is going to be okay now. They will learn that they don’t need to face their problems alone; someone here with them understands what they are going through.

Of course, this doesn’t last forever as we move into the next chapter: Woman as the Temptress.

In this next step, the hero faces physical temptations that might cause them to be distracted from their quest. Again, it’s important to understand this does not mean you need to introduce a female character in this scene – the woman is only a metaphorical symbol.

Many things can tempt our heroes to stray from their path. It might be money, power, or fame. It could even be something as simple as food and drink. But, of course, these temptations are not meant actually to distract the protagonist from their path. Our hero must resist them to gain a greater reward at the end of this stage.

Throughout this scene, they may face several such temptations until our hero learns how to resist them and stay focused on what they really want.

The word Atonement means “reparations for a wrong or injury,” and the Father is a symbol for an authority figure in the hero’s life. Finally, the Abyss represents death or darkness.

In this scene, the hero must confront whatever it is that holds the most power over them. This could be another character or it could even be internal conflict where the hero must come face-to-face with the dark side of their personality and be willing to embrace it.

The goal of this step in the Hero’s Journey is to make your protagonist question their entire being. Only when they confront the most powerful obstacle in their path and reconcile with it can they move forward on their journey.

As with most characters, the father does not have to be an actual father or even a male figure. The important thing is this figure is a person of power and authority over the hero.

There are many ways the hero can reconcile with the father figure – they can defeat this person, win this person’s approval, or reconcile with a part of themselves that is related to the father.

This step is important because it forces your protagonist to face their biggest fears and insecurities. It gives them the opportunity and confidence boost to overcome these obstacles once and for all.

Apotheosis is another word for “the highest point of a person’s spiritual, moral or intellectual development.” It is when the protagonist transcends their humanity and becomes something more than they were before.

In this step of The Hero’s Journey, your protagonist will undergo an important change that brings them closer to being the ideal self they set out to be at the beginning.

In this stage of the Hero’s Journey, our hero learns something new about themselves that prepares them for the hardest part of their journey. This revelation gives them the necessary knowledge to complete their quest.

This step is often referred to as “the answer.” The protagonist will usually gain this new insight from a character who embodies wisdom or spiritual power, such as their mentor figure.

Now that our character has finally grown to where they need to be to accomplish their quest, they are ready for The Ultimate Boon’s next step.

The ultimate boon is the fulfillment of the purpose of the journey. This is when the hero finally achieves what they set out to accomplish.

All of the previous steps of the journey worked to this point to help the hero finally reach their goal.

In mythology, the “boon” is often something otherworldly. It could be the fountain of youth, an ancient scroll with sacred information, or a magical potion.

There are many ways to play out this step of The Hero’s Journey, so your character’s end goal will determine what the boon is.

This step of The Hero’s Journey often includes a battle with something that opposes your protagonist, such as an enemy or villain.

Our heroes might have to face their own dark side to achieve this final prize and complete their journey successfully. This could cause them to question whether or not they even want what the boon is.

When your protagonist achieves this final goal, it marks a major change in their life. Now we are ready to proceed to Act 3: The Return.

Act 3: The Return

Act Three of the Hero’s Journey often moves faster than the other acts of our story. In The Return, we see how the protagonist’s newfound knowledge and achievement of their goal affect their life and world.

This step of The Hero’s Journey is crucial because it gives us a glimpse as to what our character has learned from this journey, which is the ultimate test of whether they have truly successfully achieved their quest or not.

Let’s dive into the remaining scenes of our story.

The Refusal of the Return is when our protagonist does not want to return home after achieving their goal. They may be too frightened of what awaits them, or they may not want to give up the new life and world they have found themselves in.

Just as they were hesitant to go on the adventure in the beginning, they are also hesitant to go back.

They may be concerned with how their “boon” might affect the world – such as a magic potion or secret power that could get into the wrong hands. They may worry about what consequences they may face when they go back, or they may be afraid nothing is left for them to return to.

In some cases, our hero doesn’t want to leave because they have become comfortable with their new world and who they have become.

However, to truly finish the quest, our hero must return home. This refusal of return helps build up the tension to the final resolution of the story. This is when the reader questions whether the hero will return home – and wonders with great anticipation of what might happen when it happens.

The Magic Flight is the final conflict to the story where our protagonist must escape danger, sometimes using their newfound knowledge or boon. This is a way of symbolically proving that they have truly learned from this journey and are ready to bring it back home with them.

This part of The Hero’s Journey often involves a chase scene or battle against an opposing force. However, this is the final push necessary push they need to realize they must make the journey home because it becomes apparent they cannot stay where they are.

The Rescue From Without step of the Hero’s Journey is when the protagonist is rescued from danger by an outside source.

This outside source may be an ordinary person, or it might resemble deus ex machina, or god-like intervention, where something rescues our hero from an impossible situation, such as lightning striking that saves the day for our hero.

When you are writing the rescue scene, the circumstances of the rescue must be believable. Most people do not like the deus ex machina in writing simply because it’s too easy.

Those of us who have lived life long enough all know that a magic fairy godmother isn’t going to swoop us in, wave her wand and make all our problems disappear.

After being rescued, the hero truly has no other choice except to return home.

The Crossing of the Return Threshold is when our protagonist finally returns home after completing their adventure and achieving their goal.

This is the part of The Hero’s Journey where we see what they have learned from this journey and how it affects them.

In this story scene, you will want to answer the following questions: How has the hero changed from their journey? How is their old world different from when they left? How do they acclimate to being back home? Finally, how do others react to their return?

This is the part of The Hero’s Journey where our protagonist has reached their full potential. They have overcome their fears and grown in ways they could never have imagined.

They are a new person and have been forever changed by what they’ve experienced. Yet, it allows them to go back into society with heightened wisdom, power, skills, or resources that will help others in need when called upon again.

In this scene, we see the hero apply their knowledge and share it with the world.

After our hero has conquered all of their fears and has put their wisdom to good use, the hero finally has the freedom to do anything they want.

This is the resolution of our story – we see our heroes accomplish their “happily ever after.” Their fears or concerns no longer control them, and nothing exists between them and what they want.

More often than not, this closing chapter of the story gives the reader some closure. We want some type of affirmation that the story is truly complete. We get a glimpse of what our protagonist will do with their life now that they are free to live it.

If you’re looking for a story structure that is proven and effective, the Hero’s Journey might be perfect for you. With 17 stages of development, it will help you create an engaging plot with your readers and develop strong characters .

And of course, while the Hero’s Journey is the classic beat sheet for writers, remember you don’t always have to dedicate one chapter to each step. Sometimes you can combine 2-3 steps in one scene, while other steps might take several chapters to cover.

The important thing is you now know the Hero’s Journey! We hope this is helpful for you – whether you are writing your own novel or studying the Hero’s Journey arc in literature. Most of all, we hope that by breaking down each step of the Hero’s Journey, you can better understand all of it.

Do you have any thoughts or questions on the Hero’s Journey? We’d love to hear from you in the comments section below!

Chelle Stein wrote her first embarrassingly bad novel at the age of 14 and hasn't stopped writing since. As the founder of ThinkWritten, she enjoys encouraging writers and creatives of all types.

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So if you’re writing an epic fantasy that will be a series, are these 17 steps strung out across the entire series, or redone in each book?

Thank you for such a helpful article. This has helped me fill in a glaring hole in my novel outline and shown me what was missing. I’m really grateful for this advice.

Glad it was helpful for you Laura!

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The Hero's Journey: Life's Great Adventure

Harris Communications: Home of the Hero's Journey Since 1997

Campbell’s “Other” Monomyth

ON COPYING : You are welcome to quote or link to my articles, but please do not copy or repost them. If you would like a PDF copy to use for your classroom or work, contact me .

Campbell’s Little-Known Six-Stage Model

By reg harris.

Ironically, when most of us think of the Hero’s Journey, we think not of Joseph Campbell’s iconic monomyth, but of Christopher Vogler’s adaptation of the monomyth . Vogler used Campbell’s four-stage diagram (right) to create “The Writer’s Journey,” a 12-stage model he developed specifically for evaluating screenplays and writing fiction. Vogler’s model has become so famous that it is often (erroneously) presented as Campbell’s model rather than an adaptation of Campbell’s model.

The “preferred” or most thorough explanation of the monomyth is in “The Adventure of the Hero,” Part 1 of The Hero with a Thousand Faces ( Hero ). Campbell devotes 194 pages to describing and illustrating the 17 elements in his model (below right). This explanation is dense, filled mostly with examples from legend and myth, but surprisingly little explanation of the characteristics or psychological tasks of each stage. Apart from Vogler’s adaptation, this 17-“stage” model is the most referenced analysis of the monomyth. However, it is not Campbell’s only model.

Campbell includes two other journey descriptions in Chapter 4 of Hero , “The Keys” (pp. 245-246). The first is the above-mentioned four-stage cycle Vogler used for his model (p. 245). The other description is a virtually ignored six-stage model that Campbell outlines in his summary paragraph on those pages (245-246) . This six-stage outline of the monomyth may be the best general model for gaining an overall understanding of the journey process for use in teaching and for applying to everyday life.

Campbell’s Four- and 17-Stage Models

Before we examine the six-stage model, let’s review briefly the two best known models of the monomyth. The first is the aforementioned four-stage model. It is, indirectly, the most familiar because of Vogler. While Vogler was at Disney Studios in the mid 1980s, he developed a memo for evaluating and editing film manuscripts. That memo, which was based Cambell’s four-stage diagram, eventually became the best-selling book The Writer’s Journey . We see Vogler’s framework in virtually every Disney movie, from The Lion King to Frozen . (See my article Vogler’s Writer’s Journey ).

The other well-known model of the monomyth is the 17-“stage” model Campbell outlines in Part 1 of Hero . I use quotations around “stage” because only eight of Campbell’s 17 elements are fundamental stages, that is experiences that are essential to monomyth’s transformation process. The rest are characteristics, contingencies or benefits arising from stages. For example, the Call Refused is an important stage, but it is not part of every journey because not every hero refuses the Call. Similarly, the Ultimate Boon is not a stage, but a benefit or reward for completing the transformation. (For a thorough discussion of this topic, see my article “ Rethinking Campbell: When Stages are not Stages .”)

Campbell’s Six-Stage Model

Now let’s look at the monomyth model that I think may be the most helpful in terms of gaining a perspective on the Hero’s Journey and its transformative process: the six-stage pattern Campbell presents a one-paragraph summary in “The Keys” (below right). ( I’ve quoted this paragraph in its entirety here .)

In this summary, Campbell breaks the pattern into six stages. He subordinates the other elements and contingencies within these six stages. (NOTE: Campbell did not create a diagram for this six-stage model, so I have taken the liberty of arranging the stages in an easily readable cycle.) Here are those six stages:

1. Setting forth

2. Threshold

3. World of the unfamiliar (Road of Trials)

4. Nadir (supreme ordeal)

5. Return Threshold

5. Rebirth/Return (with boon/elixir)

Summarizing the Stages

1. setting forth (call).

In the first stage, we find the mythological hero “setting forth from his common-day hut or castle.” Forces either lure or drag him into the journey, or he enters voluntarily.

2. Threshold of Adventure

At the Threshold, the hero “encounters a shadow presence that guards the passage.” The hero may defeat or conciliate this guardian and proceed into the “kingdom of the dark,” or the guardian may slay the hero and the hero descends into death.

3. World of the Unfamiliar (Road of Trials)

After the hero passes the threshold, he enters “a world of unfamiliar yet strangely intimate forces.” Some of these forces present tests and threaten the hero. Others become helpers, often giving the hero magical aid.

4. The Nadir (Abyss)

In the Nadir or Abyss, the hero “undergoes a supreme ordeal and gains his reward.” The hero’s success may be symbolized in a number of ways: sacred marriage, father atonement, apotheosis, or—if the powers are unfriendly to him—his theft of the boon. According to Campbell, the Abyss is essentially “an expansion of consciousness,” a key theme in all of Campbell’s work.

5. The Return Threshold

 The final stage in the World of the Unfamiliar is the Return Threshold. At the Return Threshold, two possibilities await. If the powers in the kingdom of the dark have blessed the hero, he will return with their protection. If they have not blessed him—if he has stolen the boon, for example—he must flee. At the Return Threshold, the “transcendental powers must remain behind,” and the hero returns to the mundane world of everyday life.

6. Rebirth/Return (with boon/elixir)

After crossing the Threshold, the hero “re-emerges from the kingdom of dread” for his return and/or resurrection. He re-enters his world, bringing his boon or elixir that will restore and revivify his world.

The Missing Stages

Because this six-stage model is a summary, Campbell necessarily omits several important elements that he includes in his 17-element model. The most important of these missing elements are the Call Refused (in which the hero completely rejects the journey) and the Apotheosis (in which the hero takes a “time out” to reflect and give meaning to the journey). Also missing are the Woman as Temptress, the Return Refused, the Master of the Two Worlds and Freedom to Live. However, because it is brief, this model gives a nice overview of the journey’s transformative process and provides a framework for further study.

The Hero’s Journey: Life’s Great Adventure

NOTE : You are welcome to link to this article, but do not copy or repost it. If you would like a PDF copy to use in your class or work, please contact me . This article is from The Hero’s Journey: A Guide to Literature and Life (2007). For an updated version of the article, see our publication The Hero’s Journey: The Path of Transformation .

The Pattern of Human Experience

by Reg Harris

Most of us were introduced to the Heroic Journey through mythology. Mythological heroes take great journeys: to slay Medusa, to kill the Minotaur, to find the Golden Fleece. But the Hero’s Journey isn’t just a pattern from myth. It’s the pattern of life, growth and experience—for all of us. We see it reflected everywhere, from a television comedy show to the great works of literature to the experiences in our own lives.

A Mirror of the Rite of Passage

The Hero’s Journey duplicates the stages of the Rite of Passage. First the initiate faces separation from his own, familiar world. Once separated, he undergoes initiation and transformation, where the old ways of thinking and acting are altered or destroyed, opening the way to a new level of awareness, skill and freedom. After successfully meeting the challenges of the initiation, the initiate takes the journey’s final step, the return to the world. When he does, he will find that he is more confident, perceptive, and capable. He will bring back gifts for his people, such as insight, leadership, understanding and expertise. He will also discover that his community now treats him as an adult, with all of the respect, rights and privileges which that status implies.

A Map to Experience

Why study The Hero’s Journey? Why learn a pattern that dates from before recorded history? The answer is simple: we should study it because it’s the pattern of human experience, of our experience. We live it now, and we will live it for the rest of our lives.

In a sense, every challenge or change we face in life is a journey. Every love found, every love lost, every birth and every death carries the potential of transformation to a new level of understanding. Every move to a new school, job, or city opens the chance to stop being what we were and to start being what we can become. Every situation which confronts us with something new or which forces us to re-evaluate our thinking, behavior or perspective presents us with possibilities for insight and growth.

The journey is a process of self-discovery and self-integration, of maintaining balance and harmony in our lives. As with any process of growth and change, a journey can be confusing and painful, but it brings opportunities to develop confidence, perspective and a new way of being in our world.

Understanding the Journey pattern can help us understand the literature we read, the movies we see, and the experiences which shape our life. By recognizing the Journey’s stages and how they function, we will develop a sense of the flow of our own experience and be better able to make decisions and solve problems. More importantly, we will begin to recognize our own points of passage and respect the significance they have for us.

Eight-step transformation

“The tallest tree grows from the smallest sprout. The tallest tower is built from a pile of dirt. A journey of a thousand miles begins beneath your feet.” – Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

We usually divide the journey into eight steps, but you must remember that the journey is a single process and an individual adventure towards growth and transformation. As such, the sequence of elements and the duration of the experiences will vary from one person to another or from one journey to the next. The basic journey pattern follows eight steps:

Separation (from the known)

1. The Call 2. The Threshold (with guardians, helpers, and mentor)

Initiation and Transformation

3. The Road of Trials: Challenges and Temptations 4. The Abyss (and Revelation) 5. The Transformation 6. The Apotheosis

The Return (to the known world)

7. The Return Threshold 8. The Return (with a Gift) to assume new role in life

Remember that the journey is a process of separation, transformation, and return. The stages tend to be cumulative: each must be completed successfully if we are to become heroic. To turn back is to reject our innate need to grow. Unless we set out again, we may lock ourselves in a defensive shell that protects us from the pain of rejecting our potentials, but also imprisons us from authentic engagement and contact with the world.

The Separation

The Call invites us into the adventure, offers us the opportunity to face the unknown and gain something of physical or spiritual value. We may choose willingly to undertake the quest, or we may be dragged into it unwillingly.

The Call may come boldly as a “transformative crisis,” a sudden, often traumatic change in our lives. Or it can sneak up on us gradually, with our first perception of it being a vague sense of discontent, imbalance or incongruity in our lives. Within this range the Call can take many forms.

On a mythical level, the Call may come when the heroes:

– sense that there is something lacking in life, and they must find what is missing, – want to save or restore honor: their own, their family’s, or their country’s, – want to protect their family or community from oppression or threat, – realize that something is not permitted to members of their society, and the must win these rights for their people.

On a psychological level, the Call might arrive when we:

– realize that there is something lacking in our life, and we must find what is missing, – sense a shift in our spiritual “center of gravity;” our world no longer provides the stimulation we need to grow, – discover that the story we are living no longer matches the story that we have become.

The Threshold

Once called to the adventure, we must pass over the Threshold. The Threshold is the “jumping off point” for the adventure. It is the interface between the known and the unknown. In the known world, we feel secure because we know the landscape and the rules. Once past the threshold, however, we enter the unknown, and because it is unknown, it is a world filled with challenges and dangers.

Threshold Guardians are often frightening because they challenge us to look inside ourselves to the source of our fears. When we find and name that source, we are ready for the journey.

Often at the threshold, we encounter people, beings, or situations which block our passage. These “threshold guardians” have two functions. They protect us by keeping us from taking journeys for which we are unready or unprepared. However, once we are ready to meet the challenge, the guardians step aside and point the way, often becoming a helper or mentor in our quest. More importantly, to pass the guardian is to make a commitment, to say: “I’m ready. I can do this.”

Early in our lives, our parents function as our threshold guardians. They try to keep us from doing things which would cause us harm. As we get older, our parents’ job becomes more difficult. They must both protect and push, measuring our capabilities against the challenges we must face.

As adults, our threshold guardians are much more insidious. They are our fears, our doubts, our ineffective patterns of thought and behavior. In fact, they may be the “dragon in disguise,” our greatest fear in masquerade, becoming the catalyst for the journey, taunting and threatening, daring us to face him in the abyss.

Also at the threshold (and very often later in the journey), we will encounter a helper (or helpers). Helpers provide assistance or direction. Often they bring us a divine gift, such as a talisman, which will help our through the ordeal ahead. The most important of these helpers is the mentor or guide. The mentor keeps us focused on our goal and gives us stability, a psychological foundation for when the danger is greatest.

Helpers and guides may appear throughout the journey. Fortunately, they tend to appear at the most opportune or coincidental moments. The Swiss psychologist Carl Jung called these “meaningful coincidences” synchronicity. If we look closely at a synchronistic event, we may find a possibility we had not considered or a path we had not seen.

We must also understand that the journey is ours. Our mentor and helpers can assist and point the way, but they cannot take the journey for us. The challenge is ours, must be ours if we are to benefit from it and grow. If we allow our companions to help us too much, the growth value of the challenge is lost.

The Initiation

The road of trials: challenges and temptation.

Once past the Threshold, we begin the journey into the unknown. The voyage can be outward into a physical unknown or inward to a psychological unknown. Whichever direction the voyage takes, our adventure puts us more and more at risk, emotionally and physically.

On our quest, we face a series of challenges or temptations. The early challenges are usually relatively easy. By meeting them successfully, we build maturity, skill and confidence. As our journey progresses, the challenges often become more and more difficult, testing us to the utmost, burning away old, ineffective understandings and beliefs to make way for the new self.

One of our greatest tests on the journey is to differentiate real helpers from “tempters.” Tempters try to pull us away from our path. They use fear, doubt or distraction. They may pretend to be a friend or counselor in an effort to divert our energy to their own needs, uses or beliefs. Their temptations may take the form of rationalizations and excuses or the form of escapes, such as drugs or alcohol. When we encounter these temptations we must rely on our sense of purpose and judgment and the advice of our mentor to keep us true to our quest.

Whatever the challenges we face, they always seem to strike our greatest weakness: our poorest skill, our shakiest knowledge, our most vulnerable emotions. Furthermore, the challenges always reflect needs and fears, for it is only by directly facing these weaknesses that we can acknowledge and incorporate them, turn them from demons to gods. If we can’t do this, the adventure ends and we must turn back.

Into the Abyss

When we reach the Abyss, we face the greatest challenge of the journey. The challenge is so great at this point that we must surrender ourselves completely to the adventure and become one with it. In the Abyss we usually face our greatest fear, and we must face it alone. Here is where he must “slay the dragon,” which often takes the shape of confrontation we dread, a great fear we have repressed or deep need we must resolve.

There is always the possibility that, because we are unprepared or have a flaw in our character, the challenge beats us. Or perhaps we may not be able to surrender ourselves to it and must retreat. In any case, unless we set off to try again, our life becomes a bitter shadow of what it could have been.

Revelation and Transformation

In the Abyss, all structure is gone. Our old self has died, and journey has made space for a new self to be born. Fear has died to make way for courage. Ignorance has died and enlightenment grows from its remains. Dependency and irresponsibility have died so that independence and power can grow. The old structures that had been defining and confining us have collapsed, like a demolished building, making space for a new structure–a structure of our choosing that is more in tune with who we have become and who we want to be.

The Revelation is an insight, a sudden expansion of consciousness or perspective, that opens the door to our future.

With structure gone, we are free to see ourselves and our lives in a new way. Free of old roles and defenses, we can consider new potentials for our lives. This freedom, frightening though it may be, turns the Abyss into a “fertile void,” where great new potentials can take root and begin to grow. At some point as we float in this void, we will experience a revelation, an insight (gradual or sudden) into ourselves and our lives. That insight will lead us out of the Abyss and into our Transformation.

The Revelation leads us into Transformation. We begin to build a new, transformed life. One could argue that transformation has been occurring all along, perhaps even before the journey began. However, it’s at this stage in the journey when Transformation becomes real in our lives. Because we are thinking differently, we begin to act differently, and our self-image and our lives are transformed.

The Apotheosis

After our passing through the chaos of the abyss and transformation, we need time to assimilate and consolidate the changes we have experienced on the journey. We do this in the journey’s Apotheosis.

