The Hero’s Journey A 17 Step Story Structure Beat Sheet.docx

How to write a novel with the hero's journey concept.

1. The Hero’s Journey: A 17 Step Story Structure Beat Sheet

The Hero’s Journey is a classic plot structure
made up of 17 steps.
Learn how to craft an epic story
using the Hero’s Journey story beats.

The Hero’s Journey is a story structure
that tells how a hero starts in one place,
goes on an adventure into an unknown world,
and then returns to what they started with.

This blog post will explain the 17 steps of the Hero’s Journey
and share how you can use this common plot structure
to write your own story or novel.

2. What is the Hero’s Journey?


Joseph Campbell
first introduced the Hero’s Journey in 1949.

It is based on the idea
that we can break down most stories
into one basic story structure.

The plot structure of the Hero’s Journey
is made up of 17 steps,
all of which can be excellent guideposts for you
when plotting your novel
and planning your chapters.

To simplify the 17 steps of the Hero’s Journey,
there are 3 main acts of the story:
The Departure, The Initiation, and The Return.

3. Here’s an overview
of all of the 17 steps of Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey:

Act One: The Departure
The Call to Adventure
Refusal of the Call
Supernatural Aid
The Crossing of the First Threshold
Belly of the Whale


Act 2: The Initiation:
The Road of Trials
The Meeting with the Goddess
Woman as the Temptress
Atonement with the Father/Abyss
Apotheosis
The Ultimate Boon

Act 3: The Return:
Refusal of the Return
The Magic Flight
Rescue from Without
The Crossing of the Return Threshold
Master of the Two Worlds
Freedom to Live

4. In this article,
we will cover each step of the Hero’s Journey
and what it includes.

If you are writing a novel,
think of this as the ultimate beat sheet
to help you plan and plot your novel!

To understand the 17 steps of the hero’s journey,
we will share with you exactly
what happens in each step and what it should include.

We’ve divided the 17 steps
into the three main acts:
The Departure, The Initiation, and the Return.

Let’s dive on in, shall we?


Act One: The Departure

5. The Departure (Act 1) of the Hero’s Journey
is all about your novel’s main characters
and their ordinary lives.

You want to show
how they live before something happens
that throws them into
a world outside of what was normal for them.

In a nutshell,
The Departure
is when we see
our heroes start in their current environment
and set out on an adventure
where they leave their comfort zone.

There are 5 steps of the Departure,
each of which can help you base your chapters for your novel.

Let’s look at these 5 steps in detail.

1. The Call to Adventure

6. In the first 1 or 2 chapters of our book,
our character
is introduced and is given the call to adventure.

Of course, the call to adventure
is what sets our character on their journey.

There is a moment
when our hero realizes something isn’t right,
and it’s time for them
to become the hero of their own story.

The Call to Adventure
should introduce your main characters
and what part of life they are living
before things start changing for them.

You want this to be a scene that
you can use to give your reader
an idea of who they are
and what their life is like.

The call to adventure
is sometimes also called the inciting incident
because it often comes from
another character or situation
in which our hero feels compelled to do something.

This could come in the form of a problem
or something
that they’ve always wanted to accomplish.

Once we understand the character’s life
and why they must go on their journey,
we move onto the next crucial element: Refusal of the Call.

7. 2. Refusal of the Call


The Refusal of the Call
sounds like it’s a bad thing,
but in reality,
it can help the hero grow
and become more self-sufficient.

In this step of the Departure,
we see
that our character isn’t sure
if they are ready for such an adventure.

The refusal of the call
is often used as a way for your reader
to get more insight
into some of your character’s weaknesses.

It can also open up
the character
to seeing what they are missing in their life
and get them
a little more excited about going after it.

8. When writing your story,
you will show your readers
why your hero
is reluctant to go on the journey.

Why don’t they want to change?
What are their fears?

This step helps build your character arc,
as well as builds some suspense in the story.

You also want to make sure in this step that
the refusal of the call is resolved in some way.

This can be through another character
encouraging your hero
or by realizing
what they are missing out on
if they don’t go on the journey.

Either way,
you need to ensure this scene or chapter ends
with the hero deciding to accept the challenge.

After your main character decides
whether or not they want to go on this journey,
we move onto Supernatural Aid.

