The Monomyth, the Epic, the Hero’s Journey. If you’re a writer, you definitely know this narrative either by its colloquial template name or by my favorite moniker: The Bane of My Existence.
If you’re not familiar, let me save you 4 years of film school with a paragraph. The story template generally involves your protagonist (or hero) who has a catalyst to go on some adventure, he/she/they then learn a lesson, there is a conflict, there is a victory involved somewhere, knowledge is gleaned and usually there’s some supernatural element or heightened enlightenment behind that knowledge, and then your hero returns home transformed. That seems like a lot right? Don’t worry. The hero’s journey can actually be condensed down to three essential stages:
· Departure. Your hero leaves their known world behind.
· Descent/Initiation. Your hero learns to navigate the new unfamiliar world.
· Return. Your hero returns to the familiar world, changed in some way.
Okay, so with your film school graduation out of the way, let’s get down to the nitty gritty. Outlining the hero’s journey seems like a pretty daunting task at times. Sometimes you nail the first act only to realize you’re going to be throwing out 4-5 drafts of your second act to change your third act all together. You start to hate your hero and root for your antagonist. Nobody said it was going to be easy, but that’s why we chose a life creating worlds that don’t exist, right? Writing is working a muscle with a lot of extra creativity. You wouldn’t go to the gym without listening to Megan thee Stallion or that murder mystery podcast to keep your brain active and not focused entirely on the excruciating pain in your muscles. Have you considered that maybe all you need to write a foolproof hero’s journey and get out of your ACT II slump is a bomb-dot-com playlist? Try this one out for yourself and put your script to the test.
Act I: Departure
“Lose Yourself” by Eminem
Nothing really sums up a pump-up departure anthem to me more than Eminem’s “Lose Yourself”. I listen to this when I begin my writing process to put myself in my protagonist’s shoes. It helps me think about that internal conflict and final decision to get out into the eventual, new world I have to make for my narrative. Also, I mean, what a song.
Act II: Descent
“Blood on the Leaves” by Kanye West
Listen, Kanye-drama aside, this song has been another blood pumping staple on my hero’s journey playlist for the Descent of Act II. Here, we also have the Road of Trials, Goddess Meeting, and Woman as a Temptress to consider for the narrative template so it kind of plays with the song.
Act II: Initiation,
“Losing You” by Solange
In the Initiation of Act II, your protagonist should have already crossed the threshold into whatever you’re setting up for ACT III. “Losing You” by Solange is perfect for this playlist because it slows down the tempo, sets you up mentally for that final conflict and conclusion, and sets your character up for whatever transformed return he/she/they is making.
Act III: Return
“Kiss of Life” by Sade
“Goddess” by BANKS
For Act III, we slow it way down. Granted, there’s still some conflict and your return doesn’t have to be at all delicate. Considering the template, here we have a protagonist changed completely, touched by both worlds from which he/she/they started and this new one you’ve created for the character. The hero has crossed back over the threshold, mirroring the goddess encounter, now enlightened and a master of its new universe.
"Writing the Hero's Journey (Playlist)" is part of our ongoing blog series, "The Soundtrack to Your Creative Process." Check out our Spotify playlist and share with your friends!
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Note From Tongal: This blog is part of a series of Tongal Community-written blog posts that were originally sourced in the Tongal Blog Open Call Project. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Tongal. Read more Tongal Community-written posts here!e
