Much has been written about the hero’s journey and how to use it in the writing process. The overall stages of the hero’s journey are departure, initiation, and return. Within these stages are individual steps in the journey. The pattern can be easily divided into the 12 months of the year to give writers a structured outline for their writing process over the course of a year.
Call to Adventure and Supernatural Aid
In the first writing month, or January – if one decides to spend the writing year in a chronological manner – the hero’s journey element is the Call to Adventure. Whatever the specific call is for the character, it announces a change in that person’s life. Old patterns and things that are familiar are now cast aside, forgotten, outgrown, or found to be of little use anymore. Something has called the person out to change his or her ways. And the next element that accompanies this call is the Refusal of the Call, which is the hero’s doubts or desires that keep him or her from immediately going out on the adventure.
February brings the Supernatural Aid. At the beginning of the journey, the character discovers someone or something that aids him or her on the journey. What help does the character need?
Crossing the 1st Threshold and Belly of the Whale
March is for Crossing the 1st Threshold. What is the first big step in the journey? Crossing the threshold embodies taking the purposeful step that moves the character from the known world to one of unfamiliarity and risk.
April’s exercise can be about the element called Belly of the Whale. Crossing the magic threshold is a transition into a rebirth that is “symbolized in the worldwide womb image of the belly of the whale,” according to Joseph Campbell in his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces. In this dark place, a crucible of sorts, the character is tested and is no longer who he or she was. The former self is gone, and the work of transformation into a newer, wiser self becomes necessary.
Road of Trials and Meeting with the Goddess
With May, June, July, and August, comes the largest element of the hero’s journey. The Road of Trials compares to rising action in the traditional plotline of a story. The Road of Trials entails choices and specific kinds of challenges along the hero’s path. Each month can deal with a different challenge or obstacle. What obstacles are thrown into the character’s path or what challenges does he or she encounter? What choices are made during these challenges? Why does the hero not turn back onto an easier path?
In September, the element is Meeting with the Goddess, who, according to Campbell, is “the incarnation of the promise of perfection.” What female or feminine element does the character come into contact with? How does this contact give the character strength and wisdom to continue the journey?
The Return Journey
October, just after the glories of summer, is a good time for the next element, Apotheosis, which means claiming one’s power. November brings Atonement and Benefit. Atonement is usually associated with a father figure and the act of making amends or coming to terms with the father/child relationship. The Benefit is the gift or “boon” that the hero brings back to his or her people.
December is the end of the journey and can comprise many steps of the journey all represented by its third and final stage of The Return. One step here is Crossing the Return Threshold, which is a kind of return to paradise, a returning home with new knowledge and wisdom that will aid the hero and his or her people. Lastly, the hero is the Master of 2 Worlds and has Freedom to Live. The hero is able to recognize his or her own power and to have control over soul and self, over the world of the spirit and the world of the physical.
For specific writing ideas on each of the above elements, please click on the links to each element as it is discussed.
Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. New World Library, 2008.
Shaun Perkins - Shaun Perkins, teacher, poet, storyteller, porch-sitter, beekeeper, gardener, writer, has been a high school and university teacher for ...
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