LTUE32 - The Heroes Journey and the Virgin's Promise - 13th, Thursday, 11:00am

Welcome to the Peppermint House! 

Today I am providing the notes to something REALLY exciting. Every writer, or aspiring author, should at least recognize these steps, and know how to use them. To find the presentation give by: 

Deren Hansen: https://twitter.com/derenhansen

Please follow the links provided below! The presentation may, or may not, have more information. I was writing like a crazy person to get all these notes.

To find the presentation, visit: prezi.com/user/derenhansen
HIGHLY RECOMMEND you read: Character and Archetypes by Deren Hansen found on dunlithhill.com 

The Heroes Journey, and the Virgin's Promise

Archetypes: History vs. Myth

                       /                \

          Based on one       Isn't falsehood, it's based on history.

          time, in one             Based on many times, in many places.

          place.               

*Every person must make the journey from childhood to adult, which is what the Heroes Journey/Virgin's Promise are all about.

*Characters behave and change according to well understood patterns.

From Anthropology 101: We have HUNTERS and GATHERERS.

*The majority of human history is based on gender differences, or gender specific experiences. In a primitive society, we have hunters, who were typically men, who sacrificed their life to hunt for food, but was considered a “High Risk, High Reward” situation. A man could go out and return the hero, with a lot of meat for his society. Or he could go out, and never return, losing his life during his journey. On the other hand there were gatherers, typically women, who worked with the plants, gathering berries and other small amounts of food. This was considered a “Low Risk, Low Reward” situation. With the woman's food, the society would be able to survive for a short amount of time, but in the long run they would need to men to go out and hunt.

*The men typically had a social core and periphery that they needed to protect if they wanted to grow as a social family, and survive. (Definition of periphery: The edge or outskirts, as of a city or urban area)

                                                    These are the Archetypes of Growth.

                  These aren't constraints on “how to write”, but melodies with which to improvise.

Remember, don't turn your female protagonist into a male. You can have your female do the Heroes Journey, but will she really go toe to toe with the bad guy? The Hero can do a journey similar to the Virgin's Promise (think of a prince who is restricted by his status, and he wants to break free), but don't turn him into a hero with boobs! :D

HEROES JOURNEY!

Generally turns out to be a cycle. Some versions claim to have 188 steps in the heroes journey, others argue that there are upwards of 510. We're going to go through a more simple version. The heroes journey we will be comparing has 11 steps. That will certainly be enough to get the point across!

The heroes journey begins in the ordinary world, wherever their ordinary world takes place. Where the hero comes from, and it quickly establishes what he's trying to protect. Whether he has family, or friends. But then something changes...

He gets “The Call to Adventure”.
Here the hero learns that something can change in his world, and it gets the hero moving. But...

The hero “Refuses the call”...
Recognizing that the adventure can be lethal, the hero tries to get out of it. This helps establish the stakes of the journey, were the hero to take it.

Noticing his refusal, enter “Meeting the Mentor”.
Hero is rescued, in some way, from his fears, or naivety, by someone who has done something similar to what this hero has been asked to do.

The hero then “Crosses the threshold”.
Passing “the point of no return”, the hero commits himself to the journey. He can't turn back now. Moving into the unknown, the hero quickly learns that he doesn't know how to behave outside his society.

But quickly the hero learns who his “Allies, and Enemies” are, and what his “Tests” will be.
His resolve is tested when they crossover from the known into the unknown.

“Approaching the Cave”
This is where the hero starts doing stuff. They previously learned about something that they need to do from “Tests”, and they do it. His mission changes.

“The Ordeal”
Here, the hero meets the bad guy, and he fully learns the scope of the problem. Unfortunately, it's far more than he had previously imagined. He loses allies, but he learns that he can survive. Here he “retrieves something”, gets a small reward for his hard work.

“The Road Back”
This is the road to the final confrontation. The hero makes a choice, knowing the peril to his own life, and goes back to it. He becomes someone who is willing to do what is necessary for a greater cause. Here he becomes the true hero.

