Introduction

The Hero's Journey And Transformation Through A New World / State (also known as the Monostory or Monomyth) pattern is the template upon which the vast majority of successful stories and Hollywood blockbusters are based upon. Our detailed deconstruction of hundreds of successful stories and Hollywood blockbusters has revealed more than 2000 stages of the Hero's Journey that you need to know about...

The framework is based on core, indisputable fundamentals, including:

Without exception, every successful story involves physical journey. Visual stories, expecially Hollywood and novels targeting that market, accentuate the journey element. There is distinct physical movement between locations with specific functions implemented at those locations.

Without exception, every successful story involves transformation. There is always a start-state and an end-state and lots of in-between change-states that incrementally lead to the target. We can call this psychological journey.

Without exception, every successful story takes archetypes through a New World or New State, which involves particular process and has certain functions. New Worlds are physical manifestations of emerging or established new psychological states. Sometimes a New World is literal (a new planet or a new city), but most commonly it is a change of location (or a change of location within a location) with specific functional purpose. Commonly, the New World or State is cloaked / disguised to make it seamless. You need to learn to distinguish between the major and minor worlds.

"...so to roll out successful stories and screenplays, superimpose your situation over this 2000+ stage structure."

"...what you're doing is using the structure to pull the hero through his (or her) journey..."

"...it is the pulling through the journey that induces the hero's transformation......a story is transformation..."

"...by pulling your hero through this journey, you cause him (or her) to detach from the Ordinary World and Ordinary Self and attach to the New World and New Self. And then to detach from the New World and New Self and become the Mature Self..."

"...this structure is the process of transformation. There is a psychological journey that is mirrored by a physical journey. That is why you often see darkness, rain, thunder and lightning during the stage of the Near Death Experience, for example. By pulling the hero through a physical experience, you are stimulating a psychological transformation. In the beginning the hero will be dressed one way, after being pushed through some stages of the journey, the psychological change will reflect in clothing, behaviour, attitudes and beliefs."

"...it is the undergoing of the journey that provides the hero with the capacity to conquer those challenges that were previously unconquerable..."

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Monostory (EVERY story)

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2000+ Hero's Journey Stages Not Unreasonable

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Basic Story, Screenplay Architecture

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Rigid Structure, Precise Story Arc

One of the least understood aspects of successful storytelling is the very high degree of rigid structure involved, especially in Hollywood screenwriting and bestselling fiction novels (the Harry Potter books are a perfect example). It roots to transformation, which is intricately stage-gated using physical journey and physical new worlds.

The most successful movies and bestselling novels definitely, without doubt, indisputably follow the same, precise story arc (there is really only one way to do it) - they all take their archetypes on a journey through a New World or State in a rigid, process driven manner, where transformation and capacities result in resolution of the initial imperfection (and the result is not unoriginal, as all Academy Award Winning Best Films demonstrate). If this is your field, then you must familiarise yourself with this process. More about this here.

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Situation Over Structure (Monostory, Monomyth)

There is really only one story. Every story you have ever seen or read is essentially an alternate situation superimposed, with individual style, over the same structure. Also see Monostory EVERY story.

The King's Speech (Academy Award Winner Best Film 2010)
The Hurt Locker (Academy Award Winner Best Film 2009)
Slumdog Millionaire (Academy Award Winner Best Film 2008)
No Country For Old Men (Academy Award Winner Best Film 2007)
The Departed (Academy Award Winner Best Film 2006)
Crash (Academy Award Winner Best Film 2005)
Million Dollar Baby (Academy Award Winner Best Film 2004)
The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King (Academy Award Winner Best Film 2003)
Chicago (Academy Award Winner Best Film 2002)
A Beautiful Mind (Academy Award Winner Best Film 2001)
Gladiator (Academy Award Winner Best Film 2000)
see Academy Award Winner List

...and every other successful story you have ever seen or read are all one and the same - various situations superimposed over the same structure. Every successful story you will ever see or read will be one and the same - various situations superimposed over the same structure. The structure is what a story IS.

Spielberg, Lucas, Scorsese, Coppola, Cameron all use this structure. Shakespeare used this structure. Stories in the Bible, the Vedas, the Torah and the Koran use this structure. You should use this structure. Also see The Value Of Structure and for other creativity management issues, see Creativity And Time Pressure and Improve Your Creativity.

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The following images show how detailed the mapping of situation over structure [of successful and effective stories] can be. Further, the technique does not diminish character and story quality:

Christopher Robin (Winnie the Pooh) and Mowgli (The Jungle Book)

Mowgli (The Jungle Book) and Arthur (The Sword in the Stone)

Elephants in The Jungle Book and Robin Hood

Maid Marion (Robin Hood) and the Duchess (Aristocrats)

Snow White and Maid Marion (Robin Hood)

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Priority

Understanding this template is a priority for screen and story writers.

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Critical Competency

Understanding this template is a critical competency for screen and story writers.

