—Benjamin Franklin

—Judy Blume

From “Introduction to the Hero's Journey,” by Sandra DeMers (http://www.loyno.edu/~MidAges/sdemers.html):

For an interactive, graphical representation of the stages of The Hero’s Journey (and an interesting analysis of some ancient myths in light of these stages), see http://ias.berkeley.edu/orias/hero/

The following storytelling tool provides a question and answer framework through which you can explore The Hero’s Journey using your own stories, or analyze existing stories in terms of The Hero’s Journey: http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/smc/journey/ The existing stories are pretty bad; the ones I glanced through appear to be nothing more than users’ attempts to play with the tool. Fortunately for you, I marked mine “Private,” and it is equally as bad as the rest. Don’t let that discourage you from giving the tool a try.

For additional resources explaining archetypes, The Hero’s Journey, and more, see: http://www.webenglishteacher.com/hero.html

"What's my motivation?"

I sit here, staring dumbfounded at the page, while my devilishly handsome protagonist demands to know his purpose in life.

Your motivation? I think. Why, to find the magical thingamabob, get the girl, and live happily ever after. Duhh.

"Sorry, but I wouldn't know what to do with a magical thingamabob, and you keep throwing impossible obstacles in my path. I get the feeling you don't really want me to find the thingamabob, you make it so hard. And for your information, I'm gay. Not only do I not want the girl, I don't even like the girl. And no one lives happily ever after. Your readers will never buy it."

Do your characters ever do this to you? If so, you should count yourself lucky. The alternative is wooden zombies who allow themselves to be moved across the page like pawns in a very boring Chess game. But it can be aggravating when your characters come to life and start arguing with you, too.

I'm never sure which comes first: plot or character. I've decided it doesn't matter, but your story needs both. To make the plot work, your characters absolutely must have a credible purpose and motivation. And they must make the reader care enough to keep turning page after page, to find out if they achieve their objective.

In action adventure stories, for instance, it's not enough that the goal of the hero is to find the magical thingamabob, win true love, and live happily ever after. We have to understand why the magical thingamabob is important to our hero, why our hero is just the guy – or gal – to go after it, and why we should care.

Let's take Shrek. All Shrek wants is a little peace and quiet. He wants to go back to his happy bachelor ways and get all the fairy tale misfits and magical creatures off his property. That's pretty much all the ogre needs to be content. But that's not going to happen unless he gets the girl – for someone else. And getting the girl is going to be a major pain in the tush, because she's locked in an impossibly high tower guarded by a fierce dragon. Ho hum... But let's just get this over with, thinks Shrek, so I can go back to living my happy bachelor life on my land without all the oddball squatters. Note that Shrek's real motivation is not "get the girl" but "get my land back." The girl is just a condition of his achieving his ultimate purpose. He doesn't particularly want the girl.

And let's be honest. She doesn't really need or want Shrek. In fact, she sees him as an obstacle to her achieving her own goals. She's been fantasizing all these years about being rescued by a handsome prince, awakened by the kiss of true love, and living happily ever after – or at least having a future that doesn't involve endless mudpacks, diets, color-correcting cosmetics, and Botox injections. But hey – nothing ever quite works out the way it's planned.

We, the audience, know that Shrek and Fiona belong together (odd-looking couple that they are), because that's how fairy tales work. But they won't figure that out until the last part of the movie, and that's what keeps us watching. For now, they're just in each other's way. But to reach their separate goals, it turns out they'll have to cooperate. And in cooperating, they begin to like each other and to figure out that maybe, just maybe, they have other, more important goals. Like ending up together, despite the obstacles in their way and despite the "sacrifices" they'll have to make. Isn't that more real than the real Sleeping Beauty story?

Secondary characters, like Donkey, can provide comic relief, assistance, someone to kill off (as opposed to having to kill off our main characters, when they action gets sloggy and we need a grisly death to spice things up), or a mirror by which we can see our main characters more clearly. Each time Shrek tells Donkey to leave him alone, we get a clear and convincing picture of Shrek the loner, but we also begin to see that he has a heart capable of being moved. And like Donkey, we begin to convince ourselves that Shrek's not a loner at all – just an introvert who needs a little help making friends, despite his protests and objections.

