ABRIDGED TIPS, EXCERPTS AND EXAMPLES:

(simply go to http://www.story-structure.org/ for full details)

*****Push into the Inner Cave*****

Pushes and Pulls are an underrated aspect of storytelling. Pushes and Pulls force the Hero et al from one stage of

The 188 stage Hero's Journey (Monomyth) is the template upon which the vast majority of successful stories and Hollywood blockbusters are based upon. In fact, ALL of the hundreds of Hollywood movies we have deconstructed (see URL below) are based on this 188+ stage template.

Understanding this template is a priority for story or screenwriters. This is the template you must master if you are to succeed in the craft.

[The terminology is most often metaphoric and applies to all successful stories and screenplays, from The Godfather (1972) to Brokeback Mountain (2006) to Annie Hall (1977) to Lord of the Rings (2003) to Drugstore Cowboy (1989) to Thelma and Louise (1991) to Apocaplyse Now (1979)].

THERE IS ONLY ONE STORY

THE 188 STAGE HERO'S JOURNEY:

a) Attempts to tap into unconscious expectations the audience has regarding what a story is and how it should be told.

b) Gives the writer more structural elements than simply three or four acts, plot points, mid point and so on.

c) Gives you a tangible process for building and releasing dissonance (establishing and achieving catharses, of which there are usually four).

d) Tells you what to write. For example, at a certain stage of the story, the focus should be on the Call to Adventure and the micro elements within.

ABRIDGED TIPS, EXCERPTS AND EXAMPLES:

(simply go to http://www.story-structure.org/ for full details)

*****Push into the Inner Cave*****

Pushes and Pulls are an underrated aspect of storytelling. Pushes and Pulls force the Hero et al from one stage of t

[The terminology is most often metaphoric and applies to all successful stories and screenplays, from The Godfather (1972) to Brokeback Mountain (2006) to Annie Hall (1977) to Lord of the Rings (2003) to Drugstore Cowboy (1989) to Thelma and Louise (1991) to Apocaplyse Now (1979)].

THERE IS ONLY ONE STORY

THE 188 STAGE HERO'S JOURNEY:

a) Attempts to tap into unconscious expectations the audience has regarding what a story is and how it should be told.

b) Gives the writer more structural elements than simply three or four acts, plot points, mid point and so on.

c) Gives you a tangible process for building and releasing dissonance (establishing and achieving catharses, of which there are usually four).

d) Tells you what to write. For example, at a certain stage of the story, the focus should be on the Call to Adventure and the micro elements within.

ABRIDGED TIPS, EXCERPTS AND EXAMPLES:

(simply go to http://www.story-structure.org/ for full details)

*****Push into the Inner Cave*****

Pushes and Pulls are an underrated aspect of storytelling. Pushes and Pulls force the Hero et al from one stage of

THERE IS ONLY ONE STORY

THE 188 STAGE HERO'S JOURNEY:

a) Attempts to tap into unconscious expectations the audience has regarding what a story is and how it should be told.

b) Gives the writer more structural elements than simply three or four acts, plot points, mid point and so on.

c) Gives you a tangible process for building and releasing dissonance (establishing and achieving catharses, of which there are usually four).

d) Tells you what to write. For example, at a certain stage of the story, the focus should be on the Call to Adventure and the micro elements within.

ABRIDGED TIPS, EXCERPTS AND EXAMPLES:

(simply go to http://www.story-structure.org/ for full details)

*****Push into the Inner Cave*****

Pushes and Pulls are an underrated aspect of storytelling. Pushes and Pulls force the Hero et al from one stage of

c) Gives you a tangible process for building and releasing dissonance (establishing and achieving catharses, of which there are usually four).

d) Tells you what to write. For example, at a certain stage of the story, the focus should be on the Call to Adventure and the micro elements within.

ABRIDGED TIPS, EXCERPTS AND EXAMPLES:

(simply go to http://www.story-structure.org/ for full details)

*****Push into the Inner Cave*****

Pushes and Pulls are an underrated aspect of storytelling. Pushes and Pulls force the Hero et al from one stage of

ABRIDGED TIPS, EXCERPTS AND EXAMPLES:

(simply go to http://www.story-structure.org/ for full details)

*****Push into the Inner Cave*****

Pushes and Pulls are an underrated aspect of storytelling. Pushes and Pulls force the Hero et al from one stage of the journey to the next.

A pull or push of some sort will drive the Hero into the Inner Cave. This is where the Hero confronts (but does not conquer his Inner Challenge) hence it is not unusual to encounter resistances or obstacles to the Inner Cave. Again, resistance to change is natural. In City Slickers (1991), Mitch talks about being able to look at a Picasso but not take it off the wall.

*****Demonstrating the Changing*****

As the Hero evolves, both in the First Threshold and the Road of Trials, the Changing is demonstrated. In Brokeback Mountain (2005), the sheepherder asks, "...I thought you didn’t need soup...."

*****Preparing the Transformation*****

Before entering the First Threshold, a Period of Preparation is not uusual. In Bonnie and Clyde (1967), Clyde shoots the bottles and starts to teach Bonnie to shoot. In Lawrence of Arabia (1962), they prepare before setting out to the desert. This stage can be interpreted as a Beginning of the Changing or a Fish out of Water stage.

*****Belly of the Whale*****

One aspect of the Belly of the Whale is this: having undergone the changes in the First Threshold, the Hero et al must now confront what they must do, what they will become. They msut show that they have evolved from the earlier Fish out of Water state.: In Bonnie and Cl