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Success Prerequisite

You cannot write a successful screenplay without understanding this template.

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Advantages

The advantages of attaining a truly deep understanding of the 2000+ stage Hero's Journey And Transformation Through A New World / State:

You learn to write stories quickly and effectively. You don't waste months trying to figure out what to do. If you work in TV, you'll be asked to produce effective stories very quickly - within a week, for example. You get the ability to quickly produce many first draft screenplays and then decide which stories you like and which ones you want to work further with and which ones you want to sell.

A script editor or agent may say "we are seeking this type of story." You will be able to quickly write it and sell them it. Or you may think that the next academy award winner is going to be "Slumdog Millionaire in Somalia." You will be able to write the first draft of a story like that quickly.

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Master Extrapolation Process

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Use The Process To Pull Your Hero/ine Through

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The Hero/ine Is A Focal Point

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Story, Screenplay Law

From the above, you should begin to see the emergence of rules and process you MUST follow if you want to write a successful story / screenplay. In others words, they are what a story IS. You MUST apply them no matter what niche of literature your story targets (if you want to be successful).
Also see Monostory EVERY story. We expand on Story Law here.

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Series, Episodes

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First Caveman Storyteller Scenario

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Subplots / Ensemble Cast

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Limited Locations (Sitcoms, TV Shows etc)

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Tragedy, Final States Of Imperfection

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Situational Questions (Genre, Comedy etc)

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Basic Deconstructions

Below are a few hundred basic, first-draft, highly simplified story deconstructions.

IMPORTANT: These are very rough and general deconstructions meant to simply illustrate that the story follows the pattern described in the 2000+ stage Hero's Journey And Transformation Through A New World / State. For other basic deconstructions, you may also want to search our youtube channel .

DO NOT attempt to write a story by following these deconstructions – they contain inaccuracies, critical stages have been omitted and they do not benefit from the latest insights; if you need an accurate deconstruction of this story, place an order at http://www.clickok.co.uk/CustomServices.html#deconstructions

These basic, first-draft, highly simplified story deconstructions illustrate that:

All these stories have the same structural core: there in only one story and that is the pattern of the 2000+ stage Hero's Journey And Transformation Through A New World / State

The Hero's Journey / Transformation / New World fit.

The rigid structure that all stories conform to.

The diversity and novelty that can be derived from a core template.

In all of the deconstructed stories:

There is a movement between Worlds.

A Transformation occurs.

There is Detachment and Attachment. See the Advanced Worksheets.

There is the Gaining of Capacities.

All the mandatory stages of the journey process are passed through. Though the story may not directly pass through an optional stage, elements / references of that stage may be present.

Six Core Challenges

One or more characters conquer a number of challenges. There are Six Core Challenges: a) the Inner Challenge, b) the Romantic Challenge, c) the Outer Challenge and d) the Greater Antagonism, e) to find out what the Fifth and Sixth Core Challenge are (you can't write a complete, successful story without knowing this), you'll need to Buy the 510+ or 2000+ stage Hero's Journey And Transformation Through A New World / State.

In Titanic (Academy Award Winner Best Film 1997; No. 1 All-Time USA Box-office with receipts of over $600,000,000), Rose's Inner Challenge is to overcome her commitment to her mother as well as Jack's lower status, her Romantic Challenge is Jack, her Outer Challenge is Cal and the Greater Antagonism is escaping the sinking ship.

In American Beauty (Academy Award Winner Best Film 1999), Lester Burnham's Inner Challenge is to feel good about himself, his Romantic Challenge is Angela, his Outer Challenge is his marriage with Carolyn and the Greater Antagonism is Col. Frank Fitts, US Marine Core.

In Top Gun (1986, receipts of $176,000,000), Maverick's Romantic Challenge is Charlie, his Inner Challenge is his personal and father's story, his Outer Challenge is getting over Goose's death and the Greater Antagonism is becoming Top Gun.

The Six Core Challenge categories can be viewed as classes:

In Tootsie (Academy Award Nominee Best Film 1982), Michael's Romantic Challenge is Julie, his Inner Challenge is represented by his penultimate line "I was a better man with you as a woman than I ever was with a woman as a man...I just gotta learn to do it without the dress...", his Outer Challenge is Ron [symbol of male condescension] and the Greater Antagonism is his problem that the network and fans thinks he's really a woman. But within the class of the Inner Challenge is Sandy and within the class of the Romantic Challenge are the attentions of Les and Van Horn.

It is common for major characters other than the Hero [most often the Romantic Challenge, Supernatural Aid, Shape Shifter] to have their own challenges:

In Gladiator (Academy Award Winner Best Film, 2000), Proximo and Lucilla both have their own demons to overcome.

Our 2000 stage Hero's Journey incorporates the SIx Core Challenges; you do not have to figure out how they map onto the journey.

