Story structures
Hero's journey
Also called Monomyth
The pattern behind many myths and films: a hero leaves the ordinary world, is tested, and returns changed, with something to share.
- Time30 to 60 minutes
- People1 to 8 people
- Steps4
What it's for
The hero's journey is a full cycle of change, which makes it useful far beyond films. A customer story, a transformation programme or a founder's story often follows it: a call to change, a reluctance, a guide, trials, a crisis and a return.
In business stories, the customer is the hero and your product or team is usually the mentor, not the hero. Getting that the right way round changes how the story lands.
How to run it
Choose the hero3 min
Whose journey is this? A customer, a team, a person?
Fill the stages25 min
Add a note to each stage, going round the circle. Skip stages that don't fit.
Find the ordeal5 min
Which stage is the low point? Make sure it is felt, not just mentioned.
Tell it short5 min
Tell it in two minutes, keeping only the stages that carry the story.
Tips
- Not every stage is needed. Stories that hit every one in order feel formulaic.
- The return matters: what does the hero bring back that helps others?
Where it comes from
Joseph Campbell described the monomyth in The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949). The twelve stages here follow Christopher Vogler's version for screenwriters, set out in The Writer's Journey (1992).
Pairs well with
Story spine
Eight sentence starters, from "Once upon a time" to "And ever since then", that give any story a beginning, a turn and an end.
Three-act structure
Set-up, confrontation and resolution, with two turning points that move the story from one act to the next.
The quest
A hero sets out for a distant goal, meets trials and setbacks on the way, and finally reaches it after one last ordeal.