Writing Mythical Archetypes

When you go to write your next project, think about designing your characters first.

We've talked in Media Arts 129 about mythical archetypes.

Because so many of you share my love for Twin Peaks, here is a brilliant article outlining how some of the beloved characters can be divided into eternal archetypes that fulfill humankind's constant need for mythical and meaningful storytelling. Notice how each archetype has a runner-up category...like The Lord of the Rings, Twin Peaks employs doubles and twins.

The Hero's Journey

We've shown some diagrams in class that were too small for you to really get a good look at. And since everyone has different learning styles for remembering information, I thought I'd give you a wide variety of Hero's Journey charts to see which one works for you!

This one is Joseph Campbell's original Monomyth 17 Stages, which started it all:

The rest are interpretations of Christopher Vogler's Hero's Journey, the hottest structure in Hollywood:

Which one do you like the best? Let me know why in the comments below: