Posted on by Desiree S. Brown

The Case of the Monomyth (single story)

The case of of the Monomyth…it sounds so Sherlock Holmes-y!

Well, my dear Watson, the monomyth says that every hero’s journey is a variant of a single journey. That means that Frodo, Hercules, Katniss, Harry Potter and [you name another] all had the same journey (…more or less). In fact, they may all be variants of the same hero.

Interesting right?

Since Camp NaNoWriMo is only a month away, I thought it appropriate to share this semi-outline semi-philosophy with you.

Enjoy!

 

“The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.”

– Joseph Campbell

What were some of your takeaways?

11 Replies to “The Case of the Monomyth (single story)”

  1. This was really awesome, and very clever. I have to admit, I kinda like that circle set up for planning, I think I might be trying that out!

    Reply
    1. Desiree S. Brown – Stockton, CA – Desiree S. Brown is a poet and speculative fiction author. She has contributed poetry to magazines like Redrosethorns and articles to blogs like NaNoWriMo.
      Desiree B says:

      I thought it was very useful too. It offers a very interesting point about stories. I hope it will help you in your writing! 🙂

      Reply
  2. daviddelaney70 – Australia – Weaving words into characters and worlds is something I live for. Writing is something I used to love as a kid. Sitting through English class as a teenager was the only period in school where I stayed awake and learned something. When I left I followed a path that would take me away from my passion. Now I’ve finally taken the road less traveled and decided to commit words to page and screen in order to imagine worlds filled with characters all with their own stories to tell and me as the guide. If a story causes you to feel any one of the myriad of emotions we all possess as human beings then I’ve done my job as a writer. I’m an Irishman hailing from Dublin but now living in Sydney, Australia. I’ve come to meet people from all over the globe. I love listening and learning about others. We’ve all got a story to tell whether we write it down or not. There’s not a form of entertainment I don’t like. Movies such as Ghostbusters, Beetlejuice, Jurassic Park and Blade Runner kept me up late into the night as a kid (even if I shouldn’t have been watching them). Later on I found video games. Resident Evil and Silent Hill on the original iteration of the PlayStation blew me away. Books were a constant though. While I fall in and out of love with movies and games, books have always stayed with me. The first book I ever read cover to cover was ‘The Iron Man’ by Ted Hughes when I was 8. I borrowed it from a traveling library that came to my school. I moved on to the Famous Five, The Hardy Boys and every Roald Dahl novel I could get my hands on. As I got older I began to love the likes of King, Koontz and Barker. Their magical ability with the written word transported me to somewhere new each time I opened the pages of their books… books that I still love today. I am inspired by all of the above as well as other great writers such as Neil Gaimon, Kylie Chan, Sean Platt, Johnny B. Truant, David W. Wright, J. Thorn, J. F. Penn and David Gaughran. These are just some of the amazing writers who I follow and learn from through their meticulously crafted works of fiction and non-fiction. If you want to join me on this journey and check out my future works please sign up to my mailing list. You’ll be the first and foremost to hear of new releases. No spam, I promise (it’s bad for you).
    David J Delaney says:

    That was really cool and makes perfect sense when you think about it

    Reply
    1. Desiree S. Brown – Stockton, CA – Desiree S. Brown is a poet and speculative fiction author. She has contributed poetry to magazines like Redrosethorns and articles to blogs like NaNoWriMo.
      Desiree B says:

      I agree! I love to apply the circle to some of my favorite stories or games.

      Reply
  3. daviddelaney70 – Australia – Weaving words into characters and worlds is something I live for. Writing is something I used to love as a kid. Sitting through English class as a teenager was the only period in school where I stayed awake and learned something. When I left I followed a path that would take me away from my passion. Now I’ve finally taken the road less traveled and decided to commit words to page and screen in order to imagine worlds filled with characters all with their own stories to tell and me as the guide. If a story causes you to feel any one of the myriad of emotions we all possess as human beings then I’ve done my job as a writer. I’m an Irishman hailing from Dublin but now living in Sydney, Australia. I’ve come to meet people from all over the globe. I love listening and learning about others. We’ve all got a story to tell whether we write it down or not. There’s not a form of entertainment I don’t like. Movies such as Ghostbusters, Beetlejuice, Jurassic Park and Blade Runner kept me up late into the night as a kid (even if I shouldn’t have been watching them). Later on I found video games. Resident Evil and Silent Hill on the original iteration of the PlayStation blew me away. Books were a constant though. While I fall in and out of love with movies and games, books have always stayed with me. The first book I ever read cover to cover was ‘The Iron Man’ by Ted Hughes when I was 8. I borrowed it from a traveling library that came to my school. I moved on to the Famous Five, The Hardy Boys and every Roald Dahl novel I could get my hands on. As I got older I began to love the likes of King, Koontz and Barker. Their magical ability with the written word transported me to somewhere new each time I opened the pages of their books… books that I still love today. I am inspired by all of the above as well as other great writers such as Neil Gaimon, Kylie Chan, Sean Platt, Johnny B. Truant, David W. Wright, J. Thorn, J. F. Penn and David Gaughran. These are just some of the amazing writers who I follow and learn from through their meticulously crafted works of fiction and non-fiction. If you want to join me on this journey and check out my future works please sign up to my mailing list. You’ll be the first and foremost to hear of new releases. No spam, I promise (it’s bad for you).
    David J Delaney says:

    Reblogged this on david j delaney and commented:
    This is a great little video for anyone delving into their hero’s character arc

    Reply
    1. Desiree S. Brown – Stockton, CA – Desiree S. Brown is a poet and speculative fiction author. She has contributed poetry to magazines like Redrosethorns and articles to blogs like NaNoWriMo.
      Desiree B says:

      Thanks for reblogging! 🙂
      I hope others will find the video useful.

      Reply
  4. Sue Coletta – Alexandria, New Hampshire – Sue Coletta is an award-winning crime writer and member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and International Thriller Writers. Feedspot and Expertido.org named her Murder Blog as “Best 100 Crime Blogs on the Net.” She also blogs at the Kill Zone (Writer's Digest "101 Best Websites for Writers") and Writers Helping Writers. Sue's books include psychological thrillers (Grafton County & Mayhem Series #1-4) and true crime (Pretty Evil NE). Now, Sue writes eco-adventure thrillers/Native metaphysical thrillers (Mayhem Series #5-7 & continuing). She's appeared on various true crime series: Storm of Suspicion and three episodes of A Time to Kill on Investigation Discovery. LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/suecoletta Email: sue(at)suecoletta(dot)com
    suecoletta says:

    Awesome, David! Hey, by the way, I’m doing Camp NaNoWriMo next month too. Want to be cabin mates?

    Reply
    1. Desiree S. Brown – Stockton, CA – Desiree S. Brown is a poet and speculative fiction author. She has contributed poetry to magazines like Redrosethorns and articles to blogs like NaNoWriMo.
      Desiree B says:

      I thought so too 🙂

      Reply
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