Then “The Final Battle and Resurrection” happens.
Drawing on all his new found knowledge, and strength, he goes into the final battle, and WINS. He may have allies who help, or he may go at it alone. He is then resurrected when he draws on his inner strength and transcended who and what he was before he started this journey.

And, finally, they “Return Home”
It doesn't matter where this home is. It could be their old home that they left, or a new home that they fell in love with/adopted on their journey. Wherever it is, they return there, the hero.


VIRGIN'S PROMISE!

The Virgin's Promise here contains 12 steps. Let's take that virgin on her journey!

Here we find that the virgin in is stuck in her “Dependent World”.
She's dependent. Her society has already chosen her role in their society, and she depends on them for her survival. The Virgin's Promise starts more slowly than the Heroes Journey.
*The problem here is that the society has already chosen the virgin's role.

She learns, or already knows, “The Price of Conformity” to live in her society.
The price she has to pay to be a part of it, and the price she will pay if she doesn't comply to the role that the society has set upon her.

But she is given an “Opportunity to Shine”.
Here she discovers something she didn't know, or realizes something that she didn't know she could do. Sometimes someone will help her realize this.

So, the virgin “Dresses the Part”.
She tries out her new world, and successfully discovers and alternative to her current situation.

Now she has her “Secret World”.
Here, if someone finds her out she would collapse, and go back to her old world. She needs time to create a world, learn more, that will give her reason to want to stay later.

But she soon realizes that she “No Longer Fits Her World”.
She never set out to be a force of change, but the virgin tries to keep everyone happy. Not giving her secret away, she struggles between her two worlds. One that imprisons her, and the other of her own creation where she feels free. Growing confident in her own dream, she survives her struggle. Soon though, she can't keep her worlds separate...

She is now “Caught Shining”...
Someone catches her, and she can't pretend her worlds are compatible anymore. So she is forced to choose her new world by giving up the limitations her old world set on her. Sometimes she has to give up her old world entirely. (This picture doesn't really fit... but I couldn't resist ;D)

“Gives Up What kept her Stuck”
Here, she defines her established world. But...

“The Kingdom falls into Chaos” (her old world, whatever that may be)
The old world tries to make things go back to normal, after the virgin decides to give it up.

She “Wanders in the Wilderness” for some time.
Forced to be left alone, she begins to doubt everything that she just went through. The changes she just made. Begins to think “what choice do I have, but to go back”...

Something helps her “Choose Her Own Light”
And this is where she goes through her transformation. She can only be who she wants to be, not what they are trying to force her to be. She would “rather shine than be safe”.

“The Reordering/Rescue”
She has to show her community who she is, but she never wanted a direct confrontation. Sometimes she may need help from the hero to set something straight, BUT HE NEVER SAVES HER. For example: In Rapunzel, Flynn Ryder cuts Rapunzel's hair, freeing her from what was keeping her a slave to Gothal. Rapunzel couldn't cut her hair, she grew up being told it was a gift, it was something he lived with, but knowing she'd never be free until it was gone, risking his own life, he cut her hair. But he didn't save her, he simply did something she couldn't do. From here, the virgin makes her own choices.

And finally “The Kingdom is Brighter”!
Because the virgin successfully completed her challenge, and her conquered her consequences, the kingdom becomes a better place to be.

Remember, as a writer, all these points can failure points for your hero/virgin. But typically, this is the pattern.
Every story has a: beginning --- middle --- end
The hero/virgin can't find the solution in the beginning, can't find it in the middle. It's in the end that the hero/virgin will find the solution, and come out triumphant.

Simply put:
Act I : The Hero gets beaten up, the mentor helps him come out on top
Act II: The Hero gets beaten up again, this time he learns something from it.
Act III: He goes in by himself, comes out the victor!

Act I: The Virgin realizes that she has more to offer.
Act II: She gets caught, has to decide if she continues or not...
Act III: The Virgin asserts herself, and in the end that makes things better.