12 Steps of the Hero’s Journey explained using examples of stories that use them!
What’s The Hero’s Journey?
The Hero’s Journey is the classic story progression observed across various storylines. It summarizes the plot points the main protagonist goes through in a standard storyline from beginning to end. The Hero’s Journey was originally developed by Joseph Campbell when he studied the general patterns in all stories. In his book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, he breaks down the concept into 17. Later, Christopher Vogler created the popularized version of the Hero’s Journey by condensing it into 12 steps which we will review below.
Why It’s Important to Learn the Hero’s Journey
It’s important to learn The Hero’s Journey because it’s foundational to understanding what makes a story successful. It’s a reliable template of what’s necessary to keep a story engaging and comprehensible for your audience. First, I’ll explain what each step requires, then I will show examples using the popular stories of Star Wars and The Hunger Games who approach the Hero’s Journey Archetype in different ways. Let’s get started.
Act One
1. The Ordinary World
The ordinary world is where we are introduced to the protagonist’s normal life. We should see a brief introduction of the place they live, the people they interact with, and how they operate day to day. Remember to introduce this information by showing and not telling, as discussed in my article about info dumping. Don’t show all your cards too soon!
- Example 1: In Star Wars, we observe Luke Skywalker’s ordinary life on the farm.
- Example 2: The Hunger Games, we follow Katniss around district 12, from hunting to trading her goods in the black market. She interacts with characters like Gale and Primrose.
This section should show how your hero feels about the current world and express their desire for change. The ordinary world can also foreshadow what’s to come in the future, whether it’s the impending doom or a promise of adventure.
- Example 1: In Star Wars, Luke Skywalker looks at the sky and wonders what galaxies lies beyond the stars. He expresses his desire for change by wanting to leave his boring life on the farm behind.
- Example 2: The Hunger Games foreshadows impending doom by showing how Primrose is too afraid to sleep alone. Katniss expresses her desire for change in her conversation with Gale about running away.
Combine the elements of character introductions, worlding building, foreshadowing, and establishing a desire for change through the use of character interactions and observations from your protagonist as they live their ordinary life. If the start of your story has these elements, there’s a good chance it will succeed.
2. Call to Adventure
The call to adventure is when the hero recognizes they need to take action to make a change. Of course, you should have established a light desire for change by now, but the call to adventure is when you raise the stakes higher. Your character should move from an internal desire to experience change, to the external necessity and/or ability to take action. (If you include step 3, only show they have the ABILITY to take action. If you skip step 3, show why your character NEEDS to take action here).
- Example 1: Luke receives a message from Obi Wan, asking him to learn the ways of the force so he can fight against the Empire.
- Example 2: Primrose is picked for the Reaping. Katniss needs to take action by volunteering to take her place.
3. Refusal of the Call
Refusal of the call is when the hero initially pushes back on the call to adventure. This can be for a variety of reasons, whether it’s fear, stubbornness, skepticism, etc. In some cases, it doesn’t necessarily need to be the hero who refuses the call, but maybe it’s another character who is meaningful to them who encourages them to stay in the ordinary world (like a parent or good friend).
- Example 1: Luke is shocked at the sudden request of Obi Wan and refuses the call, saying he needs to get back to work.
- Example 2: Katniss doesn’t necessarily have a refusal of the call. Saving Prim is reason enough for why it’s necessary she goes on this journey. This step is skipped.
At some point, something needs to take place so that your character shifts to not WANTING to take action to NEEDING to take action. If you did not introduce a strong reason for the necessity of why your character should take action in the step before, now is the time.
- Examples 1: Luke returns home only to see his aunt and uncle were killed by the evil Empire stormtroopers. He joins the rebels to fight against evil.
- Example 2: N/A
4. Meeting the Mentor
Meeting of the mentor is when the hero meets a figure who provides them with knowledge, wisdom, and/or objects to prepare them for the journey ahead.
- Example 1: Luke meets Obi Wan in person. He warns Luke about how ruthless the Empire is, as demonstrated by the death of his uncle, aunt, and other matters.
- Example 2: As for Katniss, her and Peeta meet Haymitch who is a drunkard. She must figure out how to get the information she needs out him for survival.
Act Two
5. Cross the First Threshold
Cross the First Threshold is when the hero goes on their adventure for the first time, leaving behind the ordinary world. The hero should interact with this new world, showing a range of emotions like excitement, fascination, naiveness, curiosity, intrigue, or other emotions like cautiousness, discomfort or disgust. Think of the scenes that should take place to show these emotions.
- Example 1: Luke travels from his home to Mos Eisley Spaceport, a roguish venue Obi Wan warns him to be cautious of.
