Hey — it’s Nathan.

When I started writing longform narrative, I crammed everything into the 12 steps of The Hero’s Journey monomyth. That’s what George Lucas did, yeah?

It didn’t work so well. The writing felt forced and unnatural. Don’t get me wrong. I love storytelling structure. But only once you understand the underlying psychology does it become a somewhat repeatable process.

Today, I wanna show you 3 ways the Hero’s Journey taps into our human psychology so you can use these ideas in your stories.

Hope you enjoy.

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Joseph Campbell coined “The Hero’s Journey” while studying Hercules, Achilles, Odysseus, and the rest of Greek mythology. He explains the Hero’s Journey like this:

Campbell gave the Hero’s Journey 17 steps, but Hollywood producer Chris Vogler simplified it to these 12 steps known as the ‘monomyth:’

1. THE ORDINARY WORLD. The hero gets introduced with a bit of personal history, setting, and other context.

2. THE CALL TO ADVENTURE. Something changes, forcing the hero to consider a major life change / decision.

3. REFUSAL OF THE CALL. The hero fears the unknown and considers turning away from the adventure. The hero frequently refuses the call, only to later change their mind.

4. THE HERO FINDS A MENTOR. The hero comes across someone (often a stranger, elder, or spirit) who gives them training, equipment, or advice that helps on the journey.

5. CROSSING THE THRESHOLD. The hero commits to leaving the World where they started and enters a new region or condition with unfamiliar rules and values.

6. TESTS, ALLIES AND ENEMIES. The hero is tested and sorts out allegiances in the Unfamiliar or Special World.

7. APPROACH. The hero and their newfound allies prepare for the major challenge in the Special World.

8. THE ORDEAL. The hero arrives in a central space in the Unknown World and faces death or their greatest fear. The hero emerges from this moment of reckoning changed in some way.

9. THE REWARD. The hero takes possession of the treasure they have won in the ordeal. There may be celebration, but there is also danger of losing the treasure again.

10. THE ROAD BACK. The hero must complete the adventure and leave the Special World to bring the treasure back home.

11. THE RESURRECTION. The hero is tested once more as they near home. The hero is changed by a last sacrifice, another moment of death and rebirth — often psychological — which prepares them to be a leader upon their return.

12. RETURN WITH THE ELIXIR. The hero returns home, bearing the treasure. The treasure has the power to transform the world, as the hero has been transformed. The hero is hailed as a leader by their kinsmen or community and so begins a new (and better) life and world.

Recently, I finally stopped to ask questions.

Why do you resonate so much with this arc? What about it taps into the human experience so effectively? What are the principles these steps are built on?

In the Hero with a Thousand Faces and Power of Myth, Joseph Campbell explains the Hero’s Journey from a different, more powerful perspective — one of psychology.

• Rites of Passage

• Archetypes

• Inner vs Outer Conflict

Let’s dig in.

Rites of Passage

When you look through the steps of The Hero’s Journey, look for points of initiation, transition, and change. The Hero is “Called to an adventure,” “Crosses a threshold,” “Returns with an elixir.”

Then think about your life. What Rites of Passage do you go through? Graduations, weddings, births, promotions, 21st birthdays, getting your driver’s license, and many many more. We mark our lives with Rites of Passage.

Campbell frames the Hero's Journey as an extended Rite of Passage. The Hero departs from the known world, faces challenges in the unknown, and returns transformed.

From ordinary person to reluctant adventurer to conquering Hero.

I was once this, but now I’m this. Over and over and over.

Archetypes

A month ago, I explored Kurt Vonnegut’s Shapes of Stories theory. You can think of character Archetypes as shapes except applied to one character instead of the entire story.

Carl Jung, the Swiss psychoanalyst, introduced archetypes as universal, recurring symbols that come from humanity’s shared collective unconscious.

Campbell built on Jung’s work by identifying recurring character archetypes, such as:

• The Hero: Often an unlikely candidate who rises to the occasion.

• The Mentor: A wise figure who guides the hero.

• The Threshold Guardian: Entities that challenge or block the hero's path.

• The Herald: Brings the call to adventure.

• The Shapeshifter: Characters whose loyalties or identities are uncertain.

• The Shadow: Represents the darker aspects, often the antagonist or the hero's inner conflicts.

• The Trickster: A mischievous figure or comic relief that also challenges the status quo.

There are 1000s of potential character Archetypes. But Carol Pearson, in her wonderful book The Hero Within, argues you fall into one of six.

• The Innocent

• The Orphan

• The Wanderer

• The Warrior

• The Altruist

• The Magician

If you’re interested in a full post on character archetypes, reply ‘archetype.’ I’ll dedicate an entire post if there’s enough interest. Here’s one on Plot Archetypes.

Inner vs Outer Conflict

Again, look at the 12 steps outlined by Vogel. The Hero isn’t fighting evil the whole time. They’re also dealing with their inner demons.

The Hero’s Journey highlights inner conflict. The Hero ‘Refuses the call.’ They don’t believe in themselves. They’re not brave enough. They think someone else is a better fit for the job. ‘The Ordeal’ often involves the Hero facing and overcoming their greatest fear. ‘The Resurrection’ often isn’t of the Hero’s physical body but of their mind.

When you overcome a fear, how do you feel? Pretty great. So when you see a character do the same, you can’t help but cheer.

Outer conflict drives the plot forward, but inner conflicts gives your story and characters depth. Your characters become relatable, human, and multi-dimensional. Their eventual triumph becomes a testament not to their incredible abilities but rather to the indomitable human spirit that resonates within each of us.

And that’s what makes The Hero’s Journey so powerful.

Have an awesome week,

Nathan

Nathan’s Notes

5 things I found interesting this week:

• On the best time to write: “The best time to write is when you have the seed of an idea but don't know what you want to say yet, or you're moved by a feeling but don't know how to express it, bc writing is a process of discovery & crystallization.”

• The Publishing Rodeo. I listened to episode 28, The Art of Success, 2x this week. Author Wesley Chu’s story is fantastic.

• Silence shows confidence. In the clip, the pace of the interview slows to a halt. Watch how Lex just sits in silence for a full 20+ seconds. Notice what it does to you as the viewer? It doesn’t make you bored. It pulls you in.

• Zero click content. A different way to look at writing for the internet.

• The History of Byzantium. You know the ‘how many times do you think about the Roman Empire’ meme?' Yeah, that’s me… Excellent podcast on the history of the Eastern Roman Empire.

A Sentence I Wish I Wrote

Last week’s sentence stumped a lot of people. The answer was David Foster Wallace’s The Pale King.

Let’s see if you can nail it this week. The 21st correct reply gets a copy of The Hero with a Thousand Faces.

“If I have learned anything in this long life of mine, it is this: In love we find out who we want to be; in war we find out who we are.”