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Hero Archetypes

There are various types of Hero: Willing Heroes (Luke in Star Wars, 1977), Unwilling Heroes (Andy in The Shawshank Redemption, 1994), Unknowing Heroes (Raging Bull, 1980), Antiheroes (Goodfellas, 1990) and so on.

Nevertheless, their stories all mirror the 2000+ stage Hero's Journey And Transformation Through A New World / State template. The difference between Hero, Antihero and other variations simply lies in situation over structure. See Advanced Archetypes and Advanced Worksheets.

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Who or What is the Hero?

Common misconceptions abound (for example, that a Hero/ine is some type of alpha person who strides forth confidently, brushes obstacles aside etc... )." 99.99% of you don't know what a Hero/ine is.

These are some of the common responses to this question, with our comments below:

a) The Hero is the person with the most screentime - the person who has the most attention of the camera.

There are many excellent films / stories where screentime is shared (When Harry met Sally (1989), Pulp Fiction (1994), Red River (1948) etc). So this answer is not quite satisfactory.

b) The Hero is the person that changes / transforms the most.

This is inaccurate. In Back to the Future (1985), George McFly is the person who changes most. In Beverly Hills Cop (1984), Rosewood changes the most, not Axel Foley.

c) The Hero is the person who has his or her challenges resolved.

This is also incorrect as other characters also have their challenges resolved. In Back to the Future (1985), Doc and Marty's family all have their challenges resolved.

d) The Hero is the person who holds true to his / her deepest values.

This is incorrect as the 2000+ stage Hero's Journey And Transformation Through A New World / State is about Transformation: it is usual, in fact it is common, for the Hero to change his or her deepest beliefs.

e) The Hero is the person that passes through the stages of the Hero's Journey.

The Hero does not always pass through [all or some of] the stages of the Hero's Journey (Red River (1948), Pulp Fiction (1994) etc). In ensemble movies, various archetypes share the functions.

f) The Hero is that person with whom we empathise with most.

Not necessarily. In Blade Runner (1982), we empathise most with Roy, not Deckard.

g) The Hero is that person who does good, who is most altruistic.

This ignores Antiheroes, Unwilling Heroes and other Hero archetypes.

h) The Hero is s/he who makes a sacrifice.

Again, this is not quite satisfactory. Mentors, Shape Shifters commonly make a sacrifice (Obi Wan, Star Wars (1977) etc...).

i) The Hero swaggers about and sorts things out.

This is probably the most inaccurate answer and ignores archetypes found in movies such as Annie Hall (1977).

The Hero/ine should be thought of as a focal point (see the video above), but there is more to it. To find the correct answer, Buy the 510+ or 2000+ stage Hero's Journey And Transformation Through A New World / State.

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Screenplays versus Novels

Every successful fiction novel follows the 2000+ stage Hero's Journey And Transformation Through A New World / State - they HAVE to follow story law (see the video above). Successful bestseller examples include:

A Tale of Two Cities
The Lord of the Rings
The Hobbit
And Then There Were None
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince)
The Da Vinci Code
The Catcher in the Rye
The Alchemist
Lolita
Heidi's Years of Wandering and Learning
Anne of Green Gables
Black Beauty
The Name of the Rose
Charlotte's Web
The Ginger Man
The Tale of Peter Rabbit
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Angels and Demons
War and Peace
The Adventures of Pinocchio
Kane and Abel
The Diary of Anne Frank
To Kill a Mockingbird
Valley of the Dolls
Gone with the Wind
One Hundred Years of Solitude
The Thorn Birds
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Sophie's WorldThe Kite Runner
The Bookseller of Kabul -- by Asne Seierstad

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What is a [Hollywood / Blockbuster / Bestselling] Story?

A Hollywood / Blockbuster / Bestselling story is one that follows the pattern of the 2000+ stage Hero's Journey And Transformation Through A New World / State; all our examples are from Hollywood blockbusters and Academy award winners / nominees. In essence, there is an almost rigid structural process followed, which includes:

Movement between a number of Worlds.
Transformation.
Detachment and Attachment
Gaining of Capacities
One or more archetypes conquer a number of challenges.
There are at least Six Core Challenges.
There is a distinct process of story closure. That is, multiple catharses close a story.

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Multiple Final Catharses

Stories do not simply end. There is a very distinct process of catharses distribution. Successful stories end with four, five or more catharses and each is separate and distinct from the Six Core Challenges. This process is explained in the 2000+ stage Hero's Journey And Transformation Through A New World / State

In Die Hard (1988), there are many catharses, including: John rescuing his wife, defeating Hans and then Karl. Argyle also has his moment.
In Star Wars (1977), Vader is diverted, Luke strikes the shot, the Death Star explodes, Ben's voiceover comforts etc.
In Knocked Up (2006), Ben becomes assertive, neutralises Debbie, makes up with Alison etc.

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Ordinary World

An aspect of the Ordinary State.

In Bridesmaids (2011), Annie unhappy at home and at work.
In War of the Worlds (2005), a selfish Ray Ferrier at work and at home.
In Beverly Hills Cop (1984), Axel is a cop in Detroit.