Apotheosis (which means, literally, “to deify” or “to make divine”) is the apex or high point of our development in the journey. It is a time of rest and reflection. It is the point in the journey when we “step back” from the flow of life to reflect on our experiences and give them meaning and coherence. We project this meaning into our future to in terms of the new opportunities and potentials that are now available to us. One way to look at the Apotheosis is to think of it as a time of “ripening” in our Journey. The Call planted the seed, the Road of Trials and Abyss triggered growth, the Revelation and Transformation were the blossoming and setting of fruit, and the Apotheosis is the ripening, the fruition or realization of our quest.

With ripening, we discover the gift or boon we have achieved and how that will benefit both ourselves and our community. This gift is the result of our new level of skill, awareness or understanding. We may be stronger and more confident. We may have developed the qualities of a good leader. We may have realized insights and knowledge that will help our community solve problems and make progress. Whatever our gift is, it will make our life richer and more fulfilling and it will help our community grow and stay viable.

Return Threshold

After Transformation and Atonement, we face the final part of our journey: our Return to everyday life. The first stage in our return is passing the Return Threshold. At first glance, this would seem to be an easy and happy moment. However, the Return Threshold can cause serious difficulties.

For example, perhaps during our journey, we have changed so much that we begin to question whether we should return at all. At the threshold, we look at the life we are about to re-enter and realize that, while we were transcending our old self, we were transcending our old life, as well. We may realize that we can’t go back.

We may also feel that our old community is simply not ready for what we have learned or become, and we feel compelled to seek out another community that is more in harmony with our new consciousness.

The essence of the return is to begin contributing to our society. In mythology, some heroes return to save or renew their community in some way. Other mythological heroes return to create a city, nation, or religion.

Sometimes, however, things don’t go smoothly. For example, we may return with a great spiritual message, but find that our message is rejected. We may be ostracized or even killed for our ideals. We also run the risk of losing our new understanding, having it corrupted by allowing ourselves to slide back in the same situation or environment we left.

In some cases, the hero discovers that her new level of awareness and understanding is far greater than the people around her can grasp or accept. She may then become disillusioned or frustrated and leave society to be on her own. On the other hand, many great heroes such as Buddha and Jesus have sacrificed the bliss of enlightenment or heaven to remain in the world and teach others.

The Journey is a Map

While the story of the Journey first manifested itself in the ancient myths and legends, it is still around us today. It is the basis for almost all of the books and plays we read. We see it in television programs of all levels, from great drama to “The Simpson’s” and anime cartoons. Even the movies we enjoy— Forrest Gump , Finding Nemo , Spiderman , Harry Potter , The Matrix , and The Lion King —are fictional depictions of the Hero’s Journey.

The Journey gives you a path toward understanding and benefiting from these fictional adventures. Even if the characters aren’t real, the journeys they take and challenges they face are reflections of the real journeys and challenges we all face in life. As you watch them move through their quests, you can learn from their experiences.

Perhaps most importantly, though, the Journey is the pattern that we follow in our own lives as we face challenges and move from child to teenager, from teenager to adult, from adult to old age, and from old age into death.

The adventures we face will be challenging and exciting. They can open the doors to knowledge and understanding. If we understand the Journey pattern, we will be better able to face difficulties and use our experiences to become stronger and more capable. Understanding the pattern can help us achieve wisdom, growth, and independence, and taking our Journeys helps us become the people we want to be.

Copyright © 2015 by Reg Harris. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this article or any part thereof in any form without the expressed written permission of the author is strictly prohibited. Posting this article or any part thereof to the Internet in any form without the expressed written permission of the author is a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and strictly prohibited. For permission to use, please contact Reg Harris.

The Approach to the Inmost Cave: How to Write This Scene in the Hero’s Journey

by David Safford | 0 comments

Every great heroic story has that moment. It's the deep breath before the plunge. The quiet before the calamity. If you're writing a Hero's Journey story, you'll want to include this moment, too: the Approach and Ordeal. Or, the Approach to the Inmost Cave.

The Approach and Ordeal are essential moments you need to plan for as you draft your story. And to do it right, you're going to need to figure out three key elements:

• Your Story's Shadow
• The Task to Complete

Let's explore each of these and talk about how they will take your story from “Meh” to “Amazing!”

Step 7: Approach to the Inmost Cave

This step can take many shapes depending on the story's genre and world. However, no matter where your story takes place, this definition applies:

The Approach is a moment of nervous contemplation before the massive Ordeal the hero must face. It is often a moment of final preparation, confession of secrets and fears, and abandonment by uncommitted companions, leaving the hero uncertain and isolated.

If you're outlining the Approach to the Inmost Cave scene for your story, you  must  keep the Ordeal, or the Climax, in mind. They are two halves of the whole, and one must keep both in mind when planning. However, in order to plan, you need to also understand the purpose of each (and how they work together).

For today, let's focus on the Approach to the Inmost Cave. And if you'd like to learn more about the Ordeal than what's discussed in this article, read about the Ordeal here .

How Did We Get Here?

As a quick refresher, the Hero's Journey is a storytelling theory by Joseph Campbell.

Refined by Christopher Vogler into a convenient twelve-step process, the Hero's Journey begins when the hero starts humbly ( Ordinary World ) and then experiences a Call to Adventure. The hero refuses that call, and finds themself encouraged and trained by a Mentor .

Next, through a combination of will and force, the hero steps over the boundary between safety and danger, the Threshold , and begins their journey in a world of Trials, Allies, and Enemies .

This usually brings you about two-thirds of the way through your story, up to the moment you've been waiting for: the Climax.

But before every Climax, a story needs an Approach to the Inmost Cave moment.

Step #7: Approach to the Inmost Cave

Before every climactic action scene is a deep breath. Sometimes portrayed as beginning with a montage or training scene, this scene is the moment when the Hero pauses, considers all that is at Stake in order to defeat the Shadow , and then soldiers onward.

This, in Christopher Vogler's words, is called the “Approach to the Inmost Cave.”

This moment is essential, and captures the universal human emotion of fear. All heroes experience some kind of fear, whether it's fear of death, failure, or the unknown. But before any great campaign against evil, there must be an Approach.

And with an Approach, comes a Hero's Ordeal (step eight in the Hero's Journey).

The Ordeal is the scene when your hero must complete a deadly task, putting everything that's at stake on the line, and ultimately confront the Shadow. This moment is the eighth step in the Hero's Journey, and comes directly after the Approach to the Inmost Cave.

Before this moment, though, you need a scene where the hero approaches  the awaiting, climatic feat.

If you want to increase the tension and raise stakes in the Climax, you first need to write a scene that creates that calm before the storm. To do this, you need an Approach to the Inmost Cave scene that upholds three core elements.

3 Core Elements in the Approach to the Inmost Cave

In the Ordeal, the Hero confronts the Shadow and makes ultimate choices. This moment is thrilling, often action-packed, and offers the highest-stakes. However, the moment before this scene can't do the same thing. Instead there needs to be a brief, calm moment before plunging the Hero into battle.

Without this pause, the story won't elevate the suspense and tension. To get here, you're going to need to plan three storytelling elements:

• A Shadow character
• High stakes for success/failure
• A nearly-impossible task associated with the Shadow

With these elements in-hand, you'll be able to craft the next two steps of the Hero's Journey: The Approach (this article) and the Ordeal .

Let's start with the Shadow.

1. The Shadow: Get Your Villain Right

Joseph Campbell identified an archetypal character who appears in almost every heroic myth: The Shadow.

The Shadow is often called the villain. But what is more important is that they are a darker version of the hero.

Belloc, the greedy archeologist who steals from Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark , says to him, “I am but a shadowy reflection of you.” For the Shadow to work, they need to be the “bad” version of what makes the Hero good.

Here are some elements that are often similar between Hero and Shadow:

• Physicality
• Background, family, and/or culture

However, other elements must be in opposition, otherwise there will be no reason to call your Hero “good” and the Shadow “evil.” Some include:

• Leadership style
• Physical strengths
• Belief in “freedom” or some other positive societal value
• Opinions on physical violence

When the Hero and Shadow share several characteristics , this gives them reason to threaten one another and even consider teaming up.

In fact, you've probably seen the scene where the Villain invites the Hero to join them a thousand times:

• Darth Vader to Luke Skywalker in Star Wars
• Voldemort to Harry Potter in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone 
• Magneto to Professor X (or other X-Men heroes) in the  X-Men 

They don't just share physical traits though; what must be common are deeply held beliefs about the central conflict.

Digging deeper into  Star Wars,  both Luke and Vader possess strongly held views on one essential element of the narrative: The Force.

Should the Force be used for “good,” or wisdom and defense, as Yoda teaches? Or should it be used for power, strength, and control, as The Emporer declares?

This life crisis is what gives  Star Wars  it's true power. It isn't just that Vader is Luke's father — it's that Luke's father is wedded to evil and all its virtues, and Luke fears what that means for his own life.

Without a shared trait like this, there'd be no reason for intense internal conflict. There would only be stark opposition, and the relationship would never find any depth.

And this is what readers love.

They may claim to love action or conflict, but what they  really  love is intense internal conflict within the hero. It's your job to create it.

So as you plan the latter sections of your heroic journey, make sure you get your Shadow right by designing shared traits with your Hero to keep things interesting.

2. The Stakes: Make Them Both Specific and General

When the time comes for the Hero to face the Shadow late in the journey, the stakes need to be higher than ever.

This has to be true specifically, for the hero themself, and it has to be true generally, for the world at large and the cast of characters you've put around the Hero.

No heroic journey is about the Hero alone, as every hero symbolizes a greater societal value: Hope. Freedom. Faith.

Yet the Hero must also have plenty to lose as well. That's why it's your job to place difficult hurdles before them, especially during this climactic event in the story.

Take the example of the Harry Potter  books.

From a point of view perspective, the books are incredibly intimate, taking the reader inside Harry's tortured mind and lonely soul. Yet his epic adventures have worldwide consequences as he must confront the rising evil of the Dark Lord Voldemort.

If Voldemort wins, the bigotry of “pure blood” magic will win and wreak havoc on both the magical world and the realm of unsuspecting Muggles. Harry's character arc isn't just about him dealing with a big baddie; it's about saving two entire worlds from Lord Voldemort and his minions.

This is what heroes do: They go in place of the people and face a most ultimate form of death. They put their own skin on the line, but their actions have universal impact.

That's what makes them so beloved when they win, and so worshiped when they suffer and die.

As you plan this climactic moment when Hero and Shadow finally clash, make sure the stakes — both local to the hero and general to the world — are at their peak intensity.

3. The Task: Challenging and Unidirectional

Whatever the Hero must do to pursue their ultimate goal, there must be a massive task to accomplish.

Examples include:

• Storming a castle
• Surviving a death match
• Escaping from a monster
• Winning a fight
• Delivering a great audition

These are the kinds of tasks we write poetry and songs about. These are the kinds of events that Lego builds toys about (except the audition/interview, of course).

There are two aspects of your confrontational task that must be incorporated into the design in order for them to be successful: Challenge and Direction.

First, the Task must be incredibly challenging.

It must be so challenging that your hero could not have succeeded in the first fifty percent of the book, and there's doubt whether or not they can succeed even now. It must be so challenging that the hero, or their companions, suffer to achieve it.

In this instance, consider  The Hunger Games.  One could argue that the games themselves represent the entire “Ordeal” stage of Katniss's hero's journey. It's not a common story structure, but it works in the world author Suzanne Collins is creating.

In the games, Katniss faces a monumental challenge: Defeat twenty-three other tributes, some from bloodthirsty Districts determined to capture victory. One of those tributes, of course, is her professed lover, Peta Malark. No easy task!

Note that the framing of the story shows Katniss approach the inmost cave, or the games, as she waits in the preparation room before rising into the arena. She and Peta eventually take revenge in a literal cave during the most critical moment when they are both injured and badly need medicine.

Not all stories prolong the Ordeal like Collins does. Others are brief but intense events, like an action or chase scene.

As an example of storming the castle, a common task in all sorts of stories from Game of Thrones  to  James Bond, the Shadow will lurk in a fortress with the object of desire (maybe a princess, a throne, a weapon, etc). In order to win the day (and prevent the awful Stakes from befalling humanity), the hero must infiltrate the castle, obtain the object of desire, and escape.

If you want this scene to be convincing, you can't have your hero sneak (or fight) in, grab the goods, and flee unscathed—at least not in this part of the Hero's Journey. You can get away with it as an opening bit (like in a Bond  movie), but NOT as the climactic battle.

The Task must be overwhelmingly expensive in sweat and blood. The Shadow and their evil cannot be overcome with ease. Otherwise you'll lose your reader's catharsis and compassion.

Second, the Task must be unidirectional.

In other words, there can be no turning back. The consequences for even starting must be immediate. Everything must change. This is the turning point in your story.

So what needs to change?

Usually these elements must transform the hero and their world:

• The Hero no longer doubts the mission and will pursue it to the end
• The Shadow no longer exhibits patience or mercy and will do anything to destroy the Hero
• The world reacts to the Hero's choices: Evil creatures begin to actively hunt the Hero, good creatures actively protect the Hero
• The object of desire is moved, destroyed, or transformed somehow

Consider yet another example:

Pixar's  Toy Story.  Woody and Buzz's major challenge is to escape the hellscape that is Sid's bedroom. They do so, but emerge to a changed world.

Their Ordinary World, Andy's bedroom, is no longer where it used to be. It is in a moving truck, rolling away from them with great speed. They have emerged from their trial only to find that all is not well anymore, and the story continues from there.

Consider, finally, this last note. After the climactic scene between Hero and Shadow, the object of desire is often transformed in a way that alters the rest of the action. It all depends on what the particular MacGuffin is.

Often it is revealed that the desired object wasn't anything special at all, forcing the hero to reconsider their goals and priorities.

Often a key character is killed during the Ordeal, heightening the stakes and lessening the desireability of the goal itself. These crises are what make hero's journeys powerful, and don't be afraid to throw your hero to the wolves in the final act of your tale.

No matter what object of desire your Hero is pursuing, the climactic moment must change everything. There is no turning back. The choice must be unidirectional.

Bring it All Together

These three elements will help you plan steps seven and eight of the Hero's Journey. Let's bring them together to form a powerful one-two punch in the climax of your story.

Remember that your Shadow must represent all the evil and selfishness that your Hero fears. That Shadow must have the potential to ruin everything the Hero holds dear. And the Task set before the Hero must be monumental and seemingly impossible to achieve.

These elements, when properly designed and blended, will yield an incredible climax that your reader will love.

What are your favorite Hero's Journey Approach and Ordeal scenes from books and movies you love? Can you find these elements in them? Let us know in the comments .

Take fifteen minutes to freewrite a scene where a hero contemplates facing an ordeal ahead. Don't worry about the specifics; instead, lean into the emotional challenge of facing the coming challenges. Here are some to inspire you as dream up a scenario:

• Your Hero's “Shadow” character: What traits might your Hero and the Shadow have in common? What separates them and makes them enemies?
• The Stakes involved: What could your Hero have to risk in order to defeat the Shadow and any other threat to the world?
• The Task: What incredibly challenging feat might the Hero have to accomplish in order to successfully confront the Shadow?

Post your writing in the Practice box, then find another writer's plan and leave a helpful comment on it!

David Safford

You deserve a great book. That's why David Safford writes adventure stories that you won't be able to put down. Read his latest story at his website. David is a Language Arts teacher, novelist, blogger, hiker, Legend of Zelda fanatic, puzzle-doer, husband, and father of two awesome children.

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Hero's Journey 101: How to Use the Hero's Journey to Plot Your Story

Dan Schriever

How many times have you heard this story? A protagonist is suddenly whisked away from their ordinary life and embarks on a grand adventure. Along the way they make new friends, confront perils, and face tests of character. In the end, evil is defeated, and the hero returns home a changed person.

That’s the Hero’s Journey in a nutshell. It probably sounds very familiar—and rightly so: the Hero’s Journey aspires to be the universal story, or monomyth, a narrative pattern deeply ingrained in literature and culture. Whether in books, movies, television, or folklore, chances are you’ve encountered many examples of the Hero’s Journey in the wild.

In this post, we’ll walk through the elements of the Hero’s Journey step by step. We’ll also study an archetypal example from the movie The Matrix (1999). Once you have mastered the beats of this narrative template, you’ll be ready to put your very own spin on it.

Sound good? Then let’s cross the threshold and let the journey begin.

What Is the Hero’s Journey?

The 12 stages of the hero’s journey, writing your own hero’s journey.

The Hero’s Journey is a common story structure for modeling both plot points and character development. A protagonist embarks on an adventure into the unknown. They learn lessons, overcome adversity, defeat evil, and return home transformed.

Joseph Campbell , a scholar of literature, popularized the monomyth in his influential work The Hero With a Thousand Faces (1949). Looking for common patterns in mythological narratives, Campbell described a character arc with 17 total stages, overlaid on a more traditional three-act structure. Not all need be present in every myth or in the same order.

The three stages, or acts, of Campbell’s Hero’s Journey are as follows:

1. Departure. The hero leaves the ordinary world behind.

2. Initiation. The hero ventures into the unknown ("the Special World") and overcomes various obstacles and challenges.

3. Return. The hero returns in triumph to the familiar world.

Hollywood has embraced Campbell’s structure, most famously in George Lucas’s Star Wars movies. There are countless examples in books, music, and video games, from fantasy epics and Disney films to sports movies.

In The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers (1992), screenwriter Christopher Vogler adapted Campbell’s three phases into the "12 Stages of the Hero’s Journey." This is the version we’ll analyze in the next section.

For writers, the purpose of the Hero’s Journey is to act as a template and guide. It’s not a rigid formula that your plot must follow beat by beat. Indeed, there are good reasons to deviate—not least of which is that this structure has become so ubiquitous.

Still, it’s helpful to master the rules before deciding when and how to break them. The 12 steps of the Hero's Journey are as follows :

• The Ordinary World
• The Call of Adventure
• Refusal of the Call
• Meeting the Mentor
• Crossing the First Threshold
• Tests, Allies, and Enemies
• Approach to the Inmost Cave
• Reward (Seizing the Sword)
• The Road Back
• Resurrection
• Return with the Elixir

Let’s take a look at each stage in more detail. To show you how the Hero’s Journey works in practice, we’ll also consider an example from the movie The Matrix (1999). After all, what blog has not been improved by a little Keanu Reeves?

#1: The Ordinary World

This is where we meet our hero, although the journey has not yet begun: first, we need to establish the status quo by showing the hero living their ordinary, mundane life.

It’s important to lay the groundwork in this opening stage, before the journey begins. It lets readers identify with the hero as just a regular person, “normal” like the rest of us. Yes, there may be a big problem somewhere out there, but the hero at this stage has very limited awareness of it.

The Ordinary World in The Matrix :

We are introduced to Thomas A. Anderson, aka Neo, programmer by day, hacker by night. While Neo runs a side operation selling illicit software, Thomas Anderson lives the most mundane life imaginable: he works at his cubicle, pays his taxes, and helps the landlady carry out her garbage.

#2: The Call to Adventure

The journey proper begins with a call to adventure—something that disrupts the hero’s ordinary life and confronts them with a problem or challenge they can’t ignore. This can take many different forms.

While readers may already understand the stakes, the hero is realizing them for the first time. They must make a choice: will they shrink from the call, or rise to the challenge?

The Call to Adventure in The Matrix :

A mysterious message arrives in Neo’s computer, warning him that things are not as they seem. He is urged to “follow the white rabbit.” At a nightclub, he meets Trinity, who tells him to seek Morpheus.

#3: Refusal of the Call

Oops! The hero chooses option A and attempts to refuse the call to adventure. This could be for any number of reasons: fear, disbelief, a sense of inadequacy, or plain unwillingness to make the sacrifices that are required.

A little reluctance here is understandable. If you were asked to trade the comforts of home for a life-and-death journey fraught with peril, wouldn’t you give pause?

Refusal of the Call in The Matrix :

Agents arrive at Neo’s office to arrest him. Morpheus urges Neo to escape by climbing out a skyscraper window. “I can’t do this… This is crazy!” Neo protests as he backs off the ledge.

#4: Meeting the Mentor

Okay, so the hero got cold feet. Nothing a little pep talk can’t fix! The mentor figure appears at this point to give the hero some much needed counsel, coaching, and perhaps a kick out the door.

After all, the hero is very inexperienced at this point. They’re going to need help to avoid disaster or, worse, death. The mentor’s role is to overcome the hero’s reluctance and prepare them for what lies ahead.

Meeting the Mentor in The Matrix :

Neo meets with Morpheus, who reveals a terrifying truth: that the ordinary world as we know it is a computer simulation designed to enslave humanity to machines.

#5: Crossing the First Threshold

At this juncture, the hero is ready to leave their ordinary world for the first time. With the mentor’s help, they are committed to the journey and ready to step across the threshold into the special world . This marks the end of the departure act and the beginning of the adventure in earnest.

This may seem inevitable, but for the hero it represents an important choice. Once the threshold is crossed, there’s no going back. Bilbo Baggins put it nicely: “It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.”

Crossing the First Threshold in The Matrix :

Neo is offered a stark choice: take the blue pill and return to his ordinary life none the wiser, or take the red pill and “see how deep the rabbit hole goes.” Neo takes the red pill and is extracted from the Matrix, entering the real world .

#6: Tests, Allies, and Enemies

Now we are getting into the meat of the adventure. The hero steps into the special world and must learn the new rules of an unfamiliar setting while navigating trials, tribulations, and tests of will. New characters are often introduced here, and the hero must navigate their relationships with them. Will they be friend, foe, or something in between?

Broadly speaking, this is a time of experimentation and growth. It is also one of the longest stages of the journey, as the hero learns the lay of the land and defines their relationship to other characters.

Wondering how to create captivating characters? Read our guide , which explains how to shape characters that readers will love—or hate.

Tests, Allies, and Enemies in The Matrix :

Neo is introduced to the vagabond crew of the Nebuchadnezzar . Morpheus informs Neo that he is The One , a savior destined to liberate humanity. He learns jiu jitsu and other useful skills.

#7: Approach to the Inmost Cave

Time to get a little metaphorical. The inmost cave isn’t a physical cave, but rather a place of great danger—indeed, the most dangerous place in the special world . It could be a villain’s lair, an impending battle, or even a mental barrier. No spelunking required.

Broadly speaking, the approach is marked by a setback in the quest. It becomes a lesson in persistence, where the hero must reckon with failure, change their mindset, or try new ideas.