9. 3. Supernatural Aid


Supernatural aid
is the hero’s first experience with a mentor or teacher.

While we use the term supernatural here,
it does not necessarily have to be some mystical being.

It could be a random stranger giving our hero advice
or someone
who has been to this magical place before
and knows the path.

The important thing
is this character
is someone who will help your protagonist in their journey.

10. Supernatural aid
helps your audience
understand there will be obstacles along the way.

The hero will need help.

You will need a strong supporting character
willing to give our main character advice
on how they should proceed through their journey.

In this scene,
you want to show us
why you chose these characters for mentors.

What qualities do they possess?

Do they have experience with adventures like this?

Why can they help the hero, and more importantly,
why do they want to help the hero?

Once this person is introduced,
we are ready for the next stage of the Hero’s Journey:
Crossing the First Threshold.

11. 4. Crossing the First Threshold


Crossing the first threshold
is where your hero commits to going on the journey.

They may have made some attempts at it before,
but now they are fully committed and ready to go,
even if
that means leaving their comfort zone behind.


Your character
will be doing something different
than what they’ve done in the past,
or perhaps
this act will lead them into a dark and dangerous place.

12. For example,
your hero
may leave their home for the first time to go on this journey,
or they are finally ready to go
and confront someone
who has been standing in their way of happiness.

In this 4th step of the Hero’s Journey,
you want to show your reader
why this is such a big change
for the character.

You want to show
your character scared
and uncertain of what lies ahead for them
while still being brave enough to continue on their journey!

You don’t need to make this scene too long
or spend time explaining every little detail;
just put us in the headspace of your hero
so we can understand
what unknown dangers and fears are ahead.

Once our hero takes their first steps towards danger,
we find ourselves in the Belly of the Whale.

13. 5. Belly of the Whale


The Belly of the Whale
is the last step
before the hero breaks away from their normal existence
and sense of self.

When someone enters this stage,
they are showing that they want to change.

A typical element of the Belly of the Whale Scene
is displaying a small problem or threat.


These problems aren’t the major conflict of the story,
but it is enough of an obstacle
that we see
the hero absolutely cannot go back
to where they used to be
and must change.

14. In this scene,
it’s common to show a “dark night of the soul.”

This is where they feel
like everything in their life
has been turned upside down, and things seem hopeless.

Yet, they must commit to making a change
and continuing on their journey
in this final step of the Departure stage.

15. Now that we’ve covered all the steps of the Departure state
let’s move onto Act 2: The Initiation.

Act 2: The Initiation:
The Road of Trials
The Meeting with the Goddess
Woman as the Temptress
Atonement with the Father/Abyss
Apotheosis
The Ultimate Boon


Act 2: The Initiation
The second act of our story,
the Initiation, is the part where things get interesting.

The character is now deeper into their journey
and facing new challenges that they must overcome.

Not only are we focusing on our hero’s personal development,
but our protagonist’s character traits start to change.

They will be showing
how they’ve become different
from who they were in Act One
and developing the traits needed for a successful journey.

16. 6. The Road of Trials


The first scene
or chapter of the Initiation stage of the Hero’s Journey
is The Road of Trials.

The Road of Trials
is where the protagonist faces a series of tests
that your hero must pass
to move onto the next stage.

These trials will continue
until our hero has shown
they are ready for whatever is waiting ahead on their journey
and have discovered
what lessons they needed to learn along the way.

17. Usually, there is a series of 3 tests,
and your hero will not ace all of them immediately.

Sometimes,
we will revisit
the person introduced as a mentor
or guiding force
from Act One in these scenes,
as the hero
will certainly need some support
in going through these trials.

In this scene,
you want to make sure your reader sees
how the hero experiences growth and changes.

You want your reader to appreciate
how far our hero has come along their journey,
but there are still more experiences ahead for them!

18. 7. The Meeting with the Goddess


The next step of the Initiation stage
is The Meeting with the Goddess/Saviour.

This is where we are introduced to someone
who will give our protagonist a sense of love,
peace, safety, and unity.

This character is essential
because
they offer our protagonist something he didn’t have before
and will be the support
that helps them
through whatever journey lies ahead.

Sometimes they appear as a love interest, but not always.

19. The Goddess
figure is often human
but could also be an animal or nature spirit.

They are someone who will help your hero become whole again.
They are an equal opposite of your hero.

