The Hero’s Writing Journey(s)
Under their apparent diversity, the great myths of humanity present us with the same map of yearnings and fears that every human being experiences on the way to self-discovery. The Hero’s Journey is a pattern of narrative that appears in drama, storytelling, myth, religious ritual, and psychological development. It describes the typical adventure of the archetype known as The Hero, the person who goes out and achieves great deeds on behalf of the group, tribe, or civilization.
There are many heroes, and they have each had their Call to Adventure, and crossed the Threshold: Gilgamesh, Don Quixote, Luke Skywalker, Dorothy, Athena and Bilbo Baggins. Each of them has the same path, the same Trials, the same Dragons to face, no matter what form they take. They each invoke the archetypal journey, the Monomyth, the Hero’s Journey. Each returns with a gift for the world they left before they underwent the profound Trials that transformed them from what they were before what they became.
The Hero’s Journey is not an invention, but an observation. It is a recognition of a beautiful design, a set of principles that governs the conduct of life and the world of storytelling the way physics and chemistry govern the physical world.
Christopher Vogler
Siofra O’Donovan’s Creative Writing Workshops at The Novara Centre are inspired by the work of Joseph Campbell, whose ‘Monomyth’ or ‘Hero’s Journey’ is a universal blueprint for all myths and stories across the world. The Hero’s Journey is taught as a method for enhancing Creative Writing. What is written can be a tool for self discovery, or for a greater creative project like a novel or a screenplay.
For more information about creative writing at The Novara Centre, click here