Tag: change
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Setting the Stage
What is your protagonist doing, and or saying when the curtain lifts on the set of that first page of your story, or novel? Their actions and dialogue relay not only much about who they are while interacting in the world with others, but also their identity within the universe of their own personalities. They…
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Plot: Stages of Evolution and Revelation
“A hero ventures forth from the world of the common day into a region of supernatural wonder.” –Joseph Campbell, “The Hero With A Thousand Faces” Every story is about the extraordinary, the uncommon experience or event that occurs in the constancy of ordinary time. Nearly, if not always, this occurrence upsets the routine of the…
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Preparing for the Journey
“At heart, despite its infinite variety, the hero’s story is always a journey.” —Christopher Vogler, “The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers” It helps to have a map, itinerary, or even hotel reservations when setting out on a journey. The writer works with symbols that settle reader in for the journey.
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Hark, the Herald Angels Sing!
Much like Paul Revere announced the British were on their way to do battle in Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, the Herald archetype in storytelling announces change and transformation to the major character. The Herald places the protagonist on a state of alert, tells him or her how to read the signs, “One if by land,…
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Transformation: Making the Ordinary into the Extraordinary
Just as all good stories contain aspects of redemption, and death, so too transformation forms the engine propelling the narrative. A major character or protagonist is like the Prophet Ezekiel in the Old Testament. God used Ezekiel to teach the Children of Israel how to suffer. Protagonists of our stories show readers, in much the…
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The Heroine/Hero and Their Function in Story
The heroine or hero provides the reader with perspective and focus on the story, point of view. She or he also serves as the point of identification allowing the reader to invest her or his feelings towards care and concern for not simply the major character but also remaining with the story to see its…
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Fuel for Change
“Summoned or not, the god will come.” –motto on the door of Carl Jung’s home. Archetypes help writers clarify a character’s function and role in the way of plot development and the evolution of personality regarding the protagonist. Stories are about growth and change. And archetypes carry energies.