The Hero's Journey

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.

A Stone In My Shoe

Day in and day out there’s simply too much to do. I plan my day while I’m sleeping. Sure I’m asleep, but my mind is racing about my next day’s “to do” list. I wake up every morning with this innate catalog of marching orders. As the tasks mount, the stress rises and gradually dissolves as each one is mentally scratched off the list. That, my friends, is a good day.

But what about those days when tasks creep in and derail my effort? With every mission accomplished two more take its place. Sound familiar? I call these irritants a stone in my shoe. A stone is anything that preoccupies me from my responsibilities.

Stones are a daily occurrence at the office. They come in all forms: technology malfunctions, a small crisis or an unscheduled meeting. I’ve learned to prioritize.

On the way home, traffic is a stone because it costs me valuable time. Walking in the door, more stones await. Running out of milk is a stone. A broken dishwasher is a stone. The sudden realization that my daughter needs a hard to find object for school that she neglected to tell me about is a stone.

Stones are also little irritants. As I head out to find that remote object someone cuts me off in traffic. I get to the store, find the coveted object and realize I’ve left my debit card in my other purse. I have to return home, get my card and drive back. These are all stones.

I hate stones. Where do these pesky stones come from and how do they keep getting in my shoes?

Well, as these problems mount I’ve learned to ask myself a few questions. Will I remember this dilemma in a week, a month, a year? Will this momentary annoyance change my life or affect those I love? If I can answer with a no, it’s not a problem at all. It’s just simply a stone in my shoe.

Stones are not worth the effort. They are too numerous, impossible to avoid and too minimal to leave a scar. But I find that if I hold on to the stones they mount into piles. Piles turn into overload and overload creates an inability to deal with the stones. This can inadvertently lead to stone-heaving.

And what happens when we heave stones? Someone’s likely to get caught in the cross-fire. I’ve learned not only to keep my stones to myself, but to avoid stone-heavers. I have enough of my own stones to field someone else's.

But overall, stones don’t bother me anymore. I’ve learned to live with them. I kick off my shoe, dump it out and move forward. I try not to collect or heave the stones.

Sure, tasks still mount and so do the stones. But stones aren’t worth my energy. The quicker I dismiss a stone, the quicker it dissolves and I can return my focus to what really matters.

So here’s the point…if 99% of my problems on a given day turn out to be stones, well then, it’s still a good day.