Note that the hero hasn’t entered the cave just yet. This stage is about the approach itself, which the hero must navigate to get closer to their ultimate goal. The stakes are rising, and failure is no longer an option.

Approach to the Inmost Cave in The Matrix :

Neo pays a visit to The Oracle. She challenges Neo to “know thyself”—does he believe, deep down, that he is The One ? Or does he fear that he is “just another guy”? She warns him that the fate of humanity hangs in the balance.

#8: The Ordeal

The ordeal marks the hero’s greatest test thus far. This is a dark time for them: indeed, Campbell refers to it as the “belly of the whale.” The hero experiences a major hurdle or obstacle, which causes them to hit rock bottom.

This is a pivotal moment in the story, the main event of the second act. It is time for the hero to come face to face with their greatest fear. It will take all their skills to survive this life-or-death crisis. Should they succeed, they will emerge from the ordeal transformed.

Keep in mind: the story isn’t over yet! Rather, the ordeal is the moment when the protagonist overcomes their weaknesses and truly steps into the title of hero .

The Ordeal in The Matrix :

When Cipher betrays the crew to the agents, Morpheus sacrifices himself to protect Neo. In turn, Neo makes his own choice: to risk his life in a daring rescue attempt.

#9: Reward (Seizing the Sword)

The ordeal was a major level-up moment for the hero. Now that it's been overcome, the hero can reap the reward of success. This reward could be an object, a skill, or knowledge—whatever it is that the hero has been struggling toward. At last, the sword is within their grasp.

From this moment on, the hero is a changed person. They are now equipped for the final conflict, even if they don’t fully realize it yet.

Reward (Seizing the Sword) in The Matrix :

Neo’s reward is helpfully narrated by Morpheus during the rescue effort: “He is beginning to believe.” Neo has gained confidence that he can fight the machines, and he won’t back down from his destiny.

#10: The Road Back

We’re now at the beginning of act three, the return . With the reward in hand, it’s time to exit the inmost cave and head home. But the story isn’t over yet.

In this stage, the hero reckons with the consequences of act two. The ordeal was a success, but things have changed now. Perhaps the dragon, robbed of his treasure, sets off for revenge. Perhaps there are more enemies to fight. Whatever the obstacle, the hero must face them before their journey is complete.

The Road Back in The Matrix :

The rescue of Morpheus has enraged Agent Smith, who intercepts Neo before he can return to the Nebuchadnezzar . The two foes battle in a subway station, where Neo’s skills are pushed to their limit.

#11: Resurrection

Now comes the true climax of the story. This is the hero’s final test, when everything is at stake: the battle for the soul of Gotham, the final chance for evil to triumph. The hero is also at the peak of their powers. A happy ending is within sight, should they succeed.

Vogler calls the resurrection stage the hero’s “final exam.” They must draw on everything they have learned and prove again that they have really internalized the lessons of the ordeal . Near-death escapes are not uncommon here, or even literal deaths and resurrections.

Resurrection in The Matrix :

Despite fighting valiantly, Neo is defeated by Agent Smith and killed. But with Trinity’s help, he is resurrected, activating his full powers as The One . Isn’t it wonderful how literal The Matrix can be?

#12: Return with the Elixir

Hooray! Evil has been defeated and the hero is transformed. It’s time for the protagonist to return home in triumph, and share their hard-won prize with the ordinary world . This prize is the elixir —the object, skill, or insight that was the hero’s true reward for their journey and transformation.

Return with the Elixir in The Matrix :

Neo has defeated the agents and embraced his destiny. He returns to the simulated world of the Matrix, this time armed with god-like powers and a resolve to open humanity’s eyes to the truth.

If you’re writing your own adventure, you may be wondering: should I follow the Hero’s Journey structure?

The good news is, it’s totally up to you. Joseph Campbell conceived of the monomyth as a way to understand universal story structure, but there are many ways to outline a novel. Feel free to play around within its confines, adapt it across different media, and disrupt reader expectations. It’s like Morpheus says: “Some of these rules can be bent. Others can be broken.”

Think of the Hero’s Journey as a tool. If you’re not sure where your story should go next, it can help to refer back to the basics. From there, you’re free to choose your own adventure.

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The Hero’s Journey

What is the Hero's Journey in Literature?

Crafting a heroic character is a crucial aspect of storytelling, and it involves much more than simply sketching out a brave and virtuous figure. The hero's journey definition is not the typical linear narrative but rather a cyclical pattern that encompasses the hero's transformation, trials, and ultimate return, reflecting the profound and timeless aspects of human experience. The writer's journey in this endeavor goes beyond the external actions of the hero and delves into the character's inner world. The hero arc is the heart of the narrative, depicting the character's evolution from an ordinary person to a true hero.

Narratology and Writing Instructions for Heroic Characters

Related to both plot diagram and types of literary conflict , the ”Hero’s Journey” structure is a recurring pattern of stages many heroes undergo over the course of their stories. Joseph Campbell, an American mythologist, writer, and lecturer, articulated this cycle after researching and reviewing numerous myths and stories from a variety of time periods and regions of the world. He found that different writers take us on different journeys, however, they all share fundamental principles. Through the hero's trials, growth, and ultimate triumph, the narrative comes full circle, embodying the timeless pattern of the hero cycle. Literature abounds with examples of the hero cycle, illustrating how this narrative structure transcends cultural boundaries and remains a fundamental element of storytelling. This hero cycle in literature is also known as the Monomyth, archetype . The most basic version of Joseph Campbell's Monomyth has 12 steps, while more detailed versions can have up to 17 steps. His type of hero's journey diagram provides a visual roadmap for understanding the various stages and archetypal elements that protagonists typically encounter in their transformative quests. The wheel to the right is an excellent visual to share with students of how these steps occur. Hero's journey diagram examples provide a visual roadmap for understanding the various stages and archetypal elements that protagonists typically encounter in their transformative quests. Exploring the monomyth steps outlined by Joseph Campbell, we can see how these universal narrative elements have shaped countless stories across cultures and time periods.

Which Story Structure is Right for You?

The choice of story structure depends on various factors, including the type of story you want to tell, your intended audience, and your personal creative style. Here are some popular story structures and when they might be suitable:

• The Hero's Journey: Use this structure when you want to tell a story of personal growth, transformation, and adventure. It works well for epic tales, fantasy, and science fiction, but it can be adapted to other genres as well.
• Three-Act Structure: This is a versatile structure suitable for a wide range of genres, from drama to comedy to action. It's ideal for stories that have a clear beginning, middle, and end, with well-defined turning points.
• Episodic or Serial Structure: If you're creating a long-running series or a story with multiple interconnected arcs, this structure is a good choice. It allows for flexibility in storytelling and can keep audiences engaged over the long term.
• Nonlinear Structure: Experiment with this structure if you want to challenge traditional narrative conventions. It's suitable for stories where timelines are fragmented, revealing information gradually to build intrigue and suspense.
• Circular or Cyclical Structure: This structure is great for stories with recurring themes or for tales that come full circle. It can be particularly effective in literary fiction and philosophical narratives.

Ultimately, the right story structure for you depends on your creative vision, the genre you're working in, and the narrative you want to convey. You may also choose to blend or adapt different structures to suit your story's unique needs. The key is to select a structure that serves your storytelling goals and engages your target audience effectively.

What is a Common Theme in the Hero's Journey?

A common theme in the hero's journey is the concept of personal transformation and growth. Throughout the hero's journey, the protagonist typically undergoes significant change, evolving from an ordinary or flawed individual into a more heroic, self-realized, or enlightened character. This theme of transformation is often accompanied by challenges, trials, and self-discovery, making it a central and universal element of hero's journey narratives.

Structure of the Monomyth: The Hero's Journey Summary

This summary of the different elements of the archetypal hero's journey outlines the main four parts along with the different stages within each part. This can be shared with students and used as a reference along with the hero's journey wheel to analyze literature.

Part One - Call to Adventure

During the exposition, the hero is in the ordinary world , usually the hero’s home or natural habitat. Conflict arises in their everyday life, which calls the hero to adventure , where they are beckoned to leave their familiar world in search of something. They may refuse the call at first, but eventually leave, knowing that something important hangs in the balance and refusal of the call is simply not an option.

Part Two - Supreme Ordeal or Initiation

Once the hero makes the decision to leave the normal world, venture into the unfamiliar world, and has officially begun their mysterious adventure, they will meet a mentor figure (a sidekick in some genres) and together these two will cross the first threshold . This is the point where turning back is not an option, and where the hero must encounter tests, allies and enemies . Obstacles like tests and enemies must be overcome to continue. Helpers aid the hero in their journey.

Part Three - Unification or Transformation

Having overcome initial obstacles, in this part of the heroic cycle, the hero and their allies reach the approach . Here they will prepare for the major challenge in this new or special world. During the approach, the hero undergoes an ordeal , testing them to point near death. Their greatest fear is sometimes exposed, and from the ordeal comes a new life or revival for the hero. This transformation is the final separation from their old life to their new life. For their efforts in overcoming the ordeal, the hero reaches the reward . The hero receives the reward for facing death. There may be a celebration, but there is also danger of losing the reward.

Part Four - Road Back or Hero's Return

Once the hero achieves their goal and the reward is won, the hero and companions start on the road back . The hero wants to complete the adventure and return to their ordinary world with their treasure. This stage is often referred to as either the resurrections or atonement . Hero's journey examples that showcase the atonement stage often highlight the protagonist's inner turmoil and the difficult decisions they must make to reconcile with their past and fully embrace their heroic destiny. The hero becomes "at one" with themselves. As the hero crosses the threshold (returning from the unknown to their ordinary world), the reader arrives at the climax of the story. Here, the hero is severely tested one last time. This test is an attempt to undo their previous achievements. At this point, the hero has come full circle, and the major conflict at the beginning of the journey is finally resolved. In the return home, the hero has now resumed life in his/her original world, and things are restored to ordinary.

Popular Hero's Journey Examples

Monomyth example: homer's odyssey.

Monomyth examples typically involve a hero who embarks on an adventure, faces trials and challenges, undergoes personal transformation, and returns home or to society with newfound wisdom or a significant achievement, making this storytelling structure a powerful and timeless tool for crafting compelling narratives.

The hero's journey chart below for Homer’s Odyssey uses the abridged ninth grade version of the epic. The Heroic Journey in the original story of the Odyssey is not linear, beginning in media res , Latin for “in the middle of things”.)

To Kill a Mockingbird Heroic Journey

Did you know that many popular movies have heroes that follow this type of journey? It is true! In the "Star Wars" movies, Hollywood film producer George Lucas creates a journey for Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia. In "The Lion King", Simba goes on quite the adventure that ends in a final battle with his uncle Scar, a major turning point in the film before the hero returns to save his land. In "The Wizard of Oz", Dorothy takes on the role of the epic hero as she teeters between the two worlds of Kansas and Oz. These are just a few of the many examples of Campbell's theory in the cinematic realm.

Classroom Applications and Uses

Example exercises.

Create your own hero's journey examples using the Storyboard That Creator! Customize the level of detail and number of cells required for projects based on available class time and resources.

• Students identify the stages of the heroic journey in a piece of literature by creating one cell depicting each of the twelve steps.
• Students create storyboards that show and explain each stage found in the work of literature, using specific quotes from the text which highlight each part of the journey.
• Students create an outline of their own original story that follows the monomyth stages.

Common Core

• ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.3 : Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme
• ELA-Literacy.RL.9-10.7 : Analyze the representation of a subject or a key scene in two different artistic mediums, including what is emphasized or absent in each treatment (e.g., Auden’s “Musée des Beaux Arts” and Breughel’s Landscape with the Fall of Icarus)
• ELA-Literacy.W.9-10.6 : Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology’s capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically
• ELA-Literacy.SL.9-10.2 : Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source
• ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.3 : Analyze the impact of the author’s choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed)
• ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.7 : Analyze multiple interpretations of a story, drama, or poem (e.g., recorded or live production of a play or recorded novel or poetry), evaluating how each version interprets the source text. (Include at least one play by Shakespeare and one play by an American dramatist.)
• ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.6 : Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products in response to ongoing feedback, including new arguments or information
• ELA-Literacy.SL.11-12.2 : Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) in order to make informed decisions and solve problems, evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source and noting any discrepancies among the data

Related Resources

• Plot Diagram and Narrative Arc
• Types of Conflict In Literature
• What is an Archetype?
• The Odyssey Teacher Guide
• Types of Heroes in Literature

How Teachers Can Use The Concept of The Heroic Journey To Help Students Better Understand Character Development In Literature

Introduce the concept of the heroic journey.

Teachers can introduce the concept of the heroic journey to students and explain the different stages involved in the journey. This will provide a framework for students to better understand how characters develop throughout the story.

Analyze Characters Using the Heroic Journey

Teachers can guide students through the stages of the heroic journey and ask them to identify where the character is in the journey. This will help students to understand the character's development and how their actions and decisions are influenced by the different stages of the journey.

Compare and Contrast Character Journeys

Teachers can ask students to compare and contrast the journeys of different characters within a story or across multiple stories. This will help students to gain a deeper understanding of how the heroic journey is used to develop characters in literature and how it can be applied across different genres and cultures.

Discuss the Role of Character Motivation

Teachers can encourage students to think critically about the motivations of characters at each stage of the journey. This will help students to understand why characters make certain decisions and how their motivations contribute to their development.

Apply the Concept to Real-Life Situations

Teachers can encourage students to apply the concept of the heroic journey to real-life situations. This will help students to see how the journey applies not only to literature, but also to their own lives and experiences.

Frequently Asked Questions about the Hero's Journey

What is a "monomyth" or the "hero's journey" in literature.

In comparative mythology, the monomyth, or the hero's journey, is the series of stages that can be applied to a variety of stories from all genres. It involves a hero who is called to pursue an adventure, undergoes an ordeal, achieves their goal and returns home transformed.

What are the 12 Stages of the Hero's Journey in literature?

• Ordinary World
• Call to Adventure
• Meeting the Mentor / Helper
• Crossing the Threshold
• Test / Allies / Enemies

What is a common theme in the hero's journey?

The Hero's Journey usually follows the path of the main character from childhood or young adulthood through maturity. It is about the common human experiences of growth, challenges and change that are relatable to us all.

Why should students learn about the hero's journey?

The hero's journey is relevant for students in that it demonstrates the possibility of overcoming adversity and the potential for growth and change that is within us all. It is a common theme of literature and movies that once students understand, they will be able to identify over and over again. It is helpful for students to make the text-to-self connection and apply this thinking to their own life as a "growth mindset" . They can see that they are on their own hero's journey and that everyone has the ability to overcome obstacles to achieve their goals and affect positive change in their lives and the lives of others.

What are some of the best examples of the hero's journey?

The hero's journey stages appear in more books than students may realize! Here are just a few examples of popular books that contain the monomyth structure:

• The Graveyard Book
• The Hunger Games
• To Kill a Mockingbird
• The Odyssey
• The Lions of Little Rock
• Wednesday Wars
• One Crazy Summer
• Out of My Mind
• Brown Girl Dreaming
• The Lightning Thief
• The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
• The Stars Beneath Our Feet
• Fish in a Tree

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The hero's journey: a story structure as old as time, the hero's journey offers a powerful framework for creating quest-based stories emphasizing self-transformation..

Table of Contents

Holding out for a hero to take your story to the next level? 

The Hero’s Journey might be just what you’ve been looking for. Created by Joseph Campbell, this narrative framework packs mythic storytelling into a series of steps across three acts, each representing a crucial phase in a character's transformative journey.

Challenge . Growth . Triumph .

Whether you're penning a novel, screenplay, or video game, The Hero’s Journey is a tried-and-tested blueprint for crafting epic stories that transcend time and culture. Let’s explore the steps together and kickstart your next masterpiece.

What is the Hero’s Journey?

The Hero’s Journey is a famous template for storytelling, mapping a hero's adventurous quest through trials and tribulations to ultimate transformation. 

What are the Origins of the Hero’s Journey?

The Hero’s Journey was invented by Campbell in his seminal 1949 work, The Hero with a Thousand Faces , where he introduces the concept of the "monomyth."

A comparative mythologist by trade, Campbell studied myths from cultures around the world and identified a common pattern in their narratives. He proposed that all mythic narratives are variations of a single, universal story, structured around a hero's adventure, trials, and eventual triumph.

His work unveiled the archetypal hero’s path as a mirror to humanity’s commonly shared experiences and aspirations. It was subsequently named one of the All-Time 100 Nonfiction Books by TIME in 2011.

How are the Hero’s and Heroine’s Journeys Different? 

While both the Hero's and Heroine's Journeys share the theme of transformation, they diverge in their focus and execution.

The Hero’s Journey, as outlined by Campbell, emphasizes external challenges and a quest for physical or metaphorical treasures. In contrast, Murdock's Heroine’s Journey, explores internal landscapes, focusing on personal reconciliation, emotional growth, and the path to self-actualization.

In short, heroes seek to conquer the world, while heroines seek to transform their own lives; but…

Twelve Steps of the Hero’s Journey

So influential was Campbell’s monomyth theory that it's been used as the basis for some of the largest franchises of our generation: The Lord of the Rings , Harry Potter ...and George Lucas even cited it as a direct influence on Star Wars .

There are, in fact, several variations of the Hero's Journey, which we discuss further below. But for this breakdown, we'll use the twelve-step version outlined by Christopher Vogler in his book, The Writer's Journey (seemingly now out of print, unfortunately).

You probably already know the above stories pretty well so we’ll unpack the twelve steps of the Hero's Journey using Ben Gates’ journey in National Treasure as a case study—because what is more heroic than saving the Declaration of Independence from a bunch of goons?

Ye be warned: Spoilers ahead!

Act One: Departure

Step 1. the ordinary world.

The journey begins with the status quo—business as usual. We meet the hero and are introduced to the Known World they live in. In other words, this is your exposition, the starting stuff that establishes the story to come.

National Treasure begins in media res (preceded only by a short prologue), where we are given key information that introduces us to Ben Gates' world, who he is (a historian from a notorious family), what he does (treasure hunts), and why he's doing it (restoring his family's name).

With the help of his main ally, Riley, and a crew of other treasure hunters backed by a wealthy patron, he finds an 18th-century American ship in the Canadian Arctic, the Charlotte . Here, they find a ship-shaped pipe that presents a new riddle and later doubles as a key—for now, it's just another clue in the search for the lost treasure of the Templars, one that leads them to the Declaration of Independence.

Step 2. The Call to Adventure

The inciting incident takes place and the hero is called to act upon it. While they're still firmly in the Known World, the story kicks off and leaves the hero feeling out of balance. In other words, they are placed at a crossroads.

Ian (the wealthy patron of the Charlotte operation) steals the pipe from Ben and Riley and leaves them stranded. This is a key moment: Ian becomes the villain, Ben has now sufficiently lost his funding for this expedition, and if he decides to pursue the chase, he'll be up against extreme odds.

Step 3. Refusal of the Call

The hero hesitates and instead refuses their call to action. Following the call would mean making a conscious decision to break away from the status quo. Ahead lies danger, risk, and the unknown; but here and now, the hero is still in the safety and comfort of what they know.

Ben debates continuing the hunt for the Templar treasure. Before taking any action, he decides to try and warn the authorities: the FBI, Homeland Security, and the staff of the National Archives, where the Declaration of Independence is housed and monitored. Nobody will listen to him, and his family's notoriety doesn't help matters.

Step 4. Meeting the Mentor

The protagonist receives knowledge or motivation from a powerful or influential figure. This is a tactical move on the hero's part—remember that it was only the previous step in which they debated whether or not to jump headfirst into the unknown. By Meeting the Mentor, they can gain new information or insight, and better equip themselves for the journey they might to embark on.

Abigail, an archivist at the National Archives, brushes Ben and Riley off as being crazy, but Ben uses the interaction to his advantage in other ways—to seek out information about how the Declaration of Independence is stored and cared for, as well as what (and more importantly, who) else he might be up against in his own attempt to steal it.

In a key scene, we see him contemplate the entire operation while standing over the glass-encased Declaration of Independence. Finally, he firmly decides to pursue the treasure and stop Ian, uttering the famous line, "I'm gonna steal the Declaration of Independence."

Act Two: Initiation

Step 5. crossing the threshold.

The hero leaves the Known World to face the Unknown World. They are fully committed to the journey, with no way to turn back now. There may be a confrontation of some sort, and the stakes will be raised.

Ben and Riley infiltrate the National Archives during a gala and successfully steal the Declaration of Independence. But wait—it's not so easy. While stealing the Declaration of Independence, Abigail suspects something is up and Ben faces off against Ian.

Then, when trying to escape the building, Ben exits through the gift shop, where an attendant spots the document peeking out of his jacket. He is forced to pay for it, feigning that it's a replica—and because he doesn't have enough cash, he has to use his credit card, so there goes keeping his identity anonymous.

The game is afoot.

Step 6. Tests, Allies, Enemies

The hero explores the Unknown World. Now that they have firmly crossed the threshold from the Known World, the hero will face new challenges and possibly meet new enemies. They'll have to call upon their allies, new and old, in order to keep moving forward.

Abigail reluctantly joins the team under the agreement that she'll help handle the Declaration of Independence, given her background in document archiving and restoration. Ben and co. seek the aid of Ben's father, Patrick Gates, whom Ben has a strained relationship with thanks to years of failed treasure hunting that has created a rift between grandfather, father, and son. Finally, they travel around Philadelphia deciphering clues while avoiding both Ian and the FBI.

Step 7. Approach the Innermost Cave

The hero nears the goal of their quest, the reason they crossed the threshold in the first place. Here, they could be making plans, having new revelations, or gaining new skills. To put it in other familiar terms, this step would mark the moment just before the story's climax.

Ben uncovers a pivotal clue—or rather, he finds an essential item—a pair of bifocals with interchangeable lenses made by Benjamin Franklin. It is revealed that by switching through the various lenses, different messages will be revealed on the back of the Declaration of Independence. He's forced to split from Abigail and Riley, but Ben has never been closer to the treasure.

Step 8. The Ordeal

The hero faces a dire situation that changes how they view the world. All threads of the story come together at this pinnacle, the central crisis from which the hero will emerge unscathed or otherwise. The stakes will be at their absolute highest here.

Vogler details that in this stage, the hero will experience a "death," though it need not be literal. In your story, this could signify the end of something and the beginning of another, which could itself be figurative or literal. For example, a certain relationship could come to an end, or it could mean someone "stuck in their ways" opens up to a new perspective.

In National Treasure , The FBI captures Ben and Ian makes off with the Declaration of Independence—all hope feels lost. To add to it, Ian reveals that he's kidnapped Ben's father and threatens to take further action if Ben doesn't help solve the final clues and lead Ian to the treasure.