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Call To Adventure

Covers a number of functions. Generally, encouragement out of the Ordinary World.

In Raiders of the Lost Ark (1984), Indy is sent to find the Ark.
In Beverly Hills Cop (1984), Axel with Mikey in the bar.
In Back to the Future (1985), Doc tells Marty to be at Twin Pines Fall.

Refusal

Various types of restraint inhibit forward movement.

In Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Marcus warns Indy about the dangers of the Ark.
In Get Carter (1971), Carter's boss warns of the northern gangs.
In The Incredibles (2004), Elastigirl wants Mr Incredible to knuckle down to his day-job.

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Supernatural Aids (Meeting Mentors)

Guidance and direction.

In Million Dollar Baby (2004), Maggie needs Frankie to start winning.
In The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Ben tells Luke to go see Yoda.
In Raging Bull (1980), Vickie lures Jake away from his wife.

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Crossing The (First) Threshold

Entering a Major New World and State.

In Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Lawrence gains the King's trust.
In The Matrix (1999), Neo learns martial arts.
In Raging Bull (1980), Jake and Vickie become an item.

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Belly of the Whale

Covers a large range of functions. Generally, the drive deeper into the New World and State.

In The King's Speech (2010), the Duke doesn't want to talk about his personal life. But will have to.
In The Godfather (1972), Michael doesn't want to have to get involved, but will have to.
In Chinatown (1974), Gittes doesn't want to give it up.

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Road of Trials / Tests, Allies, Enemies

Various trials are engaged in at various parts of the cycle in order to acquire various in/tangibles. Allies and enemies perform specific functions.

In Goodfellas (1990), Karen meets the wives.
In Educating Rita (1983), Rita transforms into a student.
In Scarface (1983), Tony establishes himself as a dope dealer.

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Approach To The Inmost Cave

Forms of pull toward the Monster.

In Halloween (1974), we enter Myer's house.
In Aliens (1986), we're drawn to the nest.
In Priest (2011), we're drawn to the nest.

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Ordeal

Covers a large range of functions. Generally, the obstacles to the Goddess/ Reward / Sword.

In Scarface (1983), Tony's got to win Sosa over to make a deal, so he can become his own boss.
In The King' Speech (2010), the Duke warns Lionel not to commit treason.
In Chinatown (1974), obstacles to acquring the records.

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Meeting With The Goddess / Reward / Seizing The Sword

Covers a large range of functions. Generally, encouragement toward tangibles which represent intangibles.

In The Godfather (1972), Michael marries Apollonia and becomes a de facto Sicilian.
In A Fistful of Dynamite (1971), Juan takes out the bridge and becomes a de facto rebel.
In The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), Aragorn's sword and kissing Arwen.

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Woman As Temptress

A misleading metaphor. Covers a large range of functions. Generally, encourgement to physical and psychological containment.

In The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), pushed to the mines of Moria.
In The King's Speech (2010), a weeping, incapable King.
In Aliens (1986), trapped in the compound.

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Atonement With The Father

Confronting guiding and limiting forces.

In Dances with Wolves (1990), John reveals all to Kicking Bird.
In Out of Africa (1985), Karen wants Denys not to keep disappearing.
In Casablanca (1943), Victor talks to Rick about sacrifice.

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Apotheosis

Transcending guiding and limiting forces.

In Casablanca (1943), Rick makes a sacrifice.
In The Shawshank Redemption (1994), Andy escapes Shawshank.
In Scarface (1983), Tony transcends Frank.

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Ultimate Boon

Magical Gifts and Capacities from the New World / State. One manifestation is synergy.

In The Dirty Dozen (1967), the men work as a team.
In Beverly Hills Cop (1984), Axel, Taggart, Rosewood and Bogomil work as a team.
In Alien (1979), Parker and Lambert fall into line under Ripley's command.

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Refusal of the Return

Limitations in various form.

In Slumdog Millionaire (2008), Jamal will never trust Salim again.
In The Godfather (1972), the Don has made a promise.
In Y Tu Mama Tambien (2000), the boys sleep together.

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Magic Flight, Road Back

Covers a large range of functions. Generally, supernatural movement to / making of a New Dawn.

In The Godfather (1972), Michael tries to set up in Vegas.
In Knocked Up (2007), the boys go to Vegas.
In Ali (2007), Ali runs through the village and sees the images of himself.

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Rescue from Without, Resurrection

Generally, overcoming limitations and pull back into the Monster's Cave.

In A Wonderful Life (1946), Clarence shows George Bailey a world without him.
In Spiderman (2000), the Green Goblin kidnaps Mary Jane.
In Thelma and Louise (1991), Hal and the FBI catch up with the girls.

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Crossing The Return Threshold

Confronting limitations to liberty is one manifestation.

In Annie Hall (1977), Alvie confronts Annie.
In Gladiator (2000), Commodus and Maximus battle.
In When Harry met Sally (2007), Harry runs to tell Sally he loves her.

