13. The hero’s journey in 5 minutes

Homework

You’re about to witness first-hand how a character’s want and need are the secret to storytelling. Without these two seemingly simple ideas, you have no story – So don’t go skipping this homework!

Task 1

You want to write. You need discipline.

Come up with a need for your protagonist. Now come up with something they want badly.

You have come up with the back bone to your story. This is what will be driving your character from start to finish.

Watch your favorite film. (This task is easier when it’s a film you know well). Identify the protagonist’s want and need and see how they relate to each other.

Do this with everything you watch. It’s good practice to train yourself to think in this way about stories.

Task 2

Going in circles – not a bad thing?

Once you’ve completed Task 1, apply Dan Harmon’s story structure theory to it:

“Storytelling comes naturally to humans, but since we live in an unnatural world, we sometimes need a little help doing what we’d naturally do.

Draw a circle and divide it in half vertically. Divide the circle again horizontally.

Starting from the 12 o’clock position and going clockwise, number the 4 points where the lines cross the circle: 1, 3, 5 and 7. Number the quarter-sections themselves 2, 4, 6 and 8.”