Ben escapes the FBI with Ian's help, reunites with Abigail and Riley, and leads everyone to an underground structure built below Trinity Church in New York City. Here, they manage to split from Ian once more, sending him on a goose chase to Boston with a false clue, and proceed further into the underground structure.

Though they haven't found the treasure just yet, being this far into the hunt proves to Ben's father, Patrick, that it's real enough. The two men share an emotional moment that validates what their family has been trying to do for generations.

Step 9. Reward

This is it, the moment the hero has been waiting for. They've survived "death," weathered the crisis of The Ordeal, and earned the Reward for which they went on this journey.

Now, free of Ian's clutches and with some light clue-solving, Ben, Abigail, Riley, and Patrick keep progressing through the underground structure and eventually find the Templar's treasure—it's real and more massive than they could have imagined. Everyone revels in their discovery while simultaneously looking for a way back out.

Act Three: Return

Step 10. the road back.

It's time for the journey to head towards its conclusion. The hero begins their return to the Known World and may face unexpected challenges. Whatever happens, the "why" remains paramount here (i.e. why the hero ultimately chose to embark on their journey).

This step marks a final turning point where they'll have to take action or make a decision to keep moving forward and be "reborn" back into the Known World.

Act Three of National Treasure is admittedly quite short. After finding the treasure, Ben and co. emerge from underground to face the FBI once more. Not much of a road to travel back here so much as a tunnel to scale in a crypt.

Step 11. Resurrection

The hero faces their ultimate challenge and emerges victorious, but forever changed. This step often requires a sacrifice of some sort, and having stepped into the role of The Hero™, they must answer to this.

Ben is given an ultimatum— somebody has to go to jail (on account of the whole stealing-the-Declaration-of-Independence thing). But, Ben also found a treasure worth millions of dollars and that has great value to several nations around the world, so that counts for something.

Ultimately, Ben sells Ian out, makes a deal to exonerate his friends and family, and willingly hands the treasure over to the authorities. Remember: he wanted to find the treasure, but his "why" was to restore the Gates family name, so he won regardless.

Step 12. Return With the Elixir

Finally, the hero returns home as a new version of themself, the elixir is shared amongst the people, and the journey is completed full circle.

The elixir, like many other elements of the hero's journey, can be literal or figurative. It can be a tangible thing, such as an actual elixir meant for some specific purpose, or it could be represented by an abstract concept such as hope, wisdom, or love.

Vogler notes that if the Hero's Journey results in a tragedy, the elixir can instead have an effect external to the story—meaning that it could be something meant to affect the audience and/or increase their awareness of the world.

In the final scene of National Treasure , we see Ben and Abigail walking the grounds of a massive estate. Riley pulls up in a fancy sports car and comments on how they could have gotten more money. They all chat about attending a museum exhibit in Cairo (Egypt).

In one scene, we're given a lot of closure: Ben and co. received a hefty payout for finding the treasure, Ben and Abigail are a couple now, and the treasure was rightfully spread to those it benefitted most—in this case, countries who were able to reunite with significant pieces of their history. Everyone's happy, none of them went to jail despite the serious crimes committed, and they're all a whole lot wealthier. Oh, Hollywood.

Variations of the Hero's Journey

Plot structure is important, but you don't need to follow it exactly; and, in fact, your story probably won't. Your version of the Hero's Journey might require more or fewer steps, or you might simply go off the beaten path for a few steps—and that's okay!

What follows are three additional versions of the Hero's Journey, which you may be more familiar with than Vogler's version presented above.

Dan Harmon's Story Circle (or, The Eight-Step Hero's Journey)

Screenwriter Dan Harmon has riffed on the Hero's Journey by creating a more compact version, the Story Circle —and it works especially well for shorter-format stories such as television episodes, which happens to be what Harmon writes.

The Story Circle comprises eight simple steps with a heavy emphasis on the hero's character arc:

• The hero is in a zone of comfort...
• But they want something.
• They enter an unfamiliar situation...
• And adapt to it by facing trials.
• They get what they want...
• But they pay a heavy price for it.
• They return to their familiar situation...
• Having changed.

You may have noticed, but there is a sort of rhythm here. The eight steps work well in four pairs, simplifying the core of the Hero's Journey even further:

• The hero is in a zone of comfort, but they want something.
• They enter an unfamiliar situation and have to adapt via new trials.
• They get what they want, but they pay a price for it.
• They return to their zone of comfort, forever changed.

If you're writing shorter fiction, such as a short story or novella, definitely check out the Story Circle. It's the Hero's Journey minus all the extraneous bells & whistles.

Ten-Step Hero's Journey

The ten-step Hero's Journey is similar to the twelve-step version we presented above. It includes most of the same steps except for Refusal of the Call and Meeting the Mentor, arguing that these steps aren't as essential to include; and, it moves Crossing the Threshold to the end of Act One and Reward to the end of Act Two.

• The Ordinary World
• The Call to Adventure
• Crossing the Threshold
• Tests, Allies, Enemies
• Approach the Innermost Cave
• The Road Back
• Resurrection
• Return with Elixir

We've previously written about the ten-step hero's journey in a series of essays separated by act: Act One (with a prologue), Act Two , and Act Three .

Twelve-Step Hero's Journey: Version Two

Again, the second version of the twelve-step hero's journey is very similar to the one above, save for a few changes, including in which story act certain steps appear.

This version skips The Ordinary World exposition and starts right at The Call to Adventure; then, the story ends with two new steps in place of Return With Elixir: The Return and The Freedom to Live.

• The Refusal of the Call
• Meeting the Mentor
• Test, Allies, Enemies
• Approaching the Innermost Cave
• The Resurrection
• The Return*
• The Freedom to Live*

In the final act of this version, there is more of a focus on an internal transformation for the hero. They experience a metamorphosis on their journey back to the Known World, return home changed, and go on to live a new life, uninhibited.

Seventeen-Step Hero's Journey

Finally, the granddaddy of heroic journeys: the seventeen-step Hero's Journey. This version includes a slew of extra steps your hero might face out in the expanse.

• Refusal of the Call
• Supernatural Aid (aka Meeting the Mentor)
• Belly of the Whale*: This added stage marks the hero's immediate descent into danger once they've crossed the threshold.
• Road of Trials (...with Allies, Tests, and Enemies)
• Meeting with the Goddess/God*: In this stage, the hero meets with a new advisor or powerful figure, who equips them with the knowledge or insight needed to keep progressing forward.
• Woman as Temptress (or simply, Temptation)*: Here, the hero is tempted, against their better judgment, to question themselves and their reason for being on the journey. They may feel insecure about something specific or have an exposed weakness that momentarily holds them back.
• Atonement with the Father (or, Catharthis)*: The hero faces their Temptation and moves beyond it, shedding free from all that holds them back.
• Apotheosis (aka The Ordeal)
• The Ultimate Boon (aka the Reward)
• Refusal of the Return*: The hero wonders if they even want to go back to their old life now that they've been forever changed.
• The Magic Flight*: Having decided to return to the Known World, the hero needs to actually find a way back.
• Rescue From Without*: Allies may come to the hero's rescue, helping them escape this bold, new world and return home.
• Crossing of the Return Threshold (aka The Return)
• Master of Two Worlds*: Very closely resembling The Resurrection stage in other variations, this stage signifies that the hero is quite literally a master of two worlds—The Known World and the Unknown World—having conquered each.
• Freedom to Live

Again, we skip the Ordinary World opening here. Additionally, Acts Two and Three look pretty different from what we've seen so far, although, the bones of the Hero's Journey structure remain.

The Eight Hero’s Journey Archetypes

The Hero is, understandably, the cornerstone of the Hero’s Journey, but they’re just one of eight key archetypes that make up this narrative framework.

In The Writer's Journey , Vogler outlined seven of these archetypes, only excluding the Ally, which we've included below. Here’s a breakdown of all eight with examples: 

1. The Hero

As outlined, the Hero is the protagonist who embarks on a transformative quest or journey. The challenges they overcome represent universal human struggles and triumphs. 

Vogler assigned a "primary function" to each archetype—helpful for establishing their role in a story. The Hero's primary function is "to service and sacrifice."

Example: Neo from The Matrix , who evolves from a regular individual into the prophesied savior of humanity.

2. The Mentor

A wise guide offering knowledge, tools, and advice, Mentors help the Hero navigate the journey and discover their potential. Their primary function is "to guide."

Example: Mr. Miyagi from The Karate Kid imparts not only martial arts skills but invaluable life lessons to Daniel.

3. The Ally

Companions who support the Hero, Allies provide assistance, friendship, and moral support throughout the journey. They may also become a friends-to-lovers romantic partner. 

Not included in Vogler's list is the Ally, though we'd argue they are essential nonetheless. Let's say their primary function is "to aid and support."

Example: Samwise Gamgee from Lord of the Rings , a loyal friend and steadfast supporter of Frodo.

4. The Herald

The Herald acts as a catalyst to initiate the Hero's Journey, often presenting a challenge or calling the hero to adventure. Their primary function is "to warn or challenge."

Example: Effie Trinket from The Hunger Games , whose selection at the Reaping sets Katniss’s journey into motion.

5. The Trickster

A character who brings humor and unpredictability, challenges conventions, and offers alternative perspectives or solutions. Their primary function is "to disrupt."

Example: Loki from Norse mythology exemplifies the trickster, with his cunning and chaotic influence.

6. The Shapeshifter

Ambiguous figures whose allegiance and intentions are uncertain. They may be a friend one moment and a foe the next. Their primary function is "to question and deceive."

Example: Catwoman from the Batman universe often blurs the line between ally and adversary, slinking between both roles with glee.

7. The Guardian

Protectors of important thresholds, Guardians challenge or test the Hero, serving as obstacles to overcome or lessons to be learned. Their primary function is "to test."

Example: The Black Knight in Monty Python and the Holy Grail literally bellows “None shall pass!”—a quintessential ( but not very effective ) Guardian.

8. The Shadow

Represents the Hero's inner conflict or an antagonist, often embodying the darker aspects of the hero or their opposition. Their primary function is "to destroy."

Example: Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender; initially an adversary, his journey parallels the Hero’s path of transformation.

While your story does not have to use all of the archetypes, they can help you develop your characters and visualize how they interact with one another—especially the Hero.

For example, take your hero and place them in the center of a blank worksheet, then write down your other major characters in a circle around them and determine who best fits into which archetype. Who challenges your hero? Who tricks them? Who guides them? And so on...

Stories that Use the Hero’s Journey

Not a fan of saving the Declaration of Independence? Check out these alternative examples of the Hero’s Journey to get inspired: 

• Epic of Gilgamesh : An ancient Mesopotamian epic poem thought to be one of the earliest examples of the Hero’s Journey (and one of the oldest recorded stories).
• The Lion King (1994): Simba's exile and return depict a tale of growth, responsibility, and reclaiming his rightful place as king.
• The Alchemist by Paolo Coehlo: Santiago's quest for treasure transforms into a journey of self-discovery and personal enlightenment.
• Coraline by Neil Gaiman: A young girl's adventure in a parallel world teaches her about courage, family, and appreciating her own reality.
• Kung Fu Panda (2008): Po's transformation from a clumsy panda to a skilled warrior perfectly exemplifies the Hero's Journey. Skadoosh!

The Hero's Journey is so generalized that it's ubiquitous. You can plop the plot of just about any quest-style narrative into its framework and say that the story follows the Hero's Journey. Try it out for yourself as an exercise in getting familiar with the method.

Will the Hero's Journey Work For You?

As renowned as it is, the Hero's Journey works best for the kinds of tales that inspired it: mythic stories.

Writers of speculative fiction may gravitate towards this method over others, especially those writing epic fantasy and science fiction (big, bold fantasy quests and grand space operas come to mind).

The stories we tell today are vast and varied, and they stretch far beyond the dealings of deities, saving kingdoms, or acquiring some fabled "elixir." While that may have worked for Gilgamesh a few thousand years ago, it's not always representative of our lived experiences here and now.

If you decide to give the Hero's Journey a go, we encourage you to make it your own! The pieces of your plot don't have to neatly fit into the structure, but you can certainly make a strong start on mapping out your story.

Hero's Journey Campfire Template

The Timeline Module in Campfire offers a versatile canvas to plot out each basic component of your story while featuring nested "notebooks."

Simply double-click on each event card in your timeline to open up a canvas specific to that card. This allows you to look at your plot at the highest level, while also adding as much detail for each plot element as needed!

If you're just hearing about Campfire for the first time, it's free to sign up—forever! Let's plot the most epic of hero's journeys 👇

Lessons From the Hero’s Journey

The Hero's Journey offers a powerful framework for creating stories centered around growth, adventure, and transformation.

If you want to develop compelling characters, spin out engaging plots, and write books that express themes of valor and courage, consider The Hero’s Journey your blueprint. So stop holding out for a hero, and start writing!

Does your story mirror the Hero's Journey? Let us know in the comments below.

The Ordeal in the Hero's Journey

From Christopher Vogler's The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure

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The Ordeal is the critical moment in every story, a major source of magic in heroic myth, according to Christopher Vogler, author of The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure. The hero stands in the deepest chamber of the inmost cave and faces a direct confrontation with his greatest fear. No matter what the hero came for, it’s Death that now stares back at her. She is brought to the brink of death in a battle with a hostile force.

The hero of every story is an initiate being introduced to the mysteries of life and death, Vogler writes. She must appear to die so she can be reborn, transformed.

The ordeal is a major crisis in the story, but it's not the climax, which happens closer to the end. The ordeal is usually the central event, the main event of the second act. A crisis, according to Webster’s, is when "hostile forces are in the tensest state of opposition."

The hero’s crisis, as frightening as it is, is the only way to victory, according to Vogler.

Witnesses are an important part of the crisis. Someone close to the hero witnesses the hero’s apparent death and the reader experiences it through their point of view. Witnesses feel the pain of death, and when they realize the hero still lives, their grief, as well as the reader’s, suddenly, explosively, turns to joy, Vogler states.

Readers Love to See Heroes Cheat Death

Vogler writes that in any story, the writer is trying to lift the reader, raise their awareness, heighten their emotions. Good structure works as a pump on the reader’s emotions as the hero’s fortunes are raised and lowered. Emotions depressed by the presence of death can rebound in an instant to a higher state than before.

Just as on a roller coaster, you’re hurled around until you think you might die, Vogler writes, and you get off elated that you’ve survived. Every story needs a hint of this experience or it’s missing its heart.

The crisis, a halfway point, is a divide in the hero’s journey : the top of the mountain, the heart of the forest, the depth of the ocean, the most secret place in his soul. Everything in the trip has to lead up to this point, and everything after is about going home.

There may be greater adventures to come, the most exciting even, but every journey has a center, a bottom or a peak somewhere near the middle. Nothing will ever be the same after the crisis.

The most common ordeal is some sort of battle or confrontation with the opposing force, which usually represents the hero’s own shadow, according to Vogler. No matter how alien the villain’s values, in some way they are the dark reflection of the hero’s own desires, magnified and distorted, her greatest fears come to life. The unrecognized or rejected parts are acknowledged and made conscious despite all their struggles to remain in darkness.

Death of the Ego

The ordeal in myth signifies the death of the ego. The hero has soared above death and now sees the connectedness of all things. The hero has risked his life for the sake of the larger collective.

The Wicked Witch is enraged that Dorothy and her friends have penetrated the inmost cave. She threatens each of them with death. She lights Scarecrow on fire. We feel the horror of his imminent death. Dorothy grabs a bucket of water to save him and ends up melting the witch. We watch her agonizing death instead. After a moment of being stunned, everyone is related, even the witch’s minions.

This article is part of our series on the hero's journey, starting with The Hero's Journey Introduction and The Archetypes of the Hero's Journey.

• The Approach to the Inmost Cave in the Hero's Journey
• The Resurrection and Return With the Elixir
• An Introduction to The Hero's Journey
• The Hero's Journey: Crossing the Threshold
• The Reward and the Road Back
• The Hero's Journey: Refusing The Call to Adventure
• The Ordinary World in the Hero's Journey
• The Role of Archetypes in Literature
• The Hero's Journey: Meeting with the Mentor
• Jean Paul Sartre's 'The Transcendence of the Ego'
• Ulysses (Odysseus)
• Freud: Id, Ego, and Superego Explained
• Amplification Definition and Examples in Rhetoric
• Falling Action in Literature
• The Heroes of Ancient Greece and Rome
• How to Write Great Ledes for Feature Stories

Simplifying the Hero’s Journey

A good place to start your story, especially if you’re a beginner, is with Joseph Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey” from his book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces . It follows the typical three-act structure, but it breaks it down into easy plot points. You don’t have to use all of them and you don’t have to complete them in the same order, but having a ball of string to get you through the labyrinth of your story ideas can make all the difference.  

The first act is called the Departure. Your character is in their primal stage where the audience gets to know them before their character development takes place. We must see all that they are and will leave behind for the purpose of the story.  

Call to Adventure

Your protagonist is given the choice to make great changes in their life, good or bad. This could be something they discover on their own or someone leads them to.  

Refusal of the Call

A character who leaps at the prospect of change and entering the unknown will seem unrealistic. Think about your own life. While some people may have no qualms leaving their comfortable life to go way out of their comfort zone, most people will need time to come to grips with this change in plans.  

Not all characters will go willingly, either. Think of how John Wick was brought out of retirement by the desire for revenge. Many times this refusal happens right before the character is catapulted into the conflict.  

Meeting the Mentor

Usually, the protagonist can’t do it alone. If they could, there would be no need for character development. A mentor can be in many different forms, but are usually seen as someone who grants the protagonist something that helps them move forward. A weapon, knowledge, or even offering the protagonist their own skills. In Proppian analysis, this could be seen as a donor cycle.  

Crossing the First Threshold

The hero may have committed to the adventure, but this is their first foot forward. This is the point of no return. It doesn’t have to be a physical crossing, in fact, in most stories, the first threshold is the first hurdle the character jumps over on their progress of development. Once the character does an action that changes an aspect of their character, there is no way they can go back to the same life they had.  

Belly of the Whale

While the character may have taken the first step toward change, this is the final separation of what the hero knew to be true to what they know now. It’s a stage of enlightenment where some sort of wool over their eyes is removed due to their actions. This is the red pill from The Matrix . It throws the protagonist into the next stage: Initiation.  

This is the time for your hero to be tested. This is the trial by fire that will forge your protagonist and give them the character development that they need to make it through the plot. It won’t be easy and it shouldn’t be.  

The Road of Trials

Your hero will enter a series of tests that move them forward through the plot and help break down their character to allow room for development and growth. They will fail many, but when they overcome the trials, they move forward to the next step.  

The Meeting with the Goddess

Most of the stepping stones so far have been pretty self-explanatory, however, this one is often up to interpretation. It doesn’t have to be a woman or a goddess or even be a meeting. All that happens is the hero has bestowed a gift that helps them on their journey. In older stories like The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Odyssey , this was the moment where Ishtar (although also the Temptress) or Athena gift the hero with a special ability or tool.  

While it’s not used so literally in stories now, it is still a moment where the hero is granted a reward for their hard work. This is where they have gained some sort of fame or notoriety and from that, they are granted access to something that they couldn’t have before their current character development.  

The Woman as Temptress

Most of the titles that deal with a specific character are more like symbols. In this, the hero won’t necessarily be meeting a woman, but they will be tempted. Think of it this way: your hero has undergone a character development in a short time and now have to confront what that means. Maybe they are more powerful or less selfish, but they’re only halfway.  

We’re all human and we know how difficult it is to change. This could be where your protagonist struggles at the top of the hill of their development. This is when they’ve burned out of their momentum and must decide whether to give in to their fatigue and roll all the way back down or push their limits and make it to a point where they know they can move forward. Not all make it over that hill.  

Atonement with the Father / Abyss

This is that hilltop. The protagonist must confront what it is that is holding them back from achieving their complete character development. Since the father is symbolically the figure who controls the power of life and death or a tight grip over the protagonist’s life. Everything the character has done has led up to this confrontation with themselves (abyss) or an external force (father).  

Your protagonist has finally achieved that sweet, sweet character development. They’ve gone from making and selling weapons to saving lives ( Iron Man 2008) or from working independently to becoming part of a team ( Ready Player One ). Your character has made it. This may also become a lull into vulnerability as the danger is not over yet.  

The Ultimate Boon

The goal of the protagonist is achieved. It may not be what they were seeking, but it ends up being what they need or never knew they needed. In Shape of Water , Elisa is healed and given lungs by the creature even though that wasn’t the plan.  

While this is usually the resolution of the story, some films, like The Hitman’s Bodyguard , lead to a final act from the defeated antagonist force before the storm goes quiet.  

Refusal of the Return

The protagonist may pause before returning to their life before the adventure. This could be because they are not the same person they were and do not find that life appealing anymore or because they worry they may regress and return to that person they once were.  

The Magic Flight

This is where something goes wrong and the hero must escape with the “boon” or the product of the adventure. Flights aren’t always successful. In Baby Driver , Baby and Deborah surrender at a roadblock, their flight cut short. However, he still has his freedom from the crew of thieves.  

Rescue from Without

Sometimes, the transfer from one world (chaos and conflict) to the other (normalcy) can be too difficult for some protagonists and they need help. This could be nurturing from wounds or rebuilding their life that was destroyed as a catalyst to their leaving it. It is always good to note that your protagonist doesn’t have to go through all of these steps alone. Sometimes part of character development is letting others in and working as a team.  

The Crossing of the Return Threshold

This marks the end of the adventure. The story is done. While the character has wisdom from the events and may have made allies along the way, the conflict has been resolved. The tricky part is whether the character decides to retain this wisdom and continue to practice it and maintain their character development, or whether they are tempted back into old habits. Characters aren’t perfect.  

Master of Two Worlds

With this wisdom, characters now have a new perspective of the world around them than they did before the journey. They can share this knowledge and create a better world or keep it to themselves and make their lives better. Maybe this knowledge is too dangerous to pass on to others who didn’t go through the process your protagonist did, but they can use it to keep those who are ignorant safe. Like the final balance between Venom and Eddie in Venom .  

Freedom to Live

Having flown so close to the sun, your protagonist now has an appreciation for some simple things. They may know better, but approach life with more excitement and curiosity than before. Perhaps they lost a friend along the way and have learned to appreciate others more. Not all characters end happily, but if they do it stems from their character development and the trials that tested them along the way.  

While Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey is a favorite beginning structure for writers whether they’re just starting out or whether they have a small idea that they want to develop quickly. It’s not for everyone and it’s not meant to be the end-all be-all of story writing.  

If you want to test your own skills, outline a story and see how many points you hit. Coincidence? Maybe, but the reason it’s taught is because it works. I may be able to take apart The Wizard of Oz with this structure, but that doesn’t mean it was written with it or that you have to use it. Writing should never feel like a chore, so if following this structure sucks, then stop using it. There are several other approaches and structure styles that you can try and I encourage all writers to find the one that works best, even if that’s writing by the seat of your pants!  

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Home / Book Writing / The Hero’s Journey: The 12 Steps of Mythic Structure

The Hero’s Journey: The 12 Steps of Mythic Structure

The Hero’s Journey plot structure is a common template for writing a compelling story. It also has a built-in character arc for the hero or heroine. Whether you write detailed outlines before getting into any prose, or you think writing is best done without an outline, the Hero’s Journey can help. Many writers fall somewhere in between, keeping in mind the broad strokes of a plot structure like the Hero’s Journey as they write. 

Now, before you roll up your sleeves and get started with plotting your brand new idea, make sure it's viable to become a bestseller. Take just a few minutes to use book idea validation – without it, your book risks obscurity after it's published. If you have already written your book with a structure like the Hero's Journey and are looking to increase your sales, read how to make your book #1 on Amazon so you don't miss out on new readers.

One thing’s for sure: learning the twelve steps of the Hero’s Journey can only help your writing. This is why I recommend Plottr as an excellent tool to strengthen your writing. They have the Hero’s Journey and other well-known story archetypes to choose from so you can find one that best fits your particular story. 

More on Plottr later. For now, let’s go on an adventure through the Hero’s Journey!

• The origins of the Hero’s Journey
• The 12 Steps of the Journey
• Examples of the Hero’s Journey
• How to incorporate this story structure into your writing

Table of contents

• What is the Hero’s Journey?
• The Hero’s Journey: An Overview
• 1. The Ordinary World
• 2. The Call to Adventure
• 3. Refusing the Call to Adventure
• 4. Meeting the Mentor
• 5. Crossing the Threshold
• 6. Test, Allies, and Enemies
• 7. Approach to the Inmost Cave
• 8. The Ordeal
• 9. The Reward
• 10. The Road Back
• 11. Resurrection
• 12. Return With the Elixir
• Star Wars: A New Hope
• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
• The Hunger Games
• Bonus Option: Use the Hero's Journey in a Series
• What Stories Work With the Hero’s Journey?

Get it for FREE here: Get the PDF Here

Popularized by mythologist Joseph Campbell in his book The Hero With a Thousand Faces , the Hero’s Journey is a story structure that has been used to tell exciting and captivating stories for centuries. Campbell, a literature professor, found that this was a common mythic structure. It’s widely known by the moniker the Hero’s Journey, but this name didn’t come around until well after Campbell’s 1949 book.

Campbell’s name for it was the monomyth. 

Other scholars and storytellers have made tweaks to Campbell’s original monomyth structure, which has seventeen steps instead of the twelve I’ll be discussing today. The version of the Hero’s Journey widely used by screenwriters, authors, and playwrights today was popularized by screenwriter and producer Christopher Vogler .

You can apply this story structure to mythology, films, books, and even short stories.

There are three overall stages to the Hero’s Journey, each with individual story beats. These are 1) Departure, 2) Initiation, and 3) Return.

• The Ordinary World
• The Call to Adventure
• Refusing the Call to Adventure
• Meeting the Mentor
• Crossing the Threshold
• Test, Allies, and Enemies
• Approach to the Inmost Cave
• The Road Back
• Resurrection
• Return With the Elixir

Format Beautiful Professional Books

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The Twelve Stages of the Hero’s Journey

Each of the twelve steps has its own story beats that happen. As we finish each stage, we’ll reflect on each story beat with an example from a famous movie. 

The first step in the Hero’s Journey is your chance to familiarize the reader with the known world in which your story happens. This means giving the reader what they need to know to make sense of the world (otherwise known as exposition ). If your story takes place in a reality much like our own, you won’t have a lot to do. But if magic and mythical beasts are normal, or it’s far into the future and interstellar travel is possible, you’ll have a bit more work to do here.  If you're having trouble picking which type of world is best for your book, research popular keywords in your genre to reveal settings that readers find interesting.

While you introduce the world, you’ll want to introduce the main character(s) as well. And in doing so, it’s important to give the reader a reason to like him, her, or them . While the protagonist is in their normal, ordinary world, they should want something more or different. And this want or need should dovetail nicely with the primary conflict of the story. 

• Introduce the world and the character in an interesting way. Readers will give you some leeway at the beginning of the book, but if it reads like a textbook, you’ll lose them pretty quickly!
• Give the character personality and dimension . Needs, wants, flaws, and characteristics don’t all have to come out right away, but there should be enough for the reader to want to follow the hero through the story. 

Tip: This first step should take the first 10-12% of the story. 

Step two, the call to adventure, is also called the inciting incident. This is something disruptive that pulls the hero out of their ordinary world and toward a journey that will ultimately change their life . . . if they survive. 

This call propels the rest of the story forward , so it should be exciting enough for the reader to want to continue with the story. This will change from genre to genre, so it’s important to know the tropes of whatever genre you’re writing in.  On Amazon, there are thousands of genre categories to choose from, so research potential category options to better understand your market.

• Most heroes will resist this initial call to action. The stakes should be very real and clear to the reader at this point. In many stories, the stakes will be life or death.
• Remember that your story needs to grow in intensity until it peaks at the climax. So the call to action should be dramatic, but things will get worse for the protagonist from here.

Tip: The Call To Adventure should happen around the 12% mark.  

Not every protagonist will refuse the call. Some may be ready to go. But if you pay attention to some of your favorite stories, you’ll likely see that most heroes ‌resist initially until ‌they have no choice. 

Something should happen to make a refusing hero realize that they have no choice but to take on the challenge presented to them. For every refusal, some incident or information should come out that will raise the stakes and make the hero realize they must face the challenge . The hero ventures forth at the end of this section.

• It’s good to have the character refuse the call for a reason that ties in with the need or want established in the first step of the Hero’s Journey. 
• Give them a good reason to refuse — and an even better reason to finally heed the call to adventure. 

Tip: The refusal section starts around the 15% mark of the story.  

At this point in the story, the protagonist has responded to the call to adventure. But their initial unease is still there. They don’t yet have the skills, items, or knowledge to succeed against such a challenge. This is where the mentor comes in. 

The mentor helps the protagonist gain the confidence needed to continue on the journey. This is usually done in a multifaceted manner, with both physical and mental help. Much of the time, the mentor provides tough love, kicking the protagonist’s butt into action, so to speak. While mentors are often people, they can also take the form of information, like a map, a magic scepter, or any other number of things that help the hero along. 

• Make it clear that, without the mentor, the protagonist would likely fall flat were they to continue on unaided. 
• The hero’s time with the mentor should ultimately result in a revelation , giving the hero exactly what they need (or at least what they think they need) to face the antagonist or challenge. 

Tip: Have this section start around the 20% mark of the story.

Step five of the Hero’s Journey is often called the point of no return. While the protagonist has learned from the mentor and gained confidence, this story beat forces them to engage fully with the challenge. Usually, this dramatic turning point is orchestrated by the antagonist, giving both the reader and the protagonist an idea of how powerful the villain really is.

One common tactic is to have the mentor killed in this section. Whatever you choose to do, make it pivotal and have it reinforce the central theme and conflict of the story . This is also the end of the Departure section, otherwise known as the first act. 

• Until this point, the hero has had one foot in their ordinary world. Now, there’s no choice but to go forward into unknown territory, otherwise called the special world. 
• The hero’s reaction to this pivotal story beat should be in line with what the reader knows about them. They need to work for any major changes that come about in this section. 

Tip: Crossing the Threshold usually starts around the 25% mark. 

This section marks the beginning of the second act. Building on everything that has come before, the protagonist should be challenged, putting their new abilities and knowledge to the test. It will become clear that the hero still needs help to resolve the main conflict of the story. This is where allies come into play. By teaming up with allies, the hero should continue to grow, playing off the other characters and working to overcome the tests or setbacks in the Special World. 

Enemies are those that put the tests in their place, working actively against the hero and allies. The reader should learn to care about the allies, which ‌means making them multifaceted characters. By the time this section is done, not all allies will have made it. Some may have even betrayed the hero. Likewise, enemies can also transform in this section, turning into allies. 

• While the allies may want the same thing as the hero, they may have conflicting views on how to get it. Everyone in agreement all the time makes for a boring story. 
• The hero’s abilities should be in doubt — both by the hero and the reader. 

Tip: This section occurs around the 30% mark. 

The approach to the inmost cave section gives the characters (and reader) a chance to reflect on the challenges of the previous section. Remember that the stakes and tension need to continue rising, so the previous section should have been the hardest challenge yet. The hero and allies are beaten and bruised — maybe one or more has died along the way — but the protagonist is still alive. The journey continues. 

The group is closer to the goal — and to the place or time of ultimate danger. They’re regrouping and gathering their wits as they prepare to face the antagonist or some of the villain’s formidable forces.

• This is a good place for the characters to formulate a plan of attack, clarifying the price of failure and the prize for success. 
• At this point, the hero has redoubled his effort and believes he is ready to face the challenge, despite his setbacks. The ordinary world is now far behind and impossible to get back to. The only way out is through. 

Tip: This section happens around the 40% mark. 

The ordeal is the biggest test yet and a transformative event that affects how the hero goes forward on their journey. This confrontation has the highest stakes so far, and it’s part of the central conflict. It brings the hero to their darkest point yet, and results in a metamorphosis of sorts that allows them to push through to the other side. 

Campbell spoke of the ordeal in terms of death and rebirth for the protagonist. The hero uses all they have learned up to this point to push through the ordeal. A character close to the hero is often killed in this section, whether it be the mentor, a close ally, or a loved one. However, it’s not always a death. It could involve facing fears, going up against the biggest foe, or breaking through some seemingly insurmountable mental barrier. Whatever form the ordeal takes, the hero is broken down and comes out the other side stronger than before . 

• This section is a long one, taking nearly a fifth of the story. It should be dramatic, compelling, and speak directly to the heart of both the external and internal conflicts of the story.
• Don’t be afraid to make things hard on your characters in this section. Even though the reader knows the hero will prevail, they should be left wondering in this section. 

Tip: The Ordeal takes place from around the 50% mark. 

Also called seizing the sword, this is the section in which the hero gets whatever they were searching for during the story. They’ve made it through the ordeal, and this is the reward. It can be an object, clarity, knowledge, or new skills/abilities. Whatever the reward is, it needs to be important in defeating the antagonist at the coming climax . 

After the action and emotion of the ordeal, this section is a place for the reader and characters to regroup and catch their breath again. It can be a good place for a celebration of sorts, something to show for the sacrifices made so far. The hero may even reflect on all it took to get here. 

• It should be clear to the reader how the reward will help the hero to finish the journey.
• This is a major milestone in the journey and should be treated as such. It also marks the end of act two.  

Tip: The Reward section takes place around the 70% mark of the story. 

Reward firmly in hand, the hero starts the journey back to the ordinary world. But every action has consequences, and those of claiming the reward block the hero’s road back. It becomes clear that things aren’t so simple, and the hero’s tribulations aren’t yet over. 

The unforeseen consequences of claiming the reward make the hero realize they’re in more danger than ever before, and they must face the antagonist head-on before returning to the ordinary world. The hero prepares for the ultimate battle — the climax. 

• It should be clear to the reader why the hero must face the antagonist once and for all. There should be no choice, given who the hero has become and the stakes they now face. 
• This is a good place to re-establish the central conflict of the story and make clear the results of failure. 

Tip: This section happens around the 75% mark. 

This is the climax of the story — the ultimate showdown between hero and villain . The tension and the stakes are higher than they’ve been throughout the story. If the hero fails, the world as they know it will be forever changed for the worst. The hero uses all they have learned on the journey to defeat the antagonist. 

The hero comes out of the confrontation changed, transformed into a true hero. This should be a dramatic transformation, completing the resurrection started earlier in the story. 

• Like every other challenge, the hero needs to earn this victory by sacrificing something for it. In some stories, the hero may even sacrifice him or herself.
• By vanquishing the antagonist, the hero should find the strength or gain the knowledge to address their internal conflict in a satisfactory manner. 

Tip: This section happens around the 85% mark .  

The last section of the story details the hero’s return from the special world to the ordinary world. Sometimes called the magic flight, the hero now has changed for the better. Show what new skills, items, knowledge, or understanding of the world the hero brings with them (the elixir). This “elixir” can often be used to help those the hero left behind in the ordinary world. 

In most stories, the hero will return to celebration. They’ve risked it all, saved lives, and learned important lessons. The people in the ordinary world are happy to have them back. The hero may decide to settle back into this world to use their newfound abilities. Or they may find they’ve outgrown it and have a taste for adventure.

• Re-establish the hero’s internal conflict and show how solving it has changed their view and life, completing the character arc . 
• If you’re writing a series, provide a hook for the next story here by hinting at another conflict the hero will need to deal with. 

Tip: This section happens around the 95% mark and finishes out the story! 

Examples of the Hero’s Journey from Famous Works

In George Lucas's Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope , we can see the Hero's Journey in action. We also see it in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and The Hunger Games . Let’s take a look now.

• Luke Skywalker — an archetypal hero — in his Ordinary World, living with his aunt and uncle, hoping for adventure. 
• Luke’s Call to Adventure comes when he activates a hidden message from Princess Leia that R2D2 is carrying for Obi-Wan Kenobi. 
• Luke initially Refuses the Call — until he returns home to discover his aunt and uncle have been killed by Imperial forces.
• While Luke has already met his Mentor (Obi-Wan), the active mentoring really starts after Luke's home has been destroyed and the only family he's ever known killed.
• When Luke, Obi-Wan, and the droids step into the dangerous Mos Eisley Spaceport, it signifies the beginning of Luke's heroic journey and the Crossing of the Threshold. 
• Luke and Obi-Wan hire a couple of Allies, Han Solo and Chewbacca, to transport them off the planet. Once on the Millennium Falcon, Luke's Tests begin. 
• The Approach to the Inmost Cave happens when the Death Star captures the Falcon in a tractor beam and pulls them in. 
• The Ordeal happens while Obi-Wan goes off to try and disengage the tractor beam. Luke, Han, and the others rescue Princess Leia. Obi-Wan confronts Darth Vader and sacrifices himself so the others can get away. 
• With the Rewards (the Death Star plans and the princess), Luke thinks he should be able to defeat the Empire. And while Obi-Wan's death weighs on him, he can see success ahead.
• The Road Back is interrupted as the Falcon is attacked. They have no choice but to go to the Rebel base to deliver the Death Star plans, even though they’re being tracked.
• As the Rebels are attacking the Death Star, Obi-Wan's voice speaks to Luke, telling him to use the Force. Luke does, using all that he's learned and finally “sacrificing” his old self, embracing the Force and “Resurrecting” as a true hero. He fires and blows up the Death Star.  
• Luke Returns to the Rebel base triumphant. Both he and Han Solo receive medals and accolades for delivering the (temporary) blow to the evil Empire.
• We get to see Frodo’s idyllic Ordinary World in the Shire. The idea of adventure is attractive to him, but not overly so.  
• Frodo’s Call to Adventure begins after Bilbo disappears, leaving behind the Ring, which Gandalf entrusts to young Frodo. 
• Frodo Refuses the Call not just once, but repeatedly throughout the story. He feels he is not the one to be entrusted with such a job of carrying and disposing of the Ring. 
• Gandalf acts as Frodo’s Mentor, instructing him on what he must do to protect the Ring and, in so doing, protecting the Shire. 
• Frodo and Sam quite literally Cross the Threshold as they leave the Shire after splitting from Gandalf. 
• Frodo and Sam run into Allies Merry and Pippin on their way toward Bree. They are also Tested by Enemies as they’re pursued by the Nazgûl. These tests continue until the group gets to Rivendell. 
• The Approach to the Inmost Cave is the group’s approach to the Mines of Moria — literal caves. 
• The Ordeal happens inside the Mines of Moria as the group is attacked by orcs and then Balrog, which Gandalf fights off, falling down into the depths and presumed dead. 
• The Reward is sparse in The Fellowship of the Rings. Gandalf is gone, and the group escapes with their lives. 
• The Road Back isn’t signified in this story by a turn back to the Ordinary World. Instead, it’s Frodo’s stay in Lothlórien, where he sees the stakes of his failure in a vision. 
• The Resurrection is the climax of the story, where the Uruk-hai catch up with the group and Boromir betrays Frodo, trying to take the ring from him. Frodo realizes he must travel alone to Mordor. 
• The Return with the Elixir portion is Sam’s refusal to let Frodo journey alone. Frodo pulls him into the boat and they cross the river together. Meanwhile, the rest of the Fellowship are determined to save Merry and Pippin. To be continued . . . 
• We see Katniss Everdeen living in her Ordinary World (District 12) with her mother and sister. It’s a bleak, depressing world, but it’s her Ordinary World nonetheless.
• After Prim, Katniss’s sister is called for Tribute, Katniss volunteers in her stead. This is the Call to Adventure. 
• This is one example of a story with no real Refusal of the Call. She may not want to take part in the Hunger Games, but she makes the decision and sticks with it to save her sister. 
• Katniss meets Haymitch, her Mentor. Though a drunk, he guides her on the politics and gives her tips on surviving the Games. 
• Katniss Crosses the Threshold when she’s put on the train to the capital, leaving her Ordinary World behind.
• The Tests, Enemies, and Allies section starts when she has to navigate the preparation for the Games. She meets Rue and has Peeta as an ally, as well. The Careers are clearly enemies to contend with later. 
• Katniss Approaches the Inmost Cave when the Hunger Games begin. 
• The Ordeal is plain to see as the Games commence, and Katniss struggles to stay alive amid the chaos. 
• The Reward comes when only Katniss and Peeta are left alive in the arena. They don’t have to fight, thanks to a rule change; they can both claim victory. 
• It looks good for Katniss and Peeta until the Capital changes the rules again, putting an obstacle in the path of the Road Back. Suddenly, they’re forced to decide which of them gets to live. 
• The Resurrection portion of the story plays out as Katniss and Peeta threaten to kill themselves, leaving no winner and possibly sowing the seeds of revolution. The Capital changes the rules again, allowing both of them to claim victory. 
• Katniss gets to live, Returning from the Games as a hero. One who just may be able to make some real change to her Ordinary World.  

Let's say you want to think big. Like a 12 book series big. One little fun way that I use the Hero's Journey is to use each of the 12 steps to represent an entire book as a whole. You could also condense this into 6 books, 3 books, etc.

For example, the original Star Wars trilogy does a fantastic job of fitting the hero's journey not only into the first movie (A New Hope) but also into the trilogy as a whole. The first movie could easily represent the first four steps of the hero's journey from a macro-perspective (as well as covering all 12 within its self-contained plot), with The Empire Strikes Back covering steps 5-8, and Return of the Jedi covering steps 9-12.

Seriously though, the OG Star Wars trilogy is a masterclass in plotting, you guys.

In other words, the Hero's Journey doesn't have to be used just for a single novel, it can be a great way to progress your character from a more zoomed out perspective through an entire series.

Now that you know what to look for, think about some of your favorite stories. See if you can see the beats of the Hero's Journey in them. From Harry Potter and Toy Story to the Lion King and The Hunger Games , you'll find evidence of this story structure.

Its uses aren't just for adventure stories, though. With a little tweaking, a sweet romance story could also follow this template pretty closely. The point of the Hero’s Journey plot template isn’t to lock you into a formula that you can’t deviate from. Instead, it’s a tool that can guide you along. When you know the tropes of your genre, you can marry them with the major beats of the Hero’s Journey to come up with a novel readers will love . Remember, however, that writing an incredible novel is only part of the battle to find loyal readers- it's also important to have a strong marketing strategy so people can actually discover your book, as outlined in my free e-book on how to become an Amazon bestseller.

To make story beats easier, I recommend giving Plottr a try. It’s a great storytelling tool for writers that can help keep you on track using structures like the Hero’s Journey, Dan Harmon’s Story Circle , the Three Act Structure , and more. 

Dave Chesson

When I’m not sipping tea with princesses or lightsaber dueling with little Jedi, I’m a book marketing nut. Having consulted multiple publishing companies and NYT best-selling authors, I created Kindlepreneur to help authors sell more books. I’ve even been called “The Kindlepreneur” by Amazon publicly, and I’m here to help you with your author journey.

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Hero's Journey

Ever notice that every blockbuster movie has the same fundamental pieces? A hero, a journey, some conflicts to muck it all up, a reward, and the hero returning home and everybody applauding his or her swag? Yeah, scholar Joseph Campbell noticed first—in 1949. He wrote The Hero with a Thousand Faces , in which he outlined the 17 stages of a mythological hero's journey.

About half a century later, Christopher Vogler condensed those stages down to 12 in an attempt to show Hollywood how every story ever written should—and, uh, does —follow Campbell's pattern. We're working with those 12 stages, so take a look. (P.S. Want more? We have an entire Online Course devoted to the hero's journey.)

Ordinary World

Well, the Marvel Cinematic Universe never was what you'd call "ordinary," but things are certainly looking peaceful when we start. SHIELD is carefully testing the Tesseract, Captain America is beating up bags, and Iron Man is installing some perpetual energy doo-hickey at his Manhattan building.

Time for a wake-up call.

Call to Adventure

The call to adventure, in this case, is the arrival of Loki and the subsequent stealing of the Tesseract. (Also, zombifying.)

This is most definitely a problem in need of immediate solving, and given that Loki's arrival ended in the destruction of an entire SHIELD base, Fury decides it's time to call in the big guns.

Refusal of the Call

No one really flat-out refuses the call here, but Tony takes a little arm-twisting and Dr. Banner is definitely not keen on it.

That last one is the most interesting because it suggests one of Joseph Campbell's big ideas: if you refuse the call, bad things will happen. Luckily, Dr. Banner has probably read Joseph Campbell and knows what'll happen if he says no.

Meeting the Mentor

Sometimes it's Phil Coulson. Sometimes it's Natasha Romanoff. Sometimes it's Nick Fury himself. But while Fury is the true mentor here, they all come from the same place: SHIELD, the aptly named agency here to keep the world safe. Even veteran heroes need a guide sometime.

Crossing the Threshold

The threshold is crossed when Loki attacks Stuttgart, and the heroes have to learn to work together for the first time. They don't exactly pass with flying colors, but they're also made aware that the Chitauri are planning to invade. The rules have changed, and they're going to have to adjust to get this thing done.