- Example 2: Katniss enters the capital district for the first time where she experiences the world of the elite and most privileged.
6. Tests, Allies, Enemies
Tests, Allies, and Enemies is where all the action of the story occurs. There are three parts to it. Tests refers to how the hero goes through trials. Allies refers to how the hero meets friends who will assist him in his journey. And enemies refers to the hero having confrontations with an opposition. There are multiple trials your character should go through. They can meet as many friends and enemies as you want. This section takes up the bulk of your story.
- Example 1: Luke goes through multiple tests, eventually leading to his biggest trial of infiltrating the Death Star to save Princess Leia. He meets Han Solo and Chewbacca who assist him along the way and makes multiple enemies he must overcome.
- Example 2: Katniss goes through multiple trials such as the testing of her skills, the interview, and surviving the games in general. For allies, she grows closer with Peeta and meets Rue. She also makes enemies out of the Careers who she must overcome.
7. Innermost Cave
The innermost cave is when the protagonist settles down to reflect on what they encountered thus far and the stakes that lies ahead of them. Maybe your character enters a moment of despair and rejuvenates themself by reflecting on advice they were given by their mentor. Perhaps they become motivated by the stakes at hand and come up with a last second plan to overcome the main opposition. Either way, raise the stakes super high and take the time for your characters to prepare for what’s coming next.
- Example 1: The pilots fighting for the Rebels come up with a risky plan to destroy the Death Star for good. Thinking the plan is too dangerous, Han Solo abandons Luke who is left to help the pilots accomplish this goal.
- Example 2: For Katniss, this scene would be her and Peeta resting in the cave. Peeta is hurt but Katniss comes up with a risky plan to retrieve medicine from the Cornucopia. Peeta doesn’t want her to go because it’s too dangerous, but she does anyways when he’s asleep.
8. Ordeal
The ordeal is when the protagonist faces the most difficult trial thus far, forcing them to call on everything they gained and/or learned throughout their journey.
- Example 1: Luke and the pilots execute the plan to attack the Deathstar in spaceships. Luke’s childhood friend dies, causing grief and resolve in Luke.
- Example 2: For Katniss, this would be her final confrontations with the Careers such as Clove and Cato.
9. The Reward
After overcoming the biggest test of all, the protagonist is rewarded with something they longed for. The reward can be something your character longed for that fulfills your reader. Or it can be the complete opposite, in that the character learns they never needed this particular reward at all. The reward can range anything from an item, sacred wisdom, recognition, or a relationship. Make sure you established what your protagonist wanted long ago.
- Examples 1: The group is doing well. Luke and his allies celebrate their escape of the Deathstar.
- Example 2: Katniss finally beats the games alongside Peeta who she longed to protect. She’s rewarded with safety and security (and being a celebrity which she doesn’t care for).
Act 3
10. The Road Back
The Road Back is when the protagonist attempts to return to the old world, but they are confronted with more obstacles, sometimes bigger than the last. The main opposition might make a last-ditch effort to finally beat or doom the main protagonist.
- Example 1: Luke and his allies attempt to return home but the Rebel’s plan starts to falter.
- Example 2: Katniss thinks she beat the Hunger Games, except the Capital has one final trick up their sleeves. They declare that Katniss and Peeta must fight each other to the death.
11. The Resurrection
The resurrection is the ultimate climax of the story, when the hero faces the villain for the final time. Something significant should change in the hero at this point, highlighting the central theme of your story.
- Example 1: As Luke climbs through a trench, Obi Wan calls for him to use the force. When he does, he successfully destroys the Deathstar.
- Example 2: Katniss comes up with the poisonous berry trick to save both her and Peeta, therefore rebelling against the Capital.
12. The Return with the Elixir
The return with the elixir is when the hero finally makes it back home, this time a different person than when they started. They successfully overcame the villain for the last time and can look forward to the future forged by their journey.
- Example 1: Luke and his friends successfully help the Rebels defeat the Empire in an unlikely to win battle. They bring hope to the Rebels that they can win the war after all.
- Example 2: Katniss and Peeta successfully beat the games and are allowed to return home, but something is different. The Districts see Katniss as a symbol of hope. The Capital see her as a symbol of rebellion and threat to their establishment.
So You Understand it…Now What?
I highly suggest you learn how to incorporate The Hero’s Journey into at least one of your original stories to learn how to write each stage. Keep in mind, your story might repeat sequences of The Hero’s Journey with threats more grandiose than the last as you dial in on each particular section.
Once you understand the foundation of how and why these scenes work, perhaps you can figure out how to change the orders around a bit or make it add a spin to make your story unique. Before you do that however, having a solid foundation is key!