The Hero's Journey

2. the hero commits to leaving the Ordinary World and entering a new region or condition with unfamiliar rules and values.
3. Something shakes up the situation, either from external pressures or from something rising up from deep within, so the hero must face the beginnings of change.
6. The hero comes across a seasoned traveler of the worlds who gives him or her training, equipment, or advice that will help on the journey.
7. At the climax, the hero is severely tested once more on the threshold of home. He or she is purified by a last sacrifice, another moment of death and rebirth, but on a higher and more complete level.
8. Near the middle of the story, the hero enters a central space in the Special World and confronts death or faces his or her greatest fear. Out of the moment of death comes a new life.
10. About three-fourths of the way through the story, the hero is driven to complete the adventure, leaving the Special World to be sure the treasure is brought home. Often a chase scene signals the urgency and danger of the mission.
11. The hero takes possession of the treasure won by facing death. There may be celebration, but there is also danger of losing the treasure again.
12. The hero feels the fear of the unknown and tries to turn away from the adventure, however briefly. Or, another character may express the uncertainty and danger ahead.

1. The hero is introduced to the audience. Some kind of polarity in the hero’s life is pulling in different directions and causing stress.
4. The hero returns home or continues the journey, bearing some element of the treasure that has the power to transform the world as the hero has been transformed.
5. The hero is tested and sorts out allegiances in the Special World.
9. The hero and newfound allies prepare for the major challenge in the Special world.