Tests, Allies, Enemies

For the Earth mightiest heroes, they end up failing a number of tests in a big way. Loki's escape goes badly for all of them, resulting in Banner punching a hole through the Helicarrier, Thor chucked out the cargo bay in the anti-Hulk cage, and Iron Man and Captain America almost coming to blows before they put it aside to fix the immediate problems.

It doesn't go well…but it does show them what they're up against and how they're going to have to put their egos aside to get this done.

Approach to the Inmost Cave

Ironically, the innermost cave actually comes from outer space: the Chitauri invasion is here, and the heroes are going to have to come together fast if they want to put the kibosh on it but good.

The ordeal is the epic final showdown on the streets of New York, with the Avengers fighting frantically to stop the invasion and the shutdown of the wormhole making it possible.

The only important test is the last one…and they finally nail it.

Reward (Seizing the Sword)

Again, we've got a reversal here, at least symbolically. Iron Man doesn't seize the sword: he releases it, sending the nuke into the heart of the Chitauri fleet.

With that, the gate can be closed and the threat can be lifted.

The Road Back

Tony's road back is short, swift, and goes straight down.

Having dropped the hammer on the Chitauri, he plummets back to Earth…and is caught by the Hulk before going splat on the sidewalk.

Resurrection

Iron Man's kind of carrying the Campbellian load in the finale here, so we'll stick with him.

Having been set down on the sidewalk by the Hulk, he's unconscious and may have actually died. But the Hulk's bellow starts him back to life again—and immediately into a bevy of one-liners to boot—making a nifty symbolic resurrection just to keep us all on the same page.

Return With the Elixir

Um…let's call it shawarma instead of elixir?

Actually, it's the sweet taste of alien-free air as the threat to Earth is lifted and the Chitauri are defeated for good.

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Last updated on Aug 10, 2023

The Hero's Journey: 12 Steps to a Classic Story Structure

The Hero's Journey is a timeless story structure which follows a protagonist on an unforeseen quest, where they face challenges, gain insights, and return home transformed. From Theseus and the Minotaur to The Lion King , so many narratives follow this pattern that it’s become ingrained into our cultural DNA. 

In this post, we'll show you how to make this classic plot structure work for you — and if you’re pressed for time, download our cheat sheet below for everything you need to know.

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Hero's Journey Template

Plot your character's journey with our step-by-step template.

What is the Hero’s Journey?

The Hero's Journey, also known as the monomyth, is a story structure where a hero goes on a quest or adventure to achieve a goal, and has to overcome obstacles and fears, before ultimately returning home transformed.

This narrative arc has been present in various forms across cultures for centuries, if not longer, but gained popularity through Joseph Campbell's mythology book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces . While Campbell identified 17 story beats in his monomyth definition, this post will concentrate on a 12-step framework popularized in 2007 by screenwriter Christopher Vogler in his book The Writer’s Journey .

The 12 Steps of the Hero’s Journey

The Hero's Journey is a model for both plot points and character development : as the Hero traverses the world, they'll undergo inner and outer transformation at each stage of the journey. The 12 steps of the hero's journey are: 

• The Ordinary World. We meet our hero.
• Call to Adventure. Will they meet the challenge?
• Refusal of the Call. They resist the adventure.
• Meeting the Mentor. A teacher arrives.
• Crossing the First Threshold. The hero leaves their comfort zone.
• Tests, Allies, Enemies. Making friends and facing roadblocks.
• Approach to the Inmost Cave. Getting closer to our goal.
• Ordeal. The hero’s biggest test yet!
• Reward (Seizing the Sword). Light at the end of the tunnel
• The Road Back. We aren’t safe yet.
• Resurrection. The final hurdle is reached.
• Return with the Elixir. The hero heads home, triumphant.

Believe it or not, this story structure also applies across mediums and genres (and also works when your protagonist is an anti-hero! ). Let's dive into it.

1. Ordinary World

In which we meet our Hero.

The journey has yet to start. Before our Hero discovers a strange new world, we must first understand the status quo: their ordinary, mundane reality.

It’s up to this opening leg to set the stage, introducing the Hero to readers. Importantly, it lets readers identify with the Hero as a “normal” person in a “normal” setting, before the journey begins.

2. Call to Adventure

In which an adventure starts.

The call to adventure is all about booting the Hero out of their comfort zone. In this stage, they are generally confronted with a problem or challenge they can't ignore. This catalyst can take many forms, as Campbell points out in Hero with a Thousand Faces . The Hero can, for instance:

• Decide to go forth of their own volition;
• Theseus upon arriving in Athens.
• Be sent abroad by a benign or malignant agent;
• Odysseus setting off on his ship in The Odyssey .
• Stumble upon the adventure as a result of a mere blunder;
• Dorothy when she’s swept up in a tornado in The Wizard of Oz .
• Be casually strolling when some passing phenomenon catches the wandering eye and lures one away from the frequented paths of man.
• Elliot in E.T. upon discovering a lost alien in the tool shed.

The stakes of the adventure and the Hero's goals become clear. The only question: will he rise to the challenge?

3. Refusal of the Call

In which the Hero digs in their feet.

Great, so the Hero’s received their summons. Now they’re all set to be whisked off to defeat evil, right?

Not so fast. The Hero might first refuse the call to action. It’s risky and there are perils — like spiders, trolls, or perhaps a creepy uncle waiting back at Pride Rock . It’s enough to give anyone pause.

In Star Wars , for instance, Luke Skywalker initially refuses to join Obi-Wan on his mission to rescue the princess. It’s only when he discovers that his aunt and uncle have been killed by stormtroopers that he changes his mind.

4. Meeting the Mentor

In which the Hero acquires a personal trainer.

The Hero's decided to go on the adventure — but they’re not ready to spread their wings yet. They're much too inexperienced at this point and we don't want them to do a fabulous belly-flop off the cliff.

Enter the mentor: someone who helps the Hero, so that they don't make a total fool of themselves (or get themselves killed). The mentor provides practical training, profound wisdom, a kick up the posterior, or something abstract like grit and self-confidence.

Wise old wizards seem to like being mentors. But mentors take many forms, from witches to hermits and suburban karate instructors. They might literally give weapons to prepare for the trials ahead, like Q in the James Bond series. Or perhaps the mentor is an object, such as a map. In all cases, they prepare the Hero for the next step.

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5. Crossing the First Threshold

In which the Hero enters the other world in earnest.

Now the Hero is ready — and committed — to the journey. This marks the end of the Departure stage and is when the adventure really kicks into the next gear. As Vogler writes: “This is the moment that the balloon goes up, the ship sails, the romance begins, the wagon gets rolling.”

From this point on, there’s no turning back.

Like our Hero, you should think of this stage as a checkpoint for your story. Pause and re-assess your bearings before you continue into unfamiliar territory. Have you:

• Launched the central conflict? If not, here’s a post on types of conflict to help you out.
• Established the theme of your book? If not, check out this post that’s all about creating theme and motifs .
• Made headway into your character development? If not, this character profile template may be useful:

Reedsy’s Character Profile Template

A story is only as strong as its characters. Fill this out to develop yours.

6. Tests, Allies, Enemies

In which the Hero faces new challenges and gets a squad.

When we step into the Special World, we notice a definite shift. The Hero might be discombobulated by this unfamiliar reality and its new rules. This is generally one of the longest stages in the story , as our protagonist gets to grips with this new world.

This makes a prime hunting ground for the series of tests to pass! Luckily, there are many ways for the Hero to get into trouble:

• In Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle , Spencer, Bethany, “Fridge,” and Martha get off to a bad start when they bump into a herd of bloodthirsty hippos.
• In his first few months at Hogwarts, Harry Potter manages to fight a troll, almost fall from a broomstick and die, and get horribly lost in the Forbidden Forest.
• Marlin and Dory encounter three “reformed” sharks, get shocked by jellyfish, and are swallowed by a blue whale en route to finding Nemo.

This stage often expands the cast of characters. Once the protagonist is in the Special World, he will meet allies and enemies — or foes that turn out to be friends and vice versa. He will learn a new set of rules from them. Saloons and seedy bars are popular places for these transactions, as Vogler points out (so long as the Hero survives them).

7. Approach to the Inmost Cave

In which the Hero gets closer to his goal.

This isn’t a physical cave. Instead, the “inmost cave” refers to the most dangerous spot in the other realm — whether that’s the villain’s chambers, the lair of the fearsome dragon, or the Death Star. Almost always, it is where the ultimate goal of the quest is located.

Note that the protagonist hasn’t entered the Inmost Cave just yet. This stage is all about the approach to it. It covers all the prep work that's needed in order to defeat the villain.

In which the Hero faces his biggest test of all thus far.

Of all the tests the Hero has faced, none have made them hit rock bottom — until now. Vogler describes this phase as a “black moment.” Campbell refers to it as the “belly of the whale.” Both indicate some grim news for the Hero.

The protagonist must now confront their greatest fear. If they survive it, they will emerge transformed. This is a critical moment in the story, as Vogler explains that it will “inform every decision that the Hero makes from this point forward.”

The Ordeal is sometimes not the climax of the story. There’s more to come. But you can think of it as the main event of the second act — the one in which the Hero actually earns the title of “Hero.”

9. Reward (Seizing the Sword)

In which the Hero sees light at the end of the tunnel.

Our Hero’s been through a lot. However, the fruits of their labor are now at hand — if they can just reach out and grab them! The “reward” is the object or knowledge the Hero has fought throughout the entire journey to hold.

Once the protagonist has it in their possession, it generally has greater ramifications for the story. Vogler offers a few examples of it in action:

• Luke rescues Princess Leia and captures the plans of the Death Star — keys to defeating Darth Vader.
• Dorothy escapes from the Wicked Witch’s castle with the broomstick and the ruby slippers — keys to getting back home.

10. The Road Back

In which the light at the end of the tunnel might be a little further than the Hero thought.

The story's not over just yet, as this phase marks the beginning of Act Three. Now that he's seized the reward, the Hero tries to return to the Ordinary World, but more dangers (inconveniently) arise on the road back from the Inmost Cave.

More precisely, the Hero must deal with the consequences and aftermath of the previous act: the dragon, enraged by the Hero who’s just stolen a treasure from under his nose, starts the hunt. Or perhaps the opposing army gathers to pursue the Hero across a crowded battlefield. All further obstacles for the Hero, who must face them down before they can return home.

11. Resurrection

In which the last test is met.

Here is the true climax of the story. Everything that happened prior to this stage culminates in a crowning test for the Hero, as the Dark Side gets one last chance to triumph over the Hero.

Vogler refers to this as a “final exam” for the Hero — they must be “tested once more to see if they have really learned the lessons of the Ordeal.” It’s in this Final Battle that the protagonist goes through one more “resurrection.” As a result, this is where you’ll get most of your miraculous near-death escapes, à la James Bond's dashing deliverances. If the Hero survives, they can start looking forward to a sweet ending.

12. Return with the Elixir

In which our Hero has a triumphant homecoming.

Finally, the Hero gets to return home. However, they go back a different person than when they started out: they’ve grown and matured as a result of the journey they’ve taken.

But we’ve got to see them bring home the bacon, right? That’s why the protagonist must return with the “Elixir,” or the prize won during the journey, whether that’s an object or knowledge and insight gained.

Of course, it’s possible for a story to end on an Elixir-less note — but then the Hero would be doomed to repeat the entire adventure.

Examples of The Hero’s Journey in Action

To better understand this story template beyond the typical sword-and-sorcery genre, let's analyze three examples, from both screenplay and literature, and examine how they implement each of the twelve steps. 

The 1976 film Rocky is acclaimed as one of the most iconic sports films because of Stallone’s performance and the heroic journey his character embarks on.

• Ordinary World. Rocky Balboa is a mediocre boxer and loan collector — just doing his best to live day-to-day in a poor part of Philadelphia.
• Call to Adventure. Heavyweight champ Apollo Creed decides to make a big fight interesting by giving a no-name loser a chance to challenge him. That loser: Rocky Balboa.
• Refusal of the Call. Rocky says, “Thanks, but no thanks,” given that he has no trainer and is incredibly out of shape.
• Meeting the Mentor. In steps former boxer Mickey “Mighty Mick” Goldmill, who sees potential in Rocky and starts training him physically and mentally for the fight.
• Crossing the First Threshold. Rocky crosses the threshold of no return when he accepts the fight on live TV, and 一 in parallel 一 when he crosses the threshold into his love interest Adrian’s house and asks her out on a date.
• Tests, Allies, Enemies. Rocky continues to try and win Adrian over and maintains a dubious friendship with her brother, Paulie, who provides him with raw meat to train with.
• Approach to the Inmost Cave. The Inmost Cave in Rocky is Rocky’s own mind. He fears that he’ll never amount to anything — something that he reveals when he butts heads with his trainer, Mickey, in his apartment.
• Ordeal. The start of the training montage marks the beginning of Rocky’s Ordeal. He pushes through it until he glimpses hope ahead while running up the museum steps.
• Reward (Seizing the Sword). Rocky's reward is the restoration of his self-belief, as he recognizes he can try to “go the distance” with Apollo Creed and prove he's more than "just another bum from the neighborhood."
• The Road Back. On New Year's Day, the fight takes place. Rocky capitalizes on Creed's overconfidence to start strong, yet Apollo makes a comeback, resulting in a balanced match.
• Resurrection. The fight inflicts multiple injuries and pushes both men to the brink of exhaustion, with Rocky being knocked down numerous times. But he consistently rises to his feet, enduring through 15 grueling rounds.
• Return with the Elixir. Rocky loses the fight — but it doesn’t matter. He’s won back his confidence and he’s got Adrian, who tells him that she loves him.

Moving outside of the ring, let’s see how this story structure holds on a completely different planet and with a character in complete isolation. 

The Martian 

In Andy Weir’s self-published bestseller (better known for its big screen adaptation) we follow astronaut Mark Watney as he endures the challenges of surviving on Mars and working out a way to get back home.

• The Ordinary World. Botanist Mark and other astronauts are on a mission on Mars to study the planet and gather samples. They live harmoniously in a structure known as "the Hab.”
• Call to Adventure. The mission is scrapped due to a violent dust storm. As they rush to launch, Mark is flung out of sight and the team believes him to be dead. He is, however, very much alive — stranded on Mars with no way of communicating with anyone back home.
• Refusal of the Call. With limited supplies and grim odds of survival, Mark concludes that he will likely perish on the desolate planet.
• Meeting the Mentor. Thanks to his resourcefulness and scientific knowledge he starts to figure out how to survive until the next Mars mission arrives.
• Crossing the First Threshold. Mark crosses the mental threshold of even trying to survive 一 he successfully creates a greenhouse to cultivate a potato crop, creating a food supply that will last long enough.
• Tests, Allies, Enemies. Loneliness and other difficulties test his spirit, pushing him to establish contact with Earth and the people at NASA, who devise a plan to help.  
• Approach to the Inmost Cave. Mark faces starvation once again after an explosion destroys his potato crop.
• Ordeal. A NASA rocket destined to deliver supplies to Mark disintegrates after liftoff and all hope seems lost.
• Reward (Seizing the Sword). Mark’s efforts to survive are rewarded with a new possibility to leave the planet. His team 一 now aware that he’s alive 一 defies orders from NASA and heads back to Mars to rescue their comrade.
• The Road Back. Executing the new plan is immensely difficult 一 Mark has to travel far to locate the spaceship for his escape, and almost dies along the way.
• Resurrection. Mark is unable to get close enough to his teammates' ship but finds a way to propel himself in empty space towards them, and gets aboard safely.
• Return with the Elixir. Now a survival instructor for aspiring astronauts, Mark teaches students that space is indifferent and that survival hinges on solving one problem after another, as well as the importance of other people’s help.

Coming back to Earth, let’s now examine a heroine’s journey through the wilderness of the Pacific Crest Trail and her… humanity. 

The memoir Wild narrates the three-month-long hiking adventure of Cheryl Strayed across the Pacific coast, as she grapples with her turbulent past and rediscovers her inner strength.

• The Ordinary World. Cheryl shares her strong bond with her mother who was her strength during a tough childhood with an abusive father.
• Call to Adventure. As her mother succumbs to lung cancer, Cheryl faces the heart-wrenching reality to confront life's challenges on her own.
• Refusal of the Call. Cheryl spirals down into a destructive path of substance abuse and infidelity, which leads to hit rock bottom with a divorce and unwanted pregnancy. 
• Meeting the Mentor. Her best friend Lisa supports her during her darkest time. One day she notices the Pacific Trail guidebook, which gives her hope to find her way back to her inner strength.
• Crossing the First Threshold. She quits her job, sells her belongings, and visits her mother’s grave before traveling to Mojave, where the trek begins.
• Tests, Allies, Enemies. Cheryl is tested by her heavy bag, blisters, rattlesnakes, and exhaustion, but many strangers help her along the trail with a warm meal or hiking tips. 
• Approach to the Inmost Cave. As Cheryl goes through particularly tough and snowy parts of the trail her emotional baggage starts to catch up with her.  
• Ordeal. She inadvertently drops one of her shoes off a cliff, and the incident unearths the helplessness she's been evading since her mother's passing.
• Reward (Seizing the Sword). Cheryl soldiers on, trekking an impressive 50 miles in duct-taped sandals before finally securing a new pair of shoes. This small victory amplifies her self-confidence.
• The Road Back. On the last stretch, she battles thirst, sketchy hunters, and a storm, but more importantly, she revisits her most poignant and painful memories.
• Resurrection. Cheryl forgives herself for damaging her marriage and her sense of worth, owning up to her mistakes. A pivotal moment happens at Crater Lake, where she lets go of her frustration at her mother for passing away.
• Return with the Elixir. Cheryl reaches the Bridge of the Gods and completes the trail. She has found her inner strength and determination for life's next steps.

There are countless other stories that could align with this template, but it's not always the perfect fit. So, let's look into when authors should consider it or not.

When should writers use The Hero’s Journey?

The Hero’s Journey is just one way to outline a novel and dissect a plot. For more longstanding theories on the topic, you can go this way to read about the ever-popular Three-Act Structure or here to discover Dan Harmon's Story Circle and three more prevalent structures .

So when is it best to use the Hero’s Journey? There are a couple of circumstances which might make this a good choice.

When you need more specific story guidance than simple structures can offer

Simply put, the Hero’s Journey structure is far more detailed and closely defined than other story structure theories. If you want a fairly specific framework for your work than a thee-act structure, the Hero’s Journey can be a great place to start.

Of course, rules are made to be broken . There’s plenty of room to play within the confines of the Hero’s Journey, despite it appearing fairly prescriptive at first glance. Do you want to experiment with an abbreviated “Resurrection” stage, as J.K. Rowling did in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone? Are you more interested in exploring the journey of an anti-hero? It’s all possible.

Once you understand the basics of this universal story structure, you can use and bend it in ways that disrupt reader expectations.

Need more help developing your book? Try this template on for size:

Get our Book Development Template

Use this template to go from a vague idea to a solid plan for a first draft.

When your focus is on a single protagonist

No matter how sprawling or epic the world you’re writing is, if your story is, at its core, focused on a single character’s journey, then this is a good story structure for you. It’s kind of in the name! If you’re dealing with an entire ensemble, the Hero’s Journey may not give you the scope to explore all of your characters’ plots and subplot — a broader three-act structure may give you more freedom to weave a greater number story threads. ​​

Which story structure is right for you?

Take this quiz and we'll match your story to a structure in minutes!

Whether you're a reader or writer, we hope our guide has helped you understand this universal story arc. Want to know more about story structure? We explain 6 more in our guide — read on!

6 responses

PJ Reece says:

25/07/2018 – 19:41

Nice vid, good intro to story structure. Typically, though, the 'hero's journey' misses the all-important point of the Act II crisis. There, where the hero faces his/her/its existential crisis, they must DIE. The old character is largely destroyed -- which is the absolute pre-condition to 'waking up' to what must be done. It's not more clever thinking; it's not thinking at all. Its SEEING. So many writing texts miss this point. It's tantamount to a religions experience, and nobody grows up without it. STORY STRUCTURE TO DIE FOR examines this dramatic necessity.

↪️ C.T. Cheek replied:

13/11/2019 – 21:01

Okay, but wouldn't the Act II crisis find itself in the Ordeal? The Hero is tested and arguably looses his/her/its past-self for the new one. Typically, the Hero is not fully "reborn" until the Resurrection, in which they defeat the hypothetical dragon and overcome the conflict of the story. It's kind of this process of rebirth beginning in the earlier sections of the Hero's Journey and ending in the Resurrection and affirmed in the Return with the Elixir.

Lexi Mize says:

25/07/2018 – 22:33

Great article. Odd how one can take nearly every story and somewhat plug it into such a pattern.

Bailey Koch says:

11/06/2019 – 02:16

This was totally lit fam!!!!

↪️ Bailey Koch replied:

11/09/2019 – 03:46

where is my dad?

Frank says:

12/04/2020 – 12:40

Great article, thanks! :) But Vogler didn't expand Campbell's theory. Campbell had seventeen stages, not twelve.

Comments are currently closed.

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Hero's Journey

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The Hero's Journey is a basic function of narratives that illustrates a character's path to becoming a hero. The process was first and famously identified by scholar Joseph Cambel, but has existed since time immemorial. The now fully integrated concept of a Hero's Journey is a basic measure of writing for everything from books, to movies, to video-games.

• 1.1 The Call to Adventure:
• 1.2 Supernatural/Extraordinary Aid:
• 1.3 The Threshold:
• 1.4 Challenges and Temptation:
• 1.5 The Abyss/Disaster:
• 1.6 Transformation:
• 1.7 Atonement:
• 1.8 Return:

Steps of the Journey [ ]

The call to adventure: [ ].

The Call to Adventure is the first step of the Journey. it shows the hero prior to their journey and motivation to take their first steps out into broadening their view, with either a literal journey/adventure or a figurative one such as a great personal undertaking they have not made before.

Supernatural/Extraordinary Aid: [ ]

The Second part of the Hero's Journey is called Supernatural Aid. The Aid need not actually be supernatural; Depending on setting it may be completely grounded and plausible aid but is still considered extraordinary. A mythic hero gets a sword or magic, a science-fiction hero gets a powerful device, a hunter gains a useful weapon, a magical creature gains a new power etc. This may even extend to gaining a new ally with such powers, tools or knowledge. By the end of this step the main character is well equipped to overcome most perceived obstacles, having gained an advantage to combat future threats to their journey.