For the reader, satisfaction comes not only from watching characters achieve their goals, but in watching them struggle to do so. Even when we know how the story ends, we want something that connects the drama to us, something we can relate to. And that comes in the form of conflict and obstacles to success. We all struggle on the path to happily ever after. Who wants to watch a bunch of beautiful people easily attaining their hearts’ desires?

No, we want hardships and journeys of profound revelation. We want a full eight-course meal to savor, not ten minutes of “found the magic thingamajig, battled evil incarnate with the nifty sword of invincible power (just for show), got the girl, lived happily ever after.” We want three-dimensional characters we feel have earned the right to live happily ever after. If we get less, we leave the movie - or throw down the book - wishing they’d thrown themselves off a cliff.

The trouble with heroes, as written by most novice writers (and a few who really ought to know better), is their sheer omnipotence.

Can God create a stone so heavy that he cannot lift it? (For a discussion of omnipotence, logic, paradox, and the omnipotent being’s ability to defy logic, see http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Omnipotence-paradox) In ancient mythology, the gods themselves were not endowed with omnipotence; they had their flaws. That made them more interesting, from a literary standpoint. It also served to inspire and give man hope. Man might strive to climb Mount Olympus or to best the gods in some contest of skill, intellect, or physical prowess. The gods usually won, or humans won only with the aid of other gods, but the gods often rewarded courage and honor. Sometimes they even fought with one another over a worthy human. Of course, they loved to punish hubris, which is courage coupled with an irresistible urge to thumb one’s nose at the gods or try to usurp their place.

The ancient storytellers’ heroes had flaws, too, of course. Without challenges, life would be dull. A perfect hero is a boring hero, just as the ultimate evil villain – perfect in his evilness – is ho hum. If your hero is perfectly good and omnipotent, or your bad guy is perfectly horrible and omnipotent, then there should be no doubt about the outcome of the story – and thus no point in reading further. An omnipotent hero squared off against an omnipotent villain – just imagine it. Can a truly creative writer devise characters so omnipotent that the battle would rage on for an infinite number of pages? Can such a writer be successful, despite having bored all of his readers into an infinite sleep?

That’d be a tough sell.

Until next month,
Holly Jahangiri

Not your stereotypical dragon fantasy, this ongoing saga will keep you in stitches.

Wacky fun. Could help you regain some perspective when dealing with overly omnipotent characters. At the very least, it should provide a giggle and a smirk.

A heart-warming account of real-life heroes, and their lasting effect on a young woman.

I’ve only dreamed of such adventures (I once planned to become a volcanologist when I grew up); instead, I had the one this author may have missed. But darnit, I want to toast marshmallows on Kilauea! (Bonus: This item includes photos!)

Karen Bristow

Thanks for the informative article on semicolons! This helps clear up my nearly life long confusion!

I know I'm a little late in responding to this newsletter.... I have had to take an unscheduled break from writing.com but am back now! Great article!

Thanks and keep up the great work!

Voxxylady

Hi, Jessiebelle. Thanks for another wonderful newsletter! I'm honored that you included my article link.

We, as writers, definitely have a responsibility. Words are power, and as the old saying goes, with power comes responsibility. This should extend to everything that is written to be publicly viewed, including blogs and message board posts. I counter those who use the freedom of speech rule as an excuse to be rude and obnoxious by reminding them that it only applies if we don't step on anyone else's freedom by saying whatever it is that we say, or write what we write. People tend to forget that part. We don't have the freedom to say what we wish if it jeopardizes someone else's safety or well-being.

I'll save this one to check out those links.

Lolli is back

I've been thinking about stories and writing good ones. My thoughts led to me the concept of "The Hero's Journey." I've read some people say that it is ONLY a literary tool for analysis and shouldn't be used as a template for creating a story. What do you think?

