The Road to Armageddon: A Workshop with Summer H. Hanford
The Road to ArmageddonAn Interview with Summer H. Hanford Check it Out: The Hero’s Journey Study Guide Subscribe to our Newsletter How do you craft a journey worthy of an apocalyptic showdown? Epic Fantasy author Summer H. Hanford reveals the art of preparing characters for those fate-of-the-world battles that...
Get Thee Characters to the Cave!
Christopher Vogler’s The Writer’s JourneyStage Six: Approach to the Innermost Cave Subscribe to our Newsletter Remember how we’ve occasionally side-eyed Christopher Vogler’s The Writer’s Journey? Well, today we fully roast this bewildering mess, starting with his “Approaching the Innermost Cave” stage, which is the part of the story where...
Fixing the Saggy Middle: A Workshop with Kristen Tate
An Interview with Kristen Tate Check it Out: The Hero’s Journey Study Guide Subscribe to our Newsletter Looking for help with your novel’s middle section? While countless craft books offer guidance on crafting gripping openings and satisfying endings, the challenging second act often gets overlooked. In this workshop episode,...
Tests, Allies, and Enemies, Oh My!
Christopher Vogler’s The Writer’s JourneyStage Six: Tests, Allies, and Enemies Subscribe to our Newsletter What really happens between “accepting the call” and facing the big bad? Christopher Vogler’s The Writer’s Journey skims through this crucial story phase with vague talk of Tests, Allies, and Enemies. But Kim and Renee...
Crossing the Threshold
Christopher Vogler’s The Writer’s JourneyStage Four: Meeting with the Mentor&Stage Five: Crossing the Threshold Subscribe to our Newsletter So much has happened you haven’t even made it to the Special World! But that’s about to change. Your Hero has received the Call! They’ve Refused it! The Mentor gives them...
Writing Your College Application Essay
In today's episode we take a break from discussing and analyzing creative fiction to examining possibly one of the most important, and certainly most stressful, nonfiction projects in a young person's life: writing their college application essay. Our guest, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Martha Mendoza, has been helping high...
Answering the Call to Adventure
How do you shift your book’s hero from their nice, cozy ordinary world into the adventure? According to Christopher Vogler’s, The Writer’s Journey, you have them answer the call. In this episode we discuss the various forms the Call to Adventure can take, and also why, even the most...
Lost in the Ordeal: Navigating the Hero’s Darkest Hour
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...