In this scene,
we want our hero
to feel everything is going to be okay now.

They will learn
that they don’t need to face their problems alone;
someone here with them
understands what they are going through.

Of course,
this doesn’t last forever
as we move into the next chapter: Woman as the Temptress.

20. 8. Woman as the Temptress


In this next step,
the hero faces physical temptations
that might cause them to be distracted from their quest.

Again, it’s important to understand this
does not mean you need to introduce a female character in this scene
– the woman is only a metaphorical symbol.

Many things can tempt our heroes to stray from their path.

It might be money, power, or fame.

It could even be something as simple as food and drink.

But, of course,
these temptations
are not meant actually to distract the protagonist from their path.

21. Our hero
must resist them to gain a greater reward
at the end of this stage.

Throughout this scene,
they may face several such temptations
until our hero learns
how to resist them
and stay focused on what they really want.

22. 9. Atonement with the Father/Abyss


The word Atonement
means “reparations for a wrong or injury,”
and the Father
is a symbol for an authority figure in the hero’s life.

Finally, the Abyss represents death or darkness.


In this scene,
the hero must confront
whatever it is that holds the most power over them.

This could be another character
or it could even be internal conflict
where the hero must come face-to-face
with the dark side of their personality
and be willing to embrace it.

23. The goal of this step in the Hero’s Journey
is to make your protagonist question their entire being.

Only when they confront
the most powerful obstacle in their path
and reconcile with it
can they move forward on their journey.

As with most characters,
the father
does not have to be an actual father or even a male figure.

The important thing is
this figure is a person of power and authority over the hero.

There are many ways
the hero can reconcile with the father figure
– they can defeat this person, win this person’s approval,
or reconcile with a part of themselves that is related to the father.

This step is important
because it forces your protagonist
to face their biggest fears and insecurities.

It gives them the opportunity
and confidence boost to overcome these obstacles
once and for all.

24. 10. Apotheosis


Apotheosis
is another word for
“the highest point of a person’s spiritual,
moral or intellectual development.”

It is when the protagonist transcends their humanity
and becomes something more than they were before.

In this step of The Hero’s Journey,
your protagonist
will undergo an important change
that brings them
closer to being the ideal self they set out to be
at the beginning.

25. In this stage of the Hero’s Journey,
our hero learns something new about themselves
that prepares them for the hardest part of their journey.
This revelation
gives them the necessary knowledge to complete their quest.


This step is often referred to as “the answer.”
The protagonist
will usually gain this new insight
from a character
who embodies wisdom or spiritual power,
such as their mentor figure.

Now that
our character has finally grown
to where they need to be to accomplish their quest,
they are ready for The Ultimate Boon’s next step.

26. 11. The Ultimate Boon


The ultimate boon
is the fulfillment of the purpose of the journey.

This is when the hero finally achieves
what they set out to accomplish.

All of the previous steps of the journey
worked to this point
to help the hero finally reach their goal.

In mythology,
the “boon” is often something otherworldly.

It could be the fountain of youth,
an ancient scroll with sacred information, or a magical potion.

27. There are many ways
to play out this step of The Hero’s Journey,
so your character’s end goal
will determine what the boon is.

This step of The Hero’s Journey
often includes a battle
with something that opposes your protagonist,
such as an enemy or villain.

Our heroes
might have to face their own dark side
to achieve this final prize
and complete their journey successfully.

This could cause them to question
whether or not
they even want what the boon is.


When your protagonist achieves this final goal,
it marks a major change in their life.

Now we are ready to proceed to Act 3: The Return.

28. Here’s an overview
of all of the 17 steps of Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey:

Act One: The Departure
The Call to Adventure
Refusal of the Call
Supernatural Aid
The Crossing of the First Threshold
Belly of the Whale


Act 2: The Initiation:
The Road of Trials
The Meeting with the Goddess
Woman as the Temptress
Atonement with the Father/Abyss
Apotheosis
The Ultimate Boon

Act 3: The Return:
Refusal of the Return
The Magic Flight
Rescue from Without
The Crossing of the Return Threshold
Master of the Two Worlds
Freedom to Live

29. Act 3: The Return


Act Three of the Hero’s Journey
often moves faster than the other acts of our story.
In The Return,
we see how the protagonist’s newfound knowledge
and achievement of their goal
affect their life and world.

