The Hero’s Journey is everywhere in writing craft circles. Steven Pressfield and his editor Shawn Coyne use it. Donald Maass refers to it. It’s mentioned in the Writing Excuses and The Writing Files podcasts. DIY MFA instigator Gabriela Pereira talks about it and some of the character archetypes derived from it in her book and… Read more »
The number of articles, posts, academic theses, and books about The Hero’s Journey and its variants attests to the model’s enduring usefulness to both writers and academics. It’s a way into story structure from an anthropological, sociological, and psychological angle that will help deepen your understanding of other structural models and enrich your work. I… Read more »
Maybe it’s my inner academic, or my inner word nerd, but I have a “thing” for defining terms. If we can’t agree upon what we’re talking about, how can we have a productive conversation? And that’s one of my primary aims with this column: to promote discussion and general thoughtiness with regard to speculative fiction…. Read more »
Gabriela’s was not the first street team I’ve been a part of, but it was the most unusual. I mean that in the best possible sense. In the past, I’d receive an advanced reader copy (ARC) and the request to post an honest review by the launch date. There might be a Facebook promotional event,… Read more »
