The Hero's Journey Archetypes

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The following is an imperfect transcript of this episode. A complete transcript can be found on the show’s webpage.

[00:00:00] Last week, we went over the three act structure of the hero's journey. And this week we are going to cover the arc types or the different people we meet in the hero's journey today on writing in the tiny house. Hello. Hello. Hello, and welcome back to the show. Welcome to writing in the tiny house. I am the host of this show, Devin Davis, and I live in a tiny house in Northern Utah, and I write things.

[00:00:51] Mainly fiction, mainly fantasy fiction. And I'm here to show you the different ways to get started with writing so that whatever work of fiction you have in your brain, you can actually get to work starting it so that you can have that done. By the time you die or so you can have it done in a timely manner.

[00:01:14] Sometimes it takes a long time to write a book and that's just fine, but it's important to know the easy ways to get there. So last week we discovered the different events or the different beats that happen with the hero's journey. I explained last week that the hero's journey is kind of the step-by-step outline that many epic stories seem to follow, and it is meant to be generic because.

[00:01:45] Is meant to be applied and followed in its own unique way. But as we went through those different points and as they fell into act one and two and three, we saw where those points are in many popular works of fiction. I talked about the Lord of the rings. I talked about Harry Potter. I also brought up the broken earth trilogy by NK Jemisin.

[00:02:08] And today we're not going to be talking about plot structure, but we are going to be talking about archetypes. And an archetype is the type of person that you see represented in fiction or in mythology or whatever. And they serve different roles in progressing the plot and they need to be in the story to keep the story interesting.

[00:02:34] And to keep the story complete. If you have a story where everybody has the same personality type, that story will not have as much conflict as it could. And the characters won't be related to. The easiest way to build a character that is relatable is to see how they interact with other people. And that means that you get to have a lot of different types of people.

[00:03:00] So this is eldest of things that relates back to the hero's journey, which is a book that I referenced last week. The hero's journey written by Christopher Vogler. And so if you want to check that out, go ahead and do so. But these eight arch types are commonly found in all types of high adventure series, where a person leaves their home to go out on an adventure And does all of the things along the way until they come back, if they come back. So the first arc type or the first type of character that is mentioned in this collection of things is the hero. And according to this specific list, So the hero is not necessarily the main character, just because of this one personality type or this one quality that, that this hero has a hero must be willing to self sacrifice.

[00:04:07] So a hero needs to be willing to leave their house to go out on the adventure. If you are writing a novel. That the main character doesn't have that quality. Then your main character doesn't fit the role of the hero in this respect. However, another character might. And so if you're still writing an adventure novel, it is entirely possible that you have a hero, even though it's not your main character, which is interesting because sometimes that can be fun.

[00:04:38] Sometimes. Main character can be like really afraid and really look up to somebody else who is the hero, who is their hero. And so the role of the hero is still filled, which is cool. The next archetype is the mentor. Last week I talked about Dumbledore and I talked about Gandalf and I also talked about some different characters in the lion, the witch and the wardrobe by CS Lewis, just because many different characters can be mentors.

[00:05:12] However, It's easiest to see the ones that that's their entire role at all. So Gandalf comes into the story. He is there to teach. He is there to protect and he is there to provide gifts. So the reason why I brought up the lion, the witch and the wardrobe. Last week is because there are several characters who fulfill this role in order to teach.

[00:05:40] We have Mr. , who is talking about the world and about life as. Creature in servitude or in slavery or whatever, to the white, which we have the white, which herself, who teaches specific things to one of the children. And we have as LAN who teaches the biggest things to, or the biggest, most important things, the biggest life lessons to the children.

[00:06:07] And it's interesting. One of these qualities is to provide a gifts in the lion, the witch and the wardrobe. Who is the guy who gives the gifts. It's Santa Claus. I've kind of ranted about Santa Claus in the lion, the witch and the wardrobe before, because it's one of the biggest plot conveniences in fiction.

[00:06:30] Luckily this is a children's story, so we can allow the plot conveniences, Santa Claus doesn't belong in the lion, the witch and the wardrobe. But, but I bring it up here just because. As Christmas gifts because it was Santa Claus. He brings these children weapons that are used in the great battle at the end and are used to win that battle.

[00:06:56] And so in a way, Santa Claus, even though he has a very limited role and really shouldn't be in that story anyway, meets the criteria of being a mentor, just because he gives them weapons that. Proved to be vital to the success of the war. So that's an interesting thing. The next step or the next arc type is the threshold guardian.

[00:07:25] This is the character that has meant to be menacing, but can still be overcome. So sometimes that can be perhaps a parent. Like the dad or the mom who is not approving of the child's decision to do this or that, and is standing in the way what this arc type does is provide the hero a moment to be brave.

[00:07:54] Usually the first moment to be brave as a way to. To see to the reader and to the hero and to whatever else to prove that they can go out and do the harder things after. The next archetype is the Herald, who is the person who brings a new challenge. Off the top of my head, I can't think of any specific character who simply serves as a Herald.

[00:08:20] it's easier to think of examples of mentors and heroes, but these next four fall into. The categories of just kind of the sub character cast. And as we talk about them, you can see how they all need to be there in order to have a rich cast. So the first is the shape shifter, or it is the character who changes constantly in the hero's point of view.

[00:08:48] And sometimes from the reader's point of view, it's the person who sometimes they're good. Sometimes they're bad. It's the one who keeps you guessing. The next is the shadow that represents the power of the dark force of this adventure. So in like space operas, like star wars, it's really easy to identify the people who fall into the dark side of the force.

[00:09:15] Like we have the emperor and. They represent and embody the dark side or the evil side of whatever is at work in this book. The next is the ally and an ally is a person who travels with the hero. And supports and serves them The ultimate ally is Sam in the Lord of the rings. Especially how he's portrayed in the movies, just because, especially in the movies, Sam did a lot and Sam.

[00:09:51] Is a hero in his own. Right. But absolutely serves the role of the ally when it comes to these different archetypes of the hero's journey. And the final arc type is the trickster. This is the person who is into mischief and has a desire to change. So it is not necessarily pranks. It is not. Necessarily the guy who wants to just blow crap up all the time.

[00:10:19] Usually this is the person with a more radical moral code who has more radical thoughts and is more eager to act on those thoughts and make really fast, big decisions. Having that character. Really drives the plot forward and can create higher stakes and a bigger sense of urgency in the story itself.

[00:10:46] So those are the eight archetypes of the hero's journey.

[00:10:52] 

[00:10:52] And that is it for today. Just a reminder that "Brigitte,"Installment One of Tales from Vlaydor is available on Amazon as an ebook and on Audible and Apple Books as an audio book. And I provide advanced reader copies of these short stories as I release them to my patrons. So become a patron today by visiting patreon.com/writinginthetinyhouse to support both my writing and this podcast. And lastly, be sure to follow me on social media. My Instagram is @authordevindavis and my Twitter handle is@authordevind. Thank you so much for spending some time with me today and have fun writing. We will see you next time.