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Master of the Two Worlds

Integrating the Older and Newer Worlds and Selves.

In The Godfather (1972), Michael integrates Kay into his Sicilian thing.
In Educating Rita (1983), Rita recognises Bryant's contribution to who she now is.
In The Hangover (2009), the boys become masters of Vegas and their LA world.

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The Value of Structure

Structure, in its many forms, increases the quantity and quality of creative output. The golden rule is that originality emerges from structure:

a) Short term goals (incremental productivity) produce more output than a "do your best" approach. With specific regard to creative writing, writing four pages a day completes a words-on-paper first draft screenplay in one month. A "do your best" or "waiting for inspiration" approach can take months or years. Witness the untold number of people with unfinished manuscripts under their beds.

b) Work processes help to i) unblock the mind, ii) tap into tacit knowledge, iii) trigger the mind into working at various cognitive levels and iv) apply i) and ii) and iii) to the areas of problem identification, idea generation, idea selection, development and commercialisation.

c) Frameworks reduce complex problems into their component intellectual parts. Frameworks increase output by reducing complex problems into smaller, more manageable problem solving exercises. A similar idea is that problems, no matter how daunting, can be solved by breaking them into their constituent parts.

d) Templates, with specific regard to creative writing, are valuable as they are step-outlines. They are ready-made analyses of story structure; by using them writers can quickly expand an idea into a story. Past a critical threshold, the story then begins to dictate its own structure: thus originality emerges from structure.

e) Simply being prolific improves performance and quality. The single best creative product tends to appear at that point in the career when the creator is being most prolific.

f) Simply engaging in the tasks improves performance. Experience refines knowledge and methodology towards optimal levels.

g) Engagement stimulates the mind into working on problems at various cognitive levels and results in inspiration. Screenwriters often find that their best ideas come to them when they are in the middle of writing a screenplay.

h) Structure helps clearly identify complex problems and triggers incubation. Problems incubate until answers become apparent. Incubation tends to result in richer insights.

i) Engagement increases the incidence and frequency of problem identification and thus the incidence and frequency of insight.

j) Engagement (coupled with motivation) increases solution seeking, through active search for stimuli and intellectual cross-pollination through networks, bridging and collaboration.

k) Repeated engagement (coupled with motivation) triggers frame breaking; helps identify path dependencies and parochialism.

l) Radical shifts (novelty, originality) occur through sustained incremental change. By incrementally modifying output, the distance between the original and final versions increases. Radical shifts sometimes result from dramatic events or conditions but the vast number of gains accrue from continuous incremental improvement.

Learn more about Creativity Management here....

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Creativity and Time Pressure

There are two contrary arguments: a) time pressure stimulates creativity and b) time pressure reduces creativity. Both are true. There are a number of forces at work:

Time pressure increases creative output. By forcing idea production, setting goals and incremental deadlines, a greater number of ideas are produced than if a “do your best” approach is taken. If a leader asks participants in an idea generating session to address a problem and think of at least 5 ideas every half an hour, then 80 ideas are produced by one individual and 1600 are produced by 20 individuals at the end of an average working day. This level of output is conscious and would not be produced normally.

Time pressure encourages prolific production and therefore the probability of generating good ideas increases. It can be said with great confidence that quality of output is closely related to quantity. The best single creative product tends to appear at that point in the career when the creator is being most prolific.

Forcing output pushes individuals along the experience curve, refines their methodology, builds competencies and knowledge and improves performance. Screenwriters know that they are likely to produce more, better quality work faster if they set themselves a schedule of a certain number of pages per day.

Motivation is critical to creativity. If a person is intrinsically motivated, time pressure may be a synergistic extrinsic motivator. If the person is not intrinsically motivated then it may turn out to be a non-synergistic extrinsic motivator, which reduces the level of engagement in the endeavour.

Short-term time pressure can be negative in that it does not allow the mind to engage in the endeavour at various cognitive levels. It does not allow rich ideas to formulate through the process of incubation . Intrinsically motivated individuals will benefit from short term time pressure and goals (sets cognitive forces in motion) and will generate richer ideas through incubation over the longer term.

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Improve your Creativity

Creativity Management can seriously improve the quality and quantity of your creative output. Ironically, this topic is best understood in the senior business community - businesses continually need to be creative and innovative to maintain competitive advantage and solve a host of other issues. This topic is taken seriously by Harvard, Yale, Princeton et al and studied at the highest academic levels. Critical insights will help you write better screenplays, for example:

a) The relationship between production and quality: it can be concluded with great confidence that quality of output is closely connected to sheer quantity. Moreover, the single best creative product tends to appear at that point in the career when the creator is being most prolific.

b) Separating creative from critical thinking: writing and editing are separate and distinct processes.

c) Forcing inspiration: screenwriters will often find that their best ideas occur while they are engaged in other projects.

d) Manipulating organisational culture and organisational structure to overcome blocks.

e) Achieving radical leaps through incremental productivity.

f) Avoiding and clarifying misconceptions: what exactly is originality? is there such a thing as a creative type?