This step of The Hero’s Journey is crucial
because it gives us a glimpse
as to what
our character has learned from this journey,
which is the ultimate test
of whether
they have truly successfully achieved their quest or not.

Let’s dive into the remaining scenes of our story.

30. 12. Refusal of the Return


The Refusal of the Return
is when our protagonist
does not want to return home
after achieving their goal.

They may be too frightened of what awaits them,
or they may not want to give up
the new life and world they have found themselves in.

Just as they were hesitant to go on the adventure in the beginning,
they are also hesitant to go back.

31. They may be concerned with
how their “boon” might affect the world
– such as a magic potion
or secret power that could get into the wrong hands.

They may worry about
what consequences
they may face when they go back,
or they may be afraid nothing is left for them to return to.


In some cases,
our hero doesn’t want to leave
because they have become comfortable with their new world
and who they have become.

However, to truly finish the quest, our hero must return home.

This refusal of return
helps build up the tension to the final resolution of the story.

This is when the reader questions
whether the hero will return home
– and wonders with great anticipation of what might happen
when it happens.

32. 13. The Magic Flight


The Magic Flight
is the final conflict to the story
where our protagonist must escape danger,
sometimes using their newfound knowledge or boon.

This is a way of symbolically proving
that they have truly learned from this journey
and are ready
to bring it back home with them.

This part of The Hero’s Journey
often involves a chase scene
or battle against an opposing force.

However, this is the final push necessary
push they need to realize
they must make the journey home
because it becomes apparent
they cannot stay where they are.

33. 14. Rescue from Without


The Rescue From Without
step of the Hero’s Journey
is when the protagonist is rescued from danger
by an outside source.

This outside source
may be an ordinary person,
or it might resemble deus ex machina,
or god-like intervention,
where something rescues our hero from an impossible situation,
such as lightning striking
that saves the day for our hero.

34. When you are writing the rescue scene,
the circumstances of the rescue must be believable.

Most people do not like the deus ex machina
in writing simply because it’s too easy.

Those of us who have lived life long enough
all know that a magic fairy godmother isn’t going to swoop us in,
wave her wand
and make all our problems disappear.

After being rescued,
the hero truly has no other choice
except to return home.

35. 15. The Crossing of the Return Threshold

The Crossing of the Return Threshold
is when our protagonist
finally returns home
after completing their adventure
and achieving their goal.

This is the part of The Hero’s Journey
where we see
what they have learned from this journey
and how it affects them.

In this story scene,
you will want to answer the following questions:
How has the hero changed from their journey?
How is their old world different from when they left?
How do they acclimate to being back home?

Finally, how do others react to their return?

36. 16. Master of the Two Worlds


This is the part of The Hero’s Journey
where our protagonist
has reached their full potential.

They have overcome their fears
and grown in ways they could never have imagined.

They are a new person
and have been forever changed by what they’ve experienced.
Yet, it allows them to go back into society
with heightened wisdom, power, skills, or resources
that will help others in need when called upon again.

In this scene,
we see
the hero apply their knowledge
and share it with the world.

37. 17. Freedom to Live


After
our hero has conquered all of their fears
and has put their wisdom to good use,
the hero finally has the freedom to do anything they want.

This is the resolution of our story
– we see
our heroes accomplish their “happily ever after.”

Their fears or concerns no longer control them,
and nothing exists
between them and what they want.

More often than not,
this closing chapter of the story gives the reader some closure.

We want some type of affirmation that the story is truly complete.

We get a glimpse
of what our protagonist will do with their life now
that they are free to live it.

38. If you’re looking for
a story structure that is proven and effective,
the Hero’s Journey might be perfect for you.

With 17 stages of development,
it will help you create an engaging plot with your readers
and develop strong characters.

Note:
And of course,
while the Hero’s Journey is the classic beat sheet for writers,
remember
you don’t always have to dedicate one chapter to each step.

Sometimes you can combine 2-3 steps in one scene,
while other steps
might take several chapters to cover.

The important thing is you now know the Hero’s Journey!

We hope this is helpful for you
– whether you are writing your own novel
or studying the Hero’s Journey arc in literature.

Most of all,
we hope that by breaking down each step of the Hero’s Journey,
you can better understand all of it.