Here’s a quick at a glance look at the Hero(ine)’s Journey from Joseph Campbell’s monomyth.

There are two aspects to the stages: the outer journey and the inner journey (the inner is in parenthesis).  Both are equally important.

Think of this as going around the face of a clock, starting at one o’clock with Stage 1 and finishing at 12 o’clock with Stage 12 – the Ordinary World being on the top and the Special World on the bottom.

Ordinary World

1. The Ordinary World (Limited Awareness of the Problem) 

2. Call to Adventure (Increased Awareness of Need to Change)

3. Refusal of the Call (Fear, Resistance to Change)

4. Meeting the Mentor (Overcoming Fear)

Special World

5. Crossing the Threshold (Committing to Change)

6. Tests, Allies, Enemies (Experimenting with New Conditions)

7. Approach (Preparing for Major Change)

8. Ordeal, Death, Rebirth (Big Change with Feeling of Life and Death)

9. Reward, Seizing the Sword (Accepting Consequences of New Life)

Ordinary World

10. The Road Back (New Challenges and Rededication)

11. Resurrection (Last Minute Dangers, Being Tested)

12. Return with the Elixir (Mastery and bestowing the boon upon others so all are uplifted)

Want more?  Check out The Writer’s Journey by Christopher Vogler and the DVD set of The Hero’s Two Journey’s with Christopher Vogler and Michael Hauge.

Daintry Jensen is the author of THE HIDDEN FOREST, a middle grade fantasy adventure novel set on Nantucket Island, recently published through Green Writers Press. www.daintryjensen.com.