Learn more about Creativity Management here....

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Correcting Misconceptions

The following addresses some of the common, flawed criticisms thrown at the Hero's Journey and story structures and creative writing etc... in general. Also see the FAQs.

Criticism 1: It's formula.
The Hero's Journey is not a formula, it is a structure that guides the process of transformation, attachment or detachment, liberation etc. It is a pattern that reveals the process of unfolding a story, something that 99.9% writers do not know how to do. It shows you how to turn an idea into a story. It shows you how to appeal to an audience, which have subconscious expectations. It is the road map that the novice writer is unconsciously trying to find. This criticism is a catch-all for any creative structure. It betrays a lack of understanding of story, creativity itself and the value of structure.

Criticism 2: It discourages originality.
The word "originality" is itself inappropriate. It implies a complete break with the past, which is never the case (it only seems so). Most of which seems original is a cumulative and incremental evolution of that which has been before. And it often only seems original to those with an untrained eye.

The Hero's Journey does not discourage originality. All the greatest stories (past and present) use it as a core pattern and those stories can hardly be described as unoriginal. Not only do Spielberg, Coppola, Lucas, and Scorsese follow this pattern, but Shakespeare did too. Their stories can hardly be described as unoriginal. Every Academy Award winner / nominess has followed this pattern. Those stories can hardly be described as unoriginal.

Criticism 3: Why is one hero so special anyway?
This betrays a serious lack of understanding of the Hero's Journey.

The Hero is a focal point, representative of The Process and The Changing and many individuals or groups go through the process. For example, in The Incredibles (2004), the whole family goes through the process. In Little Miss Sunshine (2006), the whole family goes through the process. A pair is also common: Thelma and Louise (1991), When Harry met Sally (1989).

Criticism 4: The Hero is always a dude.
The Hero is not always a dude. See Heroine's Journey

Criticism 5: It's cheesy as hell.
It's not cheesy. All of the greatest stories (past and present) are based on it and these are not cheesy. It's only cheesy if you tell the story wrong and this is often the result of a lack of understanding of the Hero's Journey.

Criticism 6: A lot of myths are shoehorned into the Hero's Journey.
So what? The myths are all examples to illustrate certain points, metaphors, symbolisms etc. Even with all these examples most people don't really understand the Hero's Journey. In the 2000+ stage Hero's Journey And Transformation Through A New World / State, we use hundreds of examples from modern film and we are constantly being asked for more.

Criticism 7: It confuses personal growth with solving problems.
This criticism is itself a confusion. Smaller problems may not require personal growth. Some larger problems do require it. Personal growth is a transformation and the Hero's Journey is the process of transformation, hence you can link the Hero's Journey to personal growth.

Criticism 8: The Hero's Journey is a Hollywood construct.
It is not a Hollywood construct and applies to all the greatest stories past and present. If you analyse successful stories before the age of cinema, as we have done, you will find that they all follow the Hero's Journey pattern intricately. Shakespeare used this pattern. The stories in the Bible, the Koran, the Torah, the Vedas and the other great religious texts use this template. It's not about a construct, it roots to physical and psychological laws.

In conclusion, none of the criticisms we have ever come across are valid and demonstrate a frightening lack of understanding. Almost without exception, criticisms are made by individuals with a very poor understanding of screenwriting, storytelling, transformation, the Hero's Journey, creativity and creative writing.

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Testimonials

Hello again, Mr. Bashir,
As I told you before, I am a professional screenwriter, and your excellent and enlightening texts changed my life and improved amazingly my skills and self-confidence in my work.
I'm currently writing the screen adaptation of the novel "Cold Skin" by Albert Sanchez Piñol (a truly "hero's journey" story, a mix between h.p. lovecraft and joseph conrad) and your texts and templates are now my Bible, my Upanishads, my Quran. Thanks to you, I regained faith in my job.
I hope you see and enjoy the movie "Cold Skin" when it is released, there is a lot of "you" in it.
My very best wishes for you and your loved ones... Jesús

...The template is wonderful; you could really write anything by simply following it verbatim and superimposing your stuff. You never really can watch a movie the same way once you get familiar with it - it is almost uncanny to realize that 99% of the time you already know what's going to happen on screen! This is state-of-the-art... Simon Kardy

... Thanks very much! This is great stuff!...Michael Traylor

...your book is AWESOME... Cameron McGehee

...I like these templates because they help me quickly develop a treatment, which I can use to find the finance... Lennard Stevenson

...the thing is, you start by using a template to get an idea off the ground in a big way, but then the story develops requirements of its own, so you end up modifying, cutting and pasting and finally creating your own unique structure... Emma Gorman