The Threshold: [ ]

The third step in the Hero's Journey is the Threshold, the moment when stakes become raised and the hero realizes the sort of danger they are undertaking. This is the beginning of character transformation and a major part in their Character Arc. Often this stage is accented by receiving aid from a mentor or similar figure to give advice on what lies before the hero and/or how to overcome it.

Challenges and Temptation: [ ]

The fourth stage of the Hero's Journey is dealing with Challenges and Temptations. This is one of the longer and more drawn-out stages of the story. In issues of confrontation it is dealing with fighting many foes, exploration may see it as crossing hazardous terrains, purely character pieces may see it as dealing with personal temptation. Whatever the form, this stage deals with overcoming major, though not in anyway unexpected, obstacles.

The Abyss/Disaster: [ ]

The fifth stage on the Hero's Journey is the Abyss, or disaster. In this stage the character goes through some major loss. This may be nearly dying, failing to save others, being imprisoned, dishonored, seriously injured, robbed of their Supernatural Aid, or on occasion all of the above. The Abyss is the major turning point in the story when the hero is broken down to an all-time-low.

Transformation: [ ]

The sixth stage of the Hero's Journey is called the Transformation, it is a time of hope and rebirth. The hero finds some way to overcome the major set-back of the Abyss, through skill, determination or luck and begins to come back from this major upset, regaining some form of stability. This is almost always a time of single-minded focus on part of the hero to become more than what they were prior to their fall, learn from their mistakes begin to make up for their previous failure.

Atonement: [ ]

The seventh stage of the Hero's Journey is the Atonement. The hero, having learned from their encounter with death (either figurative or literal) seeks to regain their way. If nearly killed by a villain or having seen others killed by the villain, this is the point when the hero makes up their mind to take the fight to them, in character pieces this is a time when the hero sets out to overcome a major flaw in their character that lead to the Abyss, less tangible sources of the Abyss, such as events or symbolic concepts, will attempt to be overcome once and for all.

Return: [ ]

The final stage of the Hero's Journey is titled "The Return", the hero, slays the villain, rescues the helpless, conquers his/her demons etc and overcomes the major obstacle before them. If there are any remaining obstacles they are not of sufficient threats to the hero and become trivialities from that point forth. Often this stage is accented through reward from an outside source, whether a gift from the heavens, a great treasure uncovered, a major advantage gained or some other reward granted after or just prior to the final conflict. After the major obstacle has been overcome the hero "returns home", either literally or figuratively - by returning to a point of contentment that they had prior to the start of the Journey.

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Joseph Campbell & The Hero’s Journey

In 1949, scholar  joseph campbell published his 1st book, the hero with a thousand faces. in this book, campbell introduced us to his theory that myths from around the globe share a fundamental structure, the monomyth ..

C ampbell formulated this theory over 5 years, spending 9 hours a day reading mythology from around the world. The Monomyth structure is divided into 3 events with additional stages in between. The stories of Osiris, Prometheus, Buddha, Moses, Jesus, and many other tales from history use this structure. It has inspired many artists and storytellers, such as, Jim Morrison of The Doors, Bob Dylan, creator of Star Wars George Lucas, Bob Weir, and Jerry Garcia of the band, The Grateful Dead. While countless stories follow this Monomyth structure, we will use the original Star Wars Trilogy as an example for exploring this process.

The Seventeen Stages of the Monomyth

The Cycle of Mythology

Stage 1: Separation

I n the first stage of the hero’s journey, we find our protangonist living life in a typically mundane situation. The  Star Wars , Luke Skywalker lives as a talented yet lowly and pretty damn whiny moisture farmer on Tatooine.

Until…

1. Call to Adventure – By some chance the hero will become aware of information or actions that call for them to go on a quest. The lovable and recently acquired droid R2-D2 plays a holographic message of Princess Leia pleading for Luke’s soon to be mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi’s assistance.

2. Refusal of the Call – Overwhelmed by the information, the hero refuses the call and makes excuses as to why they cannot answer it. Luke refuses Obi-Wan’s request to join him on his mission, stating that he has responsibilities at home.

Luke’s Supernatural Aid is in the form of a Lightsaber and newfound Knowledge of the Force

3. Supernatural Aid – Once a commitment to the quest is made by the hero, they are provided with a special weapon or power that will assist them along the way. Obi-Wan gifts Luke his fathers lightsaber and explains some Force 101.

4. Crossing the Threshold – The moment when the hero actually embarks upon the journey. After Luke discovers that his family has been murdered and that nothing is left for him at home, he decides to join Obi-Wan on the quest to save Princess Leia, cause that sounds way cooler than hanging at the farm where your entire family was just massacred.

5. Belly of the Whale – The final separation between the hero and their home. Luke and Kenobi bail out from Tatooine with their new bros Han Solo and Chewbacca.

Stage 2: Initiation

The Empire Strikes Back is nothing but a road of trials for our hero, Luke.

6. The Road of Trials – A series of usually 3 trials and tests, the hero often fails one or more of these test. In Luke’s journey the destruction of the Death Star is his first test and one that he passes. His second and third tests do not end so well. While training with Yoda on Dagobah, Luke fails in his truly mastering himself and the force. Thirdly, in the duel between himself and his newly revealed father, Darth Vader, he is defeated, injured, and almost killed.

7. The Meeting with the Goddess – Our hero experiences a love that has the power and significance to that of a mother. Luke begins to have strong feelings for Leia, his unbeknownst sister.

8. Woman as Temptress – The temptation to abandon the journey for material or other gain. Luke is close to being seduced to the dark side as the Emperor feeds his rage against his father and especially with the prospect that if he will not turn, perhaps his sister will.

9. Atonement with the Father – In this stage, the hero must confront and be initiated by whoever holds the ultimate power in their life. Luke battles Darth Vader and once again is on the losing side of the fight. Nearing death from the Emperor’s attacks, Luke begs his father to help save him from certain death.

Anakin & Luke Meet for the 1st Time

10. Apotheosis – The spiritual death and rebirth of the hero. Darth Vader hears his son’s cries for help and returns to the light, deciding to destroy the Emperor in a self sacrificial action. By bringing his father back to the light, Luke has finally become a true jedi.

11. The Ultimate Boon – The stage of achievement of the goal. Luke is a jedi, has defeated the Empire, the dark side, saved his father, and all his friends and family are safe.

12. Refusal of the Return – The hero basking in their newly found bliss, may not want to return to their previous life and share this bliss with his fellow man. Luke does the opposite of this, upon his reunification with his friends, he shares with Leia that they are siblings. He then goes on to train her and new jedi in the ways of the force.

Stage 3: Return

13. The Magic Flight – The daring escape made after obtaining the boon. Luke carries his fathers body onto a transport and flees the Death Star before its complete destruction.

The Millennium Falcon in Magical Flight

14. Rescue from Without – When powerful guides or mentors help bring the hero back to normal life. When Anniken, Obi-Wan, and Yoda appear from the ether to acknowledge Luke and his newfound jedi knighthood.

15. Crossing the Return Threshold – Retaining, integrating, and sharing wisdom learned on the quest. Luke shares his knowledge of the force with future jedi.

16. Master of Two Worlds – The hero has achieved a balance between the material and spiritual world. Luke has sorted all of his family issues, become a man and a jedi.

17. Freedom to Live – By becoming a master of the two worlds, the hero is free from regrets of the past and worries of the future, this leaves them to live in the moment. Luke has resolved all the  conflicts in his life, he is free to live at one with the force.

Each of Us are the Heroes in Our own Journey

The Monomyth is a method of story telling that is innate to humans. Cultures from around the world share it’s structure in their stories. Every human, whether they are aware of it or not, is on their own hero’s journey. By studying Joseph Campbell’s work we can better our own understanding of the tests, trials, and progress along our journey.

About Author

Tamlorn Chase

Tamlorn Chase hails from the coastal town of Santa Barbara, where he works as a wilderness guide, wildlife filmmaker, and environmental activist. Protecting the natural world is his profession and passion.

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The Hero’s Journey: A Star Wars Story

The Hero’s Journey was first coined in Joseph Campbell’s book: “The Hero of a Thousand Faces” in 1949. It is the idea that all myths tell the same story but with different characters and settings. As an avid Star Wars fan, I was curious to see exactly how close George Lucas followed the Hero’s Journey Formula when creating his galaxy far far away.

In his book, Joseph Campbell explains the principle that all heroes are the same but wear different “masks” or “skins”. This has been demonstrated in Star Wars through the main heroes of the franchise. Luke Skywalker from the original trilogy, Anakin Skywalker from the prequel trilogy, Rey Palpatine from the sequel trilogy, Ahsoka Tano from the Clone Wars animated series, and Ezra Bridger from the Rebels animated series, all follow similar development processes and story arcs. As laid out by Campbell, each character follows the formula shown in Figure 1. Since the original trilogy ( A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi ) was created first, I will examine Luke’s journey more in depth. 

I discovered that Luke Skywalker’s character development throughout the original Star Wars trilogy, especially Star Wars IV: A New Hope, was created based on the Hero’s Journey. In Star Wars IV: A New Hope, Skywalker’s “Call to Adventure” and “Supernatural Aid” were when Ben Kenobi explained “You must learn the ways of the Force if you're to come with me to Alderaan.” Through the force, he is called to break his mundane routine of moisture farming. Immediately, Skywalker refuses the call, which is a common event in variations of the Hero’s Journey. Skywalker then overcame the “Threshold Guardians” via the stage directions: “The speeder is stopped on a crowded street by several combathardend stormtroopers who look over the two robots. A Trooper questions Luke.” Next, he crosses “The Threshold of the Known to the Unknown” by leaving Tatooine to find Alderaan. Along the way, Skywalker receives basic Jedi training from Ben Kenobi, his mentor. A challenge Skywalker faces is when he, Ben Kenobi, Han Solo, and Chewbacca are captured by the Death Star. A temptation Skywalker faces is when he decides to free Princess Leia Organa instead of sticking to their original mission of fleeing the Death Star. In turn, he tempts Solo with riches that the Princess is sure to provide upon her safe delivery from the Empire. Skywalker reaches an “Abyss” when Ben Kenobi is killed by Darth Vader on the Death Star: “Luke, saddened by the loss of Obi-Wan Kenobi, stares off blankly as the robots look on.” The “Revelation and Transformation” out of the “Abyss” took place during General Dodonna’s briefing on destroying the Death Star. Skywalker’s transformation continued with him destroying the Death Star and saving the Rebellion Forces. After the battle is won, Skywalker, Solo, and Princess Organa meet up and atone with one another. The “Gift of the Goddess” occurs when the celebration scene occurs: “Leia is dressed in a long white dress and is staggeringly beautiful. She rises and places a gold medallion around Han's neck… She then repeats the ceremony with Luke”. Skywalker does not return to Tatooine until Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, as his new “Known” place is within the Rebellion. Taking the trilogy as a whole, Skywalker’s “Call to Adventure” is during Episode 4, his “Abyss” is Episode 5, his “Transformation” takes place in Episode 6, and the other journey markers fall within the three films. Skywalker is fated to follow this formula both immediately in his first film and over the course of five years, spanning the entire trilogy. 

I discovered that Star Wars does use the Hero’s Journey and its pattern is identifiable in Luke’s character arc. Thank you for joining me and may the force be with you.

Here are the sources I used:

• “How Mythologist Joseph Campbell Made Luke Skywalker a Hero | CBC Radio.” CBCnews , CBC/Radio Canada, 3 Sept. 2019, www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/how-mythologist-joseph-campbell-made-luke-skywalker-a-hero-1.5262649
• Klimo, Mike. “Parallel Journeys: Why the Star Wars Films Are More Connected Than You Think.” StarWars.com , Lucasfilm Ltd., 27 Oct. 2015, www.starwars.com/news/parallel-journeys-why-the-star-wars-films-are-more-connected-than-you-think.
• Screenwriting, Bulletproof. “Star Wars Movies: Screenplay Download.” Bulletproof Screenwriting , Bulletproof Screenwriting™, 10 June 2020, bulletproofscreenwriting.tv/star-wars-movies-screenplay-download/
• Seastrom, Lucas. “Mythic Discovery: Revisiting the Meeting between George Lucas and Joseph Campbell.” StarWars.com , Lucasfilm Ltd., 22 Oct. 2015, www.starwars.com/news/mythic-discovery-within-the-inner-reaches-of-outer-space-joseph-campbell-meets-george-lucas-part-i.
• “The Monomyth (The Hero's Journey): The Hero's Journey.” University Libraries , Grand Valley State University, 11 Oct. 2020, libguides.gvsu.edu/c.php?g=948085&p=6857311

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12 Hero’s Journey Stages Explained (+ Free Templates)

From zero to hero, the hero’s journey is a popular character development arc used in many stories. In today’s post, we will explain the 12 hero’s journey stages, along with the simple example of Cinderella.

The Hero’s Journey was originally formulated by American writer Joseph Campbell to describe the typical character arc of many classic stories, particularly in the context of mythology and folklore. The original hero’s journey contained 17 steps. Although the hero’s journey has been adapted since then for use in modern fiction, the concept is not limited to literature. It can be applied to any story, video game, film or even music that features an archetypal hero who undergoes a transformation. Common examples of the hero’s journey in popular works include Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, The Hunger Games and Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.

• What is the hero's journey?

Stage 1: The Ordinary World

Stage 2: call of adventure, stage 3: refusal of the call, stage 4: meeting the mentor, stage 5: crossing the threshold, stage 6: tests, allies, enemies, stage 7: the approach, stage 8: the ordeal, stage 9: reward, stage 10: the road back, stage 11: resurrection, stage 12: return with the elixir, cinderella example, campbell’s 17-step journey, leeming’s 8-step journey, cousineau’s 8-step journey.

• Free Hero's Journey Templates

What is the hero’s journey?

The hero’s journey, also known as the monomyth, is a character arc used in many stories. The idea behind it is that heroes undergo a journey that leads them to find their true selves. This is often represented in a series of stages. There are typically 12 stages to the hero’s journey. Each stage represents a change in the hero’s mindset or attitude, which is triggered by an external or internal event. These events cause the hero to overcome a challenge, reach a threshold, and then return to a normal life.

The hero’s journey is a powerful tool for understanding your characters. It can help you decide who they are, what they want, where they came from, and how they will change over time. It can be used to

• Understand the challenges your characters will face
• Understand how your characters react to those challenges
• Help develop your characters’ traits and relationships

In this post, we will explain each stage of the hero’s journey, using the example of Cinderella.

You might also be interested in our post on the story mountain or this guide on how to outline a book .

12 Hero’s Journey Stages

The archetypal hero’s journey contains 12 stages and was created by Christopher Vogler. These steps take your main character through an epic struggle that leads to their ultimate triumph or demise. While these steps may seem formulaic at first glance, they actually form a very flexible structure. The hero’s journey is about transformation, not perfection.

Your hero starts out in the ordinary world. He or she is just like every other person in their environment, doing things that are normal for them and experiencing the same struggles and challenges as everyone else. In the ordinary world, the hero feels stuck and confused, so he or she goes on a quest to find a way out of this predicament.

Example: Cinderella’s father passes away and she is now stuck doing chores and taking abuse from her stepsisters and stepmother.

The hero gets his or her first taste of adventure when the call comes. This could be in the form of an encounter with a stranger or someone they know who encourages them to take a leap of faith. This encounter is typically an accident, a series of coincidences that put the hero in the right place at the right time.

Example: An invite arrives inviting the family to a royal ball where the Prince will choose a wife.

Some people will refuse to leave their safe surroundings and live by their own rules. The hero has to overcome the negative influences in order to hear the call again. They also have to deal with any personal doubts that arise from thinking too much about the potential dangers involved in the quest. It is common for the hero to deny their own abilities in this stage and to lack confidence in themselves.

Example: Cinderella accepts the call by making her own dress for the ball. However, her stepmother refuses the call for her by not letting her go to the ball. And her step-sisters ruin her dress, so she can not go.

After hearing the call, the hero begins a relationship with a mentor who helps them learn about themselves and the world. In some cases, the mentor may be someone the hero already knows. The mentor is usually someone who is well-versed in the knowledge that the hero needs to acquire, but who does not judge the hero for their lack of experience.

Example: Cinderella meets her fairy godmother who equips her with everything she needs for the ball, including a dress and a carriage.

The hero leaves their old life behind and enters the unfamiliar new world. The crossing of the threshold symbolises leaving their old self behind and becoming a new person. Sometimes this can include learning a new skill or changing their physical appearance. It can also include a time of wandering, which is an essential part of the hero’s journey.

Example: Cinderella hops into the carriage and heads off to the ball. She has transformed from a servant into an elegant young lady. 

As the hero goes on this journey, they will meet both allies (people who help the hero) and enemies (people who try to stop the hero). There will also be tests, where the hero is tempted to quit, turn back, or become discouraged. The hero must be persistent and resilient to overcome challenges.

Example: At the ball, Cinderella meets the prince, and even see’s her stepmother and stepsister. She dances with Prince all night long making her step-sisters extremely jealous.

The hero now reaches the destination of their journey, in some cases, this is a literal location, such as a cave or castle. It could also be metaphorical, such as the hero having an internal conflict or having to make a difficult decision. In either case, the hero has to confront their deepest fears in this stage with bravery. In some ways, this stage can mark the end of the hero’s journey because the hero must now face their darkest fears and bring them under control. If they do not do this, the hero could be defeated in the final battle and will fail the story.

Example: Cinderella is having a great time at the ball and nearly forgets about the midnight rule. As she runs away in a hurry, her glass slipper falls off outside the palace.

The hero has made it to the final challenge of their journey and now must face all odds and defeat their greatest adversary. Consider this the climax of the story. This could be in the form of a physical battle, a moral dilemma or even an emotional challenge. The hero will look to their allies or mentor for further support and guidance in this ordeal. Whatever happens in this stage could change the rest of the story, either for good or bad. 

Example: Prince Charming looks all over the kingdom for the mysterious girl he met at the ball. He finally visits Cinderella’s house and tries the slippers on the step-sisters. The prince is about to leave and then he sees Cinderella in the corner cleaning.

When the hero has defeated the most powerful and dangerous of adversaries, they will receive their reward. This reward could be an object, a new relationship or even a new piece of knowledge. The reward, which typically comes as a result of the hero’s perseverance and hard work, signifies the end of their journey. Given that the hero has accomplished their goal and served their purpose, it is a time of great success and accomplishment.

Example: The prince tries the glass slipper on Cinderella. The glass slipper fits Cinderella perfectly, and they fall in love.

The journey is now complete, and the hero is now heading back home. As the hero considers their journey and reflects on the lessons they learned along the way, the road back is sometimes marked by a sense of nostalgia or even regret. As they must find their way back to the normal world and reintegrate into their former life, the hero may encounter additional difficulties or tests along the way. It is common for the hero to run into previous adversaries or challenges they believed they had overcome.

Example: Cinderella and Prince Charming head back to the Prince’s castle to get married.

The hero has one final battle to face. At this stage, the hero might have to fight to the death against a much more powerful foe. The hero might even be confronted with their own mortality or their greatest fear. This is usually when the hero’s true personality emerges. This stage is normally symbolised by the hero rising from the dark place and fighting back. This dark place could again be a physical location, such as the underground or a dark cave. It might even be a dark, mental state, such as depression. As the hero rises again, they might change physically or even experience an emotional transformation. 

Example: Cinderella is reborn as a princess. She once again feels the love and happiness that she felt when she was a little girl living with her father.

At the end of the story, the hero returns to the ordinary world and shares the knowledge gained in their journey with their fellow man. This can be done by imparting some form of wisdom, an object of great value or by bringing about a social revolution. In all cases, the hero returns changed and often wiser.

Example: Cinderella and Prince Charming live happily ever after. She uses her new role to punish her stepmother and stepsisters and to revitalise the kingdom.

We have used the example of Cinderella in Vogler’s hero’s journey model below:

Below we have briefly explained the other variations of the hero’s journey arc.

The very first hero’s journey arc was created by Joseph Campbell in 1949. It contained the following 17 steps:

• The Call to Adventure: The hero receives a call or a reason to go on a journey.
• Refusal of the Call: The hero does not accept the quest. They worry about their own abilities or fear the journey itself.
• Supernatural Aid: Someone (the mentor) comes to help the hero and they have supernatural powers, which are usually magical.
• The Crossing of the First Threshold: A symbolic boundary is crossed by the hero, often after a test. 
• Belly of the Whale: The point where the hero has the most difficulty making it through.
• The Road of Trials: In this step, the hero will be tempted and tested by the outside world, with a number of negative experiences.
• The Meeting with the Goddess: The hero meets someone who can give them the knowledge, power or even items for the journey ahead.
• Woman as the Temptress: The hero is tempted to go back home or return to their old ways.
• Atonement with the Father: The hero has to make amends for any wrongdoings they may have done in the past. They need to confront whatever holds them back.
• Apotheosis: The hero gains some powerful knowledge or grows to a higher level. 
• The Ultimate Boon: The ultimate boon is the reward for completing all the trials of the quest. The hero achieves their ultimate goal and feels powerful.
• Refusal of the Return: After collecting their reward, the hero refuses to return to normal life. They want to continue living like gods. 
• The Magic Flight: The hero escapes with the reward in hand.
• Rescue from Without: The hero has been hurt and needs help from their allies or guides.
• The Crossing of the Return Threshold: The hero must come back and learn to integrate with the ordinary world once again.
• Master of the Two Worlds: The hero shares their wisdom or gifts with the ordinary world. Learning to live in both worlds.
• Freedom to Live: The hero accepts the new version of themselves and lives happily without fear.

David Adams Leeming later adapted the hero’s journey based on his research of legendary heroes found in mythology. He noted the following steps as a pattern that all heroes in stories follow:

• Miraculous conception and birth: This is the first trauma that the hero has to deal with. The Hero is often an orphan or abandoned child and therefore faces many hardships early on in life. 
• Initiation of the hero-child: The child faces their first major challenge. At this point, the challenge is normally won with assistance from someone else.
• Withdrawal from family or community: The hero runs away and is tempted by negative forces.
• Trial and quest: A quest finds the hero giving them an opportunity to prove themselves.
• Death: The hero fails and is left near death or actually does die.
• Descent into the underworld: The hero rises again from death or their near-death experience.
• Resurrection and rebirth: The hero learns from the errors of their way and is reborn into a better, wiser being.
• Ascension, apotheosis, and atonement: The hero gains some powerful knowledge or grows to a higher level (sometimes a god-like level). 

