8 Hero’s Journey Archetypes Universally Used for a Protagonist

8 Hero’s Journey Archetypes Universally Used for a Protagonist

There are heroes everywhere. A great Hero’s Journey can take place in any genre. But did you know there are eight hero’s journey archetypes that work especially well for a universal protagonist? 

Your reader will unconsciously expect your story to have certain characters. If you want your next heroic story to be a success, you’d be wise to plan the entire journey around these key characters. Or at the very least, with them.

Without these hero’s journey archetypes, you might have a story that fails to “work,” and this will leave the reader dissatisfied and confused.

To avoid this, let’s go over who these character archetypes are, and why they will push your hero on their journey. 

Writing Prompt: Give Your Character an Insecurity

Writing Prompt: Give Your Character an Insecurity

Last week, I overheard a conversation at a neighboring table where a woman said, “He’s always trying to prove himself. It makes him look less competent than he is.” I didn’t know the parties involved, but I grabbed a napkin and jotted it down. When I added it to my notebook, I realized characters with something to prove often undermine their own success. And those insecurities make for an amazing writing prompt.

How to Write a Good Villain: 6 Scenes Your Story Needs

How to Write a Good Villain: 6 Scenes Your Story Needs

Without the White Witch, Aslan is just a recluse lion. Without Moriarty, Sherlock is just a know-it-all in a weird hat. Without the Joker, Batman is just a rich dude with anger issues and too much time on his hands.

Our villains make our heroes. Without them, our heroes can’t shine. That’s why it’s important to give our villains scenes where they can wow us with their quirks and scare us with their ferocity.

How to Use Scars to Deepen Characterization

How to Use Scars to Deepen Characterization

Sometimes I have students who say they don’t like to write. I suggest that perhaps they haven’t found a subject or story worth writing yet. Then I ask them if they have any scars.

Inevitably, the stories pour out of them, and they point to their arms, their foreheads, and their legs revealing skateboarding mishaps, fights, and sometimes deeper trauma.

Scars often hold an entire world of story. We wanted something and the pursuit of it left a mark.

Giving a character a scar can be a cliché or it can be a fast-track to deeper character development. When you’re creating characters with scars, execution is key.