...the best investigation of story structure I have come across... Nick Wood

...the cheapest and best value screenwriting course... Murray Hughes

... gave me a better understanding of how movies are constructed... Chris Smith

...I won't tell you how long I have been trying to develop a first-draft, but with your templates I managed to do it in a few days... Alan E Farstrup

...before I found your templates, I had to pluck ideas out of thin air. I didn't know what to write next or who should be in the scene and that took forever to figure out.... Rebecca Rowland

... for the hell of it I thought I'd write a screenplay. So I created a folder with a section for each sequence of your template. Then I went about filling each section with articles, research etc that related to the story and that section. After a bit of shuffling about the story kind of unfolded in the folder and in my head. When the folder was full I wrote a page for each section. After a bit of cutting and pasting I had an OK words-on-paper first draft. Then I gave it to a few friends to read. They were very kind. After a while of not looking at it I read it again. I saw some things that needed changing, characters that were superfluous, that sort of thing. My third draft was better than my second...anyway, I only ever did it as a fun thing, not a commercial thing...at least I can say I wrote a pretty good screenplay... Ben Cooper

...I use your templates in my screenwriting classes... Sid Hooner

...story structure should be viewed as a form, not a formula... Jeff Archer

...it's amazing how all stories look the same after you have understood the Hero's Journey... Terry Hanser

...I gave up trying to find an agent, now I use your templates to write local stories that I film with my camcorder. Much more fun... Jessica Parker

...Agents started to consider my approaches after I had a bulk of work under my belt, but I've heard of people who got one through personal contacts, schmoozing, networking... Tammy Wright

...I understand now that ideas cannot be copied but structure can... Maggie Hammond

...structure is the key, boy oh boy is it the key... Nicola Tarling

...writing a screenplay is not hard, selling a screenplay is... David Lass

...people don't understand that structure helps produce quality output, they just don't get it... Janice Shriver

... how could people in the creative industries consistently produce quality material without some sort of structure...of course it is the key... Gavin MacDougal

... people think that great stories appear out of thin air, they think you just get inspired, sit down and write War and Peace . But you start with an idea which you map out and develop..and your templates help do exactly that... Kimeta Basha

...it is not usunusal to write ten drafts...what is happening here...the story is being reworked and reworked until it is good. The step outline, treatment and first draft are simply the beginning... Anne Hogben

... you're right, the templates speed up the process but we still have to develop characters, situations and dialogue special to the story... Nancy Etchemendo

...I like the way you use broad terms such as "Time Pressure becomes acute" and leave it up to us to write the exact scene... Roselle Angwin

... I find your templates very useful ...Wolfgang Kirchner

... when you take a camera out and come back with an hours worth of rubbish, you realise that you need things to happen. I tried one of your templates (I was a cynic) but realised that it gave me a pattern to follow and taught me how to build a story from start to finish and with all the highs and lows incorporated... Marianne O'Conner

...they say you have to write a million words before you write anything good. Your templates help to write those million words quickly... Victoria Williams

...the best way to write a screenply is to go ahead and write a screenplay. But it helps to know where to start. Your template was like being shown the yellow brick road... Seb Mannion

...I honestly think that I would never have written a screenplay without your help.. .Stephen Midlane

...if you analyze the most successful stories of all time, and especially recent Hollywood successes, you notice that they're all more or less variations of the same structure. As you move away from the Hollywood core, there is less rigidity to this structure but also an increase in weirdness and non-commercialism. There are a lot of complex interacting factors like marketing, direction, production values and A-list actors, but you can say that there is a definite relationship between structure and appeal, which is why Hollywood stories seem to have the most widespread appeal.... Katherine Summerhays

...if you analyse say Casablanca , you see that filmmakers knew of the Hero's Journey way before Campbell. So either Campbell is overrated or his significant contribution was simply to make explicit the stages of the journey... Adrian Brink

... not a lot of bucks for a lot of bang... Bradley Hemmings

...one of the biggest leaps a screenwriter can make is to understand the value of structure... Michael Scott

...Structure is one of those things that people will never tell you about or admit to using... Ryan Johnson

...with your templates writing a step outline was a doddle.. John Osborne

...I needed to look at three of your templates to get it. When that Eureka moment came, I thought wow!.... Mike Hodges

... originality is a product of structure ...Ali Lister

...I agree with you when you say that sustained small changes have a large impact over time... Steven Silbiger

...there's this big mystique about how difficult it is to write a first draft. OK, rewriting and rewriting and constantly thinking about your screenplay until it is good can take time, but I wouldn't say it is difficult... Philip Moore

...the fastest way to write a variety of screenplays is through the use of your templates... Nicele Klinger

...it's helpful to think of screenplays as a series of connected sequences as opposed to a story... Louise Holland

...the macrostructure of many stories is essentially the same - it is some variation of the Hero's Journey. But structures differ at the micro level because situations, setups and production values differ... Sal Berry

...I've read about the Hero's Journey from various sources. Your interpretation gave me added insight... Paul Streey

...I use your template to flesh out ideas and don't get started writing the film script until I know exactly what is going to happen at each stage... Sid Harris

...You can't really write a detailed step outline until you've figured out the general outline... Carla Penhalos

...a barrier for me is getting past the first fifty or sixty pages. I am really strong in the beginning and then I tail off. Your structures push me through to the end... Josie Power

...you need a character development process alongside your other work... Lette O'Neill

...before you begin the effort of a screenplay, flesh out 10 to 12 stories with the template; that way you can decide which story most truly motivates you... Pauline Kerr

...you need to complete a few film scripts just to convince yourself you can do it. Quality in the beginning is irrelevant. Quality emerges naturally in later scripts... Anne Marie McGuinness

...removing your blocks is like removing layers off an onion... Carol Small

..of all the structures you can use, this is the best... Annette McKee

...it doesn't matter whether you believe in the value of structure or not - it is a useful tool and a relevant approach for beginners and experienced hands alike... name withheld

this structure helps you visualise each stage of your story during rereads or rewrites, which can get tedious... Polly Hughes

...without reading this, you will never truly understand the Hero's Journey... Avi Garener

...incredibly relevant stages to the Hero's Journey... Malcolm Haye

...write a page (including dialogue) for each stage of your structure and then perfect each section... Amy Wack

...just look at Batman Begins, War of the Worlds, Gone in 60 seconds etc : they're the same story.... Kip Sturgeon

...you can write a million stories with your templates... Simon Fowler

...one important rule is to ensure each sequence is of a natural length...what I mean is, don't force a sequence into three pages only because you need to have a sequence that is three pages long... Anne Williamson

...the words-on-paper first draft can be thirty or forty pages long. This allows you to look at a shorter version of your story in it's entirety before expanding... Phil Langley

...it is better to write a shorter, more focused screenplay than to write a longer, unfocused one. A 89 page screenplay can be better than a 119 page one... Nicholas Clee

...I fleshed out four different stories in a single day on the beach using your template... Nora Roberts

...writing screenplays with this is not as difficult as people think... Tessa Strickland

...ideas for stories are everywhere - just look in the papers - where there is conflict there is a story... Mick McDowell

..the stages of the story structure or Hero's Journey should be viewed metaphorically or symbolically... Annie Small

...you guys know what you're talking about... Helen Dunmore

...a story is what happens, plot is how it happens... John Rogers

... TV and feature writers look at story and characters the same way, it's just that in TV you have a much much longer time to develop and change your characters... Guyot

...the Hero's Journey is your step outline... Mark Austin

...These templates don't apply only to features, but also TV; I recently saw an episode of Shameless in the UK where Frank finds the strength to tackle his father after a near death / rebirth experience (his father nearly throws him off a ladder)... Eileen McArthy

Buy the 510+ or 2000+ stage Hero's Journey And Transformation Through A New World / State
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How To Structure A Successful Story

Kal Bashir's 2000+ stage Hero's Journey And Transformation Through A New World / State Kal Bashir's State of Perfection Loop, Detachment Principle, Hero's Transformation, Worksheets and Templates Applies to all successful films, screenplays, TV, novels and story forms

Introduction

Monostory (EVERY story)

2000+ Hero's Journey Stages Not Unreasonable

Basic Story, Screenplay Architecture

Rigid Structure, Precise Story Arc

Situation Over Structure (Monostory, Monomyth)

Priority

Critical Competency

Success Prerequisite

Advantages

Master Extrapolation Process

Use The Process To Pull Your Hero/ine Through

The Hero/ine Is A Focal Point

Story, Screenplay Law

Series, Episodes

First Caveman Storyteller Scenario

Subplots / Ensemble Cast

Limited Locations (Sitcoms, TV Shows etc)

Tragedy, Final States Of Imperfection

Situational Questions (Genre, Comedy etc)

Basic Deconstructions

Six Core Challenges

Hero Archetypes

Who or What is the Hero?

Screenplays versus Novels

What is a [Hollywood / Blockbuster / Bestselling] Story?

Multiple Final Catharses

Ordinary World

Call To Adventure

Refusal

Supernatural Aids (Meeting Mentors)

Crossing The (First) Threshold

Belly of the Whale

Road of Trials / Tests, Allies, Enemies

Approach To The Inmost Cave

Ordeal

Meeting With The Goddess / Reward / Seizing The Sword

Woman As Temptress

Atonement With The Father

Apotheosis

Ultimate Boon

Refusal of the Return

Magic Flight, Road Back

Rescue from Without, Resurrection

Crossing The Return Threshold

Master of the Two Worlds

The Value of Structure

Creativity and Time Pressure

Improve your Creativity

Correcting Misconceptions

Testimonials

Kal Bashir's 2000+ stage Hero's Journey And Transformation Through A New World / State
Kal Bashir's State of Perfection Loop, Detachment Principle, Hero's Transformation, Worksheets and Templates
Applies to all successful films, screenplays, TV, novels and story forms