DISCLAIMER: Content from 45 Master Characters by Victoria Lynn Schmidt, discussed during NaNoWriMo 2011 Plot Party.

The Feminine Journey

A journey where a hero must go deep inside herself and change throughout the story. Example: The Wizard of Oz, Titanic.

1. Containment
   1. The Illusion of a Perfect World – the character has false sense of security in her surroundings, or possibly in denial. Her world is perfect, there is no need to change.
   2. Betrayal or Realization – something happens that destroys this perfect world.
   3. Awakening – the heroine decides to do something about her destroyed world.
2. Transformation
   
   1. Descent – the character gears herself up, faces her fears and tries to defeat the villain. She may wish for her old life to be back, or her fears will be used against her.
   2. Eye of the Storm – the character reaches some kind of “peace” and thinks it’s all over and she’s okay.
   3. Death – Something happens that destroys this sense of security that she has. It seems like the villain has won, or the character is back at square one.
3. Emergence
   
   1. Support – the character find support from friends or family. Or she may find something different inside her that encourages her to move on.
   2. Rebirth – the character starts to find strength and resolve and starts fixing what happened. She may even stand up to old villains and defeat them once and for all.
   3. Full Circle – the character returns to her perfect world, but with a different perspective.

The Masculine Journey

The Masculine Journey is where the hero gathers allies and tools to set out toward a goal. He rejects the feminine journey of inner exploration, faces death and either endures the transformation and emerges victorious or rebels against growth and faces failure. Examples: Star Wars, Lethal Weapon

1. Challenge
   1. Perfect World – the world is filled with opportunities and the hero decides what he wants. Society tells him to succeed to be a real man.
   2. Friends and Enemies – the hero meets friends and/or makes enemies, all of them pushing him to accept the call. The character may have the news the hero has been waiting for, have information the hero is trying to find, r mess things up so badly that he is pushed into a new direction.
   3. The Call – the hero hears a call from someone or his ego, and sets out to attain the goal. He’s not really sure what’s really important to him or if it is what he really wants.
2. Obstacles
   
   1. Small Success -the hero gets a small taste of success and adds fuel to his desire to reach a larger goal. Pay attention to how other characters feel about this success.
   2. Invitations – the hero is shown his flaws and is asked if his current goal is his true goal. This is where the hero can undergo a feminine journey of self-discovery, and they may or may not take it.
   3. Trials – the hero faces more obstacles to his goal. No matter how successful he is here, it won’t stop him from facing his fears at the next stage. Give him lots of reasons to change here, if you want him to change in the next act.
3. Transformation
   
   1. Death – A Fork in the Road – the hero faces death and destruction. It may not be directly related to him, but to someone close to him and he can imagine it happening to him. This is where the character will make a choice between awakening and rebelling.
   2. Awaken or Rebel – If the hero chooses to face death, he awakens, otherwise, he rebels. In awakening, the hero learns from his experience and faces his flaws and fears. He realizes that he’s not a slave to what society dictates for him. If the hero decides to rebel, he may start acting more like a villain. He doesn’t face his flaws or admit his fears.
   3. Victory or Failure – In victory, the hero chooses to awaken in the previous stage and now finds his reward. He can face whatever the villain throws at him now because he knows himself better. If the hero chooses to rebel in the previous stage, he finds failure. He won’t give up his ego or sacrifice himself for a greater good.

Note that the hero can rebel first and then awaken so he can be victorious.

* A more detailed explanation on the Archetypal Journeys can be found here.