188 Stage Heros Journey (monomyth) - Loop, New Creatures Of The Belly Of The Whale

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FORWARD

Kal Bishop’s 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

UNIVERSAL TERMINOLOGY

The Hero’s Journey uses specific terminology, such as “Final Conflict,” “Hand-to-Hand Battle,” “Unbearable Antagonism,” “the Oracle,” etc. Again, when taken literally, this misleadingly implies that it is fit for only specific story-types (Arthurian Legend, Damsel in Distress, Fantasy, etc). In fact, metaphorically, the terminology applies to the vast majority (in fact, every) successful story or screenplay you may have come across:

In The Godfather (1972), when Sonny is gunned down, what is that if not an Unbearable Antagonism?

In Annie Hall (1977), when Alvie finally goes to meet Annie in Los Angeles, that is a Hand-to-Hand Battle and is the same one-on-one confrontation as Luke and Vader battling it out at the end of Star Wars (1977); the same mano-a-mano confrontation between Riggs and Joshua in Lethal Weapon (1987), the same confrontation as the one between John McClane and Hans Gruber in Die Hard (1988) and the same as the confrontation between Harry and Sally at the end of When Harry met Sally (1989).

(For the Complete 188+ stage Hero’s Journey simply go to http://www.heros-journey.info/ )

ABRIDGED TIPS, EXCERPTS AND EXAMPLES:

*****Loop*****

Though not critical, it is useful to keep in mind the concept of the loop, which is most often used to neatly close a story (which does not necessarily mean that all challenges are resolved). The very first sequences link to the very last.
Often the loop is closed once the Hero has completed his (or her) Journey and returns to his or her Ordinary World. In the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Frodo et al return to the idyllic (and now safe) Shire. In The Great Escape (1963), Hilts and some of the other prisoners return to the camp.
When the Hero does not return back to the Ordinary World, other techniques are often used to close the story. In War of the Worlds (2005), the initial and final images are those of bacteria, neatly closing the story. In Drugstore Cowboy (1989), Bob tells us his story on the way to the hospital - the opening and closing scenes.

*****New Creatures of the Belly of the Whale*****

The Belly of the Whale is a world unto its own. Consequently New (unfamiliar), threatening creatures are not unusual. In Straw Dogs (1971), David arrives home to find ratboy and Cawsey.

Learn more…

WRITE THAT SCREENPLAY!

The Complete 188 stage Hero’s Journey and other story structure templates can be found at http://www.heros-journey.info/

188 stages of the Hero’s Journey can also be reached from http://www.story-structure.org/

You can also receive a free sample file by entering your email address at this site.

You can post this article on your web site or blog as long as no changes are made, the author’s name is retained and the links to our site URLs remains active.

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Kal Bishop, MBA

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