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Now in its second edition, The Writer's Journey sets forth archetypes common in what Vogler calls "the hero's journey," the mythic structure that he claims all stories follow. In the book's first section, he lists the different kinds of typological characters who appear in stories. In the second, he discusses the stages of the journey through which the hero generally passes. The final, supplementary portion of the book explains in detail how films like Titanic and The Full Monty follow the patterns he has outlined. --Raphael Shargel --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most helpful customer reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
An interesting set of insights . . .,
By Stuart W. Mirsky "swm" (New York, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers (Paperback)
A finely written description of how most stories can be fitted into a mythic boilerplate, consistent with the Jungian archetypes made famous by Joseph Campbell in his analysis of mythological motifs and their resonances. As Vogler shows, the frameworks of most stories tend to be somewhat similar and the functional aspects of characters tend to recur from story to story and culture to culture. This is a very useful fact for writers to recognize and an important tool to master in the process of writing. Generally it happens on a gut level and Vogler recognizes and does not diminish this aspect of writing. But he also calls our attention to the forms that stories take and which we must know, at some level, when we write them. Still, though I have been attentive to this myself, I think that too much can be made of it at times. Vogler himself clearly shows how the mythic forms can be stretched to such an extent that, after a while, they seem to be as different as they are similar. When you take them this far, is it really the case that we're all doing the same thing within a universal framework, a la Campbell? Or is it all just a series of sometimes useful generalizations and little more?
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not all wisdom resides in any one school,
By
This review is from: The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers (Paperback)
If you are interested in becoming a writer, it helps to read several of these books. Having already read Story, and gone to a seminar by Robert McKee, I am interested in reading others because not all wisdom resides in any one school.Chris Vogler offers fresh and invigorating perspectives, illustrated with fascinating examples from many excellent movies from such as Wizard of Oz. He worked on the screenplay of The Lion King, and I found its derivation from the plot of Hamlet interesting to say the least. If you're like me the you may appreciate the Metaphor of the Hero's Journey the most. George Lucas in Star Wars follows the mythical blueprint laid down by Jseph Campbell in The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Vogler offers a succinct inspiring explanation and I could imagine myself in the hero's shoes doing what the hero has to do, what we all have to do. Having read this, the familiar patterns of many great movies suddenly became clearer. Additionally the explantion of the common mythical archetypes merits continued reading. For example the trickster appears in both Star Wars, and The Matrix, and you may recognise Darth Vader as pure shadow. Many movies start in the Ordinary World, and then there is the call to adventure. Often the hero is reluctant to make a change, so then we have the next stage which is refusal of the call. Eventually we move into the Special world, and in SW and The Matrix our hero joins the rebels and starts to develop special abilities. Another good example of this is Wanted with Angelina Jolie. He uses over 100 well known movies as examples to illustrate his points, including Titanic. I truly appreciate these insights. Perhaps the most interesting insight for me personally is the idea of polarity or conflict. While every story will have an antagonist and a protagonist, the antagonist does not have to be a villain, but could just be a contrasting or competitive style of achieving the same end. We may be the antagonist in our own life story, and it may seem paradoxical that even the antagonist sees himself as a hero. Relating this to my own life I see the antagonist as being active, in contrast to the hero who is often passive, at least early in the story. So, this book I am happy to own, and recommend. Some people may say this book is derivative of The Hero With a Thousand Faces (Paladin Books). Well, it's a much easier read than HWTF, and offers a very neat synopsis of the information provided in that book. If you're wondering which one to read first, I recommend this one because it is easier to understand, and then you will find it easier to understand the other one, because you have read this one. I also recommend Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting. Conflict is to story, as sound is to music. I hope you found this helpful, and I think you will enjoy the book.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Eye-opening content,
By Erik1988 (Folsom, CA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers (Paperback)
Rating System:1 star = abysmal; some books deserve to be forgotten 2 star = poor; a total waste of time 3 star = good; worth the effort 4 star = very good; what writing should be 5 star = fantastic; must own it and share it with others SYNOPSIS from back cover: Based on the work of Joseph Campbell, this book provides an insider's look at how writers (both fiction and non-fiction) can utilize mythic structure to create powerful narratives. Writers will discover step-by-step guidelines for structuring plots and creating realistic characters. MY FEEDBACK: For those of you who hate any kind of structure that makes writing look like a formula, you need to open your mind. My two cents worth: If I'm going to spend the next several years or longer working on a novel (some of you know what I'm talking about) then I want to get some return for my effort. Mimicing some overall structure can only increase my chances of positive monetary return vs. a story that sits unpublished for my great great-grandchildren to read one day after I'm dead and gone. Hopefully you get my meaning. Get the book. It is a keeper.
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