Greetings Shiftasker:
The best references I know to offer you regarding mythic structure are
found in "The Writer's Journey" by Christopher Vogler and in Joseph
Campbell's "The Hero with a Thousand Faces". "The Writer's Journey"
is based on the work of Joseph Campbell and, in my humble opinion,
both books are must-reads for writers.
I'll be quoting and citing from my copy of "The Writer's Journey" and
you may also visit http://www.mwp.com/pages/bookswritjour.html where
the book is described in part as "a set of useful myth-inspired
storytelling paradigms (ie. The Hero's Journey) and step-by-step
guidelines to plot and character development."
In his book, Vogler cites the following as archetypes of myths:
hero
mentor
threshold guardian
herald
shapeshifter
shadow
trickster
he also goes into great deatil of the examples of the core story
components that are the stages of a character's journey through a
story:
Ordinary World
Call to Adventure
Refusal of the Call
Meeting with the Mentor
Crossing the First Threshold
Tests, Allies and Enemies
Approach to the Inmost Cave
Ordeal
Reward (Seizing the Sword)
The Road Back
Resurrection
Return with the Elixir
Although the headings above may sound like a fantasy story, all plots
in all stories deal with all of these components.
For an example, take the movie “Regarding Henry” with Harrison Ford.
He is a lawyer in the ordinary world. His call to adventure begins
with his head injury and he is unable to recall his past. His refusal
of the call is his confusion and inability to understand the actions
people around him. His supporting mentor is his physical therapist.
In tests, allies and enemies (coupled with approaching the innermost
cave and ordeals), as his health begins to improve, he goes back to
work and is approached by a woman in his office with whom he had an
affair before his accident but he does not remember. The way he feels
NOW about the affair is different from the way he was before the
accident. Then, he finds out that a case he was working on merits a
second look and a different result. His head injury has awoken him to
a different view of reality. He goes and makes right the wrong to the
people that the case is about. His reward is he is a better man for
the accident. His road back is healing his marriage and changing his
past behavior. Death and rebirth take place inside him as he
resurrects his purpose and applies it to a better life. He returns to
his wife with his "elixir" of understanding and they heal their
marriage problems.
Take any story and you’ll discover the same components. When a story
is missing one or two of them (or they are glossed over), it’s usually
a story not worth reading.
Also, there are numerous diagrams in Vogler's book. He outlines the
acts of a story in this manner and provides a diagram of a character
arc on page 213 in my copy. They are:
ACT I
Limited awareness [ordinary world]
Increased awareness [call to adventure]
Reluctance to change [refusal to the call]
Overcoming [meeting with the mentor]
ACT II
Committing [crossing the threshold]
Experimenting tests, allies and enemies]
Preparing [approach to the inmost cave]
Big change [ordeal]
Consequences [reward - seizing the sword]
ACT III
Rededication [the road back]
Final attempt [resurrection]
Mastery [return with the elixir]
I continue to enjoy Vogler’s book and it has enlightened me to the
core elements of a story. It is a valuable writer's reference. I
believe it and Campbell’s book(s) will suit your needs admirably.
OTHER LINKS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST:
Joseph Campbell Foundation
http://www.jcf.org/about_jc.php
One type of story diagram
http://mdp.artcenter.edu/~carroll/storydiagram.html
Two story diagramming charts having to do with software stories
http://www.glasswings.com.au/Storytronics/Tronics/shapes/onshapes/diagrama.htm
Outlining a script or story
http://www.writersstore.com/article.php?articles_id=105
Should you require clarification of any of the links or information I
have provided, please request it and I will be happy to respond.
Best regards,
journalist-ga
SEARCH STRATEGY:
"the writer's journey"
joseph campbell universal myths
story diagram
diagramming a story
story chart
outlining a story
mythical structure of stories
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Clarification of Answer by
journalist-ga
on
01 Jun 2003 11:11 PDT
My colleague, PinkFreud, happened to review your question and she
suggests this site for your perusal:
http://www.folklore.bc.ca/Motifindex.htm
The Motif Finder is explained there as "In order to compare folk
tales, and understand their distribution, they are classified by an
indexed system called the Types of the Folk Tale. Generally tales are
made up of a number of specific elements in order to make them work as
tellable tales. These elements are known as motifs. To be accepted as
a motif the element needs to be an identifiable unit of the tale's
makeup or character and, by giving it a number within an alphabetical
system, one can quickly access similar motifs, seeing where they occur
and how common they are...This is the essence of the Motif Index, but
folklore is not a static science, and newly found tales, and
variations of existing tales, are continually being unearthed, and
these sometimes include previously unrecorded motifs."
The site index is located at http://www.folklore.bc.ca/Siteindex.htm -
you may want to check your local library for this book.
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