Christopher Vogler's The Writer's Journey
Stage Eight: The Ordeal
Think you know where your hero’s journey is headed? Think again. We’re diving into the Ordeal – that gut-punch moment some people still confuse with the Climax (spoiler alert: they’re not the same thing, folks). This episode had us playing cartographer through the wonderfully labyrinthine (read: headache-inducing) chapters of Christopher Vogler’s The Writer’s Journey. Because, apparently, writing about story structure needed its own plot twists. After untangling Vogler’s literary maze, we tackle the burning questions: When should your protagonist’s world implode in Act Two? And how do you make readers lose sleep over your crisis scene? Then, we put our hard-earned wisdom to work by dissecting John Scalzi’s Kaiju Preservation Society, proving that even giant monster books need their big moment perfectly timed.
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Our Novel Approach to The Writer's Journey
We’ve chosen four novels to analyze while we read Vogler’s book, which will serve as examples to help you on your own journey to writing a novel based on the Hero’s Journey. Here’s what Kim & Renee are reading:
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Your Hero's Victory Lap
The rewards that heroes receive—whether celebrations, quiet campfire reflections, romantic connections, or claiming what they sought—serve multiple storytelling purposes beyond just making your protagonist feel good about themselves.
Week 4: The Morning Pages Report
Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s WayWeek Four: Recovering A Sense of Integrity Do Julia Cameron’s Morning Pages work? Specifically, do they work for us? We begin this podcast by discussing...