This post is all about the hero’s journey plot structure.
Maybe you’ve heard about the hero’s journey plot structure but you’re not really sure if it works for your story. You know it’s a classic, timeless plot structure that lots of stories fit into… but does it work with your story? Your genre? Your characters?
Let’s talk about it.
What is the hero’s journey plot structure?
At its core, the hero’s journey is all about a protagonist that undergoes a journey of growth and change, usually with a greater mission or purpose fueling their journey.
They start out in an ordinary world (whatever “ordinary” means to them), but they’re eventually forced out of their comfort zone. They embark on some kind of adventure or challenge, and by the time they return at the end of the story, they’ve experienced immense growth or even a total transformation.
The hero’s journey plot follows a three-act structure. Within each act are several different plot points that the hero follows in their journey.
In this post, I’ll walk you through each aspect of the hero’s journey so that you know exactly how to apply it to your story or use it as a framework for your story outline.
A bit of a disclaimer…
Before we get started, I want to make one thing clear:
Any story structure is meant to help you understand and plan your story and write it better. If you find yourself trying to change or manipulate your story just to fit into a certain story structure, you might be taking it too far.
While it’s helpful for some writers to use a plot structure as a guide to map out their story, if you find yourself changing your great ideas just because you think your story doesn’t fit well enough into a certain plot structure like the hero’s journey, you may have your eye on the wrong goal.
So remember that this tool is just that: a tool! It’s meant to be a helpful way to think about your story, not a hindrance to getting it outlined or written.
A guide to Act One
The first act of your story is where you establish your protagonist’s world and introduce the inciting incident that calls them on their adventure or challenge.
Ordinary World
This section is all about setting the baseline for your novel.
Introducing your ordinary world means showing your protagonist in their everyday life. Set the status quo. Whether your hero lives in a world similar to ours or some kind of special world, you need to root your main character and narrative structure in some kind of everyday norm.
Remember, this is your reader’s first time meeting your character. So, make sure they understand who the character is right now: their everyday life and struggles, their strengths, and who they are before any character development happens.
Call to Adventure
The call to adventure occurs when a challenge or opportunity disrupts your character’s ordinary world.
This plot point is all about finding a way to get the character out of their comfort zone by pushing them into some kind of challenge, adventure, or ultimate goal.
Refusal of the Call
At this point, the hero hesitates or resists the call to adventure.
The key here is to make the reason for resistance clear. Whether it’s an internal fear or an external pressure your character is facing, your reader needs to understand why they would be refusing or resisting the call to adventure. Because your reader is likely sitting there screaming, DO IT!!
Meeting the Mentor
We’ve all seen this in stories… the protagonist meets a wise mentor who provides guidance. It might not be clear at this point that this character will become a mentor, but the relationship with the mentor figure begins being established.
The mentor might be there all the way through to offer wisdom or build the character’s self-confidence. Or, this may be the type of character that pops up at different parts of the story, whenever it makes sense, to help the reader along the way.
A guide to Act Two
The second act is where things start to become real. Your hero will go through a series of tests, face their greatest challenge so far, and feel like they’ve hit their limits before they begin their return home.
First Threshold
Here, the hero crosses the threshold into their adventure or challenge. They finally commit to the journey.
It’s important at this stage to establish why the hero has decided that this journey is worth it.
Tests, Allies, Enemies
At this point, the hero is actively facing challenge after challenge and meets characters who either help or hinder their progress.
Every other character your hero meets is critical to their journey by either assisting or challenging the steps of the hero.
They might meet new friends that end up betraying them. Maybe they make worse enemies than they ever expected. Perhaps it begins to feel like even their mentor’s wisdom can’t truly help them.
This push and pull between your hero and the other characters in your story is what makes it so juicy and keeps the reader hooked.
Inmost Cave
The inmost cave (also sometimes called the innermost cave) along with the lead-up to it, is the part of your story where your hero is getting closest to the most dangerous part. This is likely also the climax of the story, and if not, it’s the point where you’re getting close.
Whether they’re finally coming head-to-head with the villain, fighting for survival, or whatever else your story has led them to, this is the start of the turning point between the challenge they’ve embarked on and the final stage of their journey or goal. This inmost cave might is where they’re approaching facing the most major challenge of your story so far.
Ordeal
The ordeal is where the biggest confrontation or challenge tests the hero. They’re now in the thick of the most difficult, tense stage of the journey. The point that will determine whether they return a true hero or fail their mission entirely.
At this point, the protagonist is often confronting their biggest fear. This will give your reader a closer look at who they are and how they truly handle challenges. If they survive this plot point, the hero will find themself changing for the better.
This moment is incredibly important to the story. How this ordeal goes down will determine how your character handles everything else in the story, whether they can ever go back to their mundane life, and whether they’ll be changed for the worse or for the better.
Reward
The hero achieves their goal or obtains the sought-after prize. This reward or goal is whatever the hero has been chasing from the beginning through to the climax of your story.
This part is so satisfying for readers, so give it the time and attention it deserves! The reader should understand what was at stake for your protagonist before this so they fully understand the weight of what the hero just accomplished.
Road Back
It’s not the end yet. Your character still has the journey home, and this often comes with additional challenges.
On the cusp of the third act, your reader begins their return to the ordinary world. But your hero’s ordinary life might be a little harder to get to than they thought.
This part is less about creating new plot points and more about your hero dealing with the consequences of the entire journey that just took place.
What is the fallout of the journey? Were there people betrayed, places ruined, characters lost along the way?
A compelling story has both internal and external conflicts, and much of the road back will be dotted with both those types of challenges.
A guide to Act Three
By the end of act three, your hero will return to their familiar world as a changed person. Their character arc will start to become clear as the reader can now see all the stages of the hero: who they were at the start versus who they are now.
Resurrection
The hero undergoes a final test, demonstrating their growth. This is where some say that the true climax really lies.
Everything that has happened throughout your hero’s entire journey so far all comes together for a final test.
Once your hero gets past this part, they can finally rest assured that they really have achieved everything they set out to do and they will get the satisfying ending everyone hoped for.
Return with Elixir
Your hero now gets to return home, but because of how much they’ve changed as a person, it almost feels like a new world.
The “elixir” just describes the goal or prize they set out for when they accepted this journey. Now, readers get to see them bring it home.
If you plan to introduce another obstacle to set the stage for the next book in the series, this would be a natural place to do that!
Does your story fit the hero’s journey plot structure?
If, as you read this, you imagined different aspects of your story playing out in each section, then it’s likely that your story fits the hero’s journey plot structure!
You might not know yet, though, if you haven’t planned out your whole story at this point. But if these descriptions sound like they would help you create a clear outline and a compelling story that explores your themes, complements your characters, and truly feels like the story you want to write, then that’s a good indication that your story fits the hero’s journey plot structure.
This post was all about the hero’s journey plot structure.
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