The first thing I learned when I took a scriptwriting course twenty something years ago was that nearly every successful movie or novel follows the same formula, The Narrative Arc. The Hero’s Journey is comprised of twelve scenes and three acts that guide the hero across The Narrative Arc.
I was blown away. “Really, I’m going to learn the
secret of writing success simply by following a formula?” Not so fast. The
formula is essential. However, successful writing is not nearly as simple as
the formula may suggest. The trick is to follow the same script, yet keep the
audience guessing. Now that’s a challenge. How does one use the same formula
since the days of Greek mythology and keep stories fresh and spontaneous? That
challenge has kept me writing for the past twenty years.
I admit, I look upon my early work and cringe at its
novice. Just as I likely will look upon my current work in twenty years. Honestly,
I know I am not the best writer. That sobering reality hit me at the Hawaii
Writer’s Festival when an agent read one paragraph of my novel, winced and said
“it aint that bad,” then opted for a slightly arrogant pass. That moment of
sheer devastation took me years to overcome. But, in retrospect, the event was
quite edifying. I experienced profound growth from that small moment in time. The
reality is every disappointment results in character refinement.
The truth is I am evolving, just as my characters
evolve across their fictitious narrative arc. However, my arc is anything but fictitious.
I can look back upon my patchwork past and see my own hero’s journey. How
amazing it is to look back upon one’s successes and failures and recognize
individual plot points that fall directly into The Narrative Arc formula.
Except, I realize that I am still on my journey.
The fact is I am nowhere close to how I envisioned
my life. My being surges with professional aspirations that sometimes feel so
far aloof that I want to abandon my ambitions. But then I look at my journey
and I recognize a strange familiarity in my stagnation. Act 3, scenes 10
through 12, of The Hero’s Journey come after 9 previous scenes of triumph and
defeat. If I am indeed following The Hero’s Journey I may very well be on the last
trial before my ultimate win.
Each one of us is the hero in our own journey. When
we feel like we are just too far from that coveted dream or too down to climb
back up out of the pit we’ve fallen into, chances are we are only three scenes
away from total victory. Keep walking. Keep fighting. Persevere. In the end,
you are the hero in your own journey and the reveal to the story is well worth
the effort of the quest.