In 1990, Phil Cousineau further adapted the hero’s journey by simplifying the steps from Campbell’s model and rearranging them slightly to suit his own findings of heroes in literature. Again Cousineau’s hero’s journey included 8 steps:

• The call to adventure: The hero must have a reason to go on an adventure.
• The road of trials: The hero undergoes a number of tests that help them to transform.
• The vision quest: Through the quest, the hero learns the errors of their ways and has a realisation of something.
• The meeting with the goddess: To help the hero someone helps them by giving them some knowledge, power or even items for the journey ahead.
• The boon: This is the reward for completing the journey.
• The magic flight: The hero must escape, as the reward is attached to something terrible.
• The return threshold: The hero must learn to live back in the ordinary world.
• The master of two worlds: The hero shares their knowledge with the ordinary world and learns to live in both worlds.

As you can see, every version of the hero’s journey is about the main character showing great levels of transformation. Their journey may start and end at the same location, but they have personally evolved as a character in your story. Once a weakling, they now possess the knowledge and skill set to protect their world if needed.

Free Hero’s Journey Templates

Use the free Hero’s journey templates below to practice the skills you learned in this guide! You can either draw or write notes in each of the scene boxes. Once the template is complete, you will have a better idea of how your main character or the hero of your story develops over time:

The storyboard template below is a great way to develop your main character and organise your story:

Did you find this guide on the hero’s journey stages useful? Let us know in the comments below.

Marty the wizard is the master of Imagine Forest. When he's not reading a ton of books or writing some of his own tales, he loves to be surrounded by the magical creatures that live in Imagine Forest. While living in his tree house he has devoted his time to helping children around the world with their writing skills and creativity.

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Where Is Obi-Wan Kenobi in His Hero's Journey?

Star Wars utilizes the Hero's Journey time and again, with Obi-Wan Kenobi positioning the famous Jedi for his final stage in A New Hope.

The following contains spoilers for Parts I and II of Obi-Wan Kenobi , now streaming on Disney+.

The galactic father of Star Wars , George Lucas, famously built his narrative structures off of Joseph Campbell's Power of Myth archetypes and Hero's Journey cycles. The original trilogy, the prequels and the subsequent sequels all follow the Hero's Journey storytelling cycle, starting with the call to adventure, the transformation and ending with the hero's return. Anakin was called to adventure when he was plucked from his home planet of Tatooine to begin a Jedi's life and underwent a transformation to the dark side before eventually returning to the good man that was Skywalker. His son, Luke, followed a similar journey , also receiving a call to adventure on Tatooine, transforming into a Jedi, and returning to the Rebellion a changed man.

Perhaps the most enduring and consistent hero of the saga, though, is Obi-Wan Kenobi. From the prequels through Obi-Wan's time spent as a Force ghost in the original trilogy, Kenobi lives out one of the fullest and most in-depth cycles of the Hero's Journey. Prior to the release of Obi-Wan Kenobi , though, the Jedi at the end of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope skips a few steps from the horrors of his revelation and transformation directly to a man returned, secure in his role and ready to level up to ultimate mastery. But now, in Obi-Wan Kenobi , those missing stages can finally be explored.

RELATED: Obi-Wan Kenobi Proves Leia Was Always Strong With the Force

When Obi-Wan Kenobi picks up ten years post- Revenge of the Sith , Obi-Wan is deep in the atonement stage of the famed Hero's Journey following the events of Order 66 , transforming him from the Jedi he once was. He's been stuck in this stage for about a decade and, if not for another exterior influence, he would likely continue to stay stuck. In the atonement stage of the Hero's Journey, Joseph Campbell further elaborates that it is an inner struggle with himself, atoning against the abyss of the father figure. Here, atonement requires the hero to abandon their attachment to ego itself -- cease being a slave to the past and their past selves.

The hero must find in themself once more faith in the mercy of the father figure and some greater power. In Obi-Wan Kenobi , Obi-Wan has found himself cut off from his once-solid relationship with the Force. He's buried his and Anakin's lightsabers in the sand and disavowed himself of the ways of the Jedi. He also pleads to his own father figure, the spirit of his master Qui-Gon Jinn, to aid him through the Force, but he is met with silence. Because Obi-Wan is still struggling with the release of ego, of personal responsibility, and has not finished his atonement stage, he remains alone.

RELATED: Obi-Wan Kenobi Committed the Jedi's Greatest Sin - and It Was Horrific

In the decade since Order 66, Obi-Wan has become all too comfortable in his atonement stage. Though haunted by recurring nightmares and memories of Anakin, he feels that a life of loneliness, hardship and exile is what he deserves and he has resigned himself to remain mired in a Hero's Journey only three quarters fulfilled. However, when young Leia Organa is kidnaped and Obi-Wan's old friend, Bail Organa, comes to beg him to be the Jedi he once was and go rescue Leia, Obi-Wan finally begins his journey out of the atonement stage and into the apotheosis phase of his cycle.

Apotheosis is the point of realization for the hero when greater understanding is achieved. In Obi-Wan's case, Bail finally gets through to him that more is at stake than just Obi-Wan's self-pity, and that Leia is every bit as important a part of the mission as Obi-Wan's excuse of watching over Luke. The first steps into apothesis are always momentous and require the final steps of sacrifice for atonement: sacrificing the ego and the self-first mindset in service of something greater. Newly armed with this understanding, acceptance and renewed perspective, the hero resolves to set out again on the more difficult stage of their ultimate adventure. In Obi-Wan's case, this means leaving the safety and anonymity of his Tatooine hovel and venturing out into a galaxy where he is the Empire's most-wanted fugitive.

RELATED: Will Commander Cody Be In Obi-Wan Kenobi?

In the remaining chapters of Obi-Wan Kenobi yet to air, the rest of his Hero's Journey will play out. The ongoing rescue mission and adventure he is on will complete his apotheosis stage. As seen in Parts I and II, this truly is Obi-Wan's most difficult journey. For the first time, he's acting on a mission utterly alone. His name and face are plastered everywhere and the entirety of an evil galactic organization is dedicating their resources to capturing him. Though the Clone Wars and other missions as a padawan certainly put Obi-Wan in danger, he was never fully alone in the universe. He always had either his master, Qui-Gon, his padawan, Anakin, or the entire Jedi Order in his corner. Now, he has no recourse, no help and no safety. His apotheosis stage is his biggest and ultimate test before he can cross back over the threshold from the unknown into the known once more.

It is also in this stage that the Third Sister explains another revelation to Obi-Wan: that Anakin didn't just fall to the dark side and die, he's lived and is now the galaxy's second-greatest villain. This completes Obi-Wan's task of achieving greater knowledge, though at a high emotional cost, and signifies the end of his atonement as he delves into a deeper layer of his quest. After Leia's eventual rescue that will come at the end of the series, Obi-Wan must deal with the psychological trauma of realizing and accepting who Anakin has become. By doing this, he can release himself from the shackles of guilt and accept the ultimate boon of relief. This will also likely coincide with another ultimate boon: the ability to finally communicate with Qui-Gon's ghost through the Force.

When Obi-Wan's story picks up again in A New Hope , he seamlessly enters the final stages of his Hero's Journey. His second call to adventure to rescue Leia again brings him back into the unknown a final time, which reinvigorates his character into whom he truly is, paving the way for the final stage that he will later play out: the return and, as one with the Force again, the eventual Master of Two Worlds. This also allows him to pass the torch at the start of the original trilogy by becoming the supernatural aid and mentor figure that will be the catalyst for the call to adventure for the next Hero's Journey: that of Luke Skywalker.

Obi-Wan Kenobi Parts I and II are streaming now on Disney+.

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AFK Journey Necrodrakon team and guide

The Necrodrakon is a Dream Realm Elite Boss, and one with a fierce set of claws. The worse part about fighting this abyssal dragon is the fact that it will frequently debuff your heroes. Here’s some tips on how to beat it.

As always, your mileage will vary. While I will make a recommendation for a team to put together, you might not have all the heroes depending on the luck of your pulls. This is a gacha game after all. If you need to make a substitute, consult our tier list to see who might be a good stand-in. Also, you may want to swap in your higher-tier (rarity) heroes if you have any because there’s a good chance they’ll be more effective than a lower-tier character that is recommended.

Best team composition for Necrodrakon

The biggest hurdle thrown at you by the Necrodrakon is its interrupt, which makes things difficult when fielding a healer. For that matter, any spell user will have trouble getting attacks off due to its interruption ability. With that in mind, your best bet is with these heroes.

Korin and Marilee make an effective DPS combo while Thoran tanks. Kruger works to debuff, which, in turn, helps your DPS be more effective. Vala is your effective sub-DPS.

So, with that in mind, if you don’t have necessary characters you can, say, swap out Thoran for Temesia, or Marilee with Odie. Those are examples, but as I said, it’s going to really come down to what heroes you have and what tier they are at.

What skills does Necrodrakon have?

The Necrodrakon has four attacks, with one being an ultimate. These all affect multiple heroes, 

• Abyss Sacrifice (Ultimate): The Necrodrakon will cast this skill at the 15, 40, and 65 second marks during the battle. This damages your heroes three times. They also have their attack speed increased, but their damage received is upped by 25% for each stack. Three stacks can, er… stack, and they cannot be dispelled.
• Abyss Mire: The Necrodrakon will send this attack wherever the most enemies are. It lasts for six seconds, wherein all the affected heroes will take 35% damage per second.
• Skill 3: This is a straightforward attack that will damage two of your healthiest heroes. It stuns the affected heroes for one second and drains 40 energy for 3 seconds.
• Abyss Crests: This places a crest beneath each hero. If they move off of it, it will disappear, but if not, it will explode after 15 seconds, damaging them.

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AFK Journey – 11 April Patch Notes

Here’s the content of the upcoming AFK Journey patch:

We’ve scheduled a no-downtime update for April 11 to improve your in-game experience and will notify you via in-game mail when the update is complete. To apply the changes, simply restart the game once you’ve received the notification. Here are the update details.

Major Updates

• The Trial of Abyss becomes available on the 18th day following the server launch. You can unlock this feature by completing all current AFK stages (1125) and the Main Quest The Last Leg. Prepare to challenge up to 300 stages and earn valuable rewards, including Stellar Crystals!
• Added Cross Server Friends feature, allowing you to engage in Synergy Battles, Proxy Battles, and challenges against Corrupt Creatures alongside players from other servers. The maximum number of friends you can add has been increased from 40 to 60 to support this feature.
• Adjusted Primal Lord kill rewards and time requirements based on each server’s kill progress. The time limit required for the highest-tier kill reward has been extended from 5 to 8 days.

Experience Optimizations

• Lowered the level requirements for joining Corrupt Creature teams in specific regions
• Weakened the second wave of enemies in AFK Stages with multiple waves of enemies.
• The daily purchase limit of Duel Letters in Honor Duel has been increased to 30 times per day . If you log in for the first time before the update, this change will take effect the following day. However, if you first log in for the first time after the update, the change will take effect immediately.
• Optimized the description text for the 10x Recruitment option in the Noble Tavern for clarity. Recruitment mechanics remain unchanged.
• Optimized the description of the Rate Up Recruitment event rule in the Noble Tavern for clarity. Recruitment mechanics remain unchanged.
• Optimized the description of the Guild Chest distribution rules for clarity. Distribution mechanics remain unchanged.
• Fixed the issue where tapping the Rankings button on the Expert Dueler event page didn’t navigate correctly to the Honor Duel Ranking interface.
• Fixed abnormal ranking sorting issues in some cases in Battle Drills Rankings.
• Fixed a problem in the Dream Realm preparation interface where the level didn’t update immediately after switching the Hands of Resonance heroes.
• Fixed the issue where icons were not displayed on the mini-map in caves.
• Fixed an issue where the exclamation point reminder on titles wouldn’t disappear after tapping on them in certain cases.

Combat Mechanics

Anantara – desert fury.

Fixed issue with Antandra’s Ultimate where damage did not increase upon reaching level 3. Now, at level 3, Shield Assault deals 450% of Antandra’s Attack instead of 440%.

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How to get Hypogean and Celestial heroes in AFK Journey

G etting Hypogean and Celestial heroes in AFK Journey is an arduous task. However, with them included, your roster will be much more potent, and you'll have more room to improve your strategy. First, they are regarded as any faction when counting Faction bonuses in a team. Second, each Celestial or Hypogean hero increases the HP and Attack stats of all heroes in your team by 1%.

While you can recruit other heroes on various banners using Invite Letters, this is not the case with Celestial and Hypogean. You must unlock a special banner and obtain a different currency to summon them.

Here are all the ways to get Hypogean and Celestial heroes in AFK Journey.

All methods to get Hypogean and Celestial heroes in AFK Journey

There are four S-level Hypogean and Celestial heroes in AFK Journey available currently: Dionel (Marksman), Scarlita (Warrior), Berial (Rogue), and Reinier (Support) . You have three ways to get them: Stargaze Station , Guild Store , and All Hero Login event .

Stargaze Station

Stargaze Station is the only banner you can pull on to get Hypogean and Celestial heroes in AFK Journey. Unlike other banners, it won't be available at the beginning. You must pull 400 times in any of the three banners: All-Hero Recruitment, Epic Recruitment, and Rate Up Recruitment.

The number of pulls is calculated cumulatively, meaning you must summon 400 times to unlock Stargaze Station . Upon unlocking the special banner, you need a different currency, Stellar Crystals. You can get Stellar Crystals in three main ways: in-game shop , Recruitment Store , and Guild Store .

One Stellar Crystal costs 400 AFK Journey Diamonds (50% discount price) in the Guild Store , and you can buy six of them monthly. You can use 310 Dolly Tickets to purchase one Stellar Crystal at a 50% discount and three Stellar Crystals for 620 Dolly Tickets monthly in the Recruitment Store. Dolly Tickets are obtained by performing summons on the banners.

Lastly, they are also available to purchase at the in-app store with real money. First, buy Dragon Crystals with real money and then purchase bundles containing Stellar Crystals with the Dragon Crystals.

You can also get some Stellar Crystals from Guild Chests . Acquire chests by completing Guild Quests and ranking higher in the Arena, Honor Duel, Dream Realm, and Arcane Labyrinth . Acquiring or purchasing Stellar Crystals is only possible after unlocking the Stargaze Station banner.

After unlocking, select any of the four available Hypogean and Celestial heroes in AFK Journey to summon from the Stargaze Station. However, the probability of getting it is very low, at 3.25% . You can also obtain other in-game resources from the banner. Below is the complete list of items and their drop rate:

• 4 Omni Acorn: 20%
• 2 Omni Acorn: 42.4%
• Celestial and Hypogean Hero: 3.25%
• 5 Dazzling Stone: 0.5%
• 1 Dazzling Stone: 3%
• 5 Ruins Stone: 20%
• 1 Ruins Stone: 20%
• 9,999 Diamond: 0.1%
• 6,666 Diamond: 0.5%
• 3,000 Diamond: 0.5%

Guild Store

The Guilds feature unlocks after clearing AFK Stage 30 . You can join or create a new one, participate in various activities, and complete quests to earn Guild Medals. You can use Guild Medals to purchase Soul Sigils of Hypogean and Celestial heroes in AFK Journey.

You can buy up to six Soul Sigils of each hero in the monthly section of the Guild Store. One unit of Soul Sigil costs 30,000 Guild Medals . To access the Guild Store, tap the Guild button at the bottom of the screen, then click the Emporium button above it.

All Hero Login event

All Hero Login is an ongoing event that grants every hero available at launch, including Hypogean and Celestial heroes in AFK Journey. You get one hero every day for logging into the game. After logging in for a certain number of days, flip an invitation card to acquire a random S-level hero.

The invitation card won't grant an S-level hero more than once. Additionally, you can get guaranteed Hypogean or Celestial heroes in AFK Journey on the 4th, 8th, 12th, and 16th flips .

You can flip an invitation card on the 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th, 35th, 42nd, 49th, 56th, 63rd, 70th, 77th, 84th, 91st, 98th, 105th, 112th, 119th, 126th, 133rd, 140th, 147th, and 154th login days .

That's all for our guide to getting Hypogean and Celestial heroes in AFK Journey. Follow Sportskeeda for more AFK Journey-related guides:

AFK Journey team building guide || AFK Journey beginners guide

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The Golden Timeline: Every Event Leading Up To Gerry Turner And Theresa Nist’s Shocking ‘Golden Bachelor’ Divorce

Where to stream:.

• The Golden Bachelor

Does ‘The Golden Bachelor’ Divorce Mean Theresa Nist Has To Give Back The Ring?

‘the view’s ana navarro claims ‘golden bachelor’ gerry turner and theresa nist’s marriage was “manufactured”: “complete crock”, will abc still air ‘the golden bachelor’s ‘celebrity family feud’ episode after the golden divorce.

The Golden Bachelor has reached a shocking and abrupt conclusion: the inaugural Golden Bachelor Gerry Turner and his wife, Theresa Nist , announced they are getting a divorce only three months after their wedding.

The Golden Bachelor — which premiered last fall as a Bachelor spin-off series — became ABC’s most-watched unscripted premiere on  Hulu , and has even spawned a spin-off series of its own with The Golden Bachelorette set to air later this fall.

Though the show is only a single season into its run, The Golden Bachelor and its star have delivered more than enough drama to sate Bachelor Nation — that is, until The Golden Bachelorette premieres.

But, how did we get here? Here is every event that led up to the Golden Wedding… and the Golden Divorce.

The Golden Bachelor Gets Announced On ABC

May 16, 2023 : ABC finally announced that the Bachelor franchise will be expanding to include a dating series focused on seniors looking for love in their “golden years.” The show has been in the works since at least 2020.

“One hopeless romantic is given a second chance at love in the search for a partner with whom to share the sunset years of life,” ABC’s official description of the show reads. “The women arriving at the mansion have a lifetime of experience, living through love, loss and laughter, hoping for a spark that ignites a future full of endless possibilities.”

Gerry Turner Announced As ABC’s First Golden Bachelor

July 17, 2023 : Turner is introduced to the world on Good Morning America with a dating profile that would make any woman swoon: “He posts his thirst traps in a leather-bound album. His DMs have postage. He gets the early bird special any time he wants,” a voiceover in the promo said, per  Entertainment Weekly . “If you call him, he’ll answer the phone.  He doesn’t have gray hair, he has ‘wisdom highlights.’ Florida wants to retire and move to him.”

The Golden Bachelor Season 1 Begins Filming

Aug. 5, 2023: Bachelor host Jesse Palmer shares a photo of himself and Turner at the Bachelor Mansion, writing that he “has begun his historic journey to find love!!!” Reality Steve also reports weeks later that the final rose ceremony took place on Aug. 31.

The Golden Bachelor Season 1 Premieres On ABC

Sept. 28, 2023 : The Golden Bachelor premieres on ABC, giving fans our first real glimpse at the cast of incredible women from ages 60 to 75 who are looking for love – including former Bachelor Matt James’ mom, Patty !

Gerry And Theresa Get Engaged!

Nov. 30, 2023: After weeks of serious chemistry, Turner officially chooses Nist , a financial services professional from New Jersey, to be his fiancée. Choosing between Nist and Leslie Fhima is evidently a difficult decision for Turner to make, as he says through tears, “The only time I’ve ever felt worse in my whole life is when my wife passed away, and this is a goddamn close second.”

Trouble In Paradise: Gerry’s Outed For Living With Another Woman After His Ex-Wife’s Death

Nov. 29, 2023 : A report from The Hollywood Reporter reveals that Turner’s dating history is not as spotless as it seems.

Turner previously claimed that he has not dated much since the loss of his wife and high school sweetheart, Toni, in 2017. But, according to the report, Turner allegedly dated one woman for almost three years, beginning just a month after Toni’s death. They also lived together. Another report from The U.S. Sun  also claims that he “dated a couple of women.”

Theresa Claimed On Live Television That She Wasn’t Ready To Get Married

Dec. 28, 2023 : The lovebirds pay a visit to Live! with Kelly and Mark , where Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos surprise them with an impromptu wedding in the middle of their interview.

Nist and Turner playfully go along with the bit until Consuelos – who is apparently an ordained minister – declares, “By the authority vested in me, by the show  Kelly and Mark , I now pronounce you husband and wife,” causing Nist to protest.

“No, wait! We’re not ready!” she replies.

Gerry And Theresa Tie The Knot In The Golden Wedding

Jan. 4, 2024: Turner and Nist make it official with a special wedding celebration at La Quinta Resort & Club in Palm Springs, California. Everyone in Bachelor Nation history is in attendance — including Fhima!

After many laughs and a hilarious pre-taped bit where Nist gets to enjoy an impromptu boudoir photoshoot, the Golden Wedding proves to be an emotional affair. “I promise that if you’re my partner in life I’ll make you the happiest woman on Earth,” Turner tells his new wife. “…We have a trust that can not be broken.”

And the special event even has a surprising turn of events when Bachelor alums Brayden Bowers and Christina Mandrell got engaged!

Reports Claim Turner And Nist Are Still Not Living Together After The Wedding

April 1, 2024 : A TMZ report claims that the lovebirds were still living apart , though a source tells the outlet that the only reason was because moving would be too “time-consuming.”

At the time, Turner is reportedly living at his lake house in Indiana, while Nist is still living in New Jersey, where she is employed as a compliance officer.

The sources also say that moving away from their families “would be difficult for them.”

Turner, Nist, And Their Kids Compete On Celebrity Family Feud

April 7, 2024: Nist and Turner film an episode of Celebrity Family Feud . Nist’s kids, Jen Woolston and Tommy Nist, and Turner’s daughters, Jenny and Angie Turner, joined them on the show.

Turner posts a photo of their team on Instagram, writing, “[Had] a GREAT time at  Celebrity Family Feud  with the blended family.”

Woolston shares that they faced off against a team of Bachelor Nation stars, including  Zach Shallcross ,  Kaity Biggar ,  Joey Graziadei ,  Kelsey Anderson ,  Charity Lawson  and  Dotun Olubeko .

The Golden Divorce: The Lovebirds Announce Their Separation On GMA

April 12, 2024 : Nist and Turner reveal on Good Morning America that they have decided to get a divorce , just three months after tying the knot on the show.

“Theresa and I have had a number of heart-to-heart conversations, and we’ve looked closely at our situation, our living situation, so forth and we’ve kind of come to the conclusion mutually that it’s probably time for us to dissolve our marriage,” Turner says on the broadcast.

This shocking news rightfully left Bachelor Nation with several questions: What happens now? Will Nist have to return her wedding ring ? Will ABC still air their episode of Celebrity Family Feud ? Was it all a lie ?!

This break-up will have all of Bachelor Nation looking for closure.

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