Thanks,
Lolli

Ms. Belle:

What an outstanding newsletter. I am looking forward to reading some of the back issues as well.

Take care, and God bless...
--A

April Sunday

Thanks for this one, this shows me to pick an e-mail publisher is not so easy, is it?

More work ahead, this truly helps.

Jessie,

I learned things I didn't realize before about the different writing awards. Granted, I have never aspired to anything higher than writing as a hobby, the newsletter this week sort of makes me feel inspired.

Thanks, Lady Lore

Thanks for an informative newsletter. There are several referances in Blue by you and other writers I intend to go back and review. I also do not know about em's or en's but then I am an eighth grade drop out. I will be playing with the Auto Format controls and spell check on my word 2000. I currently do not agree with many of it's correction applications. Some would rob my story of meaning, others just do not make proper sense.I do need to find out more about agent /publisher scams. I have spent too much time and put too much of myself in my baby . If someone did it wrong I would have to hunt them down and kill them. Thanks for a wonderful newsletter. Keep on writing. TopKat

Sin.D

Excellent newsletter. Choice and timely topic. The right of freedom of speech needs to be exercised...or risk losing it.

Sin.D

Lahtnamas Wise

I had a similar experience with Poetry.com, only I made the mistake of sending something like thirty or so poems to them as a kid. I got my first one "published" when I was sixteen.

It can be quite disappointing when you finally find out that they are a fraud..fake..phony.

I deliberately sent them a poem that was all about how they weren't real. THEY SENT BACK A PROOF! I cried for hours. (I wonder if a bunch of us should team up and get them..heheheh.)

The newsletter was great, thanks.

Thank you for reminding us that we must think of the legal and business side of writing as well as the fun side of it; ie. creating.

DB Cooper

This newsletter is SO AWSOME! I would rather win a Bram Stoker Award as opposed to Nobel or Pulitzer.

Any award feels pretty good, really. — Jessiebelle

Hi Jessiebelle! As always, I thoroughly enjoyed your newsletter! A quick thought on freedom of speech: Should books be published on clearly illegal topics? I work at a major book store, and was shocked to learn that there is a section for books on how to grow and cultivate marijuana and other drugs. These books are not in any restricted section, they're at the end of gardening. Anyone can look up exactly how to grow marijuana in your closet, or anything else. People can also order books on how to make bombs. These books teach people how to break the law. Do you believe these books should or should not be available? Interesting dilemma: freedom of speech vs. the law.

Great NL!
ShadowDawn

Puditat

Jessiebelle, that's one awesome newsletter mix of helpful explanations, encouragement and inspiration. This is going to my resource file!

Hi! I have a quick question. I was reading your Ask and Answer section and DB Cooper commented that POD had uses too, to which the editor agreed. Um, what is POD? I'm sure I've heard of it before, but right now I'm drawing a blank.

Thanks!

ShadowDawn

An informative, intelligent newsletter, as always, Holly Jahangiri .

Dan

Vivian

I enjoyed the newsletter on freedom of speech, Jessie. You packed a mighty lot of info in this. Oh, didn't you hear? Our book will a Nobel Prize in Literature. Well, you said dream big. ~~ Viv

Our book? Oh, you mean this book?

Katya the Poet

Great newsletter. Love your focus on freedom of speech, and all the great practical advice, too, and extensive letter section. Great work.

Another excellent newsletter. Great links, good discussions and a lot to think about.

TexansBeatTheMiamiDolphinsBy3

Jessie - You can do it all! Have you ever written a column for a newspaper? This newsletter's content is top-notch and written in such user friendly terms. The love you have for this art-form is palpable and aren't we the lucky ones!

Kara Onxyrhine

This newsletter was very informative and thought provoking. I was very pleased.

Kaitlin

I love getting feedback on the For Authors Newsletter – it lets me know you’re reading, and it tells me whether I’m writing about the subjects that interest you. Please keep those questions and comments coming!

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