Annt. Bib. #4

Voglar, Christopher. “The Writer’s Journey”. Stages of the Journey. Studio City, CA: Michael Wiese Productions, 1998. 83-105.

Summary

This reading covered two stages of the Hero’s Journey, the Ordinary World and the Call to Adventure. The Ordinary World in a story is very important because it gives the reader a contrast for the Special World that the hero will be entering later in the story. Another function of the Ordinary World is to catch the reader’s attention by using certain dramatic effects. Some stories have foreshadowing of the Special World in the Ordinary World to catch the reader’s attention, while others use specific character entrances that help the audience connect with that character. When the story introduces the hero in the Ordinary World it usually helps show some character trait, or flaw, that the hero has that we can relate to. The audience being able to relate to the hero of a story is very important and is usually done in the stage of the Ordinary World.

The second stage of the Hero’s Journey is the Call to Adventure. This is when the hero encounters some major change in their Ordinary World, which causes them to be put into action to fix or deal with the change. The character that portrays the archetype of Herald, who can be good, bad, or neutral in any story, usually does the Call to Adventure. Also, stories don’t always have a hero that is willing to answer to the Call to Adventure; these hero’s we call reluctant hero’s.

Reaction

While reading through the first stage of the Hero’s Journey I was able to pick up a lot of tips for my story. I learned that background is very important and is what helps the audience relate to the hero of my story, which happens to be me. I liked reading these two sections because they give you great tips on how to start a story/Hero’s Journey, which I consider the hardest part when writing any story.

Questions

1. What do you think attracts more attention in stories/movies, stories that start in sequential order or stories that have foreshadowing in the Ordinary World, or they start out with a scene that the story will lead up to?
2. We learned that a perfect, flawless hero is very boring and not very interesting to read. Can you think of any perfect hero’s that you’ve read about that you’ve possibly liked, or disliked?
3. When writing a story and giving your hero flaws, do you think that you tend to give them flaws or traits that you, yourself have and more fully understand?

Annt. Bib. #3

Voglar, Christopher. “The Writer’s Journey”. The Archetypes. Studio City, CA: Michael Wiese Productions, 1998. 49-80.

Summary

This reading covered six more archetypes in a story, the threshold guardian, the herald, the shapeshifter, the shadow, the ally, and the trickster. These archetypes are very popular among many stories, and you rarely see a story without them. Threshold guardians are not the villain in most stories, but usually work with the villain of the story. They are usually guards or minions that help the villain stop the hero. However, sometimes a threshold guardian can be used as an ally for some hero’s, “Threshold Guardians are not to be defeated but incorporated.”

The herald is usually a character that issues challenges and announces the coming of significant change. Heralds provide motivation for the hero and get the story going. It is usually the Herald that is the one that gives the “Call to Adventure” which is what makes a story come about.

The shapeshifter is pretty much what its name describes it. The character in a story that plays the shapeshifter is usually the one that changes their moods, behavior, or view points in a story. Of course, many characters do this, but that is why there is no set archetype for any character, a character can take on more than one archetype.

The shadow of course, is almost as important to a story as the hero. The shadow represents the dark side, or the villain. Everyone has a bit of shadow in him or her, but we learn to suppress it, but of course this is why we need a shadow that is not suppressed so that our hero has a chance to learn something about himself.

The ally and trickster, who can sometimes be the one in the same, ally being a person that wants to truly help the hero, and the trickster being a person that does want to help the hero, but usually only to help themselves. The trickster is a complicated character because they usually are full of mischief and I think are generally good people but tend to cause the most problems in a story.

Reaction

It was interesting to read the other archetypes, and as I went through them, I would think about a lot of my favorite stories and try to place an archetype to each character. I agree with the thought that most stories have the main archetypes that Voglar listed. Also, when I thought about them and how a story might be without that archetype I realized that the story wouldn’t really be the same at all, and that having these main archetypes in stories are very important.

Questions

1. As we know by writing our own hero stories, we can probably put ourselves in any archetype. But if you could pick one you would most relate to, which one would you be and why?
2. Do you think that Voglar is correct about there being eight main archetypes? Do you think there are more important archetypes in a story? Do you think that a story doesn’t always need the archetypes we read about?
3. What kind of characters did you think about while reading through each archetype?

What Disney Character Am I Like?

I think I’m most like Belle from Beauty and the Beast. Main reasons being, I like to read any kind of story, I’m always wanting more out of life, I don’t like to try to fit in, I just be myself no matter what, I don’t judge people on their looks or how they dress, but on their personalities and actions, and I forgive people even if they’ve mistreated me in some way. Beauty and the Beast was one of my favorite Disney movies when I was growing up. It was the first movie I ever saw in a movie theater with my mom, but apparently I was more fascinated by the popcorn machine than the actual movie at first.

Anyway, Belle was always a dreamer, always getting lost in stories that she read and wishing that there was something more in store for her, which was the first similarity I saw between her and I. Also, I loved how she never let anyone thinking she was a “funny” girl put her down. She never cared about being different or fitting in, and when I was younger I knew that was a trait that I wanted to have.

Another trait about Belle I noticed was that she is able to forgive people even though they have been unkind to her in the past. When the Beast was mean and unkind, she was able to look past that after he rescued her. I’m similar in the fact that I don’t always stick with first impressions and I have a tendency to forgive others for past events. Also, I don’t judge people on their looks or how they dress, actually I try not to judge people at all, but rather see them for their personality and their actions, which I